As a novice Hybrid driver of a 2006 Ford Escape I would be appreciative in input for driving techniques... I've read some about pulse and glide which I don't fully understand yet... (is glide going into neutral or just letting off the gas pedal?) And I know and have read the obvious about gradual starts, coasting to stops, etc.

When to use L gear?

What is double tapping? How to use it?

How to force into EV mode?

What is forcing a shift and when to use it?

I changed all my filters, checked and increased air pressure in tires, so give me your input!

 

Note: I don't have the computer in this vehicle just the MPG gauge and efficiency gauge...

 

Congratulations on your new vehicle. It seems like you found a rare used "car" that might actually hold or even increase its value.

As for your questions, it might be best if you "drive normal" at first and learn how the vehicle reacts and then learn one new "hypermiling" technique at a time. It has been posted here in the past the first 30 days are the most dangerous in a hybrid vehicle because of information "overload". This is especially true if you decide to obtain a scanguage II unit (highly recommended by most posters) for your vehicle.

After you become comfortable with your vehicle's opeation, you may want to try learning this (from cleanmpg.com) by practicing in a large parking lot away from other vehicles:



Anyway... The method is not anything new, I just started using it to show novice pilots how to work full hybrids. The method is called .... drum roll please.... Delayed Glide Entry or DGE for the acronym inclined. It works in all the Toyota and Ford Hybrids and it's nothing really surprising... The neat part is how well it works in the FEH . Here's the method.

For the FEH there are two DGE methods. DGE from Drive or D-DGE, and DGE from Neutral or N-DGE.

D-DGE - This method works from 20 mph to 30 mph. The basic idea is once you hit 30 from D, you come fully off the gas, and wait 3000 ms then shift to Neutral. About 300 ms later the ICE cuts out and you transition into a NICE-off glide. I started using this when I noticed it happen by accident a few times. I hooked up my gauges and started testing how man MPH I loose in a double-tap glide entry, a D-DGE, and a LGE glide entry. Of them all, I found that DGE loss the least amount of speed (almost tied). Now fuel cut should be in effect during the 3000 ms delay so your actually at 9999 MPG from the moment your foot is off the gas. So to recap:

1. Accel up to 30.00 mph in Drive "D".
2. Take your foot all the way off the gas
3. Watch the TACH and count "one-one-thousand... two-one-thousand... three-one-thousand...". By the time you get to "three-one-th..." you should see the TACH hickup.
4. Once you get the hickup on the TACH, slam it into neutral.
5. Glide down to the desired pulse entry speed.
6. Rense and repeat...

N-DGE - This method works from 10 mph to 20 mph. The basic idea is once you hit 20 from D then shift to Neutral. About 300 ms later the ICE cuts out and you transition from a NICE-on to a NICE-off glide. I found this out tooling around the parking lots. I always make liberal use of NICE-on glides during warm-ups on Toyotas, so it was just a habit I had failed to break driving the Mmh . Well a few times, I looked down and notice the engine had cut out while I was in Neutral.... Clever car! So to recap:

1. Accel up to 20.00 mph in Drive "D".
2. Shift into Neutral
3. Watch the TACH and count "one-one-thousand... two-one-thousand... three-one-thousand...". By the time you get to "three-one-th..." you should see the TACH hickup.
4. Once you get the hickup the ICE will cut from Neutral
5. Glide down to the desired pulse entry speed.
6. Rense and repeat...

Good Luck.

 

Hi Derek

A few years ago Wayne Gerdes posted here on GH as a top moderator and top hypermiler and helped me conduct test on my '05 FWD FEH for the Pulse and Glide technique with our FEH. P&G can be used and is used on any vehicle. It's a matter of knowing how to accelerate the most efficient way in terms of RPM in a certain vehicle and gliding (coasting) the most efficient way in that same vehicle. Wayne and I determine that coasting in neutral engine running or in EV was most efficient in the '05 FEH during those test. This is still true in the '05 - '08 FEH models, but not in the '09 model I just purchased. Accelerating at the lowest RPM possible in the '05 - '08 still seems to be the most fuel efficient, but the '09 FEH is still to be determined because of the extra power with the 2.5L engine and the new EV mode programming and changes.

Read my article at: http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=350 and Rich's (Pravas Prime) on questions in the sticky here to learn more about the double tap and "N" coasting. I'm sure both of us can come up with responses to more questions.

GaryG

 

The simplest one I learned was the force(fake) shift. Once I get at or near my crusing speed (for me 80% of the time is 45) The tach is usually near 2k, so I lift my foot just a smidge and watch the tach drop to 12-1500.

Also L is a pretty easy one to learn. Just takes getting used to the 'drag' it creates so you can sence when is the optimal time to shift into L. I use it for slowing to a red light and a few stop signs, mostly rural routes so noone be hind me to **** off

I don't quite get P&G either, maybe it doesn't apply well to my driving situations. But I think the previous posts cover that pretty well.

Welcome & congrats!

Another thing to look for if you have the option is 100% vs E10. Personally I get 12-15% better with 100%, others report they can do just as well on E10 as 100%, I guess I'm not as good as they are

 

Just for clarification, Wayne (xcel) Gerdes was never a moderator here.

I'd recommend reading my FAQ (Link in my signature, as well as a sticky at the top of the forum), Gary's article, as well as the bit about N-DGE. I'd suggest you don't start by trying to impliment them all at once, instead pick a few and try them out; see how they work for you and your roads, then add or try a few more and experiement. None of us got the tools we have now overnight the first week we had our FEH's, so don't pressure yourself either to get fantastic tanks overnight either. Allow yourself time to acclimate to the FEH.

I'd also suggest keeping an eye on your instantaneous consumption when trying out the techniques, as it's one of the more helpful for figuring out what works for you.

Remember, only employ techniques you feel safe employing. No ones life is worth a few extra drops of gasoline.

 

Thanks for the feedback... I read the FAQ's and that was helpful to a point. Pulse and glide seems too cumbersome to use if always slowing down as fast as I did today when switching to neutral.

As far as the techniques for 30mph and 20mph driving... well, I live in Detroit and the only street on I can go that slow on is my own 1 block to the main road...

My wife drives the car mostly so today I took it to a picnic myself for my first long term run in it. Of course after reading up on them on here, I was concerned about mileage since it was 40 miles away all highway driving at 70mph!!

So I started out and reset the MPG gauge for the first time since getting the car... It went from the 31 avg down to 28, 27, 26, 27... This on the way to the picnic. The 5 mi stretch off the highway gave me a chance to try some techniques and I got it coming back up. Like I said, the P&G slowed me down way too fast to use cause there's always traffic.. But I did figure out the Fake Shift? Where if I sped up to over the speed I wanted to travel... then let off the gas a bit, then steadied it at the speed limit... My instant econ. gauge stayed way up.

I used that method on the highway on the way home... Sped up to 73... let off and leveled off at 70... then set my cruise control... and I had it up to 32.5 by the time I got home! Not much compared to some of your stories but it was refreshing to have figured out the engine a bit to capitalize on the good mileage.

 

You are off to a good start Derek.

I've had my FEH for 3.5 years and I'm still learning new tricks.

Welcome!
-John

 

Hi Derek

Congrats on your '06 FEH

You're doing great so far As others have said, pick 1 or 2 techniques to try, then when they become second nature, continue adding more, a little at a time

I got my '05 FEH a little over 3 years ago, & my numbers are still going up

 

Well... after driving the Escape this weekend and practicing those fuel saving techniques, I got back in my 6 cylinder Ford 500 this morning, for my 20 minute highway ride to work, and wondered, will the same gas pedal feathering work on this? So I reset the MPG gauge and lo and behold IT DOES !! If you really ease your pedal useage and massage the speed to where to want to set your cruise, it gives you much better overall mileage. And of course coasting when you see red lights ahead etc. does the trick as well.

So the moral of the story is... no matter what you drive you can increase fuel economy if you choose to.... (drive like an old lady, as my kids would say!)