I have to share this with people who would appreciate it. My wife and co-workers think I am crazy hahah.
Fist of all, my commute right now:
This is my first week commuting this distance with IMA. Previously I was on ICE only and getting 55-58 average MPGs while targeting a 58-61MPH top speed.
Freeways are pretty open due to the time of day I am driving. I hit moderate to heavy traffic for the first 10 miles in the morning and that's it. I take the 'hilly' route in the AM to avoid traffic. I take the 'flat' route coming home because I work later in the evenings and the traffic has blown over.
Interestingly, I seem to be getting the same (maybe even better) MPGs on the hilly route due to the frequent downhill coasting. I would expect to increase my daily MPGs in the evening (on the 'flat' route) because I am not climbing all those hills. I am only able to push up my daily overall MPGs 0-2 MPG during my return drive, and I feel like the car is fighting to keep momentum all the way home. I would have thought the difference between routes would be more.
Monday: I targeted an average speed of 60MPG. My tires were inflated to 45PSI cold. I focused primarily on MPGs and didn't regen much on downhill stretches. My BetterBattery lost about 2 bars overall during my commute. Coming home on the 'flat' route I almost felt like my MPGs were worse than the morning. Overall, I got this:
On Tuesday morning, before leaving the house, I aired my tires up to 55PSI and headed off to work. I took the same route, and targeted the same 58-61MPH average speed. I hit heavier traffic during the first 10 miles of my commute, which hurt my overall average. During my return drive, I was able to daft a truck at 60-62MPH most of the way home, but I think my effort to stay behind him burned more gas then the draft benefited me. After all my effort, My MPGs were only up a hair to:
Wednesday I started to slow down. I was getting more comfortable ignoring the traffic zooming around me and not feeling pressed to maintain speed going up hills. There is a zen to driving this car, and I was starting to feel it. I dropped my target speed to 55MPH and started focusing on regen during downhill stretches. It's weird slowing down while going downhill but it made a big difference in the battery usage during the trip. My speeds dropped, my battery was at almost the same charge when I arrived as when I departed, and my MPGs were up!:
This morning I was able to take it to a new level. I am the slowest guy on the freeway, but I am getting in tune with this car. I was targeting 48-51MPH, and using regen to recharge the battery pack whenever I could. I caught myself dropping into the mid 40's MPH on many occasions, but I didn't let it stress me. I hit my new personal best overall, and I did on the 'hilly' route! Here's the money shot:
All this is without MIMA. I will probably drive it for a few more weeks and see how high I can get before installing the MIMA! Maybe that will be my Christmas present to the car hahah
Hit a new personal best morning. I've figured out a (slow) way to climb light to moderate moderate hills without using IMA. Downshifting to 4th and slowing to mid 40 MPHs will usually get me up the hill in the 60-75MPG range without engaging the IMA. This really helps preserve the average MPGs and minimize the regen hit. My Battery was fully charged when I left home and when I arrived at the office. I will test further in the next few days and see if I can refine this technique and get even better results.
You got that right. My best runs are when the SoC/Assist gauges stay full/dark all the time. Especially notable was the 8.3 mile run home from the gas station at 158.8 mpg as calculated from the metric values.
Okay so I'm giving you the benefit of California but I'm still drooling over these results and all of your posts! I want I want I want. It is now officially winter, yes we finally have a dusting of snow and 20 degree weather!? Where is the snow, sorry I digress. I am traveling to work 50 miles one way each day, the same route, the same car. It is truly like a video game but now I am loosing after reading this, I am not sad, only excited that I can get a higher score. So slower helps, got that, cold doesn't help GOT that. Any other hints to just get me over the 60 mpg mark in the winter?
Okay so I'm giving you the benefit of California but I'm still drooling over these results and all of your posts! I want I want I want. It is now officially winter, yes we finally have a dusting of snow and 20 degree weather!? Where is the snow, sorry I digress. I am traveling to work 50 miles one way each day, the same route, the same car. It is truly like a video game but now I am loosing after reading this, I am not sad, only excited that I can get a higher score. So slower helps, got that, cold doesn't help GOT that. Any other hints to just get me over the 60 mpg mark in the winter?
As mentioned by those above, block heaters help. I've also got a warm air mod that draws air from around the catalytic converter. Something else I do and am hesitant to mention it is: I run the tires at 80-90 psi and have done so since July of 2010 without incident or uneven wear. This should in no way, shape, or form be taken as a recommendation but simply a statement of what I do. Just this morning I had the gearbox drained and refilled with some Redline synthetic lube. On the way to the shop (my son works there), I got 86.2 over 8.1 miles and 92.3 on the way home and wasn't really trying as hard as usual.
Block heater helps. Shut off the climate control as much as possible. Do you have a CVT or manual? I have been struggling to keep above 60 MPG with the weather we have been having lately, even with the block heater.
as in plug it in. it costs about $35 from Honda. Mounts in the back side of the engine block. It only takes about 1.5 miles and my engine is up to temp instead of like 8 miles. If you install one make sure you follow the proper fill and purge of the anitfreeze when you fill it back up. Cardboard also helps. I use a lower grill block (2 pieces of foam pipe insulation).
Looks great Jeff! My front panels are still intact but I'd like to do something like this sometime. Did you use existing bolt holes to attach it? What kind of material is that?
I know I'm crazy, but I'm so sick of my 2 mile commute. I can't wait to have a decent commute so I can pull some good numbers. Seeing 40 and 50mpg is just depressing.
My commute is moderately hilly. It feels like I'm always going uphill, both ways! Must be an Insight thing. I go ~16 miles every day, 90% highway, and I keep my speed between 55-65mph. I can't go slower because I'd be impeding the flow of traffic, and I don't want to be an irritant on the road. So even with the best of my efforts, I average about 63mpg on the back and forth.
But I'm not going to complain because I'm getting three times the MPGs of my Lexus, and on regular gas to boot, and the Insight is actually pretty comfortable and fun to drive - even with the tires at a very high PSI level.
This is especially rewarding as there is no post fill up MPG boost in this number like my last 90+ MPG drive. The aero panel and *030 BCM seems to be making a big difference. My throttle position is down by 3-4% at all speeds thanks to the aero panel, and the background charging of the IMA battery is basically gone as compared to my old *A01 BCM. I can feel the MPG increase at all speeds
My only complaint is the CTV (*904) MCM is assist happy. It's almost impossible to downshift and gently climb a hill without the assist coming on. This is hurting my momentum as I am backing off the throttle a bunch trying to stop the IMA from engaging. It makes sense that more assist would be needed in a CVT Insight, but it's not fitting my max MPG driving style.
I'm going to switch back to my *070 MT MCM matched with the *030 BCM and hopefully hit the 100 MPG mark!
That sounds fair, I see no harm in changing the aero and bcm to get better mpg.
I am going to get a mpg tune at a local performance shop. Their jaw dropped when I asked them to lean it up and lower the rev limiter umong other things.
Is it the rain or humidity that affects MPG? Yesterday the roads were wet (nothing being thrown up from the tires though), and there was a fog warning for lots of fog. My MPGs took a hit.
From what I've seen, it's more the wet roads than the humidity. The Insight seems to be very sensitive to road conditions and the mpg drop is pretty noticeable since 10% of 80 mpg is a higher number than 10% of 25 mpg.
Very nice. I don't think those MPGs are possible on my route due to the traffic, elevation changes, and small amount of city driving. Here's this morning. I caught more traffic than I'd like during the first 10 miles. I think with ideal conditions (i.e. no traffic, warm clear day) I can break into triple digits.
I'm on track to get over 900 miles from this tank, but I took a hit yesterday while testing a bad EGR valve, so my MPGs for the tank overall are down to 89.3 over ~720 miles so far :-(