[joecroom7]

I just got my new Insight and am trying to figure out how to use the power meter best to maximize my MPGs. I have the following questions specifically:

1. In the green section, is the battery being charged more when the meter hand is lower or higher?

2. Is it always better to stay in the solid blue section? Or is it ok to go into the "power" section when accelerating or on the highway?

3. What do you guys find to be the best way to use this meter to maximize MPGs?

 

[insightfully]

1 - In the green section, you get more charge the lower/deeper you go on the indicator. Think of the horizontal line between green/blue as the zero point. The more "negative" you go, the more charge you are adding (vs consuming). You can see this in action if you use the left paddle to increase the regeneration, and the charging will go lower.

2 - While in the blue section, you're in hybrid mode, consuming energy from both battery and engine. Higher than that, you're more likely to switch to engine-only mode and consume more fuel.

3 - Seeing EV mode kick in while driving (lower left corner of driver information display) is the best way to maximize MPGs, because you're consuming battery energy rather than gas fuel. EV automatically kicks in when there's sufficient battery and low-ish load on the engine. You don't need to have the "EV Mode" button pressed to see this occur. Maintaining the battery level (left side indicator) at or above 4 bars by charging helps EV occur more often. Downhill runs with your foot off the gas pedal is a good first learning into seeing the battery level charge up.

There's some good information in the Owners Manual (p130, p152, p267-268) that may help as you learn the car. If you haven't yet downloaded it (or requested it from Honda/Helm), check out the posts here:
Owner's Manual needed on delivery of car

 

[dr_glenn]

Yes, you're right about combining regen. You can visually see the extra amount of regen you net from "brake+paddle" versus "brake only" by the deeper charge value on the green indicator.

Now leaving the paddle shifter realm, but only a brief diversion ... can someone explain the color zones on the "energy meter" which takes the place of a tachometer?
Green means you're solely charging the battery.
Solid blue means?
And then there are the two grey zones. What are they?

 

[insightfully]

Now leaving the paddle shifter realm, but only a brief diversion ... can someone explain the color zones on the "energy meter" which takes the place of a tachometer?
Green means you're solely charging the battery.
Solid blue means?
And then there are the two grey zones. What are they?

This latest post may help... similar question was just asked in the "Buying EX This Week" thread.

 

[hasarad]

Now leaving the paddle shifter realm, but only a brief diversion ... can someone explain the color zones on the "energy meter" which takes the place of a tachometer?
Green means you're solely charging the battery.
Solid blue means?
And then there are the two grey zones. What are they?

In english:

The green zone means energy is flowing into the battery (net gain), but we all know that. The ICE may run, but likely only when the engine is not at operating temperature.

The blue zone has several possibilities which would be determined by viewing the power i/o screen. In a nutshell, the blue zone is the most efficient zone for driving outside of the green. It is possible to run entirely on battery in the blue zone provided battery capacity exists and the engine is at operating temperature. Battery-only is possible if at/above four bars without the EV button engaged and above two bars with the EV button engaged. In the blue zone, the engine produces enough power to offset any battery used to drive the car (BooYa). If excess exists (say, driving at half blue bar) the remainder (if any) is sent to the battery to build reserve.

Dipping into the grey hash area will immediately kick in the ICE. This is the area where you may or may not see the gear on the power i/o screen (mainly highway >45mph). This is the second most efficient zone notwithstanding green. If battery exists, is may be drawn upon. If battery becomes low, engine whine may be present.

Should one bury the throttle and find themselves in the solid grey area, you are negating the reason for buying a hybrid. Energy out far exceeds what the ICE can provide, and the battery reserve will deplete rapidly. I have not yet seen what happens when one stays in this zone long-term, but I would suspect the 151 combined horsepower number would wane once the battery is depleted.

I've owned my Insight since last August. Over the last few months, I've trained myself to stay in the blue zone 90+% of the time. How? By leaving earlier and not being in a rush! I wish I had the instant MPG and per-trip re-settable gauges in my last cars I would have done much better with past rides.

With knowledge of the above, one needs to alter their driving style to achieve better results. I'm not preaching, but I'd ask everyone to try it for them-self. Don't be in a rush to get where you're going, and try to stay in the blue zone as much as possible for a tankful. The MPG gods will smile upon you. My last four tanks have been above 60mpg with marginal outside temps. If your drive involves a great deal of highway, stick to the right lane and reasonable speeds. You'd be amazed how little difference there is in destination arrival times at 55mph VS. 70mph. Five minutes can mean 60mpg vs. 40mpg.

#yourmileagemayvary

 

[andrew28]

Now leaving the paddle shifter realm, but only a brief diversion ... can someone explain the color zones on the "energy meter" which takes the place of a tachometer?
Green means you're solely charging the battery.
Solid blue means?
And then there are the two grey zones. What are they?

^I found(stole) this from the accord hybrid forum. You want to be in the blue/orange area. The green is when you're regenerative braking or coasting with your foot off the gas pedal which charges the battery.

 

[andrew28]

I've owned my Insight since last August. Over the last few months, I've trained myself to stay in the blue zone 90+% of the time. How? By leaving earlier and not being in a rush! I wish I had the instant MPG and per-trip re-settable gauges in my last cars I would have done much better with past rides.

With knowledge of the above, one needs to alter their driving style to achieve better results. I'm not preaching, but I'd ask everyone to try it for them-self. Don't be in a rush to get where you're going, and try to stay in the blue zone as much as possible for a tankful. The MPG gods will smile upon you. My last four tanks have been above 60mpg with marginal outside temps. If your drive involves a great deal of highway, stick to the right lane and reasonable speeds. You'd be amazed how little difference there is in destination arrival times at 55mph VS. 70mph. Five minutes can mean 60mpg vs. 40mpg.

#yourmileagemayvary

During my first month of ownership, I drove at the speed limit, and stayed in the blue. I sort of was forced to change because of tailgaters and aggressive drivers(couple of close calls). I now drive my car "normally" so I don't get run over. When I do get to drive with no traffic(sunday morning/weekday nights), it's not just better for fuel economy, but me as a driver(relieves stress/clears my head). Too bad most drivers are just in a rush to save a couple of seconds forcing everyone to drive like them just to avoid an accident.

 

[tightywhitey]

I live in a city with some of the worst drivers in the nation. It is hard for me to stay in the blue range. I am still averaging 54 mpg’s.

 

[andrew28]

I live in a city with some of the worst drivers in the nation. It is hard for me to stay in the blue range. I am still averaging 54 mpg’s.

Can't be as bad as Boston drivers. We have been ranked in the top 3 cities of worst drivers since Allstate started doing this list (https://www.allstate.com/americas-best-drivers/index.htm) back in 2005. Our high insurance rates here should be proof of this.

I'm averaging about 52MPG but yeah it's hard to stick in the blue range when you have a vehicle tailgating closely behind.

 

[insightfully]

I'm averaging about 52MPG but yeah it's hard to stick in the blue range when you have a vehicle tailgating closely behind.

...but they're just trying to get a close-up look at the rare Insight!

I try to avoid traffic by timing my drives earlier or later. It makes driving more enjoyable, though I'm contributing to the "few Insights seen" phenomenon by hiding out until traffic dies.

 

[andrew28]

...but they're just trying to get a close-up look at the rare Insight!

I try to avoid traffic by timing my drives earlier or later. It makes driving more enjoyable, though I'm contributing to the "few Insights seen" phenomenon by hiding out until traffic dies.

Heh, that's what I assumed during my first few days driving my Insight.

Boston has traffic all the time and I'm not over exaggerating. You could be right, I do spot most Insights while moving slowly in traffic, otherwise I wouldn't have time to look around.

 

[Wolverine51]

Charge Levels displayed on dash

On the far left of the dash display is the segmented arc "High Voltage Battery Charge Gauge"

Just to its right there is a green segmented arc labeled "Charge". What is that ?

 

[andrew28]

On the far left of the dash display is the segmented arc "High Voltage Battery Charge Gauge"

Just to its right there is a green segmented arc labeled "Charge". What is that ?

You will see the needle move into the green charge section when you're regenerative braking with the brake pedal or paddles on the steering wheel. The further it goes down the more electricity being generated for the battery.

 

[Wolverine51]

Thanks andrew28. Does it have any practical value ? OM seems to have no mention of it at all.

 

[andrew28]

Thanks andrew28. Does it have any practical value ? OM seems to have no mention of it at all.

I know that on the power side you want to stay within the blue segment for fuel efficiency purposes. The owner's manual does indicate that aggressive deceleration is bad for fuel efficiency and you can visually see it with the ECO Drive app/gauge. I assume if you do get to the bottom(or close to?) of the charge segment it means the friction brake(or some?) is being used instead of regenerative braking hence it's perceived as bad for fuel efficiency.

 

[insightfully]

On the far left of the dash display is the segmented arc "High Voltage Battery Charge Gauge"

Just to its right there is a green segmented arc labeled "Charge". What is that ?

The manual describes the "Power/Charge Gauge" as follows (p130):

• The degree to which the electric motor is being powered is displayed on the POWER side.
• The degree to which the High Voltage battery is being charged is displayed by the readings on the CHARGE side.

This "Power/Charge Meter" thread will be helpful reading on how to use the gauge to optimize mpg. Managing the blue/green is a key way that @hasarad gets outstanding mpg results.

 

[hasarad]

I know that on the power side you want to stay within the blue segment for fuel efficiency purposes. The owner's manual does indicate that aggressive deceleration is bad for fuel efficiency and you can visually see it with the ECO Drive app/gauge. I assume if you do get to the bottom(or close to?) of the charge segment it means the friction brake(or some?) is being used instead of regenerative braking hence it's perceived as bad for fuel efficiency.

Late to reply, but here's my take. Aggressive deceleration is bad since it involves taking kinetic energy and converting it to store in the battery or bleed of via friction brakes. Energy is always lost during this process. The ECO Drive app is a toy that shows how to combat it. It's not really necessary since the power gauge does the same thing. After a while, one gets the idea of how things work and can do it by feel.

The most economical (and unfeasible) area of the gauge for the best efficiency is the white line on the power band. There's no loss of kinetic conversion and no use of battery at that point. Staying as close as possible to that line will give the best results.

You do bring up a good question - exactly WHEN do the friction brakes kick in? Honda did such a good job, that we can't even feel when this happens. I know they work at low speed (<15mph?), but when do they kick in under aggressive braking - is it related to power gauge position?

 

[Moviemike]

^I found(stole) this from the accord hybrid forum. You want to be in the blue/orange area. The green is when you're regenerative braking or coasting with your foot off the gas pedal which charges the battery.

I love the image above !!

In general, where I can, I like to use EV mode for standing start acceleration (eg at a traffic light), or for increasing my cruising speed (eg flow of traffic increases speed from say 30 to 45 mph).

I've observed that if the car is in EV mode prior to acceleration, that as the power meter moves out of the blue and into the yellow (in above image) EV will automatically cancel and the engine will turn on.
I've also observed that if the car is in EV mode prior to acceleration, AND the white EV button has been pushed and the yellow EV car icon is displayed; ...EV mode will NOT cancel until the power meter crosses from yellow to orange!

I've also found that subtle control of the throttle to hold the power meter in the yellow and just below the orange, gives enough acceleration to keep up with most traffic situations. When I driving like this, I get greatly improved mpg ...tankful to tankful.

 

[Moviemike]

....The owner's manual does indicate that aggressive deceleration is bad for fuel efficiency and you can visually see it with the ECO Drive app/gauge. I assume if you do get to the bottom(or close to?) of the charge segment it means the friction brake(or some?) is being used instead of regenerative braking hence it's perceived as bad for fuel efficiency.

Yes !! Slowing down using the paddles and minimal friction brakes is best.

Maneuvering through traffic such that paddles and/or brakes are minimally needed, even better!