Do you feel the gauges that come with the HCH2 are all we need for good FE? Would a scangauge help?

 

I just calculate mine by hand. It's the most accurate way.

 

Yes Colby, I do that as well, But I,m thinking more of a tool for learning the best way to improve our FE. C.C , coasting, FAS, EV mod.. What methods do the best? I think a scanguage may help show us the way?

 

Harold, a scangauge is absolutely mandatory for getting higher fuel economy on the HCH.

For instance, my scaugauge is typically displaying the following values:

LOD-engine load
IGN-Ignition retard and advance
cIA-intake air temperature
cWT-Engine coolant temperature

There are many other values Scangauge that can display, but the ones I listed are the ones that help me the most.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

I agree! Think I will order one. Our dollar is looking better, so it should be a good time and Xmas is close. Is the standard cord long enouph Msantos? Thanks, H

 

The best price I have seen it is $149.95 at PriusChat.com - Direct Link: http://priuschat.com/shop/product_in...products_id/74

 

You bet it is.

Cheers;

 

Hmmm... I have one mounted in our Odyssey but never thought I needed one in the HCH II. Maybe I will try it in the Civic for a few tanks.

 

Hi - can you give a couple of specific examples where the SG feedback has led to improved FE? For instance, did to change to some "optimum" LOD value when accelerating from a stop? Has the SG improved your FE 0.2 l/100km, 0.5lb/100km?

I may be in the market for one if it really can net me 5+mpg....

 

Sure.

For me, the most important set of values is the temperature readouts.

While the engine temp tells me when I can expect auto-stop and all the other normal IMA functions to work, the air intake temperature tells me how sustainable this is and how effective my grille blocking needs to be. Too low an intake temp and normal operation may only be available much later (if at all). This in itself is a real eye opener.

When I first start the car in the summer mornings I will read the coolant temp and if it is above 50C (122F) then I cut back on the time needed to operate my block heater by one hour or so. This way, I also save a little electricity by adjusting my timer up or down as needed.

Then while under way, the LOD value tells me about the relative effort that the gas engine is actually making to propel the car I find and LOD of 25% or less to be the most optimal during the summer months as this can easily produce 75-80 MPG at steady urban speeds. A higher LOD is also not all bad either as It may indicate when I've succeed in charging the battery with hidden regen. This hidden regen can can coerced without much difficulty at LOD's of 45-65, and I find it more desirable than a forced regen at 4 bar SoC.

The Ignition Retard/Advance simply tells me if I am getting close to an "engine shift" transition that is often related to power providing, friction providing or just idle/fuel-off operation. Because this value varies over a wide range I am still trying to profile the optimum threshold values.

Another value I check often is the VLT for the 12 battery/system level reading. If the value is above 13V often then that means the the IMA is leaking SoC to the 12V system a little agressively. Of course, if we can somehow keep the frequency of these "leaks" to a minimum then that means that we have more SoC for propelling the vehicle.

I cannot accurately quantify how much of an improvement I've achieved by using the ScanGauge over the 2006 summer, but I can certainly claim that getting the most out of the car with the ScanGauge involves much less guess-work.

Nevertheless, my fuel economy during this summer was measurably better than that of my 2006 summer. In the 2006 summer, I would be lucky if I got to work with a trip better than 4.3 l/100km (54MPG). This summer, I've consistently averaged 3.6l/100km (65MPG).

Cheers;

MSantos