Who's The Boss

[murphy]

Who is the boss, you or your car?

 

Now that it is cold outside I am seeing many posts about driving around without using the heat to get better mileage figures.

 

I did that for a while until it dawned on me that I was letting the car control me. 

I never rode around without using the heat when I had a gas only car or even when I had the 2010 Fusion Hybrid.

 

My longest regular trip is 10.5 miles.

 

My approach now is to precondition the car to 72 degrees.

Drive to my destination in EV Later mode with the heat on.

Drive home in EV Now mode with the heat on.

 

The mileage game is now over for me.  I drive the car in comfort and don't worry about mileage.

 

[ChuckJ]

Good approach Murphy.

 

ChuckJ

[frbill]

At least for now, I am playing the mileage game. I get a real kick out of keeping the Car in EV mode for most (95% or better) of my travels. In my C-Max I regularly went without heat or AC to maximize the MPG. I now precondition my car and keep the heat off. I can L2 charge at both home and work so I am toasty for all but the last couple of miles. I will take things to an extreme to get through my day All EV.  Just my 2 cents.

 

Peace,

Father Bill

[Russael]

Presently, I'm with frbill and playing the EV mileage game.  I haven't driven anywhere near as far as FusionEnergi has (5k miles with only 2 ICE miles?  Craziness!), but I'm racking up the miles and keeping the ICE quiet.  Once the engine starts kicking itself on no matter what the temperature is, I'll start using heat more frequently.

 

I do play the mileage game with my other vehicle too, but I have no qualms about turning the heat on since that's a waste product of the ICE itself.  I do drive without A/C in the summer, even if temps are in the high 90's.  I've grown up with my father who always got cars as CHEAP as possible, meaning, none of them even had A/C.  The house didn't have A/C... couldn't believe his place of business had A/C.  So, that's what I'm used to.  But watching my fuel economy go from 19.5MPG to 16 in my truck, for a 500 mile trip, bugs me. :)

[Eric4539]

I bought my Energi on 6/30 and I had to drive home from San Diego which was a 6 hour drive.  So I wasn't really trying to get the most mileage from the car ever since.  In August and September I was making a 250 mile drive round trip once a week.  No charging at my destination so I was jealous of everyone still on their original tank of gas from their dealers!  I was filling up once a week!

 

Many summer days here are over 100 degrees and currently the temperature range is 50 high/30 low and I use the heated seats and keep the cabin temp at 70 to 72. 

 

My previous car consistently got me 32 mpg and the Energi is at minimum 42 mpg so I'm happy.  When I'm driving in town then I try to get 100% EV.  In comparison to all of you I'm at the bottom of "Our Community" in this forum.  I rank between 1000 - 1700  in my region except for Gas Sipper which usually has me in the lower 100's.  I suck at maximizing mileage out of my Energi, but you know what, like Murphy I'm the boss, not my car.  :)

[larryh]

I certainly use the heater in the car.   I don't think it is even optional when it is around 0.  I do however keep the temperature set low.  I prefer it that way for my short 12 minute commute to and from work.  I keep the house around 60 while I am awake and in the 50's at night.  I am very comfortable at those temperatures. 

Edited December 12, 2013 at 09:55 PM by larryh

[tseibel76]

The car is the boss. I go as long as I can w/o heat to maximize mileage/EV miles (even at -24). Rational? No. Fun? Yes.

[meyersnole]

The car is the boss. I go as long as I can w/o heat to maximize mileage/EV miles (even at -24). Rational? No. Fun? Yes.

 

This is me minus the -24 thing... no way I could tolerate that. Even with the seats on high.

[montelena]

I'm with the majority here. The car is the boss. Luckily, it tends to be in the 40s-60s during the winter here, so it's not TOO hard to not run the heater -- and when I am finally an icicle, I just turn on the seat warmers until I'm toasty again (only to later turn them off). 

 

I have a long commute though, so maximizing EV miles is important to me. 

[wxdude]

I tend to do a mix of EV and EV later modes.  I have a 28 mile commute with one mile to the interstate and one mile from the interstate to work.  On days where I go to work in the afternoon I tend to use EV now for the entire drive to work till the HVB is dead with no heater.  

 

When I have to go to work in the morning I typically use EV now for the 1 mile to the interstate then go into EV later.  I do this because my windows will start to condensation up about 5 minutes into the drive.  I refuse to waste electric on the heater for my commutes...so I will put it in EV later, get the engine warm and then turn on the heat.  I will then use the battery on and off for my drive into work, warm up the cab and clear the windows then go back into EV now.  Wait for the electric heater to kick on then switch it back to EV later.

[Fat Fusion]

I'm the boss of my Fusion, but my Boss is the boss of my Boss.

[Griff]

The car is the boss in spring and fall and cool summer days. I am the boss when it's hot as heck or colder than i prefer.

[mmmhmmmm]

I am the boss and I decide...efficiency over comfort! So I'm minimizing the use of the Cabin Coolant Heater.

[TujuMaster]

I am the boss although I tend to play around with mine, trying to find my optical performance.  I mostly telecommute in my job but when I do commute I use EV Later till I get back home.  I use EV around town.

 

I'll admit, I'm a bit spoiled with the climate system in this car.  I use it, even if it means less range.  Of course, my justification is that I'm still spending less and fueling it less than my old vehicle.  My last combined MPG reading was 49.5, which is way better than my 20 or so MPG in my old car, and that's in some freezing temperature with the heater on.

[mmmhmmmm]

Speaking of the battery draining climate system...I was reading a Ford Focus Electric forum to try and figure out what kind of real world range those folks are experiencing and noticed mention of the same issues with range vs climate. One guy posted that he bought a 200 Watt electric heater for the cabin!

[shaggy314]

I reject the premise. I bought a more expensive car for reasons not related to my comfort. I have jackets, gloves, and a hat. I also have *VERY* effective seat heaters and use those. Things are different when I'm not alone in the car. As others have said, my Integra got the mileage below over the 19 years I've had her, so this is better (see other number).

 

My previous car warmed up very nicely using the waste heat of the engine, so I do miss that, but not so badly in Texas where we have a heat issue most of the year. Once the gas engine has come on, ie. no more battery, I do run the system heat, but not before that... I also get a fairly nice air flow from dropping the rear passenger window <.5 inch and crack the sunroof on rear pop up. I have run the A/c a lot more than I've ever done on the Integra, but I'm getting such good mileage that it doesn't really bother me.

 

I would not sacrifice comfort for 3-4 miles if it came to that, I did get a/c, heat, etc. so there.

 

I think it comes down to what temps YOU are used to living in... no judgment but that's it. I generally don't try to maintain a constant number (72, 76, or whatever) but expand the range and it works for me.

 

 

All that said, the CORRECT answer is:

The 1969 Mustang 302

or

Tony Danza :clapping:

Edited February 12, 2014 at 07:38 PM by shaggy314

[Dune]

I was expecting this to be about Mustangs.

[gerdia]

While i can appreciate those who play the EV game, I for one, didn't buy a $42k car to be uncomfortable. I try to get the best mileage within a certain comfort zone, heat is not blasting all ride long but I'm not freezing, I get enough of that when I get out of the car. FWIW, in getting around 85 mpg combined.  

Edited March 20, 2014 at 12:04 PM by gerdia

[Apogee1]

For us, we learned this lesson with our Leaf. While the heated seats and steering wheel can make a difference, there is no substitute for ambient air temp. The whole point of our Energi is getting the best overall MPG, BUT, not suffering during the cold or heat because of it.  I've learn to maximize the range for the Leaf with the AC/Heater, and the Energi is a no brainer since it engine.  On chilly mornings, we normally leave which ever car is in the garage connected to the 240V charging system, and pre-condition the car temp prior to getting in the car.  Since the either the Leaf or Energi will operate on electric mode supplied by the house, the pre-conditioning of the interior temp isn't an issue for the on-board battery and the pre-conditioning the air temp will last for the duration of the commute to work.  On really cold mornings / days, the heater must be used, and the Energi just does it's engine thing.  But the Leaf is out of the question, since the heater consumes upwards of 25% of the over battery (the AC about 15%), this reduces the EV range to 1/2 of it's normal range, and if traffic is encountered, could pose a problem.  Trust me, wearing a thick winter coat and using a blanket (for your lower body) while driving in the dead of winter isn't really saving anything. 

 

I suggest that while MPG is important don't let it interfere with your comfort especially if it has an engine.  We are getting 80 MPG and have had the Energi for 3 weeks now.  While the Leaf has almost 13K mile on it with ZERO gas, we do have to plan daily trips more with it. There is no substitute for ease of mind on a drive when comfort isn't being sacrificed because of range limits.  Enjoy the full comforts of the Energi, and when it makes sense, get the best possible MPG.  Good Luck.