Tried a little EOC today

[NachtRitter]

Do you have instrumentation that keeps track of the current FE during EOC?

[D.O.G.]

Originally Posted by skyking

And it was not so good. The Beetle TDI is a bit heavy for that. I can Armstrong the steering OK, but only get 3 brake applications before the brakes get really ineffective in an emergency.
There was too much slower traffic ahead for me to keep off the brakes.
I was descending down the west side of Mt. Rainier, dropping from 5000' to 2000' at Longmire. Lots of good energy to be had, but also a ton of switchbacks and slower speeds.
Before I tried it, I had the windows down and sunroof open to maximize drag. I daydreamed about a large speedbrake I could deploy out the sunroof when needed

I have a couple of steep, winding descents on my commute where, like you, I have to use some sort of braking while I'm EOCing.

I use a maintained push button (push on, push off) for my kill switch (mounted on the gear lever), so I can use engine braking (5th gear) for scrubbing off a little speed on the fast corners and still keep the vacuum reserve topped up for the sharp corners where I have to use the brakes.

[skyking]

Originally Posted by NachtRitter

Do you have instrumentation that keeps track of the current FE during EOC?

No, I want to get a scangauge today.
Right now the procedure is:
Key off to kill engine, then back on to get my gauges (and odometer!) back on, and have it ready for a bump start.
All the lights light up as usual and the check engine light stays on. It has daytime headlights so they are on. I don't worry about the battery on the ~25 minute roll, since I bump the engine anyway a couple of times in the roll. I tried keystarting it too, it was fine.

[NachtRitter]

Was wondering because I have a Scangauge, but it shuts off when the engine is not running... even when the key is on. Apparently it is looking for some kind of signal from the OBD port which indicates that the engine is actually turning over vs the key being on. Haven't taken the time to investigate further. I *think* (not positive though) that the SG does not record the miles while doing EOC, which (if that's the case) would screw up the FE average calculated by the SG...

[skyking]

Oh well. I can live with that. Once the Mt. job is done there will be several months of flat ground commuting with no EOC opportunity.

[skyking]

I had a few extra trips between elevations today, and racked up over 40 miles EOC.
I don't have a scangauge here yet, but I tried some idle coasting in a few other spots based on Vekke's recommendations.

[NachtRitter]

Ya, that's what I do most of the time... EOnC... Obviously uses a bit more fuel than EOffC, but I get no surprises (e.g. brakes, power steering) that way.

[skyking]

I installed my SG II today, and found the parameter to set regarding your EOC question.
The default setting for the off event is 0 RPM.
Go into advanced settings, and set it to COM.
After learning that the TDI idles at 0.1 GPH when warm, it has become a moot point indeed.

[davelobi]

Originally Posted by skyking

This EOC is fun stuff.

Yup! Free Free Free.

By the way, a few of you mentioned power steering, what's that?

[Fat Charlie]

A frivolous power drain.