What RPM range do I accelerate and shift for best fuel economy?

[digital rules]

Originally Posted by SilverCrown9701

The only thing I'm not looking forward to is calibrating it, according to the manual, it looks like a pain!

For me calibrating MPG was easier with the Ultragauge as you can fine tune it on the fly to an exact percentage. (21.4% for me) Can only calibrate the Scan Gauge when filling up & can't fine tune the MPG percentage offset as precisely.

Unfortunately setting up most everything else with the Ultragauge is a lot more tedious than the Scangauge, but worth it once dialed in.

[SilverCrown9701]

Originally Posted by digital rules

For me calibrating MPG was easier with the Ultragauge as you can fine tune it on the fly to an exact percentage. (21.4% for me) Can only calibrate the Scan Gauge when filling up & can't fine tune the MPG percentage offset as precisely.

Unfortunately setting up most everything else with the Ultragauge is a lot more tedious than the Scangauge, but worth it once dialed in.

I hate to ask this and this might sound like I'm totally helpless but would you mind giving a step by step process of complete calibration of the Ultragauge?

The online manual is a bit overwhelming. The steps are all over the place and not very clear.

[SilverCrown9701]

Originally Posted by dirtydave

You just need to get a scangauge or other obd2 software find a road from 0-55 like a left turn onto the highway. And test it. I have found in my KIA most efficient is holding the thottle to TPS 25 and that's about half throttle. Shifting from 1> 3> 5 slowly going.

In my girlfriends 6 speed auto 2.5 I-5 2009 jetta its best to push it 3/4 of the way in getting to speed quickly and into 6th as soon as possible.

I would think most if not all automatic transmission cars are better off going slowly from a dead stop until 5MPH and then using 3/4 throttle.

I also think the manual transmission can accelerate more efficient ly. The difference in my KIA accelerating slowly and smooth vs quick heavy throttle and shifting at 2k rpms is nothing I have seen a difference at 1-4 mpg and during accelerating. Now in the jetta it is a much larger 4-8 mpg from a dead stop to 55 or 65 mph

I took a drive last night and accelerated up to 2500-3000 RPMs after every stop. I got up to 4th gear much more quickly than I did using the slower method, but at the end of the drive, my gas gauge needle dropped from half to almost a third.

Is this normal? Can the gas needle really be trusted or am I doing something wrong?

I usually use cruise control on the highway consistently because I can't keep a steady speed with my foot alone.

**NOTE: There are some slight elevations around my area as the ground slants lower going closer to the rivers I have to cross due to natural draining and erosion over the years.

[digital rules]

The odometer(miles)needs to be calibrated first. Do you have a GPS? Have you ever checked to see if the OEM odometer is fairly accurate?

[SilverCrown9701]

Originally Posted by digital rules

The odometer(miles)needs to be calibrated first. Do you have a GPS? Have you ever checked to see if the OEM odometer is fairly accurate?

The closest thing to GPS I have is the Maps app on my iPhone powered by TomTom. It creates routes and pinpoints my location.

My house is exactly 1 mile from the main stretch and my odometer has always shown exactly 1 mile.

[digital rules]

I suggest 100 miles as a benchmark for better accuracy. My ododmeter is off 2.1 miles every 100 miles using GPS. You can use mile markers on major highways as well.

[SilverCrown9701]

Originally Posted by digital rules

I suggest 100 miles as a benchmark for better accuracy. My ododmeter is off 2.1 miles every 100 miles using GPS. You can use mile markers on major highways as well.

Wow, 100 miles? I don't think I have time to take a road trip that long.



Does the terrain of the road matter?

[digital rules]

Terrain shouldn't matter. I discovered the ododmeter discrepancy while driving through Skyline Drive in Virginia. Thought the mile markers were off, but verified the result on an interstate hwy with the same outcome.

[SilverCrown9701]

Originally Posted by digital rules

Terrain shouldn't matter. I discovered the ododmeter discrepancy while driving through Skyline Drive in Virginia. Thought the mile markers were off, but verified the result on an interstate hwy with the same outcome.

Does it have to be 100 miles?

[digital rules]

No, just makes it easier to record miles traveled w/o instrumention when calculating MPG. 25-50 miles should work too, but the more the better.