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Old 07-15-2013, 03:08 PM   #24 (permalink)
Diesel_Dave
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Indiana
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White Whale - '07 Dodge Ram 2500 ST Quad Cab 2wd, short bed
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prophecy99 View Post
what's the best way to brake?

all of us hear understand the basic coasting to up coming red lights/traffic but what is better - waiting to the last second to brake really hard once and continue rolling or more earlier on tap the breaks moderately 1 or 2 times and more gradually transition into re-accelerating?

In other words I don't like using brakes to slow down which is the biggest point here but when I use them I like to use them aggressively. Is this eco-friendly?
After you've begun the glide, the goal is to pass though the red light with the greatest possible speed. As far as braking early vs late it's a tradeoff you have to make. The advantage of braking early is there's a greater likelyhood that you won't have to use the brakes as aggressively later--braking early gives more time for the red light to change/traffic to move. The advantage of waiting to later is that the light may change eariler than expected and you may avoid having to use the brakes at all.

So it's a bit of an art. You can help yourself somewhat with different "hints" (looking ahead, watching cross traffic, watching walk signs, etc.) but there's still some luck involved. All you can do it try to maximize you chances.
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Diesel Dave

My version of energy storage is called "momentum".
My version of regenerative braking is called "bump starting".

1 Year Avg (Every Mile Traveled) = 47.8 mpg

BEST TANK: 2,009.6 mi on 35 gal (57.42 mpg): http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...5-a-26259.html


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