Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

When I worked for Gatorland Toyota (Gainesville, FL)in customer service, I purchased a pre-owned 2004 Toyota Prius. I've been working for Midlands Honda (Columbia, SC) for a little while now, in July I finally jumped on the waiting list. My car was built on Wednesday (according to the info we have access to), it is expected to arrive toward the end of September or beginning of October.

What do I need to know as a part time Prius Hypermiler when switching to the HCHII? Anyone here made the switch or own both models? I know all the little tweaks and quirks of the HSD drive-train what tips are there for getting quicly acclimated?

When driving the Prius for extended periods I average in the high 50's lowest tank was 40mpg (at the drag strip) and the best whole tank was 72mpg. My best trip in the HCH was also in the 70s but it was a two way highway trip and I average the same for trips as the Prius on the same routes.

My HCH skill level:
I can make the car go into the electric mode fairly easily, I'm still trying to find the equivalint of "no bars" coasting and "deadbanding".

I've long lurked here but now that the Prius specific sites won't be as helpful to me, I figured it time to introduce myself.



Some of my Prius adventures can be found here: www.grlt.com

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

Thank you, someone showed that to me many moons ago and I never was able to find it again.

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

The biggest difference is that you want to minimize your battery usage in the HCH, whereas using the battery is considered a good strategy in the HSD world. The HCH doesn't have the second generator motor that the Prius does, so forced recharging hurts your FE significantly when the batteries are down. Most of us try to keep 5+ bars of SoC all the time to avoid the forced regen.

I have a very hilly commute and my strategy is to glide as much as possible. To glide, at the start of a downhill you take your foot off the gas until your instant FE gauge hits 100mpg and the green regen bars start. Then gradually increase pressure on the gas pedal until the green bars go away, but not so much that the white assist bars come on. When you are in this mode, you are not using any gas, even though the engine is spinning. I can glide for miles on slight downhills at city speeds, but this doesn't work quite as well at highway speeds because of drag.

For the highway, your best bet is to get up to speed and fake shift until you get your FE gauge as high as possible--then keep it there. Read up on the super highway mode on the HCH board of cleanmpg.com for a detailed description from Msantos on how to do this.

Welcome to the HCH!

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

Adapting Basic Hypermiling Techniques to the HCH-II
http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/artic...h-ii-1306.html

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

Thanks for the info guys.
Has anyone disabled the DRLs or switched to HIDs that you are aware of? and how successful were they?

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

I think that the DRLs do double duty when you use high beams disabling them may affect the high beam function....

Rick

High beam HIDS
 

HID conversions for the high beams are not recommended because the reflector design is not optimal for HID bulbs.

The reflector does not have a shroud to cover the front of the bulb which will cause excessive unfocused light and glare to blind oncoming traffic.

Only the low beam reflector should be used with an HID conversion kit.

The DRL circuit runs in parallel of the high beam circuit and can be easily disabled by removing the DRL fuse, but never the less, do not use a HID lamp in the high beam circuit.

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

I just trade an 05 Prius for an 08 Honda Civic hybrid.

Trying to learn more about the Civic. I do all highway (400miles a day)

Good luck with your upgrade.

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

Thank you, As I was delivering a few hybrids the other day I noticed that the DRLs and the hi-beams shared an assembly if not a bulb. I'll stick to modding the low-beams if I get around to that (at this point it looks like sticking in a pair of SilverStars would be much easier).

The factory moved the production date back from 8/20 to 8/21, and on another status screen my manager checks it says the car was built on the 26th, I have no idea at this point.

Thank you.

Re: Trading '04 Prius for '09 HCH II
 

Rick:

There are a pair of separately fused circuit going to the high-beam lamps. Pulling the fuse for the DRLs will not affect the high-bean circuit.