Quote:
Originally Posted by ninj4geek
Nick666 brings up a good point that I'd like to riff on:
Ib like to think of everything in terms of energy, and use comparisons that easily demonstrate that idea.
Acceleration: faster acceleration takes more energy, and therefore more gas (engineering of your car notwithstanding). Think of riding a bicycle and accelerating to 20 mph from a dead stop.
It can be done easily if done slowly, but your legs would be on fire if you went flat-out to get to 20 mph. Same goes for the car.
This also applies for coasting, braking, conserving momentum, etc.
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Of course faster acceleration takes more energy, but less time to reach the target velocity. So the most efficient way to get to the target velocity is to operate the engine in the part of the BSFC where its more efficient, and that is generally at higher loads and torque near the torque peak. So "brisk" acceleration with short shifting at the torque peak is usually more efficient, avoiding fuel enrichment and higher rpm.