Most important ScanGauge variables?

[matthew]

Newbie here. I've had a scangauge for a little while now and have so far focused mainly on the MPG and AVG variables. Which other variables are the most important to keep an eye on in terms of maximizing efficiency, and why? I've basically got one open slot on my display, since I also monitor temperature closely in relation to my grille block. I've seen scattered references to the importance of watching engine load and intake manifold pressure, but I'm a bit unclear on which factor is best to be getting constant feedback on... What do you guys monitor most closely?

[Lokalazeros]

I personally use the LOD (engine load %) gauge a lot. It tells me how much to push on the throttle to get optimal acceleration, without wasting too much gas.

[Daox]

LOD is important, but not really as important for a diesel engine I don't think. All the BSFC maps I've seen for diesels show that full throttle is always best, period. Hopefully Tas or someone else who knows diesels will chime in.

It really all depends on what you are doing as to what gauges you watch. I watch coolant temp because I have a full grill block on the car and I want to see how fast I'm heating up. I also watch 12V since I run a disabled alternator most of the time. However, both of these are useless to people who don't have those mods done.

[Piwoslaw]

What are your 4 favorite ScanGauge Gauges?

[Olympiadis]

I find the Horsepower and Gallons-Per-Hour gauges to be most helpful.
They both help in determining the most efficient amount of throttle to maintain a given speed.
GPH is handy for monitoring the fuel usage while coasting or idling.

[matthew]

Originally Posted by Daox

All the BSFC maps I've seen for diesels show that full throttle is always best, period. Hopefully Tas or someone else who knows diesels will chime in.

Thanks Daox, very interesting. I wasn't familiar with BSFC maps but looked around and found this one here that probably pretty close to my TDI:
Image:Vw tdi alh 99.5-03 bsfc.jpg - EcoModder

I'm struggling a bit to fully wrap my head around what the implications of these maps are for actual driving tactics. I keep trying to come up with a scenario that properly explains the way this translates to shift points, acceleration, hills, etc, but then I get tripped up. Would somebody be willing to elucidate? Thanks!

[Daox]

It basically means when you accelerate you want to floor the gas pedal, and to shift to keep your rpms centered around 1750.

[cfg83]

mathew -

After I made this post :

http://ecomodder.com/forum/187883-post20.html

I came to the conclusion that these are the most important parameters for deriving MPG :

MAP
IAT
RPM
MPH

However, you always have MPH and you usually have RPM "for free" on your instrument cluster. For observation in the ScanGauge, I would look at these instant parameters :

MPG
MAP
LOD
IGN

If I had only one open slot like you are stating, I would pick MAP first and LOD second.

CarloSW2