How to drive Integra, Help!
 

Hi, this is my first post here and am very excited to see what I can learn! I have spent many hours reading into Hypermiling so im hoping to get into specifics with my car. Can I get a brief rundown of when I should be shifting and how fast I should accelerate? Those are my 2 main concerns for which I have not been able to find a good answer. I’ve been upshifting at about 3k but have dropped it to around 2.5k. I’m trying not to drive a lot due to gas prices around my area are all over $4. And I take about 5-7 seconds to upshift but im feeling that may be too long and causing me to spend extra gas. I have a regular combined of 28mpg consistently but really want to have a consistent 30+mpg. Please, help me out! Thanks:).
- Aaron

Your shift points depend on your engine's best brake specific fuel consumption. Most 2 liter class engines should be shifted between ~2200-2500 rpm, which puts them at about 1500 rpm in the next higher gear. Best acceleration rate also varies with your particular engine, but it's far better to see it with instrumentation like a Scangauge or Ultragauge. Both my SE-R and my xB like ~85% engine load for best mpg, but that's decidedly brisk acceleration with the SE-R, and mild acceleration with the xB.

Ya, ive dropped my rpm shift by about 500rpm to 2,500rpm. When you say load, what does that equate to in acceleration time if you had to guess? Id like to find someone who has an Integra and can teach me but I haven't been able to find anyone. Anything else I should focus on? Thanks for help!
- Aaron

My xB has the following gear/rpm/speed relationship:

gear....rpm....speed
2nd.....1500..10 mph
2nd.....2500..20 mph
3rd......1500..15 mph
3rd......2500..30 mph
4th......1500..25 mph
4th......2500..40 mph
5th......1500..30 mph
5th......2500..50 mph

On flat ground, 1500 rpm to 2500 rpm is 3 seconds in 2nd gear, and 8 seconds in 3rd and 4th gears. I usually P&G at higher rpms in 5th gear, to accommodate highway speeds - typically 45-55 mph in the xB, but 50-65 mph in the SE-R. Those accelerations both take about 8 seconds. The times go up on uphills, and down on downhills. I suspect your high-revving GSR might like 1700-2800 rpm better, probably at the same rate of acceleration.

An Ultragauge or Scangauge will quickly pay for itself. I've saved over $1700 in 2-1/2 years compared to the EPA combined estimates.

I do a lot of EOC between pulses. Compared to the 3-8 second pulses, my glide times are typically 30 seconds 20-10 mph, 40 seconds 30-15 mph, 24 seconds 40-25 mph, and 16 seconds 55-45 mph.

I start gliding to stops 3-4 blocks before them, unlike most drivers who still have their feet on the gas pedal half a block from the stop. I also shut the engine off at all stops where I expect to be there more than 7 seconds.

So, my advice is slow down and conserve momentum.

I pass through Santa Barbara a couple of times/year, on the way to my parents' home near Ventura, and/or my son's in Camarillo. Perhaps we can coordinate a clinic, and/or I can loan you my Scangauge for a couple of days on one of those trips.

I would do a Scangauge but my car is Pre-OBDII, thank you for your generosity. Without actual data, its hard to fine-tune a proper driving habit but I will do my best! Ill try accelerating as you posted above. Let me know if I got this right. 1st - 2nd = 3sec @ 2500rpm, 2nd - 3rd = 3sec @ 2500 rpms, 3rd - 4th = 8sec @ 2200 rpms, 4th - 5th = 8sec @ 2200rpms.

look into getting one of the MPGuino's, the forum on here can help you with all your questions.

OpenGauge / MPGuino FE computer - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com

Jackal,

My bad. I wasn't paying attention, and missed your ride being pre-OBDII. MPGuino is the way for you to instrument, then.

The figures I gave were my P&G pulse targets. I accelerate a bit differently, since P&G builds extra speed that you glide off of. For normal acceleration, you want to shift sooner. I shift 1st - 2nd and 2nd - 3rd within 2 sec @ 1700 rpms. 3rd - 5th = 8 sec @ 2000 rpms. I skip 4th gear, and start pulling in 5th 30 mph if I'm on country roads. If I have to get up to speed faster for a highway on-ramp merge, I'll plan to accelerate to 2500 rpm in 3rd, 4th, and 5th, taking 8 sec for each gear. But safety comes first, so mash the gas if you have to. More often, I prefer to slow down, and merge in after a big rig. It gives me an excuse to accelerate leisurely after I've merged.

I saw that thing for the MPGuino when I was poking around the site last night, looks interesting. Thanks for the help Sentra, I think my problem has been accelerating too slow, will make adjustments, Thanks again!

Some great advice given already. Your goals are very reasonable if not a little below what you can do with some practice. I have a 2002 Acura RSX-S and I average over 38mpg and have managed 41.5mpg. With the Acuras, because of the higher compression ratio you have to be careful not to lug the engine, so if you shift and your car hesitates (feels like it burps), you're shifting at too low of an RPM and need to avoid that at all costs. For my Acura (which redlines at 7,900rpm), I generally shift between 2,500-3,000 and don't let the engine lug below 1,900rpms.

Driving Without Brakes (DWB) and Driving With Load (DWL) are the two techniques that really started the improvement and got me up to 36-38mpg. The rest is never letting my car idle and never paying for gas to go downhill (Engine Off Coasting (EOC)). If I can see the cross traffic lights or there's more than one car in front of me at the light, I turn off my engine until I see the cross traffic light go yellow (buys about 1.5-2.5mpg).

So im on the ClubIntegra forums and I have 2 different people on there claiming they drive at over 3k in all gears and upshift at 4-5k, 50% city driving, and are averaging mid 30's/mpg. How is this possible? Goes against everything ive read...