MPG vs Battery thought exercise

[Ktowntimmy]

I’ve been in a couple of discussions with other MTC members regarding high mpg/tank. My observations are that while it’s possible to get 600+ mpg, are you sacrificing time and HV battery life to do so? All of the posts I’ve seen regarding the “600 mile club” show relatively slow driving speeds (28-33 mph, average) with only one post averaging over 35 mph. They also show a high percentage of “electric miles” (30-40 percent, or more). My question is, does it reduce HV battery life to have so may charge/discharge cycles? I wonder if there’s a “sweet spot” for maximum mpg AND high voltage battery life?

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[Ozarkbeard]

They aren't full charge/discharge cycles. The computer monitors it and won't let it charge or discharge it above or below a certain percent, to protect battery lifetime. Something like a range of 30-70% comes to mind, but that may not be the exact range.

 

[Maverick2112]

I've gotten 600 a few times on my commute of 2 lane 55 mph roads and 33 miles one way.
My lifetime average is 42.8 mpg actual (computer is not accurate). This is with a couple towing trips and a couple of mostly expressway trips. So, my tank average is about 591 miles. Highest tank was 47.9 and lowest tank was 35.8.

 

[BluegrassNbass]

Lifetime is 46(hand calculated each fillup is 2mpg off) so I say 44mpg.
70 max speed but for short distances. 60 is mostly highway, then a lot of 45-55 country roads. Hilly and windy terrain. I could hit 600 every tank refill. Have done it multiple times and now I just fill up at a 1/4 tank. Once i drop barely below 1/2 tank it should be about 370miles driven.
I will play the battery drain game though. Sometimes I will wonder why it discharges so fast. But mostly just drive it and keep forcing it to use battery lol.

 

[Mightybeast]

My drive to work is about 25 miles or 35-40.min. On interstate with combination of 60-70miles per hour speed on interstate. So, it's all depend on the driver if you that who wants to be first on every light or just go with the flow.

 

[Mightybeast]

That's average speed based on time vs miles

 

[icegradner]

I’ve been in a couple of discussions with other MTC members regarding high mpg/tank. My observations are that while it’s possible to get 600+ mpg, are you sacrificing time and HV battery life to do so? All of the posts I’ve seen regarding the “600 mile club” show relatively slow driving speeds (28-33 mph, average) with only one post averaging over 35 mph. They also show a high percentage of “electric miles” (30-40 percent, or more). My question is, does it reduce HV battery life to have so may charge/discharge cycles? I wonder if there’s a “sweet spot” for maximum mpg AND high voltage battery life?

To answer the question, rather than the unrelated how many MPG, yes the more you use the battery the faster it will wear out. That said, hybrid battery packs are not cell phone batteries, they are designed to have far more charge/discharge cycles due to regulations from several countries government standards for Hybrid/EV batteries. The computer tries to keep the battery between 40% and 80%, which is the sweet spot for Lithium cells, to maximize cell life. Age is more of a concern than cycle counts for most owners. Typically with a lithium ion battery you will lose 3% from the original maximum per year just from time passing. Then you have changes in the battery chemistry due to the chemical reactions that occur when the battery is charging and discharging. The more you cycle the cells, the less efficient at holding energy the cells will become.

For Taxis and delivery drivers who rack up tons of miles, use would be the big killer, a totally different story than the average commuter.

 

[Modesto]

I've gotten 600 a few times on my commute of 2 lane 55 mph roads and 33 miles one way.
My lifetime average is 42.8 mpg actual (computer is not accurate). This is with a couple towing trips and a couple of mostly expressway trips. So, my tank average is about 591 miles. Highest tank was 47.9 and lowest tank was 35.8.

Interesting questions and answers.

I've seen it mentioned that the computer is not accurate - generally higher than actual mpg.
Generally speaking, how much less would you say that real mpg tends to be compared to the computer?

 

[Maverick2112]

Interesting questions and answers.

I've seen it mentioned that the computer is not accurate - generally higher than actual mpg.
Generally speaking, how much less would you say that real mpg tends to be compared to the computer?

My last tank- actual was 39.8, computer said 41.8

 

[Zotman]

If you prefer round numbers, 5%

 

[blizbiggy]

Interesting questions and answers.

I've seen it mentioned that the computer is not accurate - generally higher than actual mpg.
Generally speaking, how much less would you say that real mpg tends to be compared to the computer?

I've been tracking how bad the computer is at guessing mpg since I got the truck. This is the 9 fillups I've done.

(Negative means the computer was reporting high)
MPG Delta
-2.420
-1.763
-3.823
-1.492
1.746
-3.738
-2.628
-2.941
-2.966

 

[Ktowntimmy]

I've been tracking how bad the computer is at guessing mpg since I got the truck. This is the 9 fillups I've done.

(Negative means the computer was reporting high)
MPG Delta
-2.420
-1.763
-3.823
-1.492
1.746
-3.738
-2.628
-2.941
-2.966

Is the a way to calibrate the mpg computer calculation? It’ll never be perfect, but can we make it closer?

 

[blizbiggy]

Is the a way to calibrate the mpg computer calculation? It’ll never be perfect, but can we make it closer?

It's not worth the time and effort for me. I just assume it's reporting about 2 high

 

[Ktowntimmy]

It's not worth the time and effort for me. I just assume it's reporting about 2 high

So there is a way, it’s just a PITA?

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