Methods for on-ramp acceleration uphill?

[sevenspeed]

Thanks for all the tips, I didn't have gauges to know where WOT is yet but I just got my ultra gauge today and will be putting the vacuum gauge in this weekend. So I guess I was doing light throttle to keep it from running rich.
So it's better to accelerate in 4th gear instead of 3rd? Also, I should stay under the vtec range of 4400? I didn't know how to test onramp acceleration since it's so brief.
Warmup is another thing to figure out, I let it idle for 1 minute then drove slowly and the needle hadn't even moved yet to get on the highway. Nowhere to plug in a block heater at work either or I'd get one. I just read there are remote starts that run for 10 minutes every 2 or 3 hours, I'll have to look into that.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by sevenspeed

I just read there are remote starts that run for 10 minutes every 2 or 3 hours, I'll have to look into that.

After 2-3 hours the engine will be cold again.
Why increase wear and fuel consumption by starting it over and over again ?

[sevenspeed]

Originally Posted by euromodder

After 2-3 hours the engine will be cold again.
Why increase wear and fuel consumption by starting it over and over again ?

That's what I thought, but maybe there is one you can set the time like 9 hours which would be pretty close to when I get out. Or I even thought there must be a way to hook one up with a relay to an alarm clock even if you had to just leave a remote in there and wire into that.

[comptiger5000]

Personally, in this situation, I just power up around 3/4 throttle, and get up to speed quickly. If the hill is really steep and the ramp is short, I'll just hammer it. When picking up to cruise, the FE hit isn't that bad, and some occasional WOT doesn't hurt the Jeep. Plus, it's fun.

[jedi_sol]

About the rate of acceleration "brisk" vs. "gradual"...

didnt svoboy or someone with a crx test this and showed that the differences in mpg were very small?

I'm always reading conflicting strategies on this website. Palemalenesian (sp?) says he just got his best tank ever of 82mpg by doing slow acceleration. Other people are saying doing brisk acceleration. Is this another case of "do whats best for your car?"

Sevenspeed, yay, another GSR owner on here to compare mpgs with! 33-34MPG highway was the max I got with that motor before ecomodding. Now im up to the 43-45mpg highway range.

[bestclimb]

Originally Posted by sevenspeed

Thanks for all the tips, I didn't have gauges to know where WOT is yet but I just got my ultra gauge today and will be putting the vacuum gauge in this weekend. So I guess I was doing light throttle to keep it from running rich.
So it's better to accelerate in 4th gear instead of 3rd? Also, I should stay under the vtec range of 4400? I didn't know how to test onramp acceleration since it's so brief.
Warmup is another thing to figure out, I let it idle for 1 minute then drove slowly and the needle hadn't even moved yet to get on the highway. Nowhere to plug in a block heater at work either or I'd get one. I just read there are remote starts that run for 10 minutes every 2 or 3 hours, I'll have to look into that.

WOT is when your foot is on the floor, Wide Open Throttle.

What you are looking for is a high load on the engine for your RPM. In say 4th gear you push the throttle in. There is a point that more throttle does not add more acceleration. At that point you have 100% of load, lift just a little bit off the accelerator and you are pretty close to where you want to be. The point where no more throttle helps is higher as you increase RPM. If that level of acceleration is not getting you up to speed fast enough, time to down shift.

If you are not running the thing hard during the warm up time there is no reason to sit and idle. Just drive to the freeway and unless it is really cold out (10 below or the like) it will be warmed up enough. A block heater for at home will do wonders for mileage. In the fall I get 10-15 mpg difference on my 1 mile drive from my house to my first stop sign (and I coast engine off over half of it).

The 10 min every 2 hours is the worst idea I have ever heard of for an engine, not to mention the fact that over an 10 hour brake in driving you will be getting 0mpg for almost an hour.

[jedi_sol]

sevenspeed,

Idling for any length of time to warmup is a horrible idea for fuel efficiency because youre getting 0mpg. That's why a lot of new cars and hybrids have an "auto-off" feature where the engine will shut off by itrself when the car comes to a complete stop (ie a red light), then starts back up when you press on the gas pedal. To get the best fuel efficiency, you want to minimize idling as much as possible.

When I first drive my car in the morning everyday, I don't warm up at all, I just start driving immediately, but really slow at first until the car warms up naturally.

yeah, ditch the whole "remote start every 2-3 hours idea" if you want to get the best fuel effiency as possible.

[99LeCouch]

Hammer it. Get up to speed quickly, then cruise. No point in gently accelerating at 10 mpg for 30 seconds while a 5 mpg burst for 10 seconds will get the job done.

I've been hammering the Buick more. It uses about the same amount of gas accelerating quickly or slowly. 7 mpg quickly, 10 mpg slowly. I'll take 7 mpg for a much shorter time.

There are different versions of VTEC. Some are for performance. Others, like the i-VTEC in many small Hondas, is more fuel economy oriented.

[comptiger5000]

I agree. I've noticed that as long as I can keep the momentum after I gain it, gassing it a bit harder doesn't have much effect on FE. Plus, on some roads, it's just more fun.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

Give it 60-80% throttle and keep the RPMs as low as this will allow. You want the throttle open as wide as you can get away with without enrichment.

This. If you need more acceleration, THEN downshift and run the revs higher. Usually I find I don't need more, and your car is more powerful than mine.

Enrichment - mine does it at 95% lod on the gauge. Since you have the UG, watch the open/closed loop gauge. (in the upper right corner maybe?) Just keep it closed and you're fine.