slowing to a stop in the CVT

[crzsuzuka]

Is it better to just ease off the gas and then start braking when coming to a stop in the CVT or is it better to use the paddle shifters to drop to the lower gears coming to the stop with barley touching the brakes in the CVT. Which one is better for the car and which will render higher milage?

[David_PA]

Originally Posted by crzsuzuka

Is it better to just ease off the gas and then start braking when coming to a stop in the CVT or is it better to use the paddle shifters to drop to the lower gears coming to the stop with barley touching the brakes in the CVT. Which one is better for the car and which will render higher milage?

You'll get the best mileage by coasting to the stops whenever you can time it right, or as well as possible, backing off the gas, putting it in neutral and coasting with minimal braking. While you get better mileage this way because you can back off the gas sooner, you don't in neutral recharge the IMA's battery.

To charge the battery you have to either use the brakes in gear or slow / downshift to have the engine slow you down. It won't really matter when you're in gear if you use the brakes or downshifts, you can save your brake pads by downshifting, but if you downshift too aggressively you'll wear out the tranny sooner.

The combination of as much coasting in neutral as possible supplemented with enough braking or downshifting in gear to charge the battery (always over three bars on the battery-charge meter is what we've settled on) is what you're after for the best mpgs.

[gomarlins3]

Read here:
Using neutral to gain MPG (CVT)