Quote:
Originally Posted by ttoyoda
Exactly right. The bosses bosses boss comes down to engineering and declares "mileage must improve, I don't care how you do it". Now we know EXACTLY what the EPA mileage cycle will consist of. EXACTLY. We could build an ECU that recognized the EPA test if we wanted to, and hypermile the engine when we detect an EPA test is being run. Piece of cake. 
I wonder if the emissions test are done with the EPA drive cycle. If not, lean burn and to hades with the NOX here we come  |
Nope, no can do. While "detecting" running the EPA trace is possible, such would constitute a "defeat device" and result in big, big fines. Fuel strategies are built around the types of speeds and loads the cycles use, but not the cycles themselves.
For example, car makers enrich the AFR at high loads to get more power (or protect the catalyst from overheating) but that is done with full disclosure to the EPA.
BTW, fuel economy is measured DURING the emissions tests -- they're not separate tests. Atoms of carbon are counted and the FE is ascertained by how much passes out the tail pipe.