I'm not going to live there!

[C-Maxgo]

My husband and I are sort of looking for a new home. Yesterday we looked at some beautiful condominiums up on a mountain in the burbs. We climbed and climbed

[MtnMarty]

:wub2: It's cMax OCD..

[PWBarrett]

Of course as they say, what goes up, must come down, so you'd make up for a lot of the climb on the return trip.

I'm seeing that the C-Max MPG is all about averages.  For every 58 MPG trip, I seem to have a 23 to balance it out.

[fotomoto]

Of course as they say, what goes up, must come down, so you'd make up for a lot of the climb on the return trip.

I'm seeing that the C-Max MPG is all about averages.  For every 58 MPG trip, I seem to have a 23 to balance it out.

 

This is actually an issue for plug-in owners that live at the top of hills.  If they leave with a full charge, the ICE comes on to burn off excess charge because the downhill regen can't go back into a full battery.

[fotomoto]

 Am I the only mpg nut that would base their decision on mpg?

 

Over they years, we've made more than a couple of move decisions based heavily on commuting distance/fuel costs.

[Jus-A-CMax]

 

This is actually an issue for plug-in owners that live at the top of hills. If they leave with a full charge, the ICE comes on to burn off excess charge because the downhill regen can't go back into a full battery.

Out of curiosity, I have not heard of this before but I presume you are talking about the Energi? I always thought that the excess would be just ignored (wasted/lost) like it does on the regular Cmax especially down long grades...no?

Edited June 10, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[obob]

This is actually an issue for plug-in owners that live at the top of hills.  If they leave with a full charge, the ICE comes on to burn off excess charge because the downhill regen can't go back into a full battery.

How would the ICE burn the charge?  I would have expected there to be some resistor that gets switched into when the battery is full like if you have it on hill assist, or they just have you use the brakes.

 

I have been wondering about this.  There is a trip I take which has a huge climb followed by a huge decent.  It's ashame to charge the battery on the way up when it is going to be way charged on the way down.

Edited June 10, 2013 by obob

[HannahWCU]

My understanding is the ICE does not come on to burn excess energy, it comes on to provide engine braking. Once the battery is full, the electric motor can no longer provide regenerative braking. The ICE comes on (but generally does not burn any fuel) to provide regular engine braking. Hope this helps.

[fotomoto]

Living on the coastal plains, I haven't had to deal with hills and a full battery so I have only read about this phenomena.  I haven't been reading the energi forum so here's a link to one for the plug-in prius:  http://priuschat.com/threads/full-battery-downhill-engine-start-is-a-pain.105663/   It looks like the ICE is spun but no fuel is burned.  So, if one determines how many kW's regen will put back in the battery, you could stop the home charger early, save a few bucks, and let the hill finish filling the battery.  

Edited June 10, 2013 by fotomoto

[obob]

My understanding is the ICE does not come on to burn excess energy, it comes on to provide engine braking. Once the battery is full, the electric motor can no longer provide regenerative braking. The ICE comes on (but generally does not burn any fuel) to provide regular engine braking. Hope this helps.

Thanks.  So it is kind of like shifting to a lower gear on a conventional transmission to slow the car down.

[Jus-A-CMax]

This does not make sense to me...I have had many, many full battery in my 16,000 miles and at full charge, you're all correct, the regen does not happen anymore and the brakes also feel different (maybe its psychological) but to me it feels different. If you hit the accelerator, you can still use EV but the ICE does not come on automatically if you do not want it to - depends on your power needs that you dictate with your right foot.

 

If you need more power, the ICE wil come on but with a lot EV assist. When this happens, this is a different feel to the car at such a high SOC. Its reminiscence to like driving in a manual car on a gear too high, a very low rumble and its takes a while to get use to it (yes, yes before someone posts that CMax has CVT and no gears). I mentioned this to the Ford Enginneers at Irvine and they smiled...thats just the way it is and its fine. At this high level, the batts will drain quicker as more juice comes from the batts so optimally you want to stay all blue EV.

 

For those living in Los Angeles, if you want to try this - go drive to the Box Canyon from the 118 and drop down to Valley Circle. I can do the stretch from that 118 to 101 and get to the 101 with a full battery - its a LOT of fun that canyon road. You'll also be treated to views of the San Fernando and the Simi Valley.

 

Anyway, this is completely OT so apologies to the OP.... ;)

 

A nice view always comes with a higher elevation unless you're dumb enuf to by done that does't have a view, you've just wasted your money, just an appraisers POV... :drool:

Edited June 11, 2013 by Jus-A-CMax

[HannahWCU]

Thanks. So it is kind of like shifting to a lower gear on a conventional transmission to slow the car down.

Yes that is exactly what it is like.

[StoBro2]

Diesel locomotives, which are actually diesel-electric serial hybrids, use regeneration to recharge their batteries on downhill runs. When the batteries are fully charged, the electricity generated by the motors gets shunted to massive resistance grids where the energy is dissipated as heat. As you can imagine, the momentum of a mile long freight train can generate a lot of heat.

[HannahWCU]

Diesel locomotives, which are actually diesel-electric serial hybrids, use regeneration to recharge their batteries on downhill runs. When the batteries are fully charged, the electricity generated by the motors gets shunted to massive resistance grids where the energy is dissipated as heat. As you can imagine, the momentum of a mile long freight train can generate a lot of heat.

Actually Diesel-electric locomotives are not hybrids. They have no batteries capable of moving the locomotive or provide any motive power what so ever. The diesel engine turns an generator that provides electricity to drive the electric motors that drive the wheels. They do have massive resistive electric grids to use waste energy generated by dynamic braking.