Originally posted by Ray:
a few things to note:

driving belowe the "bulk" of the powerband (lower than about 2K) is a waste of time... There is more strain on the transaxle to pull a car that low in the rpm range, and in turn uses more gas.

Also.. coasting in neutral or with the clutch in uses more gas than leaving it in gear and "engine braking" down a hill.

In neutral, you are still pumping gas through the injectors (idling)... in gear, it will actually shut off the injectors and stop using gas at all.. Coasting in gear is the most efficient means of operating the engine that is possible.


You will see the best mileage staying between 2K and 3K (power band and secondary operation, respectively).


Ray



That's an interesting bit to note about coasting in gear. I will keep that in mind and see if it has any noticeable impact on my gas mileage next time I'm at the pump.

As for shifting below 2k rpm... I didn't say that anywhere. I usually shift around 2500-2750, the main difference being that I open the throttle up less, which means it takes longer for the car to get up to speed. Of course, fast acceleration = gas hog, and that's what I'm trying to avoid. Notice that I said a combination of keeping the RPMs low and opening the throttle as little as possible. Regardless of RPM, you're not bogging down the engine in any gear until you have to open the throttle more than you should. As long as you're not driving uphill, there's no reason why shifting at 2k wouldn't be a viable and effective option in terms of gas usage for the CSVT. For example, there are several streets around where I live where I can drive 25 mph in 4th gear because they are all fairly flat. The engine is running at well less than 2k RPM, but it's providing just enough power to propel the car while I'm just touching the throttle. If at any point I need to open the throttle up further for any reason, it's a logical step to downshift to 3rd first, especially if I'm coming up on a hill.

E0 Silver Frost CSVT #3095/6535 Alpine CDA-9851