Question about EOC with an Auto... :confused:

[IndyIan]

In my experience automatic cars will not cut fuel to engine for a long time when you are off the gas. When you get your scanguage you will know for sure, just watch the instantaneous MPG gauge. I think this is to do with how an auto works.
As for EOC, since your tranny doesn't have a good reputation I wouldn't bother. Do coast in neutral idling though, idling uses way less gas than even using 3% throttle to keep the engine from braking.
Ian

[RH77]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

In my experience automatic cars will not cut fuel to engine for a long time when you are off the gas. When you get your scanguage you will know for sure, just watch the instantaneous MPG gauge. I think this is to do with how an auto works.
As for EOC, since your tranny doesn't have a good reputation I wouldn't bother. Do coast in neutral idling though, idling uses way less gas than even using 3% throttle to keep the engine from braking.
Ian

I believe there's a glitch in the SG that doesn't show DFCO. My Acura shop manual states the same -- down to 1250 RPM. I think it's fairly instantaneous.

Some have installed a blinking LED to indicate if their injectors are firing -- or a multimeter may do the same for experimental purposes.

I commonly downshift to scrub speed, but rev-match to reduce wear.

RH77

[azraelswrd]

My SG shows DFCO occurring immediately as long as I'm above my minimum DFCO limit (1400rpms).

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted by azraelswrd

My SG shows DFCO occurring immediately as long as I'm above my minimum DFCO limit (1400rpms).

So at 60 mph does your engine stay over 1400rpm when you let off the throttle? I've found my Neon will cut fuel for a second or two when I let off the gas with the engine over 3000rpm but then it goes back to adding fuel when the rpm drops. I guess having a 3 spd auto with a "looser" torque converter than a 4spd auto they decided not to be aggressive with the fuel cut off.

[trikkonceptz]

I EOC aggressively with my automatic Vibe, at speeds less than 50 mph when coasting back to 0mph. In my case the longest stretch I encounter is 1/2 mile and the only issue I can warn against is the power steering which obviously gos from easy to hard to easy as you bump the engine back on.

I recently switched tranny oil to synthetic in order to put my mind at ease regarding any abuse to a non lubricated tranny, but with distances less than 1/2 coasting, I am rolling the dice to see if it causes any future damage. I feel the $$$ I am saving now is worth the replacement manual transmission if it does blow. At least the money won't go to oil .. LOL

[azraelswrd]

Originally Posted by IndyIan

So at 60 mph does your engine stay over 1400rpm when you let off the throttle? I've found my Neon will cut fuel for a second or two when I let off the gas with the engine over 3000rpm but then it goes back to adding fuel when the rpm drops. I guess having a 3 spd auto with a "looser" torque converter than a 4spd auto they decided not to be aggressive with the fuel cut off.

Yes. It takes time for my throttle to drop while the DFCO takes into account RPM and speed, so it USUALLY ends at 1400rpm and 32mph (I've seen it cut out around 1200 rpm). To put this into the context of time, my own tests showed D-coasts from 45 to 32mph takes an average of 13.5sec. An N-coast from 45 to 32mph, it takes an average of 28sec. That's why I use a combination of the two: D-coast in DFCO then N-coast the rest of the way to get the most MPG out of the distance.

Yeah, it sounds like your car wasn't designed to be as frugal with the DFCO.

I'm also figuring out my optimum TPS per speed proportions and it's really helpful for refining my cruising behavior. Load accelerating has also been great. No more tortoise starts for me (if I can help it)!!!

[TheTopher]

Cool, another Auto Acura driver Same year as me too. Welcome, mate.

I believe there's a glitch in the SG that doesn't show DFCO. My Acura shop manual states the same -- down to 1250 RPM. I think it's fairly instantaneous.

Some have installed a blinking LED to indicate if their injectors are firing -- or a multimeter may do the same for experimental purposes.

I commonly downshift to scrub speed, but rev-match to reduce wear.

RH77

I've got a scanguage II in my Integra and it reports DFCO just fine, MPG goes to 9999, GPH goes to 0.00 and CPM goes to 0.000 Can't be more definite than that. It usually only takes a second or two before it engages, and when you pay enough attention you can sort of "feel" how the car pulls differently when it kicks in. It feels almost as though someone started very gently pushing the brakes. As an added bonus if you turn your AC on while you're in DFCO it doesn't really hurt your mileage. You can also feel how it's like someone's pushing that invisible brake pedal just a little harder.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by TheTopher

I've got a scanguage II in my Integra and it reports DFCO just fine, MPG goes to 9999, GPH goes to 0.00 and CPM goes to 0.000 Can't be more definite than that. It usually only takes a second or two before it engages, and when you pay enough attention you can sort of "feel" how the car pulls differently when it kicks in. It feels almost as though someone started very gently pushing the brakes. As an added bonus if you turn your AC on while you're in DFCO it doesn't really hurt your mileage. You can also feel how it's like someone's pushing that invisible brake pedal just a little harder.

Are you running the "X-Gauge" program with the SGII? Mine is about a year old without the CPM option. I haven't seen 9999 unless I shut down the engine on coast.

I may turn it in under warranty. Some pixels are going out on the bottom-right, first number displayed (on mine it's MPG, so a bit frustrating). I'd see about adding additional parameters if it's worth it.

Yeah I feel the exact same feeling as you mention. Then at 1250 the TC disengages and raises the RPM a bit to fire things back up.

By the way, I've been having a surge issue over the last several months. At steady cruise, I can feel something like a miniature A/C compressor kicking-in -- then ~30 seconds later, whatever it is disengages. (A/C is confirmed off) I have an ancient battery (~6-years old) and I'm wondering if it's the alternator asking for more demand to charge the batt. It could be the fan kicking-on. No changes in voltage, but a slight drop in FE is noted. Can't figure it

RH77

[TheTopher]

That sounds like a pretty viable culprit. I've sat at red lights watching my voltage and gph usage while I turn stuff on and off , lights stereo fans etc. The voltage never changes, it always goes between 14 and 14.1 but there's a definite, although sometimes subtle change in GPH when things are added to the alternator load. I just replaced my battery last year.

[PA32R]

Originally Posted by RH77

I believe there's a glitch in the SG that doesn't show DFCO. My Acura shop manual states the same -- down to 1250 RPM. I think it's fairly instantaneous.

Some have installed a blinking LED to indicate if their injectors are firing -- or a multimeter may do the same for experimental purposes.

I commonly downshift to scrub speed, but rev-match to reduce wear.

RH77

I don't think it's a glitch in the Scan Gauge II. There's an interview with the designer in the blog post at the Metrompg site, here, he states that it's to do with misreporting of the fuel injector status by the OBD II in some vehicles.