Project "Save the Flea!" Winter beater: 2007 Civic 1.8L, 5-speed

[xavi]

are you sure it was working on 1000 rpms, cause in the link I posted he told it only works above 1500 rpms, and same happen with me

[MetroMPG]

Actually, I remembered your comment about the lower RPM threshold so I made a point to watch RPM as I eased back the accelerator from above 1500 all the way down to just below 1000.

My gauge showed it was active all the way down to 1000 RPM before it shut off.

I then watched what happened at ~1300 shifting into 3rd gear and I saw it activate then as well.

[xavi]

so perhaps the R18A1 (Canada and Usa) beeing a 5 speed engage eco cam since 1000 rpms, and then the graphic is correct...
the R18A2 (European 6MT like mine) only engaged above 1500 rpms...

luck you!
because fo that I stay always above 1500 rpms, except when down hill coasting...

[Daox]

Needs pics!

[MetroMPG]

I'll post pics when I hook up an LED.

Originally Posted by xavi

because fo that I stay always above 1500 rpms, except when down hill coasting...

You mean you sometimes stay in a lower gear to keep the RPM above 1500? Have you compared the consumption of both gears in that case? I suspect upshifting might be better. I haven't directly compared eco cam mode vs. regular cam mode, but I would like to.

[xavi]

yes, I always try to stay above 1500 rpms unless downhill.
sometimes I can engage eco cam, sometimes not due to high load needed in that case...
Sometimes I blip for one or two seconds the throttle to gain some speed, and then lift off the foot enough to engage eco cam...
If we are on normal cam throttle (high load conditions like uphill) I figured out that high gear low rpm turns out better mpg...
On the flat or slightly uphill where you can maintain eco cam, sure is better low gear/load high rpm (high I mean till 2500rpms, cause above that I can shift another upgear maintaining eco cam, and in that case eco cam 2.000 rpms is better than eco cam 2500 rpms obviously), the mpg drops the moment eco cam engages... that's how I know it's on (while the led isn't mounted again): the IGN and MPG jumps up...

I will never get a really good mpg, cause my daily comute is 5-6 mile each way, and on secondary roads, full of ups and downs, and some pothwholes...
but with that comute i still get 38-40mpg summer, and 35mpg winter...
only mod I have is SG... My tires are with 30psi front, 29 rear! (my 225-45-17 wheels and suspension are so hard, and in these bad roads I can't stand more then 32psi)...
some coleagues at work with similar cars and comute are making 27-29mpg...

[xavi]

led is mounted, not had time to proper test it now, just made 2-3 miles cross town and just lighted up once... that's how difficult it is to be on eco cam around town...
soon I get some time I will take some pics, and more info about it.

[xavi]

2 days with the led working, and so far the conclusions:
- I was wrong: after all the eco-cam engages from 1000-1100 rpm, but with barely touching the throttle, didn't happen before, but today on a slightly downhill road it engaged at 1200 rpm, so I try some more and confirm that the eco-cam range is from 1000-3500 rpm!
- to engage the first time we need to stay steady for some seconds;
- it's much easier to engage it above 2000 rpm then under;
- once is engaged it looks like even with some variation in load, and TPS, it seems that it try to stay on for a while in case we go back to required conditions, because in some situations I could be at 50-60 Load, and 25mpg on SG and it remains on... Even at some uphill road If I started the hill with eco-cam on, I could maintain it with some more throttle, enough to overtake the hill! But in this cases got to be above 2400 rpms or else it disengages.
SG wise, there is not a easy way to see the change, I mean mpg IGN goes up, MAP goes down, but this variations exists even with no eco-cam use...

MetroMPG, you make a lot of Highway miles don't you?
Monitoring this will help you squeeze some more mpg right?

[MetroMPG]

I also noticed it only becomes active once the coolant temp is higher than 155 F. (Correction: have since seen it come on at 145 F.)

MetroMPG, you make a lot of Highway miles don't you?
Monitoring this will help you squeeze some more mpg right?

Right - most of my driving is highway.

But to be honest, the indicator won't help a lot because it will be on the eco-cam lobes nearly all the time anyway (not many steep hills around here). The few hills are where it will help: I will be sure to keep the engine load below ~65% on the ScanGauge and let the speed drop, if practical. But this was always my strategy, even before i-VTEC.

[xavi]

yes, that temperature is about 1-2 miles to get depending on traffic...

I was thinking that this i-vtec didn't suit my daily comute since the avg speed is 20 mph... but this morning I was able to see some eco-cam action!
It is more dificult to engage, but is less dificult to maintain. And It makes all the difference, making it usable to me...
End up my 5 miles to work with 5.6 lt/100km (42 US mpg). It has more downhills though...
It was about 50 Fº (10 Cº) temperature outside! Very chilly...