On my commute to work, once I exit the freeway I have a stretch of 40mph surface streets in which I 'pulse-and-glide', usually traveling 38-40mph. I generally run in EV only and this stretch greatly increases my average commute mpg #'s. So far I am averaging 61+mpg. On my last tank without the technique I averaged 53.9mpg according to the display. Just my experiences so far...

 

I still can't quite grab the idea of "pulse and glide".
Can someone please kindly explain it in "plain English" to a newbie ?

Thanks in advanced.

 

Did you try the article I linked in post #3 of this thread?

 

Hi,

I am not an expert in pulse and glide but I've been doing some experiments in that area. So let's start with a brief introduction:

• pulse and glide - the driver accelerates to an upper speed, the pulse. Then the driver reduces the accelerator a bit so the ICE no longer provides power, "feathering the pedal." In my testing, I let off the accelerator for 2-3 seconds to stop the engine and put the gear in "N" for the glide BUT coasting in "N" is illegal in many jurisdictions. Once the car reaches the lower speed threshold, the cycle repeats.
• steady speed - using cruise control or manually holding the accelerator the operator holds the car at a constant speed. At speeds below 42 mph, the car will cycle between ICE ON and OFF with the battery providing power to sustain the speed when the ICE is OFF.

In pulse and glide, the engine power is converted to kinetic energy, the motion of the car. In the glide, the kinetic energy bleeds off with the speed while the engine no long burns gas. It works best below 42 mph when the ICE can shutdown.

So here is a chart showing the energy flows of pulse and glide from 25-43 mph and the equivalent steady speed of 34 mph:


The mileage results for these identical distance and same average speed runs were:This data suggests PnG is more efficient but it turns out all "north" bound runs got better MPH than the "south" bound runs. Still, the trend over 10 separate passes was about a 12% advantage for PnG.

Now there are traffic challenges with PnG because it makes the vehicle less predictable. This often limits its use to lightly traveled routes.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

A good pulse and glide article.
http://hybridcars.about.com/od/owner...seandglide.htm

Ken@Japan

 

Thank you all for the info. I do find the article on About.com informed by ken1784 useful.
I finally take my 2007 Prius home this evening, spent an hour trying to figure out some basic equipment around the car so that I can go to work tomorrow morning in one piece.
I surely will try to practice the "pulse and glide" and see how far I can go.