Mod for figuring road grade

I'm math- and programming challeged, but I had a thought for a mod that might help with determining mileage in given situations.

Idea is based on the fact that the grade of the road affects mileage, in the way temperature, car speed, wind speed, etc. do. But we usually don't know the grade or incline, as stated in degrees. I know I am going uphill, however slightly and especially on cruise control, when the bar drops significantly. I just don't know the degree of grade.

So is it possible to hack the MFD program, perhaps on the consumption screen, that would let the driver know in real time how much of a grade the car is using. I'm thinking it would require a gyroscope, either physical or virtual, or a spirit level electronically connected, to detemine grade as expressed in tenths or hundredths of a degree. The math might factor in the grade, speed and MPG, perhaps show the difference/ratio between level grade and existing grade and the results in MPG. It might help drivers adjust accelerator position to slightly improve MPG.

So many Prius drivers focus on various technical aspects of their cars that someone might find it worth exploring.

 

You're right; it isn't needed. Perhaps it might contribute to overall knowledge. My thought was that a specific readout of road grade could be helpful in showing how that external factor affects mileage. I drive a fairly flat stretch of road several times a week; when I use cruise control, I notice that the MPG drops from 99.9 to around 40-60 as we climb what I see as a slight rise. In more mountainous regions, it is not unusual to travel along what appears to be an upgrade, but actually is level or downgrade because of the fall of the hills -- any gollfer who has putted on a mountain course can testify to that. If that hack could be incorporated into the MFD, it would eliminate the need for extra hardwre. I appreciate your comments.

 

Neat gadget. But how would you calculate the degree of slope and the gasoline used to determine miles per gallon at a given grade?

 

That's probably more what I was thinking about, although I wasn't thinking of a board -- I guess it isn't necessary to reinvent the spectrotilt, is it? So the next step might be to connect with the MFD and create a display applet that would give you, say, a line that moves up and down with the grade -- should be room on the Consumption screen -- and does something with the MPG. At this point, unfortunately, my lack-of-math brain is starting to ache; I'm not sure what the result of the calculation should be.