More torque please

Toyota has been reducing the ICE warm up time with each generation.

 

Given the somewhat mixed responses in this thread, I'm still not convinced that it has been reduced to ZERO though.

 

Yeah I’m not worried about the engine warming up for a minute and then going up to highway speeds, but in ev auto the engine could have been not started in a week and then suddenly called to full throttle in milliseconds, which is totally different and I still think can’t be good for it in the long run.

 

If you have enough charge in the battery the ICE will simply not start till the ev only range has been eaten up. It’s one of the greatest features of the car.

 

What about in EV Auto, though, or in a European-market PHV where EV and EV City are both variants of an EV Auto mode?

 

If that is true, I don't agree with that at all.

What if the car has been sitting unused for .......let's say 6 weeks, or 6 months.....and the protective oil film has all but disappeared on the rings and bearings.

Now.....the first time the engine cranks over, the driver has the pedal to the floor.

UNLESS something is happening inside that engine to circulate a bit of oil BEFORE the max. load hits, that is a very bad thing.

 

Is it in any way possible that Toyota thought about that?

 

Prius has operated that way for 20 years now... establish oil-pressure before squirting gas. It's a far better approach than traditional vehicles.

1000 to 1200 RPM, rather than the usual 200 RPM.

 

An electric oil pump sure helps.

 

And is it possible that the engine (or parts of it) are running and you just aren't aware of it ??

 

OK, so if that is true, then why were they running the engine to "warm it up" for about 2/3 of that time period ?
Maybe because the "oil pressure" didn't lubricate everything that needs it ??

I feel that we are right on the verge of getting some good information here .......but it still is somewhat vague and sketchy.

And what does that last sentence mean ??

 

I think the last sentence means a normal car ice spins up at a much lower speed and lower oil pressure and irregular spark, with the starter I assume. A Prius ICE spins up the ICE to 1000-1200 (which it does in a fraction of a second) before any spark at all, so no violent ignition until oil pressure is established.

 

The warm-up period (when RPM is held to 1500) is for exactly that... to warm up.

Heat is required to cleanse emissions. That comes from the engine. Emissions are lower when RPM is lower... hence warming up before giving maximum.

That can be overridden by holding the pedal to the floor. So, there's never any concern.

 

OK, forgot about the CAT needing heat.

So......what has changed recently to permit "normal" operation of the engine immediately upon starting cold.......emissions wise, that is ?

 

Prius PHV (gen-1) always worked that way. Few actually knew what was happening though... hence the videos I filmed, capturing data that could be informative later.

For example...

 

A traditional starter only spins the ICE up to about 200rpm before firing.

There is always a spike to start up emissions. The Prius manages to keep it low most of the time, and the few times when you have high load ICE start up, they will be lower than most cars on the road. Then the quicker warm up time means those higher emissions don't last long.

The main drive behind the 48 volt mild hybrids is emissions. Once you have an electrical system that robust on board, you can start installing catalytic converter heaters to cut start up emissions. Current full hybrids generally do such a good job of reducing emissions that the cost for such hasn't been worth it yet.