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Old 11-13-2014, 03:49 PM   #4 (permalink)
redpoint5
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Oregon
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Acura TSX - '06 Acura TSX
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90 day: 47.32 mpg (US)

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Your question reminds me of my first theory on hill climbing.

As Pale pointed out, pulse and gliding will get you the best fuel economy even though your speed will quickly fall off. Your engine has the torque available, even in top gear, to gain speed up the hill after a short glide.

I don't pulse and glide up hills because I have a manual gearbox, and don't want to spend my effort and clutch pad on frequent P&G. For this reason, depending on the hill, I'll often gain speed up the hill to crest it quickly and then glide down the backside.

If the hill is so steep that on the backside I will go over the speed limit, I'll coast up the last portion of the hill, allowing my speed to fall off, and then gain the speed back on the downhill.

I never brake going downhill unless there is a stop at the bottom. On the rare hill that is extremely steep, I'll DFCO to control speed.
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