HYPO Mileage Club

You must have been very heavy on the throttel that morning. 4 minutes of warm-up? I say that is way too long. I let my engine idle for about a minute and the Prius is ready to run. For 4 minutes, my engine will usually stop idling. You can save more gas by not letting your Prius warm-up that long.

 

Hi Ziv,

I used the EBH here for about an hour each morning it was -4 F the last two days at startup. I filled up gas the night before the cold plunge. I am using the Hydroedge tires, and the roads were mostly clear. I only warmed up the car while I was scraping windows, about 2 minutes I guess.

With these conditions the mileage at the end of Friday, after two days, was 44.3 mpg. Hopefully with the warm weather coming next week, I can get back up above 50 mpg.

But, my trips were allot longer. 23 miles one way, 3/4 s of it on highway, and at these temperatures traffic morning traffic is much lighter. So the first cold day all of the highway driving was at 62 mph, and the second about half.

I can simpathize, however. If you get sub-zero temperatures, and drive right into a traffic jam as you start off. The do stop and go for an hour, 30 mpg would be lucky. As 90 percent of the engines work is is heating the cabin, and pumping heat out the exhaust.

This really makes the case for a cabin heater that runs off gas, so the engine does not need to run just to keep the cabin warm and defrosted. Heaters (furnaces) can easily be at least 70 % efficient with mechanically rugged construction. Which is a whole bunch better than an engine's water jacket efficiency.

 

Wow, whatta great idea for some inventor! I always wondered how an electric-only vehicle could exist in very cold climates, the driver would freeze. However, if there is some very clever person out there that could come up with an efficient method of warming the interior before driving it... Maybe just run an insulated flexible duct from the house's gas heater into an open window of the car...

 

I would say heavy on the brake rather than the throttle.
I'm not sure why you need to warm up the Prius, surely if you live in freezing conditions you enjoy being cold or you would move. Rug up for your drive in a woollen jumper, gloves and get in the Prius, hit the power button and go. There is no need to warm the electric motors and really no need to warm the ICE with extended idling, that will only harm the engine and waste fuel.

Oh before you say I wouldn't know the pain of freezing in a car, I get in my Prius after it has been in full sun on a 44 degree C day and just drive while the windows down and AC cool it to a bearable temperature. I don't leave the AC running while I wait in an airconditioned building.

The HSD computer will look after the ICE while driving.

 

If you leave your car parked out in a lot all day while at work, waiting for warm-up is a colder process. Heat comes faster if you just drive away right away.
.