Potential buyer: Hypermiling Q

[mremaximus]

I'm not sure how serious I am in buying a CR-Z this year, I have an 09 fit but I see huge potential with a 6 spd and auto stop. I was watching a youtube video and this guy was letting his car hit auto stop and coasting. For some reason this seemed so cool to me, and maybe this is in part why I want this car for the technology. I have a consistent commute and the lights are ALWAYS the same (of course it seems no one else notices this) I leave my car in a high gear and coast to the red light which I guess is similar because it shuts down the injectors that is until I stop at the light. It seems the cr-z would be awesome for this but maybe it's just me. At least three lights are always red and you can coast for at least a 1/4 mile on some stretches.
Does any try this does it help that much to increase your mpg? I don't know if it would be worth it for me to trade other than I just want it! My car gets 40 when I try, but I have a base and miss cruise and other options.

[gomarlins3]

I coast often and use other hypermileage techniques and I can get over 43 MPG on some a tanks though town. Don't know if that helps you or not though.

[mdbrich]

I have a 09 fit, if your trading in cars for the CRZ. Your not going to see that difference from hypermiling ever. Unless you wait like 10-15 years down the road. Then it might start paying for itself. It really comes down to trade in value and the asking price. Because those factors alone are going to cost you, not save money.

[tsh]

it is not practical to coast in auto-stop - Above 19mph the engine will continue to run, and with zero braking effort it tends to re-start even at lower speeds.
What does work well is zero throttle at above 1000rpm, the injectors will shut off entirely. There is a little drag, and some regen braking, but it is quite efficient. The main advantage of the IMA seems to be to boost the MPG on this sort of start-stop, much more so than on the open motorway.

[mremaximus]

I guess it makes sense that they would keep the engine running at higher speeds and not let it shut down.

[TubaGuy87]

mremaximus:

I guess it makes sense that they would keep the engine running at higher speeds and not let it shut down.

Does it really? Both the power steering and power brakes are powered my the electrical system. they both work with the engine off. There's no reason why the gas engine couldn't cut off at higher speeds.

[JnC]

When I pull into my development, I can easily just roll to my house out of gear. Unfortunately the engine will re-engage if the car is rolling out of gear when not braking.

I would prefer that the auto stop not re-engage the engine unless I put the car back into gear.

[majestic]

yea i find that a little bit annoying as well, especially if im stuck in traffic on a downhill. i would come to a full stop and auto-stop would engage, but the minute i let off the brake and start rolling past a certain speed, the engine would start up again while still in neutral. just like you, JnC, i wish the car only started up again when put into gear

[Redzed]

I've gotten as high as 52 MPG on a 20 mile trip in a city environment using hypermiling techniques. Wayne Gerdes, the man who coined the term hypermiling and who has the world record got 100+ MPG on a crz 6mt. Go to gohypermiling.com and you can listen to the podcast where he gives his review of the crz (he actually has several episodes about the crz). I think the episode is called "unlikely hybrid owner". I was a guest host on that episodes. I'm not really affiliated with them but I know Wayne and Kacey on the show and they wanted a new owner of a crz to be own the show so they volunteered me.

[lexicon]

Originally Posted by TubaGuy87

mremaximus:


Does it really? Both the power steering and power brakes are powered my the electrical system. they both work with the engine off. There's no reason why the gas engine couldn't cut off at higher speeds.

I don't think that's true for the brakes - the servo (booster) is vacuum driven off the manifold like other petrol engines. As far as I know it doesn't have anything else to provide power assist.

I notice occasionally that if I have my foot on the pedal it sinks slightly when the engine restarts. Also, if I'm rolling in auto-stop but occasionally having to touch the brakes, the engine will start after a few touches, presumably to maintain the vacuum.