Guess what I did this weekend?

jpleong · 07-12-2010, 04:06 PM

I did a couple suburb-laps and half a highway run in the CR-Z with Wayne Gerdes (hypermiler extraordinaire) who also taught me to drive stick (so I could actually drive the CR-Z, lol) and suggested some improvements to my Insight hypermiling technique. A fun morning, overall, and the CR-Z was a hoot to drive -even more carlike than the Insight. If you hypermile it, you can definitely get some strong FE numbers.

And on my departing drive I got my best sustained FE numbers ever!

JP

**MN Driver** · 07-12-2010, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpleong

I did a couple suburb-laps and half a highway run in the CR-Z with Wayne Gerdes (hypermiler extraordinaire) who also taught me to drive stick (so I could actually drive the CR-Z, lol) and suggested some improvements to my Insight hypermiling technique. A fun morning, overall, and the CR-Z was a hoot to drive -even more carlike than the Insight. If you hypermile it, you can definitely get some strong FE numbers.

And on my departing drive I got my best sustained FE numbers ever!

JP

Please share some techniques that he provided, I'm sure the concepts are the same with pretty much any car but I figure there might be slightly different things with the 2nd Gen Insight than the information he gave us while he was here with his 1st Gen. Did he have any comments about how he felt between the two models?

jpleong · 07-12-2010, 04:59 PM

Wayne is a big fan of Hondas and though there are certain things that he felt Honda could have done to make better FE-centric vehicles he has been quite excited with both the Insight II and, at least yesterday, with the CR-Z. The impression I got from him was the understanding that the Insight II was really a family vehicle, not anything like the original Insight, and, thus, well suited to the task. He was almost glowing (my interpretation) when I contacted him prior to the weekend and told him I'd be bringing my Insight.

As far as the CR-Z goes, you can follow his very hands-on review here.

As far as tips, they were all out of the hypermiler handbook which I have read a couple times but never could actually imagine doing. Some of these things, like FAS (forced auto stop) just didn't register when I read them and had to be experienced. Indeed, the FAS was/is something I didn't feel 100% comfortable attempting until I have more practice on a closed track so I spent my after-visit drive trying to figure out how I could come as close (using the IMA fuel-cut) to FAS for a Glide portion of P&G.

Speaking of P&G (pulse and glide), Wayne had to constantly de-program me in the Pulse segment as I was used to accelerating in concert with the Green-Teal-Blue halo. His suggestion (um... drill-sergeant coaching) was faster! faster! and accelerate around 2k RPM. His theory is to put the engine to work when it's on and then shut it off as quickly as possible. The way I was used to driving I was either giving too little (1.5k or less) or too much (3k+). Pulse and Glide in the Insight 2 seems to really benefit from Econ's muted throttle response as it's much easier to reach and then maintain 2k RPM. After that, it's all about finding that sweet-spot on the throttle where the car is just free-spinning, fuel-cut, and free from IMA regen. Again, the throttle's muted response with ECON helps find that.

Hopefully, I'll get up some pictures I took soon...

JP

jpleong · 07-12-2010, 05:12 PM

Oh, I should mention that with me driving (how I typically drive) Wayne's normal suburban teaching route I managed about 51mpg according to MID. With me driving and Wayne's coaching (and adept key turning skills) I netted 58mpg doing the same route and would have done better had I not missed a key FAS portion. When we realized the FAS had not worked (the engine was still on) we determined the FAS period between shut-off and on-I is two full seconds in the Insight 2.

JP

jrlnc · 07-12-2010, 09:53 PM

Thanks for sharing your experience and the link.

I have been drooling over the CRZ for a while now. I can't wait to test-drive one. I'm afraid that I'll have to get one though!

Wayne is the best of the best. I really admire his skill and knowledge and respect his assessment of cars much more than many of the so-called automotive experts and journalists.

Cobb · 07-13-2010, 12:02 PM

Thanks. Isthe FAS, key off in nutral?

jpleong · 07-13-2010, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobb

Thanks. Isthe FAS, key off in nutral?

Hey Cobb,
Yup. Assuming flat road the order of events is this:

1) Accelerate to just above speed limit (maintain 2k RPM throughout).
--> 1.5) Let off throttle... (forgot about that LOL)
2) Put car in Neutral
3) Turn key to ACC
4) Count to two (one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand)
5) Turn key to On-I position. Tach should read 0, some warning lights will remain lit, but power steering and brakes should function as normal.
6) Glide
7) Once sufficiently slowed turn key to On-II for IMA start
8 ) Put car in D and repeat.

If you come to a stop sign or light, approach slowly (see: Smart Brake) and keep the ICE off and the transmission in neutral until it's time to actually accelerate at which point follow 7 & 8.

This is something to definitely practice on a back road or in an empty mall parking lot. The real "secret" is to think through and ahead using the physics of inertia and momentum as your guide. Be ready to flick on the hazard lights, too, as FAS and P&G are not widely embraced by other drivers on the road.

JP

jpleong · 07-13-2010, 12:41 PM

And some pictures:

This is the (awesome) dash of the CR-Z. As you can see, everything is laid-out logically and follows a similar ethic to the Insight II dash. We also have the return of mostly digital readouts. The very nice thing is the SoC (state of charge) indicator that isn't nested in the MID menus. The Tachometer lights change color like the Insight II's speedometer halo. It glows red in Sport mode!

As you can see in the bottom right, it is capable as a high-FE machine -that's a combination of my awkward steady-state driving (north) and Wayne's actual advanced hypermiling (south).

JP

jpleong · 07-13-2010, 12:52 PM

And then afterward... Wayne coached me. Around his training course I managed 51.8 mpg using my standard skills.

This is the result of taking the course, again, this time with Wayne telling me what to do and his controlling the FAS -which I must say is a strange experience having someone else turning your key while you drive! The number, here, is after an added around-the-block loop when we discovered the supposed-to-be-last FAS didn't actually work. I did the extra loop to get the timing of the FAS correct and it added a whole two miles per gallon extra to the average (from 58mpg to the displayed 60.6mpg).

When I left Wayne, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to maintain that 60.6 so I spent a couple miles trying to figure out how to come as close to an FAS P&G without actually doing it. Steady-state (cruise control) was quickly killing the average so I flipped it into ECON and, amazing myself, found the throttle sweet-spots. As you can see... highly successful even with a few unavoidable stop signs and stop lights. This is as high as the numbers got for me on this run.

And here's my final tally at my destination. When I turned the car off, I was rewarded with five leaves (or ten, depending on how you look at them) despite having never accelerated in the green!

JP

Cobb · 07-14-2010, 01:12 AM

Thanks. So even though the "alternator" is in the hybrid pack which is charged from braking its still mroe efficient to gas and coast? I need to try that.

What about stick shift tips? I had a 06 scion xa. With the help of a scan gauge I found shifting at 3 grand gave best fuel economy and absolute was 4th gear at 40 mph.