You know, these are topics that have been well talked through in the not-so-distant past. Google would be your friend.
But: petrol engine's efficiency (Atkinson Cycle IIRC: less power developed for same displacement as commonplace Otto Cycle engine yet much better use of fuel) and general engineering qualities.
The notorious electrical bits allow some of the others. A Prius doesn't break down easily into "this only does that". Parts are idiosyncratic for more than one reason, often as not.
Day-to-day: engine properly warmed; tyres at right pressure; how it is driven and maintained; type of fuel.
For the sake of the experimental data, I have just been outside to check my 2005 UK Prius: out in the dark dank chill with just my feeble torch for company, as winds moaned and owls hooted...
Bridgestone Turanza. Couldn't make out the associated numbers. But the tyres fit fine. :-)
I hope you lot appreciate that this effort was above and beyond the call of any duty. Where do I apply for my medals?
BTW, why don't they fit Integras in this market? Mine was made in *.jp, so they can't be any harder to find. Conflicting road demands and/or national car type certification conditions?
Reducing the amount of time the engine runs at very low efficiency is the big one. As the topic illustrates, the present Toyota system isn't very aggresive at that but it still shuts the engine down and uses electrics enough of the time to avoid wasting about half the gasoline in low speed use.
With more powerful electrics (and especially if it becomes practical to include battery power that will carry a car at full load over major mountain ranges) the engine can also be downsized. Accelerator response and passing are the rightful domain of electric power, rather than increasing engine power and thus reducing efficiency even more in normal use; that darned Second Law of Thermodynamics again.
We will award you the Parliamentary medal of freedom (all rubber).
The Turanza has better resistance to hydroplaning and longer tread life. Here are the Consumer Reports ratings of it:
Braking - good Cornering - poor Emergency handling - good With ABS - good Hydroplaning - good Snow traction - poor Ice braking - poor Steering feel - good Impact - fair Noise - fair Rolling resistance - poor Tread wear - very good
I recommend just using the brakes - they don't normally use friction above
12 mph or so. The brakes on my 106K mile Prius are nearly at original thickness.
"B" mode is somewhat less efficient than using the brakes, because it reduces regeneration. That doesn't make a huge difference, but just braking is easier, too. "B" mode is useful on long downhills, especially if the drop is more than 2000 ft. When the battery is fully charged the friction brakes start getting wear.
This is going to be my last on this subject. I'm not going to convince you and you're not going to convince me.
You don't point to any hard info on increased efficiency, you just say it is so. I have read where some of the Toyota and Honda hybrid customers are not happy. They are not getting the mileage the sicker says they should. They aren't missing the figure by 4 or 5%, they're missing it by 25 to 30%. They have gotten some lawyer to file a class action suit. No great challenge that and filing a law suit doesn't prove anything, I grant you. But it does show that not everyone is tickled pink with their hybrid.
I own a 2006 Corolla. It has a small IC engine and gets good mileage while delivering reasonable performance, that's why I bought it. An honest 35 to 37 mpg on the highway at 60 mph. Mileage around town is less but still in the mid 20's. The reason why it gets better mileage than my Mercury Grand Marquis is because it's small and light and doesn't have as much engine. Two of the Toyota engines still wouldn't make the V8 that is in my Merc.
The Merc gets around 28 to 29 mpg at 60 mph but only about 15 to 17 mpg around town. The Merc has 2 major things working against it on mileage, weight and air resistance. It's about as stream-lined as a book case and weighs almost as much as 2 Corolla's.
What I'm trying to point out is that I could never get the Mercury to get the same mileage as the Corolla. If I put the engine and drive train from my Corolla into my Mercury, it wouldn't get anywhere near the mileage of the Corolla. But the performance would be a lot worse than either of them furnish now. Adding an electric motor, batteries and the control circuitry of a hybrid to the existing drive train of the Mercury would only further decrease the mileage.
I also will never get the Corolla to be as comfortable as the Mercury. I can drive the Grand Marquis for hours without getting tired but the Corolla has me squirming around in less than an hour.
You mentioned that you decided while you were still in high school that automobiles were inefficient and I agree. But adding more inefficient elements to the mix won't make for greater efficiency.
I could be a smart a-- here and say that some folks believe in Global Warming, that CFC's cause the Ozone hole over the South Pole, the Easter bunny and Santa Claus....but I won't. hehehe
I think I'll go mix some aged ethanol from Tennessee with water and ice now. I've enjoyed the discussion but I'm not going to respond to anything else on the subject.
It is my belief that you are misrepresenting what I said, taken out of context. I will try it this way: I generate a certain amount of energy stored in the batteries, and only use less of that than I would like. Tomes
That's another thing. The minimum speed thing on CC. Why not let it start at 10 MPH or so? I use it a lot when the speed limit is, say,
40MPH. It prevents me from accidentally going faster, which I can so easily do. But I cannot use it for a speed limit of 30, which we have around here on windy rural back roads. I would really like to set it at
33 and just let it go, but alas I cannot. I perceive this as another flaw. (The Jeep is the same way, engages at about 35). Tomes
I was just out there too putting some more air into the Prius' tires (in response to a RayO post that spurred me on), and saw that the Integras were "Made in Japan", stamped right on the tire sidewall. If the car came from Japan (which I believe they all do), they made a conscious choice to fit yours with the Bridgestones instead of the Goodyears. Tomes
Now that is a website I had not found yet. I will go back to that for a read, but now right now (bookmarked). Thanks plenty.
My point is just a little bit off from what you are saying (and thanks for saying it). My angle is that I would like the Prius to use the electric motor moreso than it does now. I believe that I generate enough that it ought to do that. Tomes
OK, I know I have read this, and what I have read has not always been the same thing. In your words, what exactly does 'B' mode do and how? Thanks. Tomes
IIRC, the minimum speed to set cruise control on a Toyota is around 25 MPH, below which, the CC will not set and the memory clears. I can set the CC on our 3 Toyotas at 30 MPH, which I do in areas where the police often sit ;-)
"B" is the position for engine braking. Engine braking assists the brakes in slowing the vehicle. It serves a similar function to downshifting on an automatic transmission. This position is intended for going down long declines, and utilizes the electric motor to slow the vehicle and regenerate electricity. For more information please reference Section 2 of your Owner's Manual.
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