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Date:         Mon, 3 Apr 2006 10:16:57 -0700
Reply-To:     John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: mpg
In-Reply-To:  <44309EB8.70306@cs.uchicago.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

> If my goal was to maximize gas mileage over a 100 mile stretch (i.e., > minimize gas usage to cover the 100 miles), I would not be at all > surprised if my best bet was to climb a very steep hill for the first > 10-20 miles, then shut off the engine (or let it idle) and coast down a > shallower 80 mile hill, leaving me at my original altitude, probably at > well over the normal 20 mpg. >

Certainly seems plausible for a vanagon. At the end of a slow climb, you've built up quite a store of potential energy, and with these feeble engines you probably wouldn't have seen a lot of heavy wind resistance while doing it! Seems like it'd be a simple question of whether the savings up front outweigh the added inefficiency. With a manual, surely; but automatic, maybe not. Seems to me that the biggest efficiency clobbering act is shoving that square, blunt face down the road at 70mph instead of (say) 55mph. I get a consistent 15mpg, but I have an automatic transmission, a tendency to jackrabbit start on green lights, a subtle "1-in-100 or so ignition events" periodic misfire problem that befuddles the O2 sensor reading and makes the ECU run it a bit rich, and a driving schedule that sees me either A) drive 5 minutes to work, never letting the engine get warm; or B) drive 30+ miles at over 70mph. I'm surprised it's as good as it is. I think to get good mileage all you need to do is EXACTLY what I am not doing...

-- John Bange '90 Vanagon - "Geldsauger"


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