Smiling Jack

PT, Picture says 14.13 gallons. How much did you actually pump? Are we talking world record number of fill-up gallons here?

In support of this possibility, I note that the Energi is 6% heavier, and its A coefficient is 6% larger. At least in the comparison of these two cars, it would seem that the coefficient A is proportional to weight.

Thanks again. That's a lot of info to digest, but I do notice right away that the B term HP is not dominant at any of these speeds.

Thanks. OK, I get it. The coefficient values are from a curve fit. Still, there's physics behind the curve being whatever it is, and the physics has apparently influenced the choice of the form of the fitting equation; so I don't think that some physical interpretation of the coefficient values would be too far-fetched.

Golfer, Thanks very much for posting these last two explanations. That clears up a lot. Thanks especially for the latest Energi RLHP coefficients. Do those really correspond to the latest C-max Hybrid coefficients? Why would the Energi's B coefficient be nearly 25% higher than the Hybrid's? Also: What are the units to be used for V in the RLHP equation?

Many thanks to the Golfer for posting, re-posting and explaining all of this (with charts). Something remains curious to me: The lines show the C-max PHEV (Energi) as having RLHP way greater than the original C-max HEV, essentially equal to the first revision, and noticably less than the second revision. None of these seem to make sense. Was the curve for the Energi never revised? If so, how could it have so much greater RLHP than the Hybrid with the main difference being a few hundred pounds of weight ? The weight penalty should not become more severe in the high speed region dominated by aerodynamics, and the aerodynamics of the two models should be essentially equal. No? Does the Energi curve correspond to the first revision? In that case it's hard to believe that the weight penalty would appear to be nearly nonexistent. Does the Energi curve correspond to the second revision? If so, how could the Energi possibly have lower RLHP than the Hybrid?

Jus: Thanks for that thought, and Adrian: thanks for seconding. If the car had a proper jack, I would try that myself, but I'm so overloaded these days, I don't find the time to take the car anywhere. And I was hoping that the leak would just keep slowing down. SIlly me ! I got the low tire pressure warning the other day and was 20 psi down from the 45 I had filled on the 6th. I'm starting to think that the leak is episodic rather than continuous. That will make it really hard to find - even with a tank.

If this is true, (and I do not necessarily doubt that it is) someone should be charges under a Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

As we say here in Texas, don't feel like the Lone Ranger. I share your delay pattern and trepidation.

That was a good idea. Update: I still have a slow leak in that tire, but it has slowed to about 2 or 3 psi per week (from 5 psi per week in August and through September).

I think that pretty much establishes that it is something in the headlight system (presumably with the new setup) that is dragging the voltage down.

To these good questions, I would add one that is easy to answer: What is the voltage in the present configuration when "ready to drive" with the headlights off?

Blue-toothing Pandora from my Motorola Android phone to the car works well for me. listening to recorded music from a USB connection of I-pod or hard drive brings a lot more functionality, but that way I never hear anything I haven't heard before.

On most of my previous cars, I have normally kept my tires at higher than "door sticker" recommended pressures, and my tread has always lasted longer than rated.

Could be, I suppose. Once again, perhaps someone who actually knows will respond. Otherwise I suppose there are a few ways we could test this out.

Possible, I suppose, but that seems like an incredible (literally) stretch to me. I think that it is more likely that only one set of amplifiers drives the speakers and that when the audio is off, those amplifiers are off and there will be no sound coming out of those speakers. It seems highly unlikely that two separate amplifiers would be driving the same speaker at the same time. It also seems unlikely that the amplifiers would not be turned off with the audio system power, since they would be the principal power draw. Maybe someone who actually knows will respond.

So, if the active noise cancellation uses the audio system's amplifiers and speakers, how on earth could it work when the audio system is turned off? I note now that the only time I ever heard objectionable noise from the car was on my original trip home from the dealer after taking delivery. I may very well have had the audio system turned off completely on that trip home, and I probably never again had it turned off completely while driving - though I often just turn down the volume to zero.

This would imply that the noise cancellation system has it's own separate speakers and amplifier(s). I presumed that it used the audio system's speakers and amplifier(s). Does anyone know which is the case?

True about the extra weight, but - on the other hand - , the Energi has about 30 HP more (as a result of ability to deliver substantially more current to the electric motor); so, in some speed ranges it is definitely quicker.

Can we not turn it off by simply turning the audio system off?

Still losing about 5 psi per week on the average but some weeks less. Have not been able to ID what makes a difference.

Interesting result, so far: 51 failures out of 50 cars reporting. Average of a shade over one failure per car. NOT VERY GOOD !

Outstanding. Just imagine how well you will do once you get the hang of it!

No one seems to know why the 12-volt batteries go dead. They just do. Was not trying to make sense. Was just going for some comic relief. Too many things to worry about at once. Anyone only needs to worry about one thing at a time. If your 12-volt battery is dead, you probably do not need to worry about the auto thieves unless they brought a tow truck as back-up. Or, on the other hand, if the car gets stolen, you did not need to worry about whether it had a dead 12-volt battery.

The C-max is a bit hard to steal. The thieves often need to bring a tow truck in case the 12-v battery is dead. And to make the thieves lives even more difficult, the keylesss entry won't work with a dead 12-volt battery; so they need to pick the mechanical door lock just to open up the car.