Quote:
Originally Posted by euromodder
That's exatly what a CC does NOT do, as it tries to maintain a constant speed.
So uphill it's pouring on gas, downhill it's engine braking (throttling back).
Both are inefficient ...
I try to pulse before an incline, then coast up it and down again - works for bridges etc, but not on hills as the climb is too long.
This is a case where big US engines will do relatively better - simply because they can cope better with the temporary higher load.
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My car won't coast down most hills at over 50mph though, it'll lose speed, so I doubt the engine braking thing. I suppose my ultra light curb weight could have something to do with it though.
If you pulse before the incline, you'll be travelling faster before the incline and thus using more energy. If you pulse on the incline, you can use the incline to store energy and keep a lower speed, while maintaining the same average speed. Pulsing up the hills and gliding down tends to keep my speed closest to constant.
You might be right about the bigger engines though, especially if you say your engine hits 100% load. I only need 50% load to maintain speed up hills, but my 5th gear is very short. I can't see it ever being more than 75% on any car sold here.