Tried a little EOC today

[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

[alex16]

I've read about a few EV guys using Vacuum pumps from turbo volvo's, I might be investing in one of these for my EOC although my civic doesn't take much effort without the vacuum booster its difficult for me to efficiently restart my civic (automatic) before the stop sign and adjust to vacuum boosted brakes after using no booster for the 3 mile 9 1/2% grade.

[Daox]

If you're going down a mountain just use DFCO...

[Fat Charlie]

I miss EOC. I'll be back soon.

[pgfpro]

Here's the electric pump I'm using. 20" hg instant
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ssb-28146

[NachtRitter]

Ya, I've tried it with my Jetta TDI as well, and what worried me the most is difference in steering effort between engine off and engine running... bump-starting in a curve would cause me to nearly swerve out of my lane due to the difference in effort. A nice long straight = no problem... curvy = Yikes!

[skyking]

Major update!
I looked it over on the way up the hill today, and made a plan. I tested the braking and it was 6 even applications before the brakes went 'stony'.
I made a braking budget of 4. after 4, look for a good place to start it. That way I was not starting in a corner, NachtRitter
I did use DFCO for part of the trip down. I would start when the braking required it, and use some engine drag on the steeper section.
This amounted to 0.7 miles on an 11.7 mile EOC
Then a short 1 mile engine run on a smallish bump, followed by a 4.2 mile EOC run with two brake applications.
Then another 1.5 mile run.
and a 0.7 mile run.
This was on my 60 mile return trip from the mountain. I figure I coasted 17.4 miles on the way home today.

[NachtRitter]

Wow! That is a pretty nice coast!!

[skyking]

Yes it was! I had a ball doing it. I had some traffic on the 4.2 run that kept me guessing as far as strategy. Sometimes they were half a mile ahead, other times I was braking right up on them. Nobody was behind me. It was a real gas, using no diesel.

[skyking]

I had nobody behind me today, so I rolled right out the gate and kept going. It was 16.3 miles with 0.8 engine on. This EOC is fun stuff.