2 stage regen

I don't think it's 2 stages as much as linear. If you push the pedal slowly it will regen less and less until it hits the "sweet spot" with no arrows on the display. This is a close to coasting as you will get and is used in pulse and glide. So assuming your car is warmed up you should be able to hit a "no arrows" state on the display which means your actually coasting.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SomervillePrius @ May 21 2007, 08:25 AM) [snapback]446561[/snapback]</div>

Correct. The natural state would be to have no regen braking until the brake pedal is depressed, but this would be counter intuitive compared to normal engines and transmissions. The Prius control system applies a small amount of regen to simulate engine drag when you lift your foot from the accelerator.

Tom

 

You'll get a small variance between throttle and no throttle. But that's no where near the difference you get with the 2 stages that actually are available...

Electricity generated while you are driving comes from the 10kW motor.

Electricity generated while you are braking comes from the 50kW motor.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gazz @ May 21 2007, 08:58 PM) [snapback]446553[/snapback]</div>

I don't understand what you're saying about "blue bars".
The "blue bars" are just showing a battery SOC level, 4 to 6 bars, not related to regen.
A "green arrow" shows the regen.

Anyway...
We observe the regen is not such step stages like digital, but we see it analog.

We watch CAN ID 0x244 7th byte shows the accel pedal value (0 to 200) and CAN ID 0x03B 1st and 2nd byte shows charge/discharge amp value to/from HV battery...

pedal value 0 to 2: there is regen simulating a conventional vehicle's throttle off. The regen amp value is propotional to the pedal value.
pedal value 3: deadband coasting, same ampere usage as in N.
pedal value 4 to 19(?): MFD shows no green or yellow arrow and it looks deadband, but we see some amp use, a light EV mode.

The accel pedal position is very sensitive on these situation and you need some kind of CAN message decorder.

Ken@Japan

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gazz @ May 22 2007, 11:37 AM) [snapback]447219[/snapback]</div>

Hobbit has a page describing the stages,

http://www.techno-fandom.org/~hobbit/cars/five-stages.txt

best read just before you set off then you can spot the transition between stages as they happen. They only affect your journey if you have stop-start traffic during the warm up. You want to avoid making a stop when the engine won't shut down. Good luck with the 600 miles, I find I can go about 20 miles between reaching the final bar and getting the add fuel ping, then it is up to you. Set the second trip counter when you get the ping and aim for a reliable petrol station.

 

The stages do seem arcane and if you can get off to a flying start, with no early stops, they won't affect you.

Driving in to work I have a short but steep hill that I have given up trying to get over on EV. I found going up slowly pulled power out of the battery and the result was a low state of charge when I reached the top, this forced the engine to run on the downhill stretch which was otherwise perfect for a long glide. I got around this by giving the car some acceleration up the hill, enough to put charge into the battery. I use more fuel on the way (double) up but can glide on the other side.

Driving back home I start from the top of a hill and it is best if I park up with four bars, to reduce the chance of the engine coming on before I have rolled down to the bottom of the hill, as I have to sit at a roundabout for a minute or two when I get there.

If you find that the engine won't switch off at an early junction try to modify your route to avoid it or try to get past that point before using the engine. Pressing the EV button as you approach a stop is often worth a try.