🚀 go-pugleaf

> It is generally a well known fact that if you drive a car using the 
> accelerator a bit like an On/Off switch then you are very likely to waste
> fuel. The most economic driving style is gradual acceleration and 
> gentle braking.

Generally well-known, but a "fact"?  I'm not so sure.

Holding a constant cruise speed by flapping the accelerator up and down
is obviously stupid, and the economics are (to me) unimportant.  And
I don't see that braking gently saves any more fuel than leaving four
big black marks on the street (although the latter is a bit rough on
the tires, which aren't much cheaper than fuel these days :-)

But I have seen many references that the old "drive as if there was an
egg between your foot and the gas pedal" method is an inefficient way to
accelerate.  These references suggest that the proper thing to do is to
smoothly depress the accelerator pedal to the floor (not jab it to the
floor).  Shifting should be done at the lowest practical RPMs.

I don't know how reliable any of these claims are.  I do know that I use
full-throttle acceleration, and I usually get about 1 mile per gallon
better fuel mileage than my wife does from the same car.  And I have a
lot more fun when driving  :-)
-- 
Doug Pardee -- Edge Computer Corp., Scottsdale, AZ -- ...!ihnp4!mot!edge!doug

In article <759@edge.UUCP>, doug@edge.UUCP (Doug Pardee) writes:
> But I have seen many references that the old "drive as if there was an
> egg between your foot and the gas pedal" method is an inefficient way to
> accelerate.

There are two very distinct "versions" of efficient, when applied to
acceleration in an automobile.

Version 1 - use minimum gasoline

Version 2 - use minimum time

Neither version can be solved, as a general rule, by holding the accelerator
in one position.

Automobile engines have a "best-gas-milage" rpm and a "best horsepower"
rpm.  They can be, but usually are not, the same.

Maximizing either version requires modification of accelerator position
with reference to manifold pressure, vehicle speed and engine rpm. Automatic
transmissions are actually fairly good at this sort of thing (or can be
anyway).  Perhaps the "drive like you have an egg between your foot and the
accelerator" arose because given no tach, or manifold pressure gauge, and an
automatic transmission at least this would let the trans. do most of the
decision work.
-- 
These opinions are solely mine and in no way reflect those of my employer.  
John M. Pantone @ GE/Calma R&D, Data Management Group, San Diego
...{ucbvax|decvax}!sdcsvax!calmasd!jnp          jnp@calmasd.GE.COM