This past week I went through a tank of gas driving my Civic EX like I usually drive my hybrid.

I got 33mpg. It's pretty good but I would have gotten about 47-48mpg driving the hybrid the same way.

So the EX is not as responsive to pulse and glide, etc.

My hybrid was driven as an EX and got 39mpg.

 

So blueskies;

It looks like you are saying the Civic Hybrid gets better mileage than the Non-Hybrid Civic when both driven the same way. "Strange"


How-very-Interesting

Terry

 

Um,

blueskies,

WHERE would you get the IDEA that Pulse and Glide would even WORK on a non-hybrid car ???? You DO REALIZE that the whole premise behind it is that you're using the ELECTRIC motor to keep you gliding at a constant rate of speed right....???? If you could tell me where to locate one on an EX I would greatly appreciate it, so therefore I could take my 06 HCH back and get the EX. Thanks....

 

I don't know if you're being facetious but P&G works on any car.

 

mexikan ... that is a specific P&G for the 06 HCH-II. When I glide in the 05 HCH-I, I don't have the luxury of electric assist to maintain a longer glide. Pulse & Glide has been used on all the Hybrids, and ... can be used in normal cars. I will sum up another thread because I am not sure which one it is at the moment. P&G works because instead of using a constant force at at certain efficiency, you use a more powerful force at a lessened efficiency for a short time (pulse), then maximize a more efficient coast/sustain (glide). The masters at it will turn thier engine off during the glide to further maximize efficiency. In fact, a lot of the more experienced don't use assist during the pulse so they don't have regen 'payback'. Someone please correct me if I am wrong on any of this but this is what I have picked up so far.

 

You are absolutely correct. Many contests of various vehicles (solar powered etc.) have had contestants use this technique. It is also mentioned in some Drivers Ed courses as a technique to use if you are running low on fuel so you can make it to the next gas station. The technique has been around longer than hybrid cars.

What you described Mexiken is the specific application in the HCH II as has been stated above. So, you were wrong and right all at the same time.

 

to Pulse and Glide on a 5 speed say crusing at 50km/h, simply downgear (say from 4th to 3rd) and give yourself a speed burst (from 50km/h to 70km/h lets say) then pop it into neutral and coast until your speed goes back down again to 50km/h. Rev match into 3rd gear and give yourself that speed burst again to 70km/h, then slide into neutral and repeat.

 

I hope to drive my EX more like a hybrid in the coming weeks. The awful coasting aspect of the car has been a mpg problem. That and my foot.

 

P&G in an HCH I will have little or nothing to do with the electric motor. The technique is enhanced when you have a car that will provide a pure electric assist to maintain speed, but it's a valid strategy for any car.

I expect that the HCH I gliding with a 1.3L engine would be more efficient than a 1.8 or 2L engine, not to mention the electric assist when pulsing.

 

LOL, looks like I started quite a firestorm on this thread.

Yes, P&G is just applying acceleration briefly then coasting.