Maxed Consumption Bars

On June 23, 2006, I managed (easily) to max out the consumption bars during a two day mini trip from Sacramento to Mono Lake and then back home driving east through Yosemite.

This is what happened to our Consumption screen while descending from Touloumne Meadows (8,775 feet) down to the Yosemite Valley floor (4,000 feet). It took no effort – in fact, there were 45 contiguous minutes worth of maxed-out bars.

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The number of 50 WH regenerated car symbols does NOT tell the story of how steep the road was during the 5 minute sections . . .

The traction battery was already nearly full, so the 20 to 30 minute sections only recorded a little regeneration. The 15 to 20 minute section didn't record any regeneration as the battery was full. At that point, as a test, I turned on the Air Conditioner, and the car regenerated like heck. The battery charge level briefly went down by only one bar. After that 10 to 15 minute segment was recorded, I turned the A/C off. As you can see, the car then recharged the battery. And once again, there was no regeneration for the last five minute period . . . even though I was riding the brakes to get maximum regen.

As you can also see, the Yosemite Valley floor was hot that day, so the A/C came back on for comfort sake. B)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jun 24 2006, 09:15 AM) [snapback]276338[/snapback]</div>

I noticed the same MPG readings too. :blink: That just goes to show what an amazing car the Prius is . . . either on flat land or in the high mountains. But my MPG number was without the benefit of the last net 4000 foot decline back down into the Sacramento Valley. The trip ended at the same gas station in Sacramento with two gas gage pips still showing and 52.5 MPGs.

The difference between DocVijay's high mileage run an mine is that the good Doc couldn't have gone more than a couple of miles at 100+ MPGs with only a one foot decline – so he must have been creeping along in traffic for ten to fifteen minutes. And for his overall mileage, if he were in Florida the whole time, and registered a 59 degree reading, I doubt he ran his Air Conditioner at all.

My reading, on the other hand, shows what happened during a 55 mile, 4,775 foot decline (which equates out to an average road grade of 1.64 percent). The reason my display doesn't show recharge in every segment is because my battery was full. Turning on the A/C allowed for recharging to happen once again, but soon after turning it off, the battery was once again full and recharging ceased.

The trip ending with 52.5 MPGs is outstanding all by itself, but if you take into account that the A/C was blasting away for ¾ of the time, that MPG reading is fantastic!