I always wondered how many gears, or minutes, or whatever time of spirited driving does the IMA last? And what rpm does it start & finish? Is this information confirmed? I've look all over the web and couldn't find detailed information about how the IMA affects teh power and torque curve?, and how long it lasts before its out of charge?
Reason why i ask is cause i wonder if the power actually degrades on a long drive cause if your in sport mode and are spirited canyon driving does it get to a point where you can tell? or its just useing pure motor power to run? Im just confused at how and how long it actually works.

 

If you're driving in a spirited manner, you'll still need to slow down at some points (to turn). Regenerative braking will recharge the battery (at least partially) every time you slow down.

Basically, the only reason you'd exhaust the electricity using the IMA would be doing a high sped run with a very long full throttle event without any braking. If you're not at the salt flats, you shouldn't have any concerns over this.

But, I can't find an answer for your exact question of how long before sustained IMA use will deplete the battery.

 

http://www.insightcentral.net/

 

I think you are a bit confused. IMA never "runs out", it just reaches a low charge and enters 'force regen' state.

The only time I experience force regen is on medium to long uphill sections of roads. The beautiful thing about big uphill roads, is there is usually a big downhill road on the other side. Regenerative braking is a great thing.

Onramps are never a problem. Typical city driving you will never enter force regen. Typical highway driving you will only enter force regen on long uphill sections, as I mentioned above.

 

Well on a old battery or one with some bad cells, the IMA "boost" may run out prematurely and I guess that's the OP's question. It's dependent on the condition of the battery which varies. People rebuild these batteries if and when they do get bad cells in order to save money on battery replacement.