Stephanie,
I totally agree with your goal, as I'm getting my HCH next month and don't have the time to mine thru all the posts. May I recommend that the "Simplified Guide" (SG) always be the last post in this thread. Of course, that will require someone to be a constant moderator. Their responsibility will be to read every post to see if it should be incorporated into the SG and then, copy and paste the SG into the latest post and make (or don't make) changes to it.

For the SG to work, it needs to be a living, breathing post that will only contain feedback from real-world 06 HCH drivers. Ultimately, it will have several techniques that cover every driving scenario (void of any unexplained acronyms), for those who want to maximize their fuel efficiency (FE).

Chris

 

Hi Chris,

this is exactly the goal of the thread. It is a living thread. I am currently the one maintaining the guide. It is easier to simply edit the first post (less cluter and we don't have to have multiple copies of the same text).

Again, I am open to all observations that people make on the 2006 civic. I am following closely threads such as CGameProgrammers experiments with the S speed (I will also be doing some tests tonight). I am a new to hybrids and I am learning a lot.

Thanks,
Stephane.

 

Hi Archslater:

___If you are considering backing a car into a garage, parking space, lot etc. do so when the ICE is warm is a much better alternative then backing it out when it is dead cold to save on fuel. After hearing about Bluecivichybrid’s downward sloping drive and street, he could have the Trip A/B averaging display pegged after a block or two

___Saljenue, these techniques are so simple to use and to not pass them on or consider them because a few seconds worth of thought or action is too much for the average hybrid driver makes no sense. Lowering your FE takes away from what a hybrid stands for in the public eye imho.

___And back on track … I am now waiting to hear about driving in S for initial movement while keeping assist at bay and a shift to D at maybe 15 mph to receive the higher relative gear ratios from 15 on up? Let us see what NASA comes up with in CGame’s thread … CGame drives way to hard to use the data for increased FE but may help those interested in hitting at least 40 mpg’s with their foot into the floor some of the time?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

The difference between backing in with a warm engine or backing out with a cold engine is probably not enough to fill a thimble with gasoline. I think it's trivial pursuit. There are other ways to save gas, such as planning your trips carefully. One less trip to the supermarket will save you more gas than a year of backing into parking spaces. Unfortunately, cutting back on trips isn't as sexy because it doesn't show up anywhere on your fuel efficiency stats.

 

To save on fuel, yes. But that's not what he's talking about... it's alot more difficult and annoying backing into a crowded garage versus driving straight into it, and most of us feel it's not worth the tiny amount of extra fuel saved.

Hybrids stand for "treehuggers" and driving 30 below the speed limit, in the public eye. The public brain is dumb.

 

Hi CGameProgrammer:
___That tiny amount of fuel keeps adding up to kill off an lmpg unfortunately. I park my vehicles outside w/ a swing around - Face Out inside of a FAS although the wife pulls into our 3 car garage because she does not care

___Driving 30 below the speed limit? The public may very well in fact be dumb but not that dumb. 40 mpg’s from a $22,400 HCH-II looks dumb to Joe Q. when he sees the 06 Civic LX/EX at 30/40 per the EPA, much more performance, and a cost of just $17,860 and $19,610 respectively. I can only hope prospective HCH-II owners disregard your HCH-II’s stats when he/she begins his research because yours is the HCH-II I will see discussed over and over again at Edmunds and I will be just one of the GH members here explaining it away with your disregard for the speed limits and your fast acceleration mindset at the expense of FE.

___According to NASA’s tests tonight, S doesn’t work for limiting assist on acceleration below 15 mph

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

I would have thought you'd know better than to compare EPA figures of one car to real-world figures of another. My car's EPA is 50/50 which is 15 mpg better than the 30/40 of the regular Civic. My real-world average is 11 mpg better than the regular Civic. My last tank was 13 mpg better than their average. What's the problem?

 

xcel, about using FAS in the morning: no gain whatsoever in trip mpg. good gains in short term mpg readout (<1.0 mi) for me

This is what I did. I opened the garage door, turned the key to ON (II) without turning on the ICE. shifted to Neutral, released the handbrake. My car rolls backwards down my driveway in N, and then it stops due to the upward slope of the road. I turn the wheel to the left, and my car rolls down the street forward in N. I stop at the first stop sign, total distance 0.1 mi. At this point my mpg reading usually shows 26.0 mpg (first reading). It shows 150.0 mpg now for the first 0.1 mi, because I didn't turn on the engine yet. I turn on the ICE, and keep moving.

I hit the first stoplight, FAS to a stop. Usually I'm at 24 mpg by this point, but my gauge shows 32.0 mpg. Once the light turns green, I turn the ICE back on and move. Then I hit traffic up to the onramp of the highway. I kill the ICE and roll until the traffic starts moving up to speed, and then I turn the ICE back on and enter the highway. I cross the area I usually get 48.0 mpg at. My reading shows 49.0 mpg over a grand total distance of 1.0 miles.

I use ev-mode on the highway at around 55 mph, arrive at school with 56.0 mpg. I return home with 55.0 mpg showing on the gauge.

FAS in the morning...no overall gain in trip mpg for me. It probably would have a more substantial effect if I had 2 or more miles to drive on before hitting the highway, with plenty of stoplights. Usually the ICE would not auto-stop because the temperatures were too cold, and I can see your point in how FAS when the car doesn't want to autostop/ev-mode when it's still cold can save a bunch of gas, especially at stoplights. however, in my case, using FAS while cold over less than a mile didn't impact the trip mileage at all. Yes, I FAS'd perhaps a distance of 0.3 miles, but out of a 34 mile trip, any mpg gain during that time was highly insignificant.

 

A worthy goal. Lets all help her with this.Even as a proud hypermiler I'm gonna side with Steph on this one. While I tend to go the extra mile to squeeze miles out of gallons I understand that not everyone is willing or able to do likewise. You can't ram hypermileing down people's throats. They gotta wanta.


While I FAS with out a second thought many feel it is too dangerous a technique. Others will draft trucks but I feel that drafting is not safe so I don't do it. Wayne how would you feel if someone who lacked a full understanding of the dangers of FAS tried the technique, ran out of power brakes and crashed their car?

 

Hi CGameProgrammer:
___You are not seeing or hear what I hear on at least a weekly basis. Joe Q. will look at your 40 mpg lmpg and look at the EPA’s 30/40 of the non-hybrid Civic costing between $2,800 and $4,500 less and come to the same conclusion as the mindless reporters and their uninformed articles on the tube portray.

___Bluecivichybrid, time to work on that technique for your drive … How far away is that first stop light away from your initial pulse down the street? The non-hybrid Accord is in the 50 mpg range in 30 - 40 degree temps from my homes drive while out onto the highway and up to highway speeds. 32.0 mpg (vs. 24.0 mpg just driving it) after you first FAS in an HCH-II is way, way to low!

___Let me go into detail on my own … I get in, IG-II, coast down the drive and make a left at ~ 8 mph onto the street in front of my home. I am still coasting at ~ 4 mph when I start her up for a pulse to ~ 32 mph and FAS to a stop sign ~ 1/4 of a mile away and up about 15’ up in elevation. I usually roll that sign as no one is up in my sub yet I continue on the FAS around the corner and continue coasting while still in a FAS down the hill and lose maybe 20’ in elevation to a stop sign at the first arterial outside our subdivision. Total distance of ~ ½ mile and my FCD is sitting in the 80 mpg range after FAS #1. I pulse from 0 to ~ 20 mph while making a left and the FAS as I make a right at a light that is always green to a stop sign ~ 1/8 a mile away. FAS #2. From that stop sign, I will pulse up to ~ 40 mph after ~1/3 mile along the Mall’s ring road and FAS for the next 1/3 mile to a stop at a major arterial light that is always red. ~ 1.5 miles in total so far and the FCD is in the 75 mpg range after FAS #3. I sit at that light dead until I receive the green, restart and slowly accelerate making the left turn and come up to highway speed of ~ 60 mph just after the downhill ramp and hold while I have an ~ 50’ climb over the next 1/2 mile. ~ 2.25 miles in total so far while at ~ 45 mpg per the FCD. I then FAS at the crest as I hit a long downhill losing ~ 100’ of elevation over the next ¾ of a mile down to between 40 and 50 mph depending on traffic. FAS #4. If there is none, I will take her down to 40 mph. If there is some, 50 mph is my low speed target while in the far right lane. The FCD will show ~ 65 mpg while I am traveling at between 40 and 50 mph after 3 miles in total so far. I then begin a long slow climb up the back of that slope (~ 100’ elevation and ¾ mile). She is now up to temp, the FCD is sitting at ~ 50 mpg’s, a total of 4 FAS’ have been performed, and all in an Accord rated at just 24/34 per the EPA. When I enter the highway, there is usually very light traffic since it is before 05:00 AM. If there are 18-wheeler’s about, I will pull into a D-FAS at usually 60 - 65 mph just before that long ¾ mile - 100’ drop to hold a much higher speed as I run through the trough at my low speed target(s).

___All of the above depends on traffic of course but the key to this exercise is she is now warmed up (coolant temps have peaked), she is holding a very high FE for a non-hybrid anything let alone an Accord (~ 50 mpg’s), and I am up to highways speeds (60 mph). I hope you can use pieces or parts of this post for your own commute because that 24 mpg after leaving your drive is really low and is quite a bit to overcome as you begin to punch out 80 - 90 mpg’s (you have shown us all that already) while out on the highway.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes