[drquine]

I'm impressed that you can get reasonable MPG with cruise control. In my Honda Civic Hybrid cruise control kills my statistics - and the reasons were obvious to me. It cannot see that we're close to the crest of a hill and there is no need to accelerate for the last few feet, it cannot see that we are approaching a stop light, it cannot anticipate the curve ahead or traffic that allows early slowing to conserve fuel. Perhaps the Honda gets worse results than the Prius with cruise control because the smaller electric motor means that any acceleration is primarily due to the ICE.

[jdenenberg]

FastMover said:

Bob, I sent you a PM but no answer. The zip is over 100k, so I can not upload it. I need an email address to send it to you.

RFB

I sent you a PM with Bob's email address.

JeffD

[luvmypriushybrid]

i am also impressed with my highway mileage...i think it has to do with the fact that once the Prius reaches the top of the incline, and proceeds with the decline, the Prius will shut off it's engine sending that momentum to the battery.
once the road evens out, the Prius then continues on it's way.
now...that may not sound like such a big deal, but start to think of all the inclines and declines you will encounter on your highway drive..it starts to add up.

on your Civic, when you take your foot off the accelerator, does the engine stop fuel flow into it like the new Insight does?
on the new Insight, when you release your foot off the accelerator at any speeds (like when you are coming off a highway ramp, or you see a red light ahead) or quite often at low speeds, it does slip into it's own "EV" mode by closing all the valves to prevent pumping losses and cutting fuel flow through the injectors.
Motive power in this mode is supplied by the electric motor acting on the crankshaft, which is still rotating and therefore adding the engine's friction losses to the motor's burden.
that is from Car and Driver March 2009 issue.

i heard that if the Civic hybrid doesn't have enough battery power when it comes to a complete stop, the air conditioning will shut off unless you choose to run the engine...is that true?

[drquine]

I don't know if the gas flow completely stops when I remove my foot from the accelerator but certainly the MPG gauge pegs at 120 MPG immediately. At speeds below about 10 mph, the engine shuts off completely and I can glide up to a stop light or down a hill in traffic. The wheels are driving the driveshaft and running the generator (electric motor) to recharge the batteries as it coasts. The Civic Hybrid has an "economy" setting in which the AC turns off if the AC blower fan is set to "AUTO" when the engine stops. I don't know believe the AC compressor runs when the engine is stopped if the fan is set to a manual speed (the air just starts to get warmer). Then again - my Civic is a 2005 with a "cool" 87,000 miles.

[luvmypriushybrid]

wow! do you think your hybrid is more reliable than a non-hybrid Civic? the 2005 Civic was the last year for that generation of Civic.
Honda added an electric-motor-driven portion to the A/C compressor. So when you come to a stop, the electric compressor keeps that cabin cool.
a lot of people i see driving hybrids wait until the last minute to stop not taking advantage of the regenerative braking or they don't coast when getting off the highway ramp. those are the same people who bitch about not getting the mileage they expected!! LOL

i had a 2003 non-hybrid Honda Civic LX sedan and was getting around 35 MPG which was great! but in March 2008, some a$$hole was racing and hit me head on..car was totaled. i LOVED that car.
so went a got a 2008 Honda Fit Sport as i was not impressed with the Toyota Prius at the time..i was waiting for the new model to come out in 2010.
i am so glad i waited!
the technology is amazing..and so is the gas mileage,
most important though is that now i drive very economically, stay in the right lane..no more weaving in and out of traffic, don't worry about the people behind me (they can always go around,) so therefore i am driving more safely also.

oh yeah, and i think for the Civic to get the best mileage when on the highway, speeds shouldn't exceed 60MPH

[drquine]

I find I get the best mpg at about 45 mph; my lifetime average driving the 87,000 is just over 50 mpg; the car has an average of 49.4 because of the times that family members without an interest in hypermiling drove it (getting below 40 mpg at times)

[luvmypriushybrid]

YES!! 40-45 MPH is the "sweet zone" for me too. That average of 50 MPG is excellent...how often do you run your air conditioner?
I try not to, but down here in South Florida it only drops below 75 degrees maybe two weeks out of the year. I HATE using the air...what i will usually do is blast the air until it's really cold, and then cycle the air on and off instead of using the auto...that way the air conditioning compressor isn't always running.
yeah it's amazing that when gas gets expensive, people bitch about the price, but yet they refuse to change their driving habits.
i refuse to let anyone drive my car, even if i am in it...i get all antsy if i'm not driving.