Platinum White SEL 302a in Murray,KY

[grggwlkr]

I have had the car for OD 1100. Really enjoy the ride. 100 mile round trip to work from Murray to Paducah, KY.  Life time 40 mpg.  Most of drive is divided highway with 55mph limit over what I would call rolling hill terrain. I have noticed that I typically enter EV going down the grade then switch to ICE when starting back up. This cycle is repeated appox 20 times to or from work. Same route.  It seems that what I gain from EV on the down slope is lost from ICE on the up slope because the car is recharging the battery on the way  up and registering no more than 20 MPG by the insta gauge.  I am typically using ECO cruise driving 56-58 MPH. The car seems too biased to charge the battery back up and does not sense that it is under a climbing load while it is doing so. So,  you folks with more miles under your tires, is it better to avoid the downhill EV? Maybe this isn't the place to ask questions.  Anyway, I have enjoyed reading all the posts.  I use the 2 dollar pipe insulator trick for the 2 grills and increased tire pressure to 44.  Knock on wood, no 12v battery issues or gas cap issues.

 

[Jus-A-CMax]

Welcome to the forum - check out the Fuel Mileage section, there are lots and lots and lots of tips there. 

 

Based on my experience, the eco cruise is best set to 60mph and just leave it there. However, we tend to be lazy and there are at times where it makes sense to turn off the eco cruise (using the bottom left paddle) temporarily and let the EV kick in, for example, battery is 75% and you know there is a slight down grade - kick it into EV by turning off the eco-cruise and then turning it back on immediately using the same paddle (or double tap the "-"). If the car does not feel that it is a downgrade, you'll lose speed quickly and kick in the ICE, otherwise if you read the road correctly, it should cruise EV using the batteries until it drains down to about 30% and then ICE will kick in to recharge).

 

Downhill EV - this is where its most optimal to use the EV. For starters, don't ever use 100% of the EV in the EMPOWER mode - I mean don't kick the EV power to the maximum double bar. You want to maintain a speed say 60mph, just kick in enough EV juice to keep the car going at the speed, typically this might be 1/2, or 1/4 or even less when in the downhill. How much run time in EV?

 

It's up to you and your strategy. I typically run my batteries as high as possible - charge to the max and let it run down to no less then 1/2 and then its pulse & glide to recharge (with the slow pulse to maximize the recharge). I find that EV below or at 30%, it has no mojo in it - and this was confirmed when I talked to the Ford Engineers at the Irvine Pow-Wow last weekend for 4 hrs.

 

So, if its me, keep the batteries high and monitor your eco-cruise to maximize its effectiveness. 

 

Also, when you get more advance, look at the ICE High MPG thread that I wrote up and so did some others - the secret is the battery, there is no way to explain but lets call this "magic" when going more than 65mph and you just keep enough throttle to get ICE to start registering 42+ instant MPG (going as high as 55MPGs). Its quite fun but becareful, this one is somewhat more dangerous as your eyes are glues to the left gauges and not watching the road or traffic.

Edited February 27, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[grggwlkr]

Thanks for the reply!  I have been coaxing the EV on the down slopes by toggling the cruise paddle.  It just seems it results in a net loss in mpg because invariably to insta gauge reads 20 of less on the up slope while it recharges the battery. If it were not for 10-15 minutes of the 1 hour commute (1 way) being town driving, I do not think I could achieve to 40 mpg lifetime number.  Temps have been 20-40 last few weeks, thus the pipe insulation grill mod. This helped with ICE temp per MY VIEW or at least slowed temp loss in EV mode. Enjoying the heck out of this car though. With all the playing with screens and techniques that hour commute passes by really quickly. 

[grggwlkr]

Update 3/1/2013: On the drive home from work yesterday it was 34 degrees, light snow falling roads were damp eco cruise set at 55mph.  45.3 mpg!!  for a 47 mile drive.  This car is the so awesome.  I can't wait until it warms up!  My last ride, F-150 super crew '07 V-8 maybe got 17-18 mpg in winter, 19-20 in summer. The only creature comfort the F-150 had more of is leg room. I'm 6'7".