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Old 04-19-2011, 07:02 PM   #5 (permalink)
RobertSmalls
Left Lane Ecodriver
 
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Buffalo, NY, USA
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Prius C - '12 Toyota Prius C
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There are some big issues with an automated P&G setup. For one, you'd need an actuator to shift into and out of Neutral. If you just had an actuator on the clutch, you'd put undue wear on the clutch release bearing. Another issue is hills and traffic. A human driver is so much better than an Arduino at anticipating good coasting opportunities.

One thing that is on my to-do list is to rig up an automatic kill switch, so that every time I shift to N for more than 500ms, the engine dies. That would make P&G as easy as: pulse, shift to N (engine dies), glide, tap the throttle (engine restarts), shift into gear, repeat.

The Insight makes this an easy project, because it has a sensor that reports when you're in Neutral, and it already has engine restart logic programmed for you. It might be harder to detect Neutral on other cars. You can't rely on the clutch switch, because it's only closed when the clutch pedal is all the way to the floor.
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