Pulse and Glide can really work!

[Amdkt7]

This weekend I got stuck on the interstate in stop and go traffic for about ten miles. I was not happy, as I had been averaging nearly 50 mpg so far for the trip up to this point.

However, I settled into short pulses, followed by nice long glides with the clutch in. Some stretches were up hill, which cut into my average, but made up for on the down slopes where only a small bump was needed to restore my speed.

I monitored my instant and average mpg with my new ScanGuage II. I also did not interfere with the traffic flow, if anything I fit right in, with perhaps a bit of a smoothing effect on flow.

The ScanGuage is not calibrated yet, as I have not completed the two fillups required, however it matches the built in Eco-meter by about 4-5%.

My other technique that I am using a lot is to hold my throttle steady (monitoring the TPS reading on the SGII) and allow the road to vary my speed. This only works in light traffic as it can be really annoying to other drivers. Using this technique I brought my average trip to work up a few points despite wind conditions. For the road I drive a TPS reading of 21 seems to work real well.

With the Pulse and Glide approach I would keep my rpms up when accelerating, around 2 to 3K so that I could quickly bump back up to speed, then quick in with the clutch. I love seeing 300+ MPG on the gauge! Even better, when coming in to a forced stop downshifting and seeing 9999 MPG as DFCO kicks in, nice going down a hill where I only need a little engine braking to keep speed down.