View Single Post
Old 02-01-2012, 04:52 PM   #30 (permalink)
COcyclist
Aero Wannabe
 
COcyclist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: NW Colo
Posts: 738

TDi - '04 VW Golf
TEAM VW AUDI Group
90 day: 52.55 mpg (US)
Thanks: 705
Thanked 219 Times in 170 Posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by ConnClark View Post
Does an alternator kill switch really improve your mpg? All the electricity you draw from your battery has to be put back with a 15% penalty when recharging the battery.
Good point but sometimes, yes. Especially if you can charge the deep cycle battery off the grid at night and your commute is short enough to make it home without switching on the alternator. Alternately, (no pun intended) if your route is hilly you can switch it off climbing a hill and switch it on while engine braking on the descent. Modern fuel injected engines use no fuel while in overrun.
__________________
60 mpg hwy highest, 50+mpg lifetime
TDi=fast frugal fun
https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...tml#post621801


Quote:
Originally Posted by freebeard View Post
The power needed to push an object through a fluid increases as the cube of the velocity. Mechanical friction increases as the square, so increasing speed requires progressively more power.
  Reply With Quote