MacGyver

Torque will show you most (all I think) of what's in engineering mode, and is free for android, not sure about iphone. You will need a bluetooth OBD which plugs in easily under the dash just to the left of the steering wheel, Amazon.com = $9

Wow Gary, awesomely geeky! :drop: There should be a Wayne's World style emoticon; :not worthy:

As I've posted in other threads, I've found by using the instant mpg in Torque, an android app, that the optimum speed is 70-73mph for going up a pretty steep grade, the 2 fwy between the 134 and 210 fwys. 45-65mph=15-18mpg 70-73mph=20-23. Counterintuitive, I know, but I've tested it over and over again.

Heh, sorry Jus. Well, actually I'm quite happy about it. :dance: Cmax rocks!

UPDATE / CORRECTION; Torque DOES try to estimate EV mpg, either I hadn't noticed it, or maybe an update has added that functionality- how accurate it is I couldn't say- as there's nothing to compare it to, the C-max bar graph goes to 60mpg, and Torque goes to 130,140, 200 before maxing out at 255mpg. Which makes me really curious as to what EV mpg is and whether torque is doing its math correctly or just approximating (my guess would be a rough approximation since whatever formula it's using would likely be applied to all hybrids)... though maybe it could look at SOC, current consumption, etc.

You've probably already thought of the following, and you probably know how to do all this, but in the spirit of helpfulness- The car will track trip mileage automatically, so if you really want to see the 75mph mpg, I would reset the average display (by holding down the left "OK" button) only once you're cruising at 75mph. You probably won't get 55-60mpg average over the whole trip (although I have at times) but I'd be surprised if you got less than 45-55mpg. If you're using the instant mpg bar graph display, you'll likely see it bouncing quite a bit, this high mpg is predicated on the engine only having to maintain speed, so any little up or downslope will affect it greatly. Drafting behind a semi or other vehicle is not recommended- you don't need to to achieve this mpg, and it's unsafe when you're close enough for it to have much effect. I suspect the wing shape of the car is what enables it to achieve this effect in defiance of the accepted wisdom of 55mph being a brick wall of air/wind resistance. Bear in mind your speedo might be a bit more or less accurate than mine, so maybe try 72-78mph to find your optimum speed- as you can see just from my screenshot of torque, the GPS speed doesn't agree with the OBD speed, which doesn't agree with my speedo. You can try higher speeds, I'd be interested to see the results, but I tested all the way to 90mph, with no positive results after 75. Which if I were Ford, is exactly how I would engineer it. Good luck and drive safe! I eagerly await the results!

the optimum gearing for mpg is 75mph, which garners easily 40-42mpg on up to 60mpg, depending on slight downslopes, battery charge, wind, car load, etc. You're now putting a lot of qualifiers in here. You're previous post seem to indicate just driving 75mph was the ideal speed for mpg due to gearing. And I stand behind that previous post, it does seem to be the optimum speed/gearing, and I've added those "qualifiers" as you call them, because they are real world conditions, and as such will and do affect mpg, engine load, ev assist level, etc. I added those "qualifiers" in an attempt to be as clear as possible. All I can say is try it for yourself, you should see the same increase in mpg if I'm correct about the cause. I've seen a similar phenomenon in my Grandma's '97 Lincoln Town Car, which can get 25-30mpg on the highway, BECAUSE once you get up to speed, it's not working hard to MAINTAIN that speed. Her car has instant digital mpg, lots more useful than the bar graph the C-max has, and I can see the same impact on second-to-second mpg slight up or downhill slopes give or take away. And of course neither does that mean that the car gets 25-30mpg average, probably more like 15-18mpg average, but it is a heckuva highway car, she can drive form Los Angeles to San Francisco on one tank of gas, the ride is a big soft pillow and quiet. Almost as quiet as my C-max. so usually will set my eco-cruise at 65.5 (as indicated by torque) or as high as 67 or 68, that being a relatively safe speed that will not get me pulled over, and be fast enough to (mostly) keep people behind me happy. The 65-68 speed range in eco-cruise been the consensus of the forum for the best possible hwy mpg. I would agree, but not for the reason you probably think- a ticket is a nasty way to wipe out $500 worth of fuel savings. But in terms of hard math, 75mph should be optimum gearing. Your original post in this thread of getting 59mpg @ 75mph really, really caught my interest as that is the typical legal highway speed here in Texas (rural or interstate) and I thought you might have found some new technique. <shruggs> Setting the eco-cruise at 75 per on level ground with the a/c on nets me about 38mpg. I'm hoping with the oncoming cooler weather (sans a/c) that it will bump that up a few to the low to mid 40s. I would expect that to be a very reasonable expectation and would be surprised if you don't get it! If you don't, check with a clinometer for slight uphills, they can be hard to detect without an instant mpg display. Also, the A/C is probably a factor- we can't really do 75mph during the day when it would be hot enough to need A/C...

I don't have a clue what exactly he's doing or even what he says he's doing. Is it this (bold emphasis mine)? "I DO "blip" the pedal to kick it out of full EV into the negative split mode on a regular basis, but the 40-60mpg is in ICE mode (maybe with some EV assist), torque shows EV instant mpg at Torque's max=255mpg, with the higher mpg coming with high battery, level ground, etc." His qualifier, "maybe with some EV assist" sounds like "high ICE" aka "negative split mode" or as the prius folks call it "blending". What do you think? To clarify (because I realized the sentence I wrote is confusing as heck) the 40-60 displayed is ICE mode with (sometimes) EV assist. If the ICE isn't running, (in other words, EV mode ONLY) torque will display instant mpg as 255 since it's not designed to interface that closely with the hybrid system and figure out battery charge-speed-load+charging level or whatever the algorithm would be to figure EV mpg, so 255mpg is its way of saying, "I dunno, crazy high, ok, I'm just a java program, cut me some slack, willya?" or whatever a java program might say in that situation... The 42-60mpg jumps around a lot, just like the bar graph does on our dashboards, it's really sensitive to even slight up or downhill slopes, and even at 2am here in Los Angeles I can run out of road behind someone slower so it's hard to say at this early point, I've only recently discovered 75mph=42-60mpg... when I took that screenshot it was jumping between 52-59 with some 60mpg peaks, but I would say that 45-50mpg at 75mph is a solid expectation with higher mpg possible with good conditions, level ground, high ICE, etc.

Yeah, I typically keep my speed to a dull roar, so 65-70mph, I'm all too aware (from extensive use of GPS) that speeding doesn't get you there fast enough for it to be worth it, you might save 30 seconds on a 30 minute trip. I DO "blip" the pedal to kick it out of full EV into the negative split mode on a regular basis, but the 40-60mpg is in ICE mode (maybe with some EV assist), torque shows EV instant mpg at Torque's max=255mpg, with the higher mpg coming with high battery, level ground, etc. For the Tujunga grade, optimal speeds are 70-73mph, I've tested it over and over again, thinking maybe I was coloring the results with personal bias, wanting the C-max to be even more incredible, and it has consistently come to the same result. Other % grades may have (and probably do have) different optimum speeds, (but given the number of times my C-max has surprised me, I'm not willing to assume anything until I can actually test it) if you download clinometer and tell me the grade, I'll test that when I can, but the OBD is cheap and easily "installed" so you will probably want to get one for yourself as into it as you are, plus with lots of us testing with them, maybe we can nail down a lot of stuff with the C-max that seems so anomalous. And when I say "install" the OBD, it's as easy as plugging it into the slot just under the dash a little to the left of the steering wheel. Literally anyone who can plug a cord into a wall can do it. My philosophy about exploring the C-max's capabilities are to try things that are counter-intuitive, since so many people have had so much trouble achieving the mpg claimed by Ford, perhaps they SHOULDN'T drive it like a prius or a "normal" hybrid. I fully expect the next software update to include a digital readout of instant mpg- Ford really shot themselves in the foot by not including that, because it's been the most important tool to see what driving styles work! I'm given to understand that it IS available on other Ford cars, so its omission on the C-max is an error. In the meantime, get at least the free torque app (I believe it's for both iphone and android) and the $9 OBD2- it'll be the best $9 you've spent in a while, and torque is customizable, there are maybe 100 or something readouts you can select and move around, bar graph, digital, dial, etc. I would still use torque even if they restore the digital instant mpg display. Another suggestion (that they seemed really excited about and promised to work on) I had was to not "count" mpg when the car is on for a/c or heating but in park, as I spend a lot of time in my car doing paperwork, phone calls, etc., just sitting, which drags my lifetime average down at least 3-4mpg..

Well, when I first got my C-max, it was my first hybrid, so I was driving it as I thought I "should", which meant I was driving slowly, trying to accelerate as slowly as possible, stay in EV mode as much as possible, draft behind semis, etc., but then I was only getting like 30 mpg instant OR average driving 55mph on the freeway, and lots of people were pissed off too, so I sped up and saw that my mpg got better and better the faster I went. In order to get instant DIGITAL (vs imprecise bar graph) I decided to go full geek and get the OBD so I could monitor more precisely what speeds / driving styles / drafting / braking / etc., resulted in the best mpg. My first challenge was to determine what was the optimum speed to go up the looong uphill freeway to tujunga where my sister in law lives, since I hated to see 15-17mpg displayed as I went up this hill for 20-30 minutes, so I was determined to figure out this puzzle. I tested all the way up to 90mph, but past 73mph, mpg drops off. I also tested at 45-55-65, which was lower than 75mph(22mpg) at about 15-17mpg. This started the germ of an idea that maybe the C-max might be more efficient at even higher speeds, it has pleasantly surprised me again and again with the amount of power it has, that it gets better mpg at 65 than 55, despite the long held, mythbuster tested and proven 55mph wind resistance barrier, so I began testing, when I was able to safely in Los Angeles, higher and higher speeds on level road, and lo and behold, the optimum gearing for mpg is 75mph, which garners easily 40-42mpg on up to 60mpg, depending on slight downslopes, battery charge, wind, car load, etc. I've also had the update, so the car will even charge the battery such that it will cruise in EV at 75mph. C-max is AWESOME! I usually would never speed, the ticket and insurance are too expensive, plus, as anyone with a GPS who has tried to drive faster to decrease their ETA has found, it doesn't really work to shorten your travel time to any large degree, certainly not enough to make it worth the risk, so usually will set my eco-cruise at 65.5 (as indicated by torque) or as high as 67 or 68, that being a relatively safe speed that will not get me pulled over, and be fast enough to (mostly) keep people behind me happy. But it's nice to know that I can keep up with traffic no matter what it's doing and not be hurting myself in the process re mpg. I've also got a clinometer app (by Ramil Matira, BrainLaboratories free in play market, you can even set a Ford Escape as the car that tilts, nice) on my phone so I can see if I'm traveling on even a slight 1% downhill or uphill or whatever, the problem is, it doesn't run in the background, and even on my note 2 I can't have both of them running at the same time, so I will have to memorize the grade on the parts of the freeway I use the most, then check mpg on those stretches at speed via the torque app afterwards and puzzle out the timing/location/mpg later. To answer your question, I'm not really "doing" anything to achieve this high mpg, aside from maybe a quick liftoff of the "gas" pedal to engage EV. I will still draft semis, (sanely, from a distance of at least 3-4 car lengths ) but if traffic allows, I will shoot right past them, since they tend to slow down to discourage that sort of thing, and drive too slow anyways, especially now that I am basically getting better mpg without them while getting to drive like a bat outta hell!

Have verified that 75mph is the optimum CVT gear ratio for max MPG; Oh, and the two differing speeds in the top right are OBD speed and GPS speed, I forget which is which

It is pretty great- I've been seeing it for a while now, so I'm not so astounded- I've gotten 59mpg to malibu from torrance, and 54mpg on return trip, and it makes sense that the higher the gearing, the greater the mpg, up to the point of wind resistance overcoming peak efficiency of ICE engine anyways, and I've easily achieved 70+mpg (72mpg best) by resetting average counter while on freeway just to see peak highway efficiency- most efficient is during traffic so that battery comes into play, moving forward under battery power then regenning that power during braking...

While the "high charge" theory is interesting, I don't think it's true, I've asked the engineers about it multiple times, with no positive responses, ranging from "I'm not aware of it" to "probably just ideal conditions" i.e., flat or slight downhill, maybe plus high SOC, maybe plus tailwind, light load/less than half tank=low weight, etc., so I don't pay a lot of attention to SOC- more to a light foot, and accelerating efficiently (briskly but not too fast) up to speed and re-engaging EV- I'll pay more attention in future and report back.

Yeah, Torque itself has the recommendation; make sure you buy from a supplier with a good return policy if you order the cheaper ones... just search OBD on amazon, you'll get lots of hits. Here's a link to the super cheapo one I bought, I've had no problems at all with it; http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0090ZJPMK/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ($9 INCLUDING SHIPPING!!) I guess ELM is the cheapo brand, but I got a good one, as I said, zero problems with it, it pairs easily and stays paired, doesn't interfere with other bluetooth stuff, have had car bluetooth, bluetooth headset and bluetooth keyboard all paired at once and it works fine/smooth. As you can see from screenshot, it shows 0 engine load (ICE) while showing 1910revs (EV motor I guess) so Torque is not quite able to show EV motor load, hopefully that will be added in an update, meanwhile, the "engage" screen shows a bar graph of EV motor load... I've also used torque to determine that 70-73mph is best speed for uphill grade, 20-23mpg vs. 65mpg=17-19mpg.

Have verified that 75mph is the optimum CVT gear ratio for max MPG; This is actually a bit low, I was seeing 59mpg, fluctuating a lot, this is what was on the screen when I took the screenshot. This is from Torque, an android app (free/paid) that reads data from a bluetooth OBD from amazon ($15 including shipping). Originally bought to determine best speeds for certain conditions; there's no instant digital readout accurate to the tenths on the C-max, hopefully something they'll rectify with an update, the engineers were surprised that there wasn't one ( i.e. instant digital readout / actual NUMBERS vs. hard to read / imprecise bar graph) when I spoke with them at the owner/engineer meeting...