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Without any fanfare, the evidence :D (pardon the first pic...my camera hates the dark):

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/Prius_Resized.jpg


And the only shot that really matters:
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/MFD_Resized.jpg


This thing is soooooooo nice! There is nothing more satisfying than rolling up to a light and realizing that the engine is already off, and you didn't have to do anything but ease up on the accelerator. It's going to take some time to get used to it but at least I have determined that SoC management isn't going to be a problem in my normal environment. If anything I need to learn to use the pack a little more, considering that she spent the whole trip within three bars of the top. I was extremely pleased to climb the big hill on my way home on ICE power alone, as I was a little worried that it would try to take me up using the battery. It just cruises on up without any fuss.

I also have to say that the ride is extremely smooth and quiet, quieter even than the Accord was. That might change a bit when I press up the tires in, oh, ten minutes? The suspension is a little softer but so far handling on dry pavement is completely up to par by my standards. It's going to be a great cruiser! I just need to work on the seating position a bit.

And on the special techniques side, I think she likes me already :D . Gliding under 41mph got pretty easy after a few miles, and warp stealth is a lot easier than I expected. They seem to require about the same light touch on the pedal. I don't always hit it on the first or even second try, but give me time. Mileage at just a hair under 50mpg right from the dealer tells me that this car has all kinds of potential.

Time to eat dinner, inflate tires, and RTFM.

Congrats, Brick! Been following this saga.

Time to eat dinner, inflate tires, and RTFM.

Perhaps you meant to say:

Time to eat dinner in the garage, inflate tires while chewing, and RTFM before finishing dessert.

Now where the heck are those animations. Oh there they are...:Banane03: (Green with envy.)

Hi Tim:

___I watched your pics go up in the gallery (see my commentary there ;)) and it looks like you two will be making beautiful music together!

___Don’t worry about the Prius II’s pack like we would a Honda’s. It is much more robust and the SW algorithms can perform some real magic without you having to really do much at all. Try and stay out of it during your pulses and accels to Interstate speed (very easy to accomplish vs. the AH, HCH or Insight’s in case you want to know). It sounds like you already have your glide and warp stealth down pat and I cannot wait to see what you do with her this spring!

___Good Luck and congratulations … Finally :D

___Wayne

Ahhh, more competition. 62.2 MPG on the way home tonight. :cool:

I reallllly want a Prius!:Banane03:

Strange, but my air compressor has either died a painful and oddly-timed death or else it hates the Prius? Had the HV system engaged to keep the 12V alive, plugged her in...**click**. Doesn't work on either outlet yet they both appear to be functioning. Guess I'll have to do it the old fashioned way at a gas station until I figure out what the problem is.

**EDIT**
Tires pressurized. Brought them up to 46/44. I wanted an excuse to go for a little spin, anyway. (That urge will be tough to resist for a little while!)

Brick, try this:
When driving at night, pull up the MFD display options and put the brightness way down. It takes on a barely-illuminated tone that doesn't stand out as much. Sometimes, I prefer it to not shine so brightly, especially really late at night.

Congrats on your new car. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when I first got Priapus.

Thanks for the tip! So far so good after commute #1 and about 50 miles total.

Actually, I have another question for you and the other experienced Prius owners. Do you use the MFD to track tank FE or do you ever reset it daily? I'd like to be able to do both but I'm afraid I have to choose one. Trip FE seems a little more important while I'm learning but I hear tank FE from hand calcs alone can be a little screwy due to the flexible bladder and tight emissions seal.

brick,

I think you treated yourself to your best Christmas present. :)

About a month ago I finally had a chance to drive a Prius like yours. Keep in mind that one drive just does not do a hybrid justice, but my impression:


On the Insight - It's easy to know how I'm doing, but putting an effort to hypermile
On the Prius - Driving was easy, but understanding the principles of the HSD and the generous console data put my mind on overload. Another month could change that.

Brick,

I don't reset the MFD until I fill up. I have a spreadsheet set up (I guess I am lazy to do the simple math with a calculator) to enter starting miles and mpg and ending miles and mpg so that I can get a rough idea of what my commute mpg was.

After 4000 miles, I show 5% higher mpg when using the MFD values when comparted to calculated MPG. I think it is a bladder and temperatue issue.

I have considered the SGII, but it seems a little expensive for something that I can do with my spreadsheet. A rough estimate is okay with me; for now. The only benefit I see is a more accurate commute mpg value. I am already distracted enough.

Does the SG trip value of MPG change "instantaneously"?

Delta flyer suggested another type of data software recorder that you could use to plot data. I called SG and they said that they would have a similar option in early 2007.

Off topic; I wish the prius consumption screen would show mpg vs 1 mile (or some other user adjustable distance); the mpg vs. time is not too useful to me. Maybe this is where the SG would be better as I could see the results as they happen.

Thanks for the tip! So far so good after commute #1 and about 50 miles total.

Actually, I have another question for you and the other experienced Prius owners. Do you use the MFD to track tank FE or do you ever reset it daily? I'd like to be able to do both but I'm afraid I have to choose one. Trip FE seems a little more important while I'm learning but I hear tank FE from hand calcs alone can be a little screwy due to the flexible bladder and tight emissions seal.

It depends. I am using it now for trip data because I am experimenting with things. I have a spreadsheet which takes the trip data and calculates tank data. But that doesn't matter because I use fill data for posting tanks. Not sure if the bladder has changed in the past 3 years but mine is to the point where I let the pump shut off automatically and then I slowly add another 1.5 gallons. This has yielded consistent tank results. Each Prius has it's own MFD error when compared to actual fill data over time. Most report that the MFD is 1-1.5 MPG optimistic.