bigdaddyo811 said:
1. Can someone outline the difference between Hill 1 and Hill2
2. What is the purpose of Hill 1 and Hill 2 when if you are coming to a stop and you are going to hit the brakes or do hit the brakes the amount of regen is much more than Hill 1 and Hill 2
3. Is there any damage done driving in Hill mode? Today I clicked into Hill 1 and Hill 2 and thought I had gone into D but I didnt. So I drove for a mile in Hill 2 it seemed. I wish the car would automatically click into D once you hit the gas pedal as there is no reason to be in hill ever if you are depressing the gas pedal right?
As I understand it:
Both hill modes function similarly - while the car is decelerating the motor-generators capture some of that momentum to spin up and generate electicity and store it back in the battery system. It's a way of converting the forward motion of the car to electricity instead of heat (which is what happens using friction braking). Both hill modes engage when you let off the gas - they do not require you to step on the brake pedal. The difference between Hill 1 and Hill 2 is simply the level of engagement and the amount of forward progress converted to electricity. Just like the compression braking you'll experience letting off the throttle in a manual transmission car, you'll feel the deceleration from the Hill modes. In fact, Hill 2 for me feels a lot like letting off the gas in 3rd or 4th gear in my old Audi TT.
It's called Hill mode because its primary use is to capture electricity while descending grades. Instead of using the brakes to slow the car or maintain a constant speed while going downhill, the Hill modes will perform the same task but convert gravity to electricity. It allows you to get some regenerated power for "free" (ignoring the fact that you probably spent even more electricity to get to the top of the hill in the first place)
There's no need to disengage Hill mode. Even on relatively flat surfaces the tradeoff between forward movement and electric is still available to you. If you use Hill mode frequently not only will you get some free power back into the system, but you'll reduce the amount of wear on the friction brakes, and the amount of brake dust on the pretty circuit blade wheels.
It's a matter of personal preference. If you are used to driving an automatic, where letting off the gas doesn't produce a pronounced deceleration, then hill mode may feel strange. If you're used to driving a stick where letting off the gas or downshifting provides a noticeable deceleration through compression braking, you might like Hill 1 or Hill 2. My wife, who drives a manual shift Miata, thought Hill 2 felt natural.
Regardless of the mode selected (D, H1 or H2), there is regenerative braking that happens when you step on the brake pedal - the first .25Gs of deceleration is accomplished via regen before the calipers clamp down.
The system is pretty smart too - the Hill modes and brake regen disengage if the battery if full and there's nowhere to store any generated electricity.
I beleive this is all correct, but if anyone know something I don't please enlighten me!
Brent