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So Easy, My Wife Could Drive It...

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by Wynder, Jan 10, 2006.

  1. Wynder

    Wynder New Member

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    It may sound harsh, but if you knew my wife, you'd understand...

    So, I'd allowed the wife to drive the Prius Twice in the week or so that we'd had the car and I was *dreading* going away for business this past Monday and Tuesday. I'd started in on my second tank (my first fill up) and had kept an average of about 48MPG. Now, my wife, being nowhere NEAR the PriusFreak™ I am, doesn't really care to learn about pulse and gliding or feathering, or the little nuances to maximize your mileage.

    Well, I returned today and the car had 47.3MPG. I was thoroughly pleased!!! Granted, she does drive conservatively -- generally fairly slow, so I'm sure that aided her quite a bit, but that average is something I can work up to get my 50MPG tank! And here I thought you couldn't 'just drive it' and get that kind of mileage -- even men can be wrong sometimes... Argh!
     
    #1 Wynder, Jan 10, 2006
  2. mdmikemd

    mdmikemd Member

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    I'm just happy if my wife keeps it close to 40. Still, it's cold and we do have snow tires, can't wait for spring.
     
    #2 mdmikemd, Jan 10, 2006
  3. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    Oh great, now I have to pay a royalty every time I say PriusFreakâ„¢?

    check's in the mail.

    While on a business trip, I was talking to my wife and she said, "Hey I got your mileage up to 53." "But I was at 58!"
     
    #3 TonyPSchaefer, Jan 10, 2006
  4. Wynder

    Wynder New Member

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    Cha-Ching!

    DOH!
     
    #4 Wynder, Jan 10, 2006
  5. EricGo

    EricGo New Member

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    lol !
    My wife did that to one of my tanks that already had over 200 miles into it !!
     
    #5 EricGo, Jan 10, 2006
  6. Kathleen2

    Kathleen2 New Member

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    I do not know or understand what is ment by pulse, gliding or feathering? But I'm still getting 47+ mpg.
    If someone could explain and teach me how to increase my miliage; I would be very happy.
    Now be gentle; I'm a gray haired 60yr old.
    Kathleen
     
    #6 Kathleen2, Jan 10, 2006
  7. Wynder

    Wynder New Member

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    Kathleen,

    Sure thing... The 'ideal' condition under which to drive your Prius is when no arrows are displayed on the screen. You probably notice these conditions:

    1) When you accellerate from a stop slowly, the wheels are being moved by the battery.

    2) When you accellerate quickly or a short while after you do #1, your engine kicks in and moves the wheels (perhaps with the help of the battery) and the engine also charges your engine.

    3) When you let completely off of the gas, regenerative breaking kicks in and your battery starts charging.

    Now, there's a condition easily obtained within the 30-41 MPH range, and at faster speeds with a little more finesse. If you accelerate to around 40MPH and let off of the gas, then *very* gently depress the pedal, all of the arrows should disapear. This is the best condition for two reasons:

    1) Your engine is not running, therefore using gas.
    2) You motor isn't running, thus it doesn't have to be regarched.

    So, pulse and glide is the art of accellerating to around 40MPH then using that coast technique as you drift down to about 30MPH, then repeat. It can be a massive burden on the people behind you, so use sensibly.

    Similarly, if you're travelling on the highway, you can let off of the gas, and depress the brake very gently to try to get that same condition or just so the battery is pushing your wheels. These are some techniques people use to help include their mileage.

    Wynder
     
    #7 Wynder, Jan 10, 2006
  8. joelparks

    joelparks New Member

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    well certainly I'm not the expert but here's my answer:
    Gliding is when the car is coasting with NO ARROWS showing energy movement (on the info screen with the motors and wheels). This is achieved by "feathering" the gas pedal, meaning pressing it ever-so-lightly so that there is no regen (green arrows from the wheels through the motor generator to the battery) and also no yellow or orange-pink (what is that color?) from either the ICE motor or the motor-generator to the wheels. The feathering takes a bit of concentration and fine motor control of your right ankle, especially over bumpy roads. Eventually as you practice it you will be able to do it without looking at the Multi-Function Display (MFD).
    "Pulse-and-glide" refers to accelerating with the ICE motor (the pulse) at higher-than-idling RPM until reaching the highest permissible speed for the conditions, and then gliding to the lowest permissible speed for the conditions. Use higher-than-idling RPM because ICE motors are more efficient that way. Also, avoid showing any arrows to or from the battery, because that introduces mechanical and electrochemical conversion losses to rob you of efficiency.
    Having said all that, don't practice this stuff when the traffic around you makes it difficult or unsafe.
    There are other threads, including at least one topic in the Knowledge Base (KB) that cover this topic in more detail, and you may want to use the Search facility to learn more.
    have fun,
    Joel
     
    #8 joelparks, Jan 10, 2006
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