So that's about a 200 foot elevation drop which probably helped you a bit. Still, you got 66 MPG on the way back, which is even more impressive given that it was a 200 foot gain!

 

man at 45*mph I would get ticketed! So there is no way the HCH I can compete with the HCH II in terms of the mileage game?

 

Ticketed? I believe 45mpg is the minimum speed limit. They can't ticket you as long as you stay above that. I'm not even sure if they can ticket you for obstructing traffic. Everyone always has an excuse to go faster.

 

Boy, it sure would be nice to get an automatic "FAS" whenever I let my foot off the gas. Wow.

 

Actually the 2006 HCH usually engages regenerative braking when you release the gas pedal, or even if you press on it very lightly depending on the battery's charge level. So often you have to press the gas pedal just enough to cancel the braking, though this often runs the engine so you no longer are engine-idle. But this can be prevented by attempting to minimize assist at all times, which isn't hard, but I much prefer using it.

It's too bad the cylinder deactivation isn't in the regular civic; it's a non-hybrid technology that really could have helped its mileage alot.

 

I tried again today to replicate the kind of mileage I got the first time I tried HS-FAS in the 06 HCH, but wasn't able to. Still got great mileage however.

Conditions: 40 degrees F, wet roads, 50-55 mph, 32 psi tires.

*all pictures taken while the car was in ev-mode. notice 4 bars of assist with rpms pegged at 1500 rpm @ 50 mph.

Beginning:


Middle:


End:


The battery State of Charge remained surprisingly high. I chose a minimum speed of 50 mph instead of 45 mph for practicality's sake and to not have others crash into me from behind going 65 mph.

As you can see, even with 40 degree temps, a slick roadway, 32 psi tires, and 5 mph higher speeds, I still got around 90 mpg.

Imagine what it would be like in 65 degree temps, dry roadway, with tires at 42 psi. I am thoroughly impressed by the HCH-II and its ev-mode capabilities.

 

Hi Bluecivichybrid:

___You are definitely getting the hang of it. Set that HCH-II up and pray for warmer temps. I can see post 100 mpg segments daily if you keep this up. And today’s runs were at much more tolerable speeds! Excellent!!!

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

Dude, I admire what you're doing and thanks for posting it for all to see.

I don't understand why the other owners posting here are not doing something similar.
NASAgineer seemed to be on track but I havn't seen anything concrete lately.
I test drove a HCH II last week and when I got in it the MPG average showed 35 MPG. About 4 or 5 other folks had driven it that day on a 8-10 mile routine test drive circuit for that dealership. I thought to myself, Jeez, that's not too good. I reset it before we began and by the time I got back from my test drive the average was 51 MPG. Now that's more like it! I figured out FAS EV pretty quick and could sustain it quite some time on level and downward sloped roads fairly easily, the first time I ever touched the car. I have driven a Prius in the past and totally understand the concept. I can't wait until the middle of next month when I get my HCH II and start posting some results. Just hope I can compete with you.
Good Job!

 

Me too, and I agree that it's a lot of fun! I use the ev mode all the time, especially on surface streets. I tend to pulse away from a stop light/sign to get up to speed, then use the ev mode to extend my glide all the way to the next light. I try to time my braking to maximize my regen by using just enough brake pressure to keep the regen under 100% so I'm wasting as little kinetic energy as possible. Last night after filling up, I reset my trip and drove the 2 miles to my house and got 65 MPG using this technique on a very flat segment (I'm sure it helped that the car was warmed up). The best I've been able to do on my 28 mile commute is 55 MPG and I think the terrain is the limiting factor, plus the fact that I'm starting out with a cold car (ok, it's 40 degrees, but that's *cold* for San Jose!). If I reset the trip about 2/3 of the way to work, I get around 60 MPG on the final segment. I can't wait to see what kind of mileage I get when the sun comes back next summer!

bluecivichybrid, my record is still only 4 bars of assist in ev mode, what's your secret to the magical 5th bar? Is it easier when going downhill, or does that matter? I'm about ready for something like the Manual IMA mod. I wonder if it would work for the HCH-II? Then we really could do EV from a standstill!

 

This is a good tip. I'll try it when I'm driving when there's not much traffic behind me.

There is no secret for the magical 5th bar. It's just very, very difficult to reach and sustain continuously. Basically it is the borderline between max allowed ev-mode assist and when the ICE is re-activated from its sealed cylinder status.

Try it while you're in ev-mode on a slight downslope. Enter ev-mode by backing off on the accelerator until the rpms jump down, and you feel a slight "jerk" because of the engine sealing the cylinders.

Push just a tiny bit more on the accelerator - you should see 1 bar of assist. Push again, the same increment, and you should see 2 bars. Keep increasing with these tiny increments until you see 4 bars.

Then, push a tiny, tiny bit more, and you should see 5 bars. if you were to move your foot any more forward (even a twitch) after you have 5 bars, the ICE would turn right back on. Since this is so precarious, I usually just settle for 4, as you see in the pictures.

The first time I saw 5 bars, it was only for a split second before my foot twitched a tiny bit forward and the ICE came right back on. Sometimes I'm lucky to hold it for 10 seconds or so, but it's tough.