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Posted by notachance on June 1, 2007, 8:41 pm
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I think you're right, but there's another technique that lets
you keep your eyes on the road.
Simply keep your foot off the -- -- brake.
Drive in such a manner as to minimize brake usage, and your
mileage will improve significantly. The conversion of kinetic
energy to electricity is very inefficient (better than nothing),
but the conversion of kinetic energy to heat is a total waste.
That concept allows brisk acceleration when there's nothing in
front of you, but it also means long/gradual slowdowns when
something is. Applying this idea, you tend to look further down
the road, and I think it adds a bit of safety as well as economy.
mark b wrote:
> This spring I made a discovery that increased by gas mileage from 46
> mpg to about 53 mpg. Quite simple. When you accelerate keep your eye
> on the instantaneous mileage bar. Accelerate slowly enough to keep it
> at 99 mpg up to about 18 -20 mph. Hard to do past that speed. Then
> you will be accelerating only on the electric motor. Also when coming
> down an incline at any speed, momentally take your foot off the
> accelerator till the bar goes to 99 mpg. Then reapply gas gradually
> trying to keep it at 99. I think that the gas motor stops when it is
> at 99 mpg.
>
> I have noted that by doing this the battery charge levels remain
> lower, which means to me that they are being used more of the time. I
> am amazed how effective this is. You travel a little slower, but at
> significantly higher gas mileage.
>
> MarkB
>
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