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How to Pulse and Glide with pictures...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by sandman, Aug 16, 2008.

  1. sandman

    sandman Member

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    OK been doing a lot of reading and research on how to Pulse and Glide. I finally figured it out and figured I would type this up to help a lot of others who might have questions..I have seen these pictures scattered around but not all in one post if there is such a post please excuse me.. Last week I installed my Scan Guage and I also wired up an EV switch a couple weeks back (one wire ran it to my signal switch $0) these along with P&G all helps your MPG's. (Here is an example of a 40mph-30mph P&G)

    105_2508 (Medium) (Large).jpg Here is a picture of the Pulse Screen (you want to use this to get up to 40mph)(you only want to pulse with the ICE)

    105_2511 (Medium) (Large).jpg Here is another picture of a pulse screen as you can see the mpg during your pulse will vary accordingly depending on the terrain

    105_2510 (Medium) (Large).jpg Here is your Glide screen, you want to transition from the pulse to the glide with little or no regeneration(use this screen to glide back down to 30mph)

    105_2512 (Medium) (Large).jpg Here is a pic of the regeneration screen

    105_2514 (Medium) (Large).jpg Here is a picture of a glide that is above 41MPH(Warp Stealth) I found that if your going down hill its OK to hit this but as soon as your MPH drops below 41mph get back into the normal glide screen.

    105_2509 (Medium) (Large).jpg This is a shot of my MFD after some P&G. I also just went to half a tank on gas gauge so this should be my best tank to date..

    I am still learning so please everyone share your knowledge and if I said anything that is wrong please correct me I love to learn..also please share pic's it helps so much with us newbies..
     
  2. jps000

    jps000 No Exit

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    Very nice! You might want to edit the >41mph text. That is Warp Stealth, not technically a 'glide' which implies <41mph and all arrows off. Also interesting on my Prius 2008 #2, the regen arrows are blue... unless it's just the picture color...
     
  3. catgic

    catgic Mastr & Commandr Hybrid Guru

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  4. JamesWyatt

    JamesWyatt Señior Member

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    I have found what is for me a simpler approach.

    1. Keep the Consumption screen up.

    2. Pulse (accelerate moderately hard - don't need the Energy screen to tell you what pulse is) to 5 mph over posted limit and up hills to just before the crest

    3. Release pedal completely and mpg shoots to 99

    4. Apply only as much gas as keeps you at 99 or at least above 75 (for downhill this engages stealth mode and for level terrain this engages warp stealth)

    5. When speed drops to 5 mph below posted limit pulse back to 5 mph over (customize this for your situation/preferences)

    This just seems easier, more intuitive, and safer than watching the Energy screen.
     
  5. penbed

    penbed New Member

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  6. bredekamp

    bredekamp Member

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    Thanks. I was never quite sure if I was doing it right. I trust you're having someone else take the pictures while you drive....:fear:
     
  7. Buckland

    Buckland New Member

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    One thing I found very interesting is that in the US you want your yellow bars as long as possible. In Canada, because we monitor gas "mileage" by Litres per 100 Kilometers, we try to keep our bars as short as possible.

    Buck
     
  8. sandman

    sandman Member

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    You must have the energy screen to be able to tell if you are pulsing with motor ONLY..

    Yes my 13 year old went with me this morning and took the pictures..
     
  9. biff_debris

    biff_debris WOOF!

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    I typically use the method described by JamesWyatt and it helps the mileage a lot. I live way the heck out in the country and rarely encounter other vehicles so I'll glide for quite a while. I've found that pulsing just after cresting a hill and allowing gravity to help you get up to speed can also help.

    I've never thought about controlling the pulse to be ICE-only. I'll have to give that a try!
     
  10. sandman

    sandman Member

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    I never said the way he describes would not work and more than likely he is doing it same way I do it..Just it would be hard to tell how you are pulsing by looking at consumption screen. It would also be hard to tell if you are gliding with no arrows versus having yellow arrows which will drain your battery. I really don't see anything on the consumption screen that is not on the energy screen except your overall MPG and last 30 minute bars. Oh well, either way you do it P&G will improve your overall MPG..:)
     
  11. JamesWyatt

    JamesWyatt Señior Member

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    Using the Consumption Screen, what I have done to make sure my pulse was as economical as possible was watch the drop in tenths of an mpg I would get with each pulse. I found it was best to train myself on this with between 80 and 120 miles into a tank so that the tenths of an mpg were responsive, but not too responsive. By trial and error I learned how much pulsing was too much, and how much was not enough.

    I think it takes too much attention from driving to watch the Energy Screen arrows vs the Consumption Screen mpg bar. I can see the mpg bar with my peripheral vision. I'll try it with the Energy Screen and see if it makes a difference over the course of a tank. Do you think you could get the hang of pulsing with ICE only and could do it without visual feedback?
     
  12. jps000

    jps000 No Exit

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    I think to each his own, but this is NOT the method used by top hypermilers anywhere I've read... nor would it be used by anyone truly obsessive about mileage (uh...me). The energy screen is monitored to ensure a no arrow glide and to help monitor pack assists and draws...
     
  13. JamesWyatt

    JamesWyatt Señior Member

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    Please understand the "for me" phrase I included. "For me" it is a good compromise between mpg and safety. Unlikely I will ever get 60+ mpg doing this, but neither will my one-track mind run me off into the ditch or into the back of a stopped car.
     
  14. okiebutnotfrommuskogee

    okiebutnotfrommuskogee Senior Member

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    Yes - If I pay attention to how the car feels, I can tell when it goes from mild regen (as in coasting) to glide. You can actually feel the car roll a little more freely.

    Also, I do one thing a little differently, When I am on a street with a 40mph speed limit, as I approach 40 in a glide, I let up on the go peddle and let the car regen down to about 38 then go back into glide.

    As always traffic will dictate when pulse and glide can be done safely.
     
  15. JamesWyatt

    JamesWyatt Señior Member

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    That's good to know. I don't mind carefully glancing at the Energy Screen for a few weeks if it can become a learned behavior not requiring me to look all the time. Thanks.
     
  16. diamondlarry

    diamondlarry EPA MPG #'s killer

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    You are correct. This isn't the method I would use. I tell people to drive just like you would ride a bike. When riding a bike, you would never try to accelerate uphill; you would try to build up as much speed as possible before the hill. As for accelerating going down the hill, I think this is more efficient as you are letting gravity do most of the work. I used to ride a bike quite a bit several years ago and I would build as much speed as possible on the downside of a hill then coast as far as I could and get a little rest in the process. Conservation of momentum is the key. These techniques work great and allowed me to achieve 105.0mpg over the 66.0 miles I drove today for work(yes, I had to work on Saturday:() and errands. I too live way out in the country and don't have much traffic so I can glide quite a ways.
     
  17. darelldd

    darelldd Prius is our Gas Guzzler

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    I'd always thought that the best pulse was Engine to Wheels only (in other words no arrows back to the battery). In theory, the best efficiency is with no battery involvement (crazy, but true... as long as you depend on gasoline as your energy source!). So to leave the battery out, you don't want to generate, nor consume battery energy. To do that you want to avoid arrows into or out of the battery. The first screen shots show arrows into the battery during pulse.

    Am I just dreaming?
     
  18. Danny Hamilton

    Danny Hamilton Active Member

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    I agree. I thought the pictured state was refered to as DWL (Driving With Load) or something like that. I vaguely recall from the Hypermile Marathon a year or two ago that they used DWL (especially at night) for the pulses because the headlights and 12V system drained the battery over time, and glide is easier with a fuller battery.
     
  19. JamesWyatt

    JamesWyatt Señior Member

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    So why is it called pulse? It seems more like a slow crawl to me.
     
  20. JimboK

    JimboK One owner, low mileage

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    That's theoretically ideal but hard to hit and even harder to hold. During ICE-on acceleration, the car pretty much will do its own thing anyway with currently flow into or out of the battery, seemingly based on SOC. With SOC in the 50% range, I've seen 10-20 amps (maybe more) going into the battery with acceleration no matter what I do with the go-pedal; there is no so-called "dead band" there.

    I long ago gave up on trying to dead-band and instead I focus on keeping RPM within efficient ranges. This serves the added benefit of avoiding significant battery boost during acceleration. Results from recent trips seem to validate this approach.

    For the benefit of those without added instrumentation, I recommend keeping instantaneous MPG at least half the vehicle speed during pulses. This generally will avoid battery boost and inefficiently high ICE RPM. This means, of course, that either the Energy Screen or Consumption screen can be used during pulses. But I strongly recommend sticking to the Energy screen to monitor glides. You might think you can sense a held glide by seat-of-the-pants sensations, but transitions to lower-efficiency regeneration or stealth mode are very subtle and easy to miss.