How to Improve Winter MPG's

[fbov]

 (BTW, mathematically, its the "harmonic" mean, not the "geometric".) 

Exactly right; very well done! Thanks for the lesson.

[ptjones]

Well blocking off all the grill openings is working great, my average so far is 51.6mpg on 400mi. tank and going up.  Yesterday I improved my  average more than a mpg in fifty miles with OT 50*F or below.  One 18 mile trip I got over 63mpg! :)  :shift:

 

Paul

I forgot to mention the highest WT I saw was 209*F, Perfect! :yahoo:

 

Paul

[ptjones]

Well today my Life Time Average went back up to 47.9mpg, Maybe in a month or so I will make it back up to 48mpg (my record). Also I should get Fuelly back up to 47mpg. :)

Paul

[WNY]

with grill covers (middle and bottom only), typically I see 185-200 around 20-30 deg. outside.

Below 20 deg. it stays at 185-190 or below at times.

I did see 210-225 going up a long hill at around 30-35 degrees outside. 

[ptjones]

with grill covers (middle and bottom only), typically I see 185-200 around 20-30 deg. outside.

Below 20 deg. it stays at 185-190 or below at times.

I did see 210-225 going up a long hill at around 30-35 degrees outside. 

Sounds about right, on those long uphills when it reaches 225*F you can turn the heater or if you need more help turn Defrost on which also turns on fan. It will only take 30 seconds to drop 10-15*F.  What about MPG's? :)

 

Paul

[WNY]

gotcha. thanks. will do. MPG's are all over the place. 30-40 depending. sometimes I let it warm up a bit in the morning, we have been getting down to single digits and it sits outside too. 

[ptjones]

gotcha. thanks. will do. MPG's are all over the place. 30-40 depending. sometimes I let it warm up a bit in the morning, we have been getting down to single digits and it sits outside too. 

I would tape up the top Grill with temps that low. :)

 

Paul

[WNY]

will do when it get cold enough. suppose to be 30-40's for the next week now. 

[ptjones]

will do when it get cold enough. suppose to be 30-40's for the next week now. 

I leave it on until IT gets to 100*F if you have OBDII gauge. Otherwise 70*F OT, it's all about  MPG's. LOL :)

 

Paul

[ptjones]

Well today going to work I got a new record of 51mpg, garage temp 54*F,WT 120*F, SOC 45%, OT 45*F and I didn't have to deal with any traffic. :yahoo:

My current average on this tank(418mi) is 52mpg. :)

 

Paul

Edited January 27, 2016 by ptjones

[ptjones]

Well it's time to winterize your CMAX to improve MPG's(4-6MPG's) and get the heater to work quicker.  GO TO First POST of this thread to get all the details. :)

 

Paul

[djc]

Cabin heat: I was thinking that having a 120v electric cabin heater that runs when the engine block heater is powered early winter mornings would be cost effective (and much more comfortable than getting into a cold car).   Could use a cube tap at the left top of the grill with the existing block heater and added cabin heater cords.  Looks like a good place to bring power through the firewall is the approx 2x3" rectangular hole in the firewall left of and above the steering column (you can see this with hood open by looking behind the red-capped + jump-start terminal).  Any experience, suggestions?

[ptjones]

I would think you could run the heater cord around the door and just have the plug sticking out. Then you could have long extension cord to the house and plug it in when you wanted to heat up the car. :)

 

Paul

[djc]

I had second thoughts about installing a small heater in the cabin to preheat it: since I have a factory block heater, I thought it should warm the coolant and, um, block, so that I could start heating cabin immediately.  BUT I ran the block heater 3 hours yesterday, ambient 22 degrees, and it only raised the coolant temp to about 70 degrees.  This is not enough to either heat the cabin or to prevent the engine from starting upon setting out.  Disappointing.

[ptjones]

I have Block and Oil Pan Heaters and I get +60*F rise in temps in 2 1/2 hrs.  Do you have all the Grills blocked off? It comes down to conservation of heat/energy, don't let heat escape out of ICE compartment. Use all the ideas I have in my First Post including Seat Heaters. :)

 

Paul

[djc]

Paul,

That's a nice temp bump up, though again not enough to prevent ICE startup in cold weather - yes?

I did block the front vents this year (with black foam pipe insulation, plus a few black twist ties).  I also used some self-adhesive foam insulation (about 1/2 x 3/4" profile, as I remember) on the bottom edge of the hood to better seal over the headlights and across the front.  I read that Ford made a change for MY 2014 to that hood seal, but have not seen what they did.

I tried a little 200 watt heater in the passenger footwell today (ambient about 20 degrees).   It could only bump the cabin temp by 12 degrees after 2 hours.  (Heater is controlled by a z-wave switch which in turn is controlled by Amazon Alexa; temp is reported by an Acurite sensor (on the drivers seat) via their internet bridge.  This way I can control the heater and monitor the results from my study.)

I'll try a 500 watt heater tomorrow.  It would be nice to run a single z-wave switch powering both a low watt heater along with the block heater   But that wastes a bunch of heat/energy dissipated out of the slowly warming cabin.  So maybe the way to go is separate switches and a high watt quick heat of the cabin.  That may require different heater placement.

[ptjones]

Paul,

That's a nice temp bump up, though again not enough to prevent ICE startup in cold weather - yes?​  I don't think so, I think it does matter how cold it is and SOC of HVB. Also if you have the heater on it automatically starts the ICE to warm it up. Another possibility is that the HVB needs to be warmed up by charging it.

 

I did block the front vents this year (with black foam pipe insulation, plus a few black twist ties).  I also used some self-adhesive foam insulation (about 1/2 x 3/4" profile, as I remember) on the bottom edge of the hood to better seal over the headlights and across the front.  I read that Ford made a change for MY 2014 to that hood seal, but have not seen what they did. It is all about sealing up the ICE compartment to minimizing heat loss.

I tried a little 200 watt heater in the passenger footwell today (ambient about 20 degrees).   It could only bump the cabin temp by 12 degrees after 2 hours.  (Heater is controlled by a z-wave switch which in turn is controlled by Amazon Alexa; temp is reported by an Acurite sensor (on the drivers seat) via their internet bridge.  This way I can control the heater and monitor the results from my study.)

I'll try a 500 watt heater tomorrow.  It would be nice to run a single z-wave switch powering both a low watt heater along with the block heater   But that wastes a bunch of heat/energy dissipated out of the slowly warming cabin.  So maybe the way to go is separate switches and a high watt quick heat of the cabin.  That may require different heater placement.  

 From an efficiency stand point you need to heat up ICE and Cabin fast, high power say 1300 watts in cabin in 15-20 min.and add oil pan heater to speed up ICE heating . Maybe placing a piece of wood on passenger seat and point heater towards Drivers area might work. :) Placing something on the windshield will keep it from frosting up.

 

Paul

[fbov]

As a reminder, there are minimum HVB operating and charging temperatures.

- somewhere near 0F, it will stop discharging; ICE only until things warm up

- it won't charge until it's above freezing. It's one reason the HVB circulates cabin air. 

 

These are fundamental limitations on Li-ion battery operation, so there's a control system in place to insure operating limits are maintained. 

 

Have fun,

Frank

[ptjones]

I think the coldest temp I've seen is maybe 10*F and the HVB is going to stay warmer than the OT anyways. :) Has anyone had their HVB get below 0%*F?

 

Paul

[ptjones]

With temps from 30-44*F today I was still able to improve my MPG's this tank from 53.8 to 54.1 mpg's driving around town with about 300 miles on the tank.  These mods really do work. :)

 

Paul

[joshg678]

With temps from 30-44*F today I was still able to improve my MPG's this tank from 53.8 to 54.1 mpg's driving around town with about 300 miles on the tank. These mods really do work. :)

 

Paul

I can't wait to use mine. At this rate I won't have my C-Max repaired until thr first week in January.

[ptjones]

I can't wait to use mine. At this rate I won't have my C-Max repaired until thr first week in January.

Make sure they do a good job. :)

 

Paul

[joshg678]

Make sure they do a good job. :)

 

Paul

Apparently they will replace the Hood, bumper, front left quarter panel and plastic trim in wheel well, FL tire, headlight and driver door

[fbov]

... Has anyone had their HVB get below 0%*F?

Do you think I made this up?

[ptjones]

Do you think I made this up?

NO! Just curious to see what happens, like how long does it take for the HVB to  warm up and start acting normal. Does it drive like an ICE car when the HVB is to cold? I don't remember anyone commenting on this problem. :)

 

Well I made my 90 miles round trip up I-85/I-285 and back with temps at 44-45*F yesterday and got 56.2 mpg up and 50.6 mpg coming back.  So my average is up to 54.4 mpg now with 420 miles on this tank.  I got lucky going up I caught a Semi going 65-50 mph and maybe slight tail wind to get 56.2 mpg.  Coming back not as lucky with speeds 75-65 mph and not drafting much getting 50.6 mpg.   But overall I got 3-4 mpg better than I thought I would. :)

 

Paul