Gliding Really is Like Gliding

My one month old Prius has given me a lot of satisfaction.
I have enjoyed being able to achieve close to 50MPG
here in northern Jersey on relatively short haul trips.
While I still view driving a car as primarily a means to get from
one place to another, I'm having a lot more fun
these days getting to those same places while learning how to appreciate the car's subtleties,
and improving upon these already stratospheric MPG values.
And I'm probably driving a lot more safely as well.

Having said this, I must admit that I have been confused
by most of the messages that I have read here
recommending Pulse and Glide driving, about the difference
between coasting and gliding, and about the value of achieving
a 'no arrows' driving state. Not having witnessed it, I was
beginning to think that those who wrote about it
were driving a different make of car than mine.
Until last night.

I have been practicing what I thought was P&G driving during most of my driving
this past month, which is primarily commuting to and from work.
I've been rapidly accelerating to speed, and then trying to maintain a light pedal
the rest of the way. I have been taking advantage of long downhill stretches by
easing up on the accelerator to obtain very high MPG indicator values.
But I have never seen the Energy display on the MFD show no arrows.

The problem was that I was doing most of my P&G experimenting while highway driving.
Last night I discovered what I should have realized from reading the
advice of others here: that P&G driving is most easily achieved at lower speeds.
Toying around with feathering the accelerator while driving a local, flat stretch of road with
a 35MPH speed limit, I suddenly got all the arrows to disappear.
The car started rolling so much more freely that it almost lurched forward.
It felt like I had previously been driving with the parking brake on (which I guess
in a way is what it WAS doing).

I found that after achieving the 'no arrows' state once, it was fairly easy to reach it again -
both on that road, and on other similar roads. This afternoon I found myself
seeking out opportunities to try it, generally waiting for low-speed-limit stretches where I knew
I wouldn't annoy other drivers by gliding.

I know this might sound a little corny, but I wasn't doing it to achieve the
highest MPG. I was doing it mostly because it brought a feeling of serenity.
It was a great feeling to be able to just glide along while maintaining speed for long distances in a silent car.
I described it to my wife and daughter this evening (who both undoubtedly think
I've gone completely off the deeply obsessive end), why I probably
enjoy it so much. It's because I've experienced this feeling many times before while doing
a different form of gliding - namely sailplaning (more accurately, radio-controlled gliders
of 2-3 meter length).

The experiences are surprisingly similar.
In both cases you are biding your time, patiently on the lookout for a location where conditions
are just right for the vehicle you're operating to be able to glide. For the sailplane it's a thermal;
for the Prius it's the right stretch of open flat road. In both cases, you can
glide for surprisingly long distances with little noticeable change in state: for the sailplane
it's altitude; for the Prius it's speed. And popping into P&G with the Prius is surprisingly like
entering a thermal: the slight surge in speed as the wheels turn more freely is very much like
the slight jump in altitude that a sailplane achieves when it enters a thermal.

Regrettably, I had to give up the hobby of R/C gliders when my two kids turned old enough
for travel soccer. I've thought about picking it up again when the kids enter high school (not far off).
This experience with the Prius is rekindling that desire.

For those who have had the pleasure of experiencing R/C gliding, I think you know what
I mean. And for those who haven't tried it - but who enjoy P&G driving for more than just achieving
great gas mileage - I strongly recommend trying it.
There are few things that I've experienced that are more satisfying and sublime than
watching a small hand-launched glider catch a ground-level thermal and soar to a thousand feet.

Again, sorry if this has sounded corny. But I can understand now why others have said,
"Man, I love this car."

Stevejm

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(VABeachPrius @ Oct 22 2006, 10:56 PM) [snapback]336603[/snapback]</div>

Surely that's a typo - and if not it must be a record!
I can't believe that you were able to sustain that kind of MPG!
How the he.. did you accomplish it?