Xcel wanted to know how well the 06 HCH did in HS-FAS, so here are the results from my first high speed FAS in my 06 HCH today

9 mile trip on I-280 highway, 46 degrees F, dry road, no wind, @ around 47 mph --- 106.0 mpg ---

Because 280 has many small hills, I first accelerated to 45 mph, entered ev-mode over the top of each hill, and glided down each hill in ev-mode up to 50 mph. I stayed in ev-mode uphill again until my speed dropped to 45 mph, and then i got out of ev-mode and held my speed at 45 mph and repeated.

The mileage was great but I had to use assist about 2-3x more than usual to maintain speed in ev-mode. I also pissed off many people driving behind me in the right lane, but they readily passed me. Battery state of charge remained steadily around 66%. I think if I do this too much, I will shorten the lifespan of the battery, but if it doubles my mileage, then its a tradeoff to think about..

How long/many miles is that ima warranty again?

 

Hi Bluecivichybrid:
___Hot ****, it’s in the hunt again Nice job Bluecivichybrid and in 46 degree temps!!!! Now let’s get some screen shots in the HCH share section!

___And since you are in CA., you have a 10 year/150K mile warranty on the pack

___What about a 45 to 55 or 60 mph HS P&G multiple cycle run? ****, I knew this would work!!!

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

That's great! What stretch of 280 were you on, and in what direction? In addition to the ups and downs, there are several sections (like starting at Serramonte heading South) where there's a significant overall loss of elevation that would help you out. On a mostly flat 5-mile section of country road, I was only able to get a 2:1 glide:pulse ratio, although it was at slower speeds (25-45).

I haven't been able to do any good P&G tests because of a lack of truly flat terrain in my area. What I have noticed is that terrain makes a huge difference, and it's not just the overall elevation gain/loss. For example, you will get much better mileage going over a hill with a short (steep) upside and a long (gradual) downside vs. the opposite, even when the elevation at the start and end points are the same. I can't generalize about 280, but I can think of several sections where the topology could produce very good mileage numbers.

I'd be interested to hear what you get on the same section you did your first test on, but going the opposite direction.

At some point I want to go out into the Central Valley (flat!) and do some P&G experiments without hills in the equation.

 

How do you do a FAS in the HCHII? Or were you just using the "valves shut" mode on your glide?

Also, what is this about a 10/150k battery warranty in CA? I'm only aware of an 8/80k battery warranty from Honda.

 

It's the same warranty from Honda (listed in my warranty book that came with the car), except it's 10/150 because the state mandates it. I'm guessing it's the same hardware though, so Honda has built all of them to last at least 10/150.

 

Hi DigitalMan:

___A FAS in the HCH-II is entering into its EV mode with or without assist by using the accelerator pedal alone and not by cycling the ignition key, tranny, clutch, etc … EV/Glide mode it is indeed

___Honda’s warranty covers IMA for 8/80 everywhere. In the 5 clean states, it is a 10/150 for emissions. The pack is included in the longer CA. emissions warranty given it is an integral piece of how the HCH-I and II’s meet CARB’s AT-PZEV spec.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Hi Bluecivichybrid:

___Let me add that you have possibly single-handedly blown out anyone’s FE in any mass produced automobile in those temps and at those speeds anywhere and at any time in the planets history! Think about the earth shattering achievement you accomplished today as it is one for the record books!

___I know of 1 Insight that may have achieved similar but I believe he was traveling at 40 - 45 and in much warmer temps w/ a very strong tail wind to hit 140.x mpg’s. He could only maintain that level of FE in his for a bit beyond just 6 miles as well. There was also the Insight 5-speed behind an Excursion w/ a specially prepared wind block but that was about as illegal as one could have imagined also RJ nailed a 117 mpg, 30 mile segment in much warmer temps and at much lower speeds in his HCH-I using a LS P&G as well as Tbaleno’s CVT based HCH-I in a LS P&G scenario. You achieved similar but at minimum speed limit highway speeds and in temps a valedictorian qual’ed hypermiler would cringe at for a max FE segment or tank. Absolutely incredible!

___I cannot wait to get my hands on a well setup HCH-II even in Chicago’s lousy temps because of what you achieved today. “Hot ****” is a seriously inadequate expletive to say how excited I am for you right now!

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Hi Myles; I only have one thing to (Show-You) " " Thats it:

Terry

 

ok so the ride back home wasn't as nice.

66.0 mpg over 14.5 miles (picture taken the instant before the gauge jumped to 66 mpg).

54 degrees F, dry roads, same technique.

Starting from the 92 & 280 interchange running south down to Alpine Road exit.

This is completely true. The uphills back home were much longer and drawn out, and I had to resort back to using the gas engine a lot. I couldn't get into ev-mode much on the way back, and I had some people honking at me as they passed because of how slow (45 mph) I was driving. Also, the forced regeneration at ~60% (5/8 bars) battery charge really irked me when I was trying to hold my speed at 45 mph - I had to rev higher to maintain speed.

Sorry I don't have a picture of the 106 mpg over 9 miles to post - you just have to take my word for it. Camera was in the trunk, and I couldn't stop to take a picture. Tomorrow morning I can try for it again, but I don't think I can get as great mileage (I'll be leaving 30 minutes earlier and it's forecasted to be even colder tomorrow)

Thank you for clarifying that. Yes, FAS in HCH-II means EV-mode with assist, without assist, or with regen with the engine cylinders sealed, all controlled by the accelerator pedal. Instantaneous mpg is then infinite just as in FAS with HCH-I where you turn the engine off and roll in neutral. However, just by pushing a little bit more on the accelerator, the engine cylinders re-open, gas flows in, and you get the engine working instantaneously with little to no jerk - since the cylinders have been rotating at a matched rpm.

What I found out doing this is that HS-FAS on the way back home is not really worth it - I'd rather just go 55-65 mph driving with the load and get something like 54 mpg. However, I'll happily do it on the way to school early in the morning, when there's less people to **** off, and get mileage around the 100s for the first half of my trip.

 

This is giving hybrids a bad name. Some people will think only little old ladies drive hybrids. Others will never want to buy a hybrid because they think it can't go any faster.