[ClaBerCla]

If the ride is more than 40 miles, then batteries need to be charged by the ICE. If you want to go back home and improve your VOLT efficiency, then just push a "Go back home" button (it could be an option).
Then, the VOLT computer will know that you want to go back home and it will keep the state of charge at 20% capacity instead 30%.
Then the efficiency would be increased by 10% because the plug-in electric power would charge the battery from 20% to 80% (60%) instead from 30% to 80% (50%).

 

[Cab Driver]

It is true that you could use more grid and less gas energy this way, but the reason the Volt goes into Charge Sustaining mode at 30% SOC is that the life of the batteries is affected significantly by getting too close to either 0% or 100% SOC. GM is not confident that the batteries will achieve the warrantied lifetime if they go beyond the 30% to 80% range in Charge Depletion mode.

 

[RRRB]

maybe so

In the video accompanying one of Lyle's recent posts, GM engineers were mentioning having different charging protocols. Maybe they will adopt this one --- sounds to me like a good idea. If the Volt has better information, it should be able to make a better decision.

 

[banadictaustin]

When battery power cost gets too low, the Volt is developed to automatically change to extended-range function and use a gas-powered engine-generator to generate electricity to power the vehicle.

 

[tboult]

When battery power cost gets too low, the Volt is developed to automatically change to extended-range function and use a gas-powered engine-generator to generate electricity to power the vehicle.

Oh look, someone is resurrecting a ancient thread for some guerrilla marketing to his blog site..

 

[larry4pyro]

I recall a similar thread, but wasn't the suggestion to have the computer use the GPS to delay the onset of the ICE it you were only a mile or two from home?

 

[saghost]

I recall a similar thread, but wasn't the suggestion to have the computer use the GPS to delay the onset of the ICE it you were only a mile or two from home?

If you look, this thread is from 2008, someone's speculation from long before we had seen hardware - safely dead until the guerrilla marketing spambot woke it up. :-/

 

[DCFusor]

Yes, that was my idea I think (but not that thread from before I joined!), as it's happened a few times that the ICE comes on just as I am entering that last half mile to home - all downhill anyway after that slight rise that trips it on. Another use here would be to have the CC not "hammer" the gas just as you're topping a hill, or entering a sharp corner - the overshoot can be a couple mph and it's purely a waste of energy, even though the green ball always reports the CC as "perfect". That can be a little scary if you've set it high for the corners in the first place.

Even though I sometimes get a lower efficiency rating yet more miles/charge driving manually and taking such things into account.
Seems silly for a car with this much tech and possible input data (including from the driver and dead reckoning, not just GPS) that it can't figure out things like this and take advantage of what's obvious even to a dumb human, and this is one of those cases where a computer can really do it better than we do - if we program them right.

 

[John_Hatchett]

Since the basic volt has the capability to download route information to any destination, perhaps the new mode should be something along the line of "optimize to destination". the route information could be enhanced with "learned" information like elevations, normal traffic speeds, known traffic stops, as well as the presence of a charging station (private or public) at the destination.

 

[DCFusor]

Yes, that's a worthwhile idea as well. Actually, some of it wouldn't have to be learned - most of the maps "know" things like that already, at least some of them do.

For learning, since I do a few of my trips the same, time after time, it sure would be nice if you could simply "template" one and say "do that again" as well - or something like that. That hammering of the "Go" right as I'm about to top a hill I'm going to regen down for 4 miles after that is just annoying as heck...and despite what the efficiency gage reports, I can do much better even when it's telling me otherwise if the real metric is miles/charge - because I don't do dumb stuff like that when I'm trying for efficiency.

 

[John_Hatchett]

Maybe I should brush off my "Hypermiler Cruise Control" code.