I have been a member of this forum for quite sometime and I have yet to figure out what "driving with load" means. May I request that some one please define what this means.
And as a courtesy when responding to posts, especially to newbies, try to explain the lingo as you go...
Thanks,
Ilene

 

Driving with the load is a way of saying that you try to drive with the same total energy (potential plus kinetic). When you are on top of a big hill you have a lot of potential energy that has yet to be used. The idea of driving with the load basically just means you allow the car to slow down somewhat while going uphill and then let the car speed back up again when you go down hill.

 

In a sentence: Keep your foot steady on the gas, not adjusting throttle just because of a up/down hill section.

This and most of the abbreviations/terms thrown around are in the glossary, too.
https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/glossary.php

 

Thanks for the info on the Glossary, I never even knew it was there! Couple things though.
1. When clicking the L and W, it doesn't come up with Load or With Load.
2. I could only find it using:
Search Glossary:
Seperate keywords with commas
3. Jason must have had help with this page as I find it difficult to believe that a Rice student would misspell separate.
4. Does this really technique really work with a HAH?
I have tried it many times while going over an overpass and down my street.
When I take my foot off the gas pedal, the car seems to brake and it slows down and does not roll. The auto stop is not on, but the car feels very heavy.
When I do this in the Highlander Hybrid, it rolls down the hill and actually gains speed and I can see the mpg monitor going up.
Not the same experience in the HAH.
Thanks,
Ilene

 

Ilene - to add one more thing to the other posts...

You're trying to maintain the minimum accelerator pressure needed to maintain a given speed. The 'Trip Computer' in your Navi system (I do seem to remember you have the Navi) helps with this greatly, so if you're not familiar with it, please do activate it to practice this.

At your end of the world right now, you can maintain 40mph on level road at either 30mpg, or (up to) 70mpg - it's up to how much throttle you apply to do so. That is the 'secret' you've probably been looking for, and based on your post, that you haven't discovered yet.

The other half is as previously stated - when approaching an incline, you don't alter your position on the throttle. This will result in you losing momentum while climbing, but gaining it back when you crest / descend the elevation (think: 'overpass' or 'hill', not 'mountain', although it applies in either scenario).

The technique does work. The other two things that I use in my daily driving are an increased buffer with the car in front of me, and coasting when I see I am going to have to stop (or at least slow down). Every time you (safely) avoid applying the brake is mileage gained, because you're not braking off the energy you created, and generating it *twice* to go somewhere.

Please do try the DWL techniques above when you get a chance. I think you may see a positive result if you do!