92 Integra - Heater Blower stopped NOT resistor!

Honda tends to refer to IMA that way, as "electric supercharging" or something like that. Honda's approach is fundamentally different from Toyota's - Honda is more focused on the aspect of hybridization as a way of making acceleration performance independent of engine size. The engine is sized for hill-climbing capability, and electric is added to give it more snap. In theory, Honda's IMA can be used to make cars with better power/weight ratios for acceleration than is possible with an engine alone. Honda's DualNote concept car

$Honda@$Dualnote%20Conceptx.html) was introduced in 2001, and Honda engineers reported the electric assist gave it off-the-line acceleration equivalent to a 600 hp engine. When we realize the technology is in its infancy, the future is amazing indeed. Mike

Yep. That's how you can have a 50 kW motor, but only a 25 (30?) kW battery driving it. Sometimes, actually quite often, at least part of the electric power to drive the second motor comes from the ICE driving the first motor as a generator. Basically, an electric transmission. Generally I would not expect that to be as efficient as a mechanical clutch.

So the Prius system acts as both a mechanical and electrical transmission.

Honda did report on this. I forget the exact numbers, but it is something like 1/3 due to the hybrid itself (regen, more efficient power management), 1/3 engine downsizing and advanced technology, and 1/3 lightweighting of the vehicle. Something like that.

Same as Prius. See other posts.

Definitely doable. But it all depends what you want out of a vehicle, and what you are willing to pay. Extended operation off the battery requires a bigger, higher energy capacity battery. The cost of the battery (and mass and volume) are pretty much directly proportional to that energy capacity.

And if you want sustained performance, ex: climbing Baker Grade in california towing a trailer, you still need a lot of continuous capability.

I would have purchased a pure electric car, except that it didn't have enough range. If the Electric-Gas hybrid had an electric-only range of

30-40 miles, that would suffice for most around town runs, but the gas would always be available for the cross country jaunts.

Fair enough, I wasn't aware of all these issues. I was considering trading my 91 NSX for an 05 TL..... different generation TL, hopefully they've worked out these issues.

The efficiency is supposed to be about 90%, considerably less than a manual gearbox. OTOH, it allows the engine to operate in more efficient ranges more of the time, so it's an overall gain in city driving. On the freeway it would be hard to beat a manual tranny for efficiency. (I understand ATs with lockup come close.)

There is a narrow speed/power mode where MG1 is stationary and the transmission is strictly mechanical. I think that speed is different in the first generation Prius (before 2004 MY) than with the second generation, because the MG maximum speeds are different now.

Mike

Definitely. This will probably be an area where hybridization appears last - towing packages and trucks of all sorts. The IMA approach is still attractive (in a technical sense) in that it can improve passing ability and the ability to gain speed after a stop, but I think it will be a long time before the economics of that make sense. Turbocharging is better for towing and trucks, and even that still isn't universal yet.

And as to the topic, I've driven manual and AT rental trucks up grades and I despise autos for that sort of thing. They also bite the big one off road, especially on slippery snow/mud roads. Throttle/slippage is much easier to control with a manual.

Mike

Say again? A quick look at the Yahoo Autos tells me that the 2005 Civic Hydrid is available with a 5-speed manual transmission. The same goes for the Insight.

I would be surprised if these were classified as MTs. The stats actually specify % AT and I would bet that any transmission that had the capability to fully automatic would qualify. You have always been able to manually shift an AT if you like.

Probably a good thing too as you would probably wear it out if you started aggressively shifting it. The Problem is that Tiptronic et al. don't really give you the control of an MT in that you can't separate the engine from the drive train to allow rpm matching. Now if they would use the same system used in the F1 cars it might be a different story. But I think even they have a clutch pedal for standing starts.

Ah, but it is a fluidic separation between the two through the torque converter. So, what are you saying would wear out?

Using a pronoun @ the start of a paragraph / sentence, before the subject matter is introduced, indicates low IQ ; nobody will know what the pronoun represents, before the subject matter is introduced.

What are you talking about???

Mike

It's official. You're an idiot.

Inability to comprehend common, informal English indicates low IQ or perhaps unfamiliarity with the language. Either way, you shouldn't be giving us English lessons.

No one else has a problem understanding the phrase, "It's official." But then, no one else thinks that the electric clock is robbing their car of performance.

Not the LED type clock, anyway.

Ooops! I'm sorry! I meant LCD clocks. The LED clocks do suck quite a bit of power.

The piping on the door side of the leather seat is already showing signs of wear, with the surface worn away in 3-4 places over a 2 inch area. I never wear clothing that could cause this.

Anybody else seeing this? I'm planning to run it over to the dealer and complain.

Paul

Yup. My 2001 TL has crappy leather, too.

I doubt that IMA can return over 30% in fuel consumption. I recall, on Edmund's Hybrid Forum, one of the Insight driver was operating without IMA. He was still getting over 50mpg, without any electrical assist. The IMA might return over 30% in optimum condition, but from normal driving, It's probably more like 15%.

I think Honda's Hybrid system could be improved if the battary capacy was improved and the car was allowed to charge-up overnight (or the IMA can be user programmed to expect overnight charging). In this case the 30% improvement could become a norm.

Honda's system does seem more cost effective when compared to more complicated and expenive system. I'm looking forward to seeing the system on more low priced entry level cars.

Hopefully, Honda will bring back the Insight (which is in it's last year of production), but with a go-fast suspension system and a better IMA mated to the 1.3L.

Pars

But the Accord Hybrid is rather different. As far as I can tell, the electric motor is to keep the engine running smoothly when it's switching in and out of gas saving modes. The power meter shows little activity and the 15 HP electric motor is tiny compared to the 240 HP gas motor.