Hybrid System Indicator and Stealth

Stealth is a term to describe "no arrrow" mode in the classics which means that the power flow is not predominately going in either direction as far as motor, engine or battery...(obviously there is flow out of the battery since SOC does go down)

when Stealthing you will experience a deceleration rate of 1mph per every 3-6 seconds or so and is probably the best method towards achieving the very high mileage numbers so this mode is the best way to use a stored charge

well today (being Tuesday and my weekly "errand" day) i had a chance to do a bit of cruising using the back city roads which is great for hypermiling due to minimal lights and the 35-40 mph speed limits plus the usual "middle of the week in the middle of the morning" light traffic.

on the HSI screen, i noticed that when i am Stealthing (i think since its much harder to determine or feel it than the SPM which i could do without looking at the screen) the indicator is simply all over the place which i would assume is giving me a much better feedback as to what the car is doing in deadband mode.

interested in anyone elses thoughts on where on the HSI should we be to better keep in Stealth mode?

 

oh ya... you right...hold on.... ok, can you change title of thread?

 

Re: Hybrid System Indicator and Deadbanding

ya!@! i know what you mean. on my SPM you can feel the motor running...on the 2010, i have to have everything turned off most of the time to "hear" the motor running and rarely am i able to determine when it comes on and off.

also on the 2010, i maybe getting old (ok, well i am old!) but the red is very tough for me to see especially at a glance so i dont use that screen at all any more besides the HSI is new so it has my attention for now, but wish i could see it and the old energy screen at the same time.

one thing i noticed though. the areas of regen and the charge band (not so much the power band) dont seem to be exclusive on any certain condition of the car unless its also tied in to what mode the car is in.

for example, even when i am in EV or glide mode, i have 100+ mpg but can actually get the indicator to nearly the power mode band....

same with when i am burning gas, i tried to see if the position of the charge band would correlate to my MPG reading and it varies widely even after warm up.

so i am thinking the Pri modes are

gas to engine+ charge to battery+ power to wheels from motor
gas to engine + charge to battery+ regen
gas to engine + power to wheels from motor
gas to engine+ charge to battery

which then controls what the HSI shows us

hmmm... anyone catch what i am trying to get at?? if so, let me know cause now i am confused

oh ya... my center area has a line with a distinct difference in the shade pattern as well

 

hmmm nope... at least not always. like i said, i have been in stealth mode and reached nearly to "power" band

 

nice article and it does provide some insight (no pun intended) to the HSI display, but his experiences simply dont match mine.

i dont see any guaranteed indicator in any specific mode.

 

well on the one hand, as you pass center, the ICE is supposed to turn on. that would imply that ICE is off before center but only with sufficient SOC and once again, i have seen situations where i am left of center, 5 or more bars on batt and still ICE on.

so wondering if maybe the center is where you want to be to get the max efficiency and best combo of ICE operation with EV assist?

just back from short trip, watching it again. warm up would be quick since its in the 80's and car sitting in full sun. i did notice the engine kicking on as i past center and was not able to get it past center and stay in EV mode so will have to play with it but slightly possible that warmup was minimal. trip was during heavy traffic, only 11 miles RT with a 20 minute stop halfway

all in all, the HSI is an indication of the power available and runs like a speedometer of sorts, but the "calibration" changes as the hybrid system changes from one mode to another

now on regen, the HSI should be in the charge range, but we can regen while still using other power as well which would make the overall power consumption still into the "un-named" center section

 

ok... i think i may have discovered something.... now if we ignore the ends of the display and look at just the center area.

i thought that the center should be significant enough that i would try to drive and keep it as close to the center mark as possible right?? thinking maybe this is the sweet spot for speed and efficiency or between battery and gas, most efficient acceleration, etc.

ok, well when doing this, first thing i noticed is that on streets where speed limit is 35 MPH i was slowly accelerating, kinda like pulsing right?. well had to eventually ease off the power and found that the ¼ mark, i would be slowly decellerating kinda like gliding right? so i am going to try to keep it centered as much as possible to see if i have any improvement on my mileage.

also other observations:

regen: yes you will show regen at any speed. i was on the freeway and hit a downhill stretch (not much of a hill really and it did go to the "charge" area (i call it regen) while doing 60+ mph.

the center line: despite what the article posted says, the center line meaning is dependent on the mode of the vehicle. now its true that in eco mode as soon as you pass the center line, the engine comes on. but i had reported that i have been in EV mode and gone past the center line. well it took me a while to remember how i did it because unless you switch to EV mode it wont do it on its own. But when the EV light is on, you can still pass center but the 25 mph limit still applies. so its a trade off really...

in eco mode, you can essentially EV at a much higher speed so not sure what all is going on there. probably some engine running....

in EV mode, max speed is 25 but can still get nearly to power mode (i tried it 4 or 5 times this morning and a few times i got to about the 80% mark or just over halfway from center to power.

as far as results of the "center mark" driving. will probably start another thread for that

 

i stopped using the energy screen. its simply too small and i also am beginning to think the HSI is what i want to look at anyway.

keeping at center for best acceleration for economy is what i am experimenting with right now.

i am beginning to feel that being to far left means too much battery conversion, being too far right means too much gas or inefficient driving.

what i am going to do is try "center-lining" for a while to see if that brings my mileage up