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Prius is optimized for what kind of driving?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Technical Discussion' started by peirhead, Oct 24, 2010.

  1. peirhead

    peirhead Junior Member

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    It seems to me tha the Prius engineers must have optimized all the software parameters to suit an "average" user's driving habits. This obviously (to me) means thst there were "trade offs" to give the best overall fuel economy aand preformance...all good

    However...since so many of the Prius's settings are software adjustable (such as the regen braking, electric modes etc) wouldn't it be relatively easy to offer some user selectable settings to reconfigure based on individual driving conditions?

    I am thinking of something like 3 driving environment selections such as City, Highway, Suburban that I could switch between as I move from one environment to another.

    I could really improve my milage with a slight reduction to the sensitivity software controlling of the ICE kicking in..allowing the ICE mode to be not quite to sensitive to the throttle.
     
    #1 peirhead, Oct 24, 2010
  2. donee

    donee New Member

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    Hi Pierhead,

    My opinion is the Gen III is optimized for intercity cruising (65 mph) while the Gen II was optimized for suburban secondar roadway 30 mile trips. The Gen III does not have the quick 15 to 45 mph snappyness of the Gen II, but its pretty good 30 to 60 mph. The Gen III is heavier and has more rotational inertia in the engine and tires, and so, its not as effective in pulse and glide (suburban secondary road mileage). I have been doing 65 mpg PandG's in my Gen III, versus 75 mpg PandG's in my Gen II.

    One place where this is contridicted is highway drag - or least what I had moddfied onto my 2006, versus the 2010 with only the license plate relocate mod so far. The coast down performance above 40 mph in the Gen III is worse. Is this the new aero design? The extra cross section area of the wider tires, and wider/taller car? I do not know.
     
    #2 donee, Oct 24, 2010
  3. theloop82

    theloop82 Member

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    The Prius is optimized for driving on paved roads.
     
    #3 theloop82, Oct 28, 2010
  4. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Someone else once suggested that the Prius is optimized for the Japan 10-15 mode fuel economy test, a slower urban cycle than the U.S. EPA tests. 94 mpg!
     
    #4 fuzzy1, Oct 29, 2010
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I'm gonna wager that the best mileage is achieved on suburban roads. The reason is that in the city, yes the engine is off and you're running on battery power in bumper-to-bumper traffic but the car doesn't have the chance to charge the battery so the battery drains and eventually you're idling (if the traffic is bad enough).

    On suburban roads, you may still be stopping at traffic lights at every block but you have enough road to accelerate and let the engine charge the battery while doing so and you can get more charge as you brake for the light (or none if you're gliding). Depending on how far your lights are, you can pseudo P&G. Even if they're all green, you can P&G and maximise mileage.


    Now I haven't been to PEI (or the maritimes for that matter) but that's what I've observed, after living in the big cities across the country.


    As for the ICE sensivity. Use the HSI (Hybrid System Indicator.. the one with the horizontal bar) to help you out. Unless you're in PWR mode, the engine shouldn't come on if you're in the Hybrid ECO area (the first half of the bar).

    Use ECO mode in the winter to minimise idling. I've had the car shut down in -10°C weather at a traffic light in ECO mode, with the Auto A/C at 22°C after a short 2-3km trip from my house (car stored at 20°C). Heck, after 10km highway stint, I got the engine to shut off at -40°C in ECO mode with the heater off of course. Take it out of ECO and the engine fires up...
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Oct 29, 2010
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