jhritz

I have the same problem. It seems to come and go with the window being up. Maybe a careful application of expanding foam?

Ridley: Now my new rule is: "EV is good, or the ^ is good, it doesn't really matter which!" A road warrior friend of mine has a saying, Always Be Charging. This gives it new meaning.

Besides mpg, can you see any other effects of using your GasPods? For example, do you run lower rpm steady state on the flat? Higher EV threshold on the Empower display? I have seen vortex generators on production cars and aftermarket mods with similar things: https://www.google.com/search?q=diffuser+car&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=N84PUqu_Gqe32wXRh4DwDg&ved=0CGEQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=785#bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=88018cbf71c7018f&q=vortex+car+roof&sa=1&safe=off&tbm=isch For what it's worth, the 2014 C-max is going to get a hatch spoiler of some design or other, so there are benefits to improving the airflow over the back. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/08/20130815-ford-1.html

Along with the mileage downgrade, there was an announcement that the 2014 C-max will have aerodynamic upgrades, a change in the oil used and other mods. I wonder how many of these will be available to retrofit existing C-maxes?? I doubt the gear change will be available. I also wonder if having a more efficient drive ratio will mean a less responsive car? http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/08/20130815-ford-1.html The upgrades build on powertrain software updates Ford announced last month for the 2013 C-MAX Hybrid. Changes include: Gearing changes that result in a more efficient transmission drive ratio; New hood seal, front and rear tire deflectors, A-pillar moldings and the addition of rear lift gate deflectors to improve vehicle aerodynamics; and New engine oil with reduced friction. Ford expects the enhancements to the 2014 C-MAX Hybrid will improve customers’ on-road fuel economy, especially at highway speeds. Fuel economy label testing has not yet been done on the 2014 model.

I went into Negative Split a couple of times on my trip into work. At least from what I can tell, they changed the post-EV recharge RPM a little higher. Once it gets closer to the top range of the battery capacity RPM drops and it switches to negative split. One of the other posters mentioned that you can prevent a drop into EV mode to preserve negative split by blipping the throttle to stay above the EV threshold. I too was wondering if Negative Split would be gone with the higher EV speed limit. I generally run at 64-67 with the old update to prevent EV-only mode at highway speeds. With the new update, I may have to pick a higher sweet spot.

Agreed. I got my update last night and the first thing I noticed is that after coming out of EV, it runs at a higher rpm for a time to regain the charge. I drove all the way from my house to the end of the street on EV this morning. The engine came on when I turned onto the main road. My first trip to work was 47.6 at 67mph, no HVAC, ECO cruise on. It went it to EV several times during the journey. It also went into High ICE mode after the recharges. The trip back tonight will be more interesting since Dearborn is at a lower average elevation than Ann Arbor.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this? You have the computer update with the 85mph EV limit. Are you tipping in slightly on every downgrade? Or whenever it tries to go into EV?

That makes sense for the battery contribution to torque, but gas engines are much less sensitive to temperature. Another possibility is the change to summer fuel stock. That's worth 1-2% more power.

I broke 5000 miles just before our trip from Ann Arbor to Toronto. Temperatures have been warmer and the car averaged 42 mpg for the trip. This included driving in stop and go traffic on Toronto freeways. Ever since, I've been getting much better mileage. Looking at the Engage display (separate battery and engine KWs) I noticed that the car uses less power from the engine versus when I first got the car in November. My normal cruising speed is about 65-66 mph with ECO cruise on. At this speed, I don't go into EV-only mode on declines. It just keeps the battery topped up and use EV-assist on the inclines. I seem to get higher mpg going downhill too. On the flat, I'm using right around the first TIC on the engine where it used to be closer to 2 for the same commute to work prior to hitting the magic 5000 miles. So its not clear to me what is breaking in? Is it the battery, the engine or the transmission? To reduce the number of KWs required from the engine with no battery assist, you have to change the torque multiplication in the CVT or the engine has to be providing more torque at a particular rpm. The implication is that the transmission is running at a different ratio now and/or the engine is making more power to maintain a given speed. The thing we're missing is a combined engine rpm and engine torque display.

There's not much detail in the dealer letter on what is accomplished over the 6000 mile break-in. I assume that what is being broken in is the battery. Engines don't take that long to break-in these days.

Jus-A-CMax: I've been trying to find routing tools that take into account changes in grade. When I see that sort of variation (49-56 mpg) between the outbound and return trips, I attribute them to grade or head/tail wind. This is one such tool, but it only reports the change in grade. It doesn't seem to incorporate it in the route planning. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/create/ For the San Fernando to Camarillo path, depending on the route, there is a climb to 1582 feet. The route starts at 1067 feet and drops to 175. There are 4% grades near the top of the climb. Based on your data, you got 38.2 mpg on the return to get your average of 48.5mpg for the whole trip. I think I'm more impressed that you got 38 mpg on that long a climb.

Fits2at: I absolutely agree. I did a road trip from Ann Arbor, MI to near Jackson and back with ECOcruise off and the cruise control set to 55. It happily went in and out of EV-mode with changes in terrain. 45 mpg at 34 degrees.

Fits2at: Are you running without cruise control entirely or without ECO cruise turned on?

ECO cruise still seems like it may not be the right choice in every situation. The MPGomatic folks note that you can induce EV mode by double-tapping the cruise decel. I note that if you are out of ECO cruise, you can go into EV with one decel. I am back to thinking that ECO cruise may prevent opportunistic use of EV mode in rolling hills. On relatively flat roads, it's probably a win. All too often, I look down and I have plenty of battery but the car isn't using EV even at 60-62 mph.

Finally had EV+ mode turn on. It makes a remarkable difference in how much torque you can demand without the ICE coming on. I'm going to experiment with turning off the HVAC when EV+ starts. I generally have the HVAC off in the morning, otherwise the ICE comes on to heat the cabin even if there's battery available.