D, ECO or B modes

[genec]

Which mode will get you the best range for:

Highway?
City?

I did a test by going 20 miles in one direction in D mode then returned on the same route in Eco mode.
It was 60 mph the whole time. Funny thing is that I used less bars in the D mode.
What are other people's experiences with driving modes and range?

 

[PV1]

I find ECO is much easier to modulate power output, but the only function the three drive modes have is changing how the car responds to the throttle pedal. D and B have the same power response, but B has much more regenerative braking. ECO extends the pedal travel to make it less sensitive. It also increases regen, but not as much as B.

Having said that, I don't think any specific drive mode will net different results, only how well you can fine tune energy output.

 

[tigger19687]

Holy crap I had fun driving the 'i' home !!

Played with the "gears" to see what I liked. Too bad I was driving at almost 70 when I realized it. Slowed down to keep it around 60.
But today is my 1st day so I too am reviewing old posts and reading this one

:ugeek:

 

[fjpod]

Which mode will get you the best range for:

Highway?
City?

I did a test by going 20 miles in one direction in D mode then returned on the same route in Eco mode.
It was 60 mph the whole time. Funny thing is that I used less bars in the D mode.
What are other people's experiences with driving modes and range?

You would have to make a round trip in each mode to make a determination of which mode might be more advantageous. A one way trip can be very misleading due to changes in elevation.

Some of the more important tips to good mileage, no matter which mode are: avoid Jack-rabbit starts. When cruising, avoid letting the power meter fall into the regen area. Anticipate stops well in advance, get off the accelerator. Don't try to increase or maintain speed going uphill. Better to let her slow down a bit and make up for time on the downside. When coming to something such as a stop light, try to slow very gradually, so that you never really have to come to a stop before the light turns green. Better to get less regen and keep moving. Keep you speed low, below 40mph is best.

A rule of thumb. .. For every bit of regen energy you gain, it takes theree times as much energy to get back up to speed. So don't always thing of regen as a good thing.

The best driving mode is the one that keeps the car moving, while the needle stays at the zero point between regen and consumption. Of course, this is not always possible, but that is what you should strive for.

I find that eco mode helps me to control the power needle best.

A common misconception is that more regen is good. Too much regen indicates you accelerate too much.

Also, regen obtained by lightly riding the brake pedal is just as good as using the mode selector.

 

[misterbleepy]

I like that my iON only has 1 forward drive mode - simple.

 

[Aerowhatt]

I think I'm liking eCO mode the best. It keeps the amp rates down quite a bit unless you really need jack rabbit acceleration to get out of a bind. As others have said it's all about a steady slooowly moving power needle. Smooth steady operation of the accelerator. It's driving style that will give good range far more than changes in modes. Power is power and resistance is resistance. So eCO or B or Drive with the same driving style will yield very, very similar watt hours per mile results in any mode.

I wish eCO was next to Neutral though. I would use neutral more and coast if it were. Even reducing speed (in a driving mode) about as quickly as neutral does naturally I see the power needle in the using power area. In neutral the needle of course zeros. The I is a pretty good coaster too. And I find that shifting back to D it has a nice smooth ramp to start the regen when needing to slow more quickly towards the end of the exit ramps.

I'm doing my best to drive it like I did the 2005 civic it replaces and the 2013 Fit that we have. Both 5 speed stick shifts which I can average between 42 and 44 MPG (EPA says 32mpg) with mixed driving. Albuquerque is laid out such that most of us use the freeway for short hops to different sections of the city. So our driving in my household is about 50/50 freeway and city streets.

I must be doing something right, every time I fully charge the car it shows Lowest 87, highest 106 (so far) on the RR meter! I'm pretty happy with that.

Aerowhatt

 

[Don]

A rule of thumb. .. For every bit of regen energy you gain, it takes theree times as much energy to get back up to speed. So don't always thing of regen as a good thing.

Actually, I think regen returns about 80% of the energy you used getting up to speed - It's nothing like 1/3rd I assure you. If you take your foot off the pedal in B mode going 65 or 70, the regen current can go as high as 140 to 150 amps . . . . it doesn't take that kind of current to get moving

Regen is always better than friction braking - I try to use as little friction braking as possible, yet I also try to keep up with traffic and not lag behind slowing up other peoples progress. We drive in B mode 100% of the time as it's very handy to use regen to scrub off speed when necessary

Don

 

[PV1]

Overall, I observe regen making up around 20% of total energy movement. So, regen effectively extends range by 20% vs. no regen. I think that's where that figure came from.

The problem with trying to zero the power with the pedal in a drive mode is that the zero point changes with speed. So, the zero mark at 30 mph will be regenerating at 35 or motivating at 25 mph.

 

[JoeS]

Percentage energy regenerated is a rather nebulous concept. Are we talking instantaneous, on a per-trip basis, on a per-distance-driven basis, on a per-time driven basis, or...? What variables as being controlled - e.g., altitude, headwinds, etc.? I often get to town showing a negative number for energy consumed after leaving my house (meaning I regenerated more than I consumed, as it is all downhill).

CaniOn provides at least two ways of determining the amount of regeneration.

1. The maximum amount of current going into or out of the battery pack. I've seen maximum current of around 155A coming out of the battery and a maximum current going in of around 110A. This is meaningful in that the i-MiEV is capable of regenerating roughly 2/3 of what it can draw, which, as best I can tell, is more than most EVs. Ask a salesperson for this number and you get a blank look.

2. More importantly, and to the point, the second CaniOn screen entitled "Trip History" shows, on a per-kilometer basis, a graph of Wh/km and shows how much was consumed and how much was regenerated. Perhaps the ordinate of this graph should be labeled "Wh"?

Trying to quantify this any further, especially as it apples to which mode we drive in, is perhaps an unnecessary exercise?

 

[fjpod]

A rule of thumb. .. For every bit of regen energy you gain, it takes theree times as much energy to get back up to speed. So don't always thing of regen as a good thing.

Actually, I think regen returns about 80% of the energy you used getting up to speed - It's nothing like 1/3rd I assure you. If you take your foot off the pedal in B mode going 65 or 70, the regen current can go as high as 140 to 150 amps . . . . it doesn't take that kind of current to get moving

Regen is always better than friction braking - I try to use as little friction braking as possible, yet I also try to keep up with traffic and not lag behind slowing up other peoples progress. We drive in B mode 100% of the time as it's very handy to use regen to scrub off speed when necessary

Don

If your first statement were true...we would almost never have to charge up. The range on our cars would be hundreds of miles with the same battery pack.

If you are cruising at 65 to 70 for some time, and you regen to a stop, you are never going to recapture 80% of the power you used. And...you are going to want to get back up to 65 again, and there goes the charge.

I'm sticking to my rule of thumb. Overall, in average daily driving, if we did not have regen, our maximum range would probably be 42 miles, US EPA.

 

[genec]

Let's do this in the form of a simple poll.

What mode would you use if you want to maximize your miles per kwh?

HIGHWAY
a) D
b) Eco
c) B

CITY
a) D
b) Eco
c) B

MIXED
a) D
b) Eco
c) B

 

[JoeS]

I must be doing something right, every time I fully charge the car it shows Lowest 87, highest 106 (so far) on the RR meter! I'm pretty happy with that.

Wow, that is excellent, and as a brand-new owner you are sooo close to the all-time RR record of 109.
Maximum Range Remaining:
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=329&start=130
When you beat it, be sure to take a photograph and post it on that thread.

 

[BarryP]

Let's do this in the form of a simple poll.

I love the D and B modes. However, since I want regen breaking I leave it in B mode 100% of the time. This minimizes wear and tear of our mechanical shifter and thus provides a longer life. Plus, in B, I can mimic D and ECO. It’s all in the ankle, of which I’m pretty good at. So, in summary, I use B all the time. My wife uses ECO all the time. We get about the same mileage.

 

[JoeS]

Let's do this in the form of a simple poll. What mode would you use if you want to maximize your miles per kwh?

Sorry, not that simple, as I consider "N" as one of the driving 'modes'. I wouldn't be surprised if, for any given trip, at least 20% of the time my car is moving it is actually in "N", and I'm constantly playing with the 'shift' lever when slowing down (I hate picking up my foot to apply the brake - a habit I developed with a joystick controlling the electric motor on my Gen1 Insight), so it never stays in any one mode for long.

In my 30,000 miles-driven assessment,
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=18076#p18076
I described my current driving style:

"I now rarely use ECO mode, use B-N for both city and mountain driving, and D-N for the highways. I will definitely be the first to wear out the i-MiEV shift mechanism, as I still pop the car into N wherever possible. Love the i-MiEV's ability to manually control regen."

 

[Aerowhatt]

I must be doing something right, every time I fully charge the car it shows Lowest 87, highest 106 (so far) on the RR meter! I'm pretty happy with that.

Wow, that is excellent, and as a brand-new owner you are sooo close to the all-time RR record of 109.
Maximum Range Remaining:
http://myimiev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=329&start=130
When you beat it, be sure to take a photograph and post it on that thread.

I will do that for sure. I'm sure I will beat it. I'm only about 500 miles in so far and have been having some fun with the car. Since I added "ELECTRIC" to the Mitsu side of the hatchback, I feel an obligation to leave the crowd behind on acceleration. EV's are few and far between in this neck of the woods. So as many of you do, I feel an educator of sorts for the local masses.

Today I used D and N switching between them as I would in our 5 speed stick shift ICE. I still would like to have ECO right next to N. But since I can't have that (yet) I'm likely going to use D and N as I did today. Done right I wouldn't be surprised to see a 10% or more increase in efficiency around town! The car coasts very well!

For me using regen without brake lights lit up is a safety issue (don't ask). So I adjusted the brake light switch so that nothing is being actuated except the brake lights at the very start of the throw. Super easy to do as well. Now I can pull out of the throttle and move to the brake lighting the warning that I am slowing before I engage brake pedal regen let alone friction brakes. Can even give a couple of flashes to those closing in on my tail while still texting or whatever. Big oversight (I think) that Mitsu did not tie Regen to the brake lights. It's not difficult or expensive at all to do.

Aerowhatt

 

[JoeS]

...For me using regen without brake lights lit up is a safety issue (don't ask). So I adjusted the brake light switch ...

This topic has been discussed ever since regen has been implemented as a retardation force. No question that an accelerometer-actuated brake light could be easily implemented.There are many regulations which constrain the lighting of brake lights - if you've ever followed someone riding the brakes, you can appreciate what a horrible distraction it would become if brake lights were activated on even the slightest slowdown. From the gm-volt forum, here is an excerpt from an old post:

"The regulatation for Stop Lamp Illumination has been cited before (http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?14515-Safer-brake-lights&p=158858#post158858). Here is the table provided by Section 5.2.22.4 of United Nations Addendum 12-H: Regulation No. 13-H Revision 2, "Uniform provisions concerning the approval of passenger cars with regard to braking," (http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/R13hr2e.pdf, page 22):

Electric regenerative braking systems as defined in paragraph 2.17., which produce a retarding force upon release of the accelerator control, shall generate the signal mentioned above according to the following provisions:

<= 0.7 m/s/s The signal shall not be generated
> 0.7 m/s/s and <= 1.3 m/s/s The signal may be generated
> 1.3 m/s/s The signal shall be generated

In all cases the signal shall be de-activated at the latest when the deceleration has fallen below 0.7 m/s/s."

I believe the i-MiEV complies with this regulation, and there is nothing to prevent us from tapping the brake pedal when we see someone approaching us from the rear dangerously.

Aerowhatt, last year while traveling on Interstate 5 in my first Gen1 Honda Insight in the right lane at a steady 60mph, I was rear-ended by a drunk driver going >>> over the 70mph speed limit. Happy to come out of it alive, but as you can imagine I am very sensitive to vehicles behind me. In traffic, I'll invariably use my brake pedal to supplement any shift lever-actuated regen deceleration for that very reason. I can't see any downside to your increasing the sensitivity of the brake pedal light actuation.

 

[sandange]

I will definitely be the first to wear out the i-MiEV shift mechanism, as I still pop the car into N wherever possible. Love the i-MiEV's ability to manually control regen."

I'll be the second to wear it out - Constantly shifting
I added my arm rest and taller shifter mostly for this.

N - for coasting to a stop or down a hill
B - for braking
Eco - for accelerating, or cruising on flat land
D / B - for climbing a hill, merging or passing.

Brake pedal - for full stop or emergency braking

 

[tigger19687]

OK, so far I love to play with the shifter. I had a Standard years ago so it's easy.
I may be 3rd in line.

I wanted to get the Center Console thingy, but after doing all that shifting, I am afraid it may get in the way. I'm only 5'6" and long arms, but not sure I want to shift while resting my arm.

 

[fjpod]

Admittedly, it can be fun to play with the shifter under various conditions when slowing down...but the bottom line is, it is no different than using the brake pedal judiciously. The brake pedal is a continuously variable shifter.

 

[kaiat]

...For me using regen without brake lights lit up is a safety issue (don't ask). So I adjusted the brake light switch ...

This topic has been discussed ever since regen has been implemented as a retardation force. No question that an accelerometer-actuated brake light could be easily implemented.There are many regulations which constrain the lighting of brake lights - if you've ever followed someone riding the brakes, you can appreciate what a horrible distraction it would become if brake lights were activated on even the slightest slowdown. From the gm-volt forum, here is an excerpt from an old post:

"The regulatation for Stop Lamp Illumination has been cited before (http://gm-volt.com/forum/showthread.php?14515-Safer-brake-lights&p=158858#post158858). Here is the table provided by Section 5.2.22.4 of United Nations Addendum 12-H: Regulation No. 13-H Revision 2, "Uniform provisions concerning the approval of passenger cars with regard to braking," (http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/trans/main/wp29/wp29regs/R13hr2e.pdf, page 22):

Electric regenerative braking systems as defined in paragraph 2.17., which produce a retarding force upon release of the accelerator control, shall generate the signal mentioned above according to the following provisions:

<= 0.7 m/s/s The signal shall not be generated
> 0.7 m/s/s and <= 1.3 m/s/s The signal may be generated
> 1.3 m/s/s The signal shall be generated

In all cases the signal shall be de-activated at the latest when the deceleration has fallen below 0.7 m/s/s."

I believe the i-MiEV complies with this regulation, and there is nothing to prevent us from tapping the brake pedal when we see someone approaching us from the rear dangerously.

Aerowhatt, last year while traveling on Interstate 5 in my first Gen1 Honda Insight in the right lane at a steady 60mph, I was rear-ended by a drunk driver going >>> over the 70mph speed limit. Happy to come out of it alive, but as you can imagine I am very sensitive to vehicles behind me. In traffic, I'll invariably use my brake pedal to supplement any shift lever-actuated regen deceleration for that very reason. I can't see any downside to your increasing the sensitivity of the brake pedal light actuation.

Don't know if this feature with brake lights coming on when regenerating is added on US-sold i-Mievs, but here in Europe i-Miev-clones Peugeot iOn and Citroen C-Zero has received this feature from MY2015. I haven't checked for Euro-spec i-Miev, but guess it is the same.