RX mpg

[royoftherovers]

17 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

Ok the accelerator part is true but my car has very little engine braking in gear (also not a hybrid!).

Was it not/ is it not illegal to "coast" with a manual box ?

[ColinBarber]

22 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

Ok the accelerator part is true but my car has very little engine braking in gear (also not a hybrid!).

That is more appropriate for manual transmissions than autos (and Toyota hybrids that replicate the auto feel) but there is still some.

[ColinBarber]

8 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Was it not/ is it not illegal to "coast" with a manual box ?

No, there is no MUST NOT instruction about coasting in the Highway Code, just guidance not to do it.

[royoftherovers]

5 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

No, there is no MUST NOT instruction about coasting in the Highway Code, just guidance not to do it.

Thanks. That would be good enough for one not to do it. (And I never have by the way)

[m4rkw]

30 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Thanks. That would be good enough for one not to do it. (And I never have by the way)

I do it in manuals all the time when I drive them, just when coming to a stop though. The alternative is to downshift like they teach you to do, but I don't drive manuals often enough to perfectly rev match every time and I'd rather save the clutch.

[Illogan]

My second car was a 1929 Austin 16 with a non-synchro box and 3 gears (AND a reverse)

It's amazing how satisfying it is to match engine and road speed when changing up/down (down particularly)

 

PS - - The car wasn't new when I bought it!!!

 

[Spacewagon52]

On 1/1/2021 at 6:07 PM, ColinBarber said:

You have no engine braking if not in gear and if you need to accelerate to avoid danger you cannot without first putting the vehicle back in gear which is why it is deemed dangerous.

Both of those things are not the case if you just come off the accelerator in a hybrid.

Some may not fully understand what coasting means. Coasting is when the car is travelling and not in gear. 

I am occasionally doing (once a week) this while braking - just to keep the brake pins working!

 

[royoftherovers]

32 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Some may not fully understand what coasting means. Coasting is when the car is travelling and not in gear. 

I am occasionally doing (once a week) this while braking - just to keep the brake pins working!

 

And people like me call it driving without due care and attention. Still each to their own.

However, I fail to see the purpose of buying a copy of THE HIGHWAY CODE AND THEN NOT FOLLOWING ITS REQUIREMENTS OR ADVICES.

[Spacewagon52]

Do you never break the rules John?

Occasionally exceed the speed limit?

I only do it to work the brakes on the hybrid. I make sure it is safe to do so.

[royoftherovers]

17 minutes ago, Spacewagon52 said:

Do you never break the rules John?

Occasionally exceed the speed limit?

I only do it to work the brakes on the hybrid. I make sure it is safe to do so.

Of course, I do Davey ,but not knowingly (I didn`t know I was doing 54mph when leaving a 40mph limit, North of Glenrothes--but I damn well should have done.) First time in over 50 years of driving, still it did not lessen my mental and financial pain. We are all prone to error and the occasional mistake.

However,  my view is that One ignores the Rules and Good Advices, at one`s peril.

Repeated foolishness cannot be forgiven. Testing braking systems can be done whilst the vehicle is in drive.

People either do not know or choose to ingore the fact that AMBER means stop etc !

[m4rkw]

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

People either do not know or choose to ingore the fact that AMBER means stop etc !

I'll start caring about that one when all the bloody cyclists in london stop going through RED lights. I swear it's nearly all of them, whenever I see one that doesn't just sail through a red it always seems like a novel event.

[royoftherovers]

Just now, m4rkw said:

I'll start caring about that one when all the bloody cyclists in london stop going through RED lights. I swear it's nearly all of them, whenever I see one that doesn't just sail through a red it always seems like a novel event.

Not just London Mark--it`s the whole Country. Same with Pedestrians walking on the wrong side of the road and Motorists who do not know how to deal with Horses on the Highway or when to drive on Dipped Headlights.

We could all go on  and on-couldn`t we ?

[Barry14UK]

We have deviated from the original subject and but this has been covered earlier here and in other threads.  |However, as the subject of cyclists has been brought up, I would add a thought.  I would like to see a system introduced that I have seen elsewhere.  Cyclists can and sometimes do cause accidents and I think they should have annual 3rd party insurance.  They should also have a compact but reasonably readable number plate so illegal and bad riding can be recorded and reported.

Motorised scooters are becoming increasingly popular and it is likely that we will encounter more on our roads if they are officially permitted.  I contend that as with cycles, riders should have 3rd party cover and a small number plate, although this would most likely need to be showing at the front beneath the handlebars.  I believe motorized scooters being allowed on the roads and the implications is presently under review. 

[Delphius1]

On 1/1/2021 at 5:45 PM, m4rkw said:

This, I found this quite strange when I first got the car. Anyone who's ever played the classic computer game "Thrust" will understand what it's like driving one of these. When learning to drive a manual car I was taught never to coast with the clutch in because this is supposedly dangerous. Can't really see how an RX coasting in gear is any different but oh well!

You can always use S-mode to limit the car to second gear in 30-zones, then it will behave much more like a normal car and less like playing Thrust. However as mentioned above that will burn a lot more fuel.

When I mentioned coasting, I meant just taking my foot off the accelerator, not going into neutral. I suppose I should have said overrun or engine braking.

In an Rx300 the auto box is the usual slush-matic, with normally a fluid connection between the engine and the wheels via the Torque convertor. There is a lock-up clutch, but that isn't always engaged. In fact if you take your foot off the accelerator and roll for a while, you can just feel the clutch disengage as the car feels as though there is a little less braking through the transmission. 

I assume under a normal engine-braking/overrun scenario, the car rolls with the lock up clutch engaged and the engine being turned by the transmission and the injectors off, then at some point (seems to be around 25mph) the ECU decides to start putting fuel into the injectors to keep the engine idling and disengages the clutch, so the only connection to the transmission is via the fluid in the torque convertor to stop the engine stalling. Just that almost imperceptible nudge as the engine starts to turn itself again and the lock-up clutch disengages.

Going down long hills, rather than keep using the brakes, I knock the transmission into sport and select a lower gear like 3rd and the transmission and engine ECUs detect that the transmission is able to keep the engine turning without fuel, so it locks up the clutch and you get proper engine braking.

In the hybrid, the gearbox is totally different with the MGU harvesting energy once the car is on the overrun and returning it back to the Battery (Regen). I've not driven a hybrid, so I've not felt the dynamics of how the gearbox, engine and MGU operate. 

[Zotto]

Due to eCVT  gearbox way of working, in hybrids when you release the accelerator pedal you have a light regenerative braking, similar to the feeling you can have in car with couple converter automatic gear, with the difference that , accordingly to speed, Thermal engine can be OFF or may keep rotating at idle rpm with fuel consumption at 0 or very low because it does not gives power: when thermal engine is ON it's just because in this way electric engines MG1 and MG2 do not exceed rpm limits.

This working state is NOT coasting, as , even if very light, there is an energy recovering that mainly compensating electric fixed consumptions and HV Battery charge. You can notice this giving a look to power indicator that is just a bit in "charge"  zone.

To have a perfect coasting , energy flux has to be null, and the reading on power indicator has to stay exactly at zero point between "charge" and "ev" zones: if you go lower you are in regenerative braking, if you go upper are in EV driving, maintaining speed or accelerating without  requesting power from thermal engine; if you or the system need more power thermal engine switches on.

So, how can you drive in pure coasting mode? You need to press very slightly the right pedal verifying you ar at zero point of energy flux, this is equivalent in only thermal engine cars to be in N.

Someone could ask "hei, isn't easier to move to N position from D the clutch lever?" The answer is NO, because if you go to Neutral  you loose the energy recovering and discharge HV Battery. So, the main rule with eCVT hybrid cars is to AVOID N all the times you can: at stops keep in D and brake depressed or in P.

 

 

[AnthonyW]

Average MPG showing 34.  If driven light and careful can achieve late 30's, once achieved 42 on a long journey non-motorway. At a faster pace then drops to a little over 30.