Living in a Cold Place
Created March 24, 2008, at 6:19 pm by ranger1
Hi Everyone!
I am the proud owner of a new, to me, 2007 FEH AWD. The thing is, I live in a city that experiences very cold winter weather. In fact this winter we went 64 days without the temp going above O deg C and minus 20's deg C or more were the norm. How's my car going to do in those conditions? I'm afraid that just 'bundling up' does not cut it at those kind of temps! I'm beginning to wonder if I will get any 'hybrid' benefit at all during our three months plus of winter!
I do know that in this city, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the Prius is very popular with taxi companies. However, having ridden many times in those hybrid cabs I can say the drivers don't have a clue about the 'hypermiling' things you pros seem to know!
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3 years ago
Hi Ranger1
You have your work cut out for you for those three months, but those mild summers should help average some of it out. My winters are where I really increase my averages, but the summers are a real challenge.
Like you, it's no fun freezing to death when you've got a good heater, and it's no fun sweating yourself soaking wet in the heat when you've got a working A/C. Just try some of the tips and throw out those that are not acceptable. No matter how you cut it, short trips and stops will kill your average, even in great weather. Same thing with mixing gas blends, another killer on MPG.
I'm lucky in that I can get away without the AWD and I manage bad gas, short trips and hot weather quite well and never go below hypermiling tank averages. One real help was learning from pros like Wayne Gerdes and having some race car building experiences in my younger days. You learn what works and what doesn't work and move on to the next challenge. When things stop working, you find out what the cause is and fix it if you can.
Good Luck up there!
GaryG
3 years ago
Welcome abroad. I visited your location in 1967 for the Pan Am Games but that was during the summer. First, I recommend you obtain a scanguage II unit. You want version 3.15 and not 3.15*. This tool will provide significant information about your vehicle and including the ability to go into electric mode. In cold weather from a cold start, your radiator temperature (fWt on scangauge) needs to exceed 154 degree F--your engine cylinder temperature (ChT scangauge) needs to exceed 188 then there is the hybrid battery temperature which the scanguage doesn't measure quickly/accurately when cold. In cold weather, your travel distance in electric mode will be shorter than in warmer weather. In cold weather, it is often easier to single tap the brake pad while the vehicle is in "N" than in "D" to get it to go into electric mode. Yes, you can shift on the fly with the automatic. I believe your vehicle is sold with an engine block heater which can be used with a timer (3 hours or so prior to the AM start). Two days ago, it was 6 degree F outside (Northern Wisconsin) and I got my 2005 Hybrid into electric mode within 1.5miles of the start due to having used the engine block heater overnight-the car sat outside all night. Lastly, as the weather warms, your mileage should improve. Enjoy your ride. GaryG is much more experienced at hypermiling than myself. Once it warms up in your location, lets us know how it is going.
3 years ago
Thanks folks! I look forward to trying out some of your hypermiling tips, tho I doubt I will ever get as expert as some of you (GaryG for one!). At first, some of the descriptions left me scratching my head like, "Hmm,, what's FS, oh fake shift, but how do you do it, then latter, oh, that's how!"
Scanguage does seem to be the thing, so I'll have to get one of those. So Billyk, to be clear, there is a vers 3.15 and a 3.15* but don't get the star. Is it easy to tell when you buy one, which one you are getting?
3 years ago
It might be possible to buy directly from scanguage.com and specifically ask for version 3.15. You might get it cheaper in a group buy via (greenhybrid.com?) or E-bay but you might end up with version 3.15*. I have version 3.15* for my 2005 AWD Escape Hybrid and it does read the hybrid battery SoC. However, there are posters on greenhybrid.com who have a 2007 AWD Escape Hybrid and they can not get their scanguage II 3.15* to read hybrid SoC correctly. Good luck with this purchase.
As for hypermiling there is no doubt that GaryG has proven himself to be "king" in this area. Your environment is different than his in many ways and these changes can very well inhibit your ability to post fuel economy "numbers" as his. Enjoy your new vehicle and good luck with it.
3 years ago
Hey Guys
Group buys on http://www.cleanmpg.com/ are at $140 shipped now and I got my second SGII there through the first GB for $150. These are the correct 3.15 that reads SoC after simple programming. You can pay through PayPal and Wayne Gerdes will have them sent to you from the factory. The present thread is http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8591 and you'll need to join the group free to purchase one or more. Great Site with the best hypermiler members on the Planet.
You don't have to worry about getting the old 3.15* processor, but if you did, it can be exchanged. Wayne is working directly with our friend and the inventor of the SGII, Ron Delong. Ron has replaced SGII's that were damaged by the buyer after they arrived. The buy is safe through Wayne for sure.
GaryG
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