OEM Solenoid test after getting the Red Bullet

Hi guys and girls!

After using the Red Bullet on my vehicle for a good few thousand kilometres I'm switching back to the OEM for a reverse comparison test.
I will run the OEM for as long as I can to get some fuel economy data.

I will post my findings here for reference.

I don't desire to be on the OEM too long.

 

So it begins. I will drive until half a gas tank is left and fuel up to see what mpg I will get with the OEM solenoid. I will update as I go and post the trips here.

 

1st update, close to 100km on the OEM solenoid.
Average is 23.5km/l from driving carefully and not using air condition in order to match the conditions for testing the Red Bullet. Its 34 degrees in the shade these days so really hot. If I blast the air condition then the test will be a worthless.

Regarding the power with the OEM solenoid is unremarkable, during low RPM it is not too much difference with the Red Bullet, but when I step on the gas with the OEM solenoid, I did not experience much change in power from the engine.
My average fuel economy on the dash is showing an overall of 3.7km/l lower verses the Red Bullet which did the 901km per tank challenge at 27.2km/l.

We did notice a discrepancy from the computer versus the actual fuel put into the car for that 901km challenge, so we are going to use what we see now as a reference point.

For the conclusion will be drawn when we gas up in another 350km.

I will continue to update the mpg as I progress.

Here is a trip from coming home today, usually I'll get more then this. My only remarks at this point is the power felt with the Red Bullet is way better then the OEM solenoid. For the FC we will have to wait for the gas up.

 

Update. Fuel gauge just dropped today at 105km on the OEM solenoid .Fuel gauge usually drops the 1st bar after 130 to 160km running the Red Bullet.

 

Update. Fuel gauge just dropped again on the OEM. I'm usually able to be clear in the mid 200's before the second bar drops. Today it just happened before I am even close to 200km.
To have the possibility of not gassed up to the brim is understandable. But dropping bars within 90km from the previous drop is not observed before.
The computer says 24.8km/l which is still a significant difference between the Red Bullet stats of 27.2. What I'm feeling is the truth is even more difference. We will see when we gas up. At the moment i don't think it will be too long from now.

 

Hi Rockrunner,

Please check out this thread for more info. Red bullet VVTI seloniod | PriusChat

 

Hi Jimbo,

Welcome back! We are doing a comparison test for the OEM solenoid now. The extra efficiency from the Red Bullet was demonstrated by myself and also members. I was also able to complete my 901km challenge on one tank of gas last month by running the Red Bullet.

I am running the OEM solenoid at the moment to compare it with the Red Bullet, I do not get as much pep which was to be expected and I find the need to step on the gas a bit more to have similar acceleration as the Red Bullet. I would also like to report that the car runs quieter on the OEM solenoid. And lastly computer is showing a lower overall mpg as a reference.

The fuel consumption at the moment seem to be more then previously noted when I was not running the OEM solenoid. If I was to do another control test when i switch back to the Red Bullet I would like to just put on the logs the following info for reference.

Running on OEM solenoid:
2 days ago @ 105km the fuel bar dropped from full to one bar down. Today on my way home @ 185km- 188.7km the fuel bar dropped another level from one bar to two bars down.
The above results suggest the fuel volume between bar one and bar two was able to move the vehicle approximately 83.7km in a urban environment, my EV ratio was 47% when i checked today and I will update my average speed tomorrow. Update June 24 : average speed 23km/H, EV% 45.
(I will compare the above results with results when i reinstall the Red Bullet)

Petrol station pumps can produce significant difference from one meter to another and one nozzle might cut earlier or later then another nozzle due to different sensitivity or fueling speed of the pump. I think by using the fuel gauge on the vehicle as a standard might be a accurate way of measuring, not mpg in this situation but as in mpBar for comparison, since the amount is always taken by the same measuring device, the consistency should be higher then that of a random gas pump. This might be a good platform for a paired test between the OEM solenoid and the Red Bullet solenoid to reflect fuel economy.

Why not use full bars to one bar down as reference points on the fuel gauge you ask?

I think by not using the first bar you are able to avoid the inaccuracy of a unequal fill up or early click of the pump not giving you a full tank to start with. So by making sure we always have the same starting reference point we start our count at the first bar drop instead of a full indicator.

Let the car run to the first bar and thus you are able to be sure that the volume from the first bar to the second bar stays constant regardless of how much fuel was pumped from the beginning.
Then to work out the relative mpBar, we observe the distance covered by the vehicle by running Red Bullet and the OEM solenoid respectively during those fuel levels.

As I mentioned to run until half a tank, we would be able to gather more data as well in the form of mpBar. I will post my updates when they become available.

Keep checking back for updates!

 

Update. Another bar just dropped @ 248.3km.
I was looking at the trip today and caught sight of 247km and with 24.7km/l. Took a snap shot of it just before the drop.

A miniut down the road I saw the bar fade away.


So between bar 2 and bar 3 the distance covered was only 59.6km. Lets take the average of the two readings from post #10. The average per bar is running at 71.65km for now. Lets keep going until mid tank.

 

Update! Bar dropped to 6, one more to go!


I went on a trip today, majority of the road was on express way and a stretch of highway. So the above photo was taken while I was doing 80km/h. During the trip I was able to squeeze more out of the remaining bar 7. I was also able to increase my mpg by a little.

The Bar dropped @ 332.3km
The difference from last bar is 84.0km.
This brings the average mpBar a little higher.
Overall average per bar is now 75.83km

I will gas up right after my next bar drop which will brings us to mid tank.
We will do the mpg number and switch back to the Red Bullet!

I really can't wait!

 

Last bar done! The bar dropped @ 420.6km
The difference from last bar is 88.3km.
This brings the overall average for the test to 78.9km per bar.


I am going to drive a little today and gas up during the evening. I will post the exact amount of fuel and exact amount of distance covered by the OEM solenoid.
The next test will be determined, as it is becoming more then 40 degrees C in the sun, I will think about how to run a comparison test with the Red Bullet by using the method of counting bars.

 

Results from the fuel up.

We finally gassed up at 562.3km, took my parents to the airport so had a 80km of highway run in there.
The gas pump stopped at 23.3l.

562.3/23.3= 24.1km/l

The Red Bullet average on the 901km challenge was higher then this for sure with only 10% highway runs. I will next do a Red Bullet mpBar test to compare.

I think at this point the miles per bar of fuel gauge might be the most stable methord to do a paired test.

On the power portion of the test, i notice decrease in power and more throttle to get up to speed and sustain it by using the OEM solenoid.

I can't wait to install my Red Bullet tonight! Will update when the 1st bar falls on this tank and we will mark that as the starting point for miles per bar test for the Red Bullet.