2007 Prius Drive - a/c?

[trebuchet03]

So my friend's birthday was this past wed. - and his mother came up to visit. She knows how much I'm into driving cars and machines and such, so she let me drive her '07 Prius out to a restaurant for dinner and back.

It was sooo much fun - I haven't driven this car ever before and I realized something. So it's got much more power than the hybrid stereotype has (a stereotype that I can't quite figure out an origin)... It wasn't that it was slow, it was that I wanted to accelerate very slowly to keep it under EV power for as long as possible

I think there's something about the power train that makes you want to accelerate slowly. My friend's mother had said it was really relaxing to drive as it makes you not care how fast you're going compared to everyone around you - especially when leaving a traffic light. When you feel the ICE start, it makes you try harder to keep it off next time

I really haven't done much reading on hypermiling for Hybrids -- but I did remember that very light throttle allows you to freewheel

I don't know what my FE was - but it had to be higher than 50.2 as the gauge read 50.4 when I got out

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My one question is.... HOW does the a/c work? Is it a peltier effect a/c? Just curious as that was my first question while stopped at a light while the a/c was blowing cold

[2TonJellyBean]

I'm pretty sure a Peltier would never be used. A compressor is many times more efficient. Peltiers are simple to make, stand up to harsh treatment, but to get the one side cool, the other side gets incredibly hot.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by 2TonJellyBean

I'm pretty sure a Peltier would never be used. A compressor is many times more efficient. Peltiers are simple to make, stand up to harsh treatment, but to get the one side cool, the other side gets incredibly hot.

So the reason I thought it could have been a Peltier effect system -- it was very quiet and I couldn't feel any vibration....

So, thanks to wiki, it turns out it uses an inverter and operated an AC driven motor/compressor. Nice

[2TonJellyBean]

I think electric accessories are the way to go. The ECU can then easily control them and optimize FE. AC on decel when AC load is light. Power steering and brakes while in an ICE-off coast.

Even the water pump...

[rh77]

Originally Posted by trebuchet03

It wasn't that it was slow, it was that I wanted to accelerate very slowly to keep it under EV power for as long as possible

I think there's something about the power train that makes you want to accelerate slowly. My friend's mother had said it was really relaxing to drive as it makes you not care how fast you're going compared to everyone around you - especially when leaving a traffic light. When you feel the ICE start, it makes you try harder to keep it off next time

I had the same impression with the '07 I rented 2 weeks ago. EV-only seemed to be appropriate if traffic wasn't piling-up behind If it only had a bit more power there to keep the ICE out of it! But indeed, when they both worked together under WOT, it went. You may not have had the chance to explore this side with the owner in the car, but the handling is actually fun

That's interesting with the A/C -- I kept it off for fear of the ICE running during stops. The last thing I wanted was to idle at a light with a Prius! I did try it out later, on the highway. That resulted in usual power loss, so I "cranked the windows".

I also noticed the tension of the gas pedal -- as if it was pretty "heavy" to depress. Perhaps to instill a the concept of "work" with going faster. The next car I drove that week was a Corolla (lighter pedal touch) -- the shift in perception led to a couple of "unintentional, abrupt accelerations" at first.

So, did you find the brakes to be pretty "grabby"? I'm thinking that it would take a bit of practice to stop smoothly. I do find myself missing it, although I gave it a harsh eval.

RH77

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by rh77

So, did you find the brakes to be pretty "grabby"? I'm thinking that it would take a bit of practice to stop smoothly. I do find myself missing it, although I gave it a harsh eval.

RH77

That was the first thing I said while driving - holy crap yes Apparently the NHW20 has a much better regen system than the first gen due to lower pack voltage (letting regen happen at lower speeds) - so I'm wondering if it has anything to do with that

That's interesting with the A/C -- I kept it off for fear of the ICE running during stops. The last thing I wanted was to idle at a light with a Prius! I did try it out later, on the highway. That resulted in usual power loss, so I "cranked the windows".

So apparently the first gen will start the ice about every minute to keep the a/c running. We had the '07 at "idle" for about 10-15 minutes and I was watching the battery slowly drain. The ICE came on once or twice (for less than a minute) when the battery was drained