All time best in my 2001 CVT 79.9 MPG over 26 Miles

[LeftWinger]

Trip Segment:

Start: Langhorne PA
End: Conshohocken PA

Average Speed 50-55MPH
Tire Pressure: 50.0 as mesaure by digital gauge
Temp 72 Degrees F
Wind 0-5 knots from the North
4 Brand new OEM LRR tires
1 passenger side fender skirt slightly flapping in the breeze
No drafting.
Used Pulse and Glide and Roller Coaster Techniques


When I pulled into the parking lot I thought I had acheived the holy grail of CVT hypermiling my FCD read 80.1. After turning off the car then forcing the FCD to update (double press) she dropped to 79.9

[mod edit, MIMA discussions are no longer maintained on this forum. See:
"MIMA gets booted off IC" sticky post in the Mod & Tech forum]

Thanks
-Jonathan

[LeftWinger]

Nothing really changed on the return trip. Mileage dropped a bit
(75.9) but still very respectable. Averaged more like 50MPH speedwise. But Hey at 2:00pm the turnpike is empty.

Peace out and much love
-Jonathan

[Fred]

Nothing really changed on the return trip. Mileage dropped a bit
(75.9) but still very respectable. Averaged more like 50MPH speedwise.

Well done!

Fred

[Resist]

You didn't say what brand and if you used Prem or Reg fuel. Or if your tank was full or not. OEM air filter or K&N? Only one person in the vehicle during this trip? These are all factors that can effect fuel mileage. But 80 mpg is fantastic! The best I've had in my CVT is 71.2 mpg.

[Dougie]

Excellent!

Have you tried using S mode up hills?

[LeftWinger]

Originally Posted by Dougie

Excellent!

Have you tried using S mode up hills?

Never heard this suggestion before.. Whats the concept behind it?

-Jonathan

[Dougie]

In the MT version, a trick for increasing MPG is to shift into a lower gear (third, or even second) when going up hill. The engine runs faster and the instantaneous mileage goes down a bit, but it keeps you out of assist.

The theory is that you maximize economy by staying out of assist.

[Resist]

I'm confused because it seems to me assist would increase fuel mileage. A lower gear would burn more fuel.

[b1shmu63]

Charging the IMA pack up is only free if you have to use the brakes, otherwise you take an efficiency hit of about 40 percent. Switching to a lower gear does create losses due to pumping and running at a higher RPM, but the loss is not as great. Staying out of assist is one of the key techniques for hypermiling. However if you know that there is a long downhill stretch ahead where you will need the brakes, then it is expedient to burn off a little electric power.

[LeftWinger]

Originally Posted by b1shmu63

Charging the IMA pack up is only free if you have to use the brakes, otherwise you take an efficiency hit of about 40 percent. Switching to a lower gear does create losses due to pumping and running at a higher RPM, but the loss is not as great. Staying out of assist is one of the key techniques for hypermiling. However if you know that there is a long downhill stretch ahead where you will need the brakes, then it is expedient to burn off a little electric power.

I agree that in theory you never want to be in assist OR regen. In practice though, and when using pulse/glide and rollercoater techniques, assist is being used for short bursts (2 seconds tops).

Its throttle priority that really makes it hard to use assist for longer bursts without chewing up fuel from the ICE. My instaneous FE is never above 55 when the assist light is on.

I will give 'S mode hill climbing' a shot. It will be easy for me to do an A-B comparison on my commute. I will monitor my instaneous FE while using 'S' mode and 'D' mode and see what happens.

-Jonathan