Hi. This is my first post here.

I have had an 06 HCH for 3 or four months now and I have been lurking here or a while. I think that most of you are crazy, but that's okay.

I've been wondering about the software that runs the HCH, particularly whether it manages the engine(s) in a 1-size fits all way or whether it adapts to an individual driver/car's situation.

I ask beacuse, due to the joys of Atlanta city living ,my typical driving profile goes against everything that is needed to get good mileage:

• I have a very short commute (2 miles) so the car never really gets warmed up.
• It is very hilly (both home and office are atop hills)
• I usually drive in very heavy stop and go traffic.
• I rarely go more than 1/4 mile at a time without stopping,
• I rarely get above 15-20 MPH.
• I rarely get on the freeway (but when I do, I get Mpgs in the 45-50 range)
• I try to be clever about my accelleration and braking but theres only so much I can do.
• I am somewhat ... um... portly (210 lbs, all muscle.)
• I usually haul around a speedboat on a trailer. (Okay. Just kidding on that last one.)

As a result I have averaged only about 33 mpg over 1,200 miles or so, and my battery charge guage never goes above or below 6 bars out of 10. I have never been able to get it into EV mode, despite reading all the instructive posts. (But despite all this I still love my car.)

It seems to me that it would make sense for the software in my car to be able to adapt to maximize the economy based on this profile. (eg. I would love to see the car bravely use up all the battery going up the hill at night, knowing it could recharge it on the way down the hill in the morning.

Does anybody have any knowledge or speculation on:
1) whether the software is calibrated to be optimized for the most average driving pattern
2) whether the car can recognize and adapt to its own typical driving conditions
3) Whether there will ever be any official Honda or black-market software upgrades or hacks to allow drivers to optimize their engine management software?

Thanks for your "insights".

-Twiggy

 

Based on your post, assuming you could fit in one (I can't, at 6'4" 250#), the Prius would probably be better suited to your situation. That said, you're still getting better mileage than someone in a non-hybrid, and your first two or three tanks are always rather crummy (Mine first was 41, my last two were 50), and it'll also get better as the summer heats up (as long as you don't crank up the a/c).

 

A guy who actually owns a previous model hybrid showed me what Adaptive software is ( on a computer game actually) many months ago. The cars software isn't adaptive as far as I can tell. It is consistent. It does not respond differently to different drivers or driving styles after a period of time or patterned use.

AS for hacks and such- sounds like a good idea to really mess up a car to me. But then again, I don't know anything about "hacking."

 

Twiggy, (Long Post)

Welcome to Green Hybrid. You've posted a good question. Sorry, I haven't a clue. About the EV mode. Try to pick the longest segment w/o a stop, have the battery at least 3/4 charged, accelerate slowly w/o assist, take your foot off of the gas completely, now you should see the Instantaneous MPG gague go up to max (100 mpg), as lightly as possible step on the gas - you should see the green bars of regenerative braking dissapear, and the white bars of assist go up from 1-4. If the instantaneous mpg is still maxed you are in EV Mode. Congratulations ! If not then you may be going uphill or you touched the gas pedal too hard. It takes practice. Keep trying and I'm sure you'll get there. I live near Buffalo, NY and have a 6.5 mi. commute. I know the feeling of low MPG ! I "found" a short trip on my way home from work. It's about 19 miles, and a mix of I-86 and a major route. I get the car all warmed up in the 5 miles before my "test track". I get on the interstate, set the cruise, and log 3 points of miles & mpg on the long way home. I've got between 49 and 80 MPG depending on the temperature, speed, and road (wet or dry). My lifetime MPG has gone up from around 40 to over 47 with the warmer temps. Good luck with your new ride and plan a short trip on your day off to play with your new toy!
Regards,

 

sorry, are you saying that you go the long way (19 miles) versus the short way 65. miles just to bump up your mpg??

 

A few people have done manual controls for the IMA on the Insight, here. I imagine something would be possible like this on the Civic, though I dont' have the technical expertise to do it myself (beleive me, I would if I knew how...) Given the highly hilly terrain I drive on, and the observed behavior of the IMA, I estimate I could see well over 10% improvement from software changes.

The MIMA system I linked to is not really a hack though, as it's non-destructive, and there's not really any risk of frying your battery or anything either as all the stock safety overrides (such as to prevent overheating) are still intact. What the MIMA circuit for the Insight is emulate the stock signals. When off, the system performs as normal.

The same people as on the above website have also talked about doing not only adaptive software, but predictive controls that could look ahead on the road using a laptop based GPS navigation system (and a USB interface to that MIMA mod), and the software could determine just the right amount of charge and assist to use, knowing what sort of inclines etc. will be coming up.

The fact that Honda did not offer even a slight degree of manual control over the software, such as switch specifying short-trips, long trips, or mountain etc. with different software settings for each is somewhat ridiculous, seeing as it would have cost next to nothing to implement what is essentially just a software change.
yes, I am crazy

 

Not really,

In all honesty - I'm sure that it does help my mileage some. But I'm only doing this 2-3 times a month and less now than in Feb. and March. I really am curious about the differences between 45, 50, 55, 60, & 65 mph driving in different temps. My main reason for starting this was my mpg was low due to cold weather and the short commute to work. I wanted to see what the car could do when it was warmed up.

 

Hi Twiggy,

from what I know of modern car design is that all new cars control systems are adaptive in some way. The engine control unit will adapt to the engine, fuel quality, sensors and injectors, to make ignition and injection optimised. The automatic gearbox control will adapt to your driving style, and select gears after a pattern which will depend on how you drive. I would be very surprised if the HCHII does not do this. It seems logical that the charge and assist pattern is adapted in the same way, by the same mechanism.

So in some way the software is adaptive and will adapt to your driving style, but as the others noted, it probably won't adapt to where you live and where you usually drive.

Regards,
Rolf