Place your bets on the smart...

[zpiloto]

What's the route like? If it's highway pick a time when there is enough traffic to provide a vacuum to pull you along but not enough that it's stop and go. Get in the slow lane and let them pull you along. I agree with Metro on the CC, manual control with load is the way to go. Also don't begin the quest with a cold engine. Does the smart have a under tray? If not add that to the list.

[smartzuuk]

Back to the 'freewheeling'...

For curiousity sake, I dropped the car into N several times yesterday... immediately, fuel usage goes to between .2 and .6 L/100km, as opposed to just leaving it in gear, which displays 0.0

[omgwtfbyobbq]

What's the difference in energy lost between engine in gear and engine in N? Does the additional distance traveled at some average speed make up for the engine idling?

[smartzuuk]

I understand what you are saying (I think) - meaning, if going downhill, would you travel far enough at .6 L/100 km (idling, out of gear) to outweight the benefit of going not as far at 0.0 (coasting in gear)?

No practical way for me to test this. My proposed 101 mile route doesn't have drastic elevation changes (range is 20 to 135 feet)

In city driving... I accumulate a double bonus for coasting in gear up to lights, slower traffic etc... a) less fuel consumed by easing off the accerator sooner obviously and b) even less fuel consumed by coasting longer, and not arriving at a point where I would have to actually idle

So yes, there is technique in how I drive. I'm not autopilot! Even the cruise which I use heavily is constantly adjusted, as every press of the button is 1 km, which is a total bonus.

The bottom line is that with no throttle applied, as long as you are moving, the car uses no fuel, so I am milking that for all it is worth. This is why I say no P&G/fishing in my application... although, I guess in a way, I am P&G, just not the same way as others.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by smartzuuk

I'm working on getting you matched up with a smart owner.

Cool, thanks.

--

Ah, so you CAN go into neutral from any gear! I thought that being a sequential shifter, it would be like my last motorcycle where to get to neutral from 6th, for example, I had to shift sequentially down through 5-4-3-2 to get to N. (Although the motorcycle had a clutch, where the smart doesn't).

As for what's better, decelerating in gear with engine braking & fuel cutoff, vs. freewheeling in neutral with the engine idling, sounds like a test or 2 is needed...

Like: reset the SG passing a marker at a fixed constant speed, drive past a second marker and go to neutral. Coast to a stop & record FE info as well as the point at which you stopped.

For the comparison run with engine braking/fuel cut-off, you'd have to practice to figure it out, but with trial & error you could work backwards and calculate the point from the "stop" mark at which you have to release the accelerator to engine-brake in fuel cut-off mode to come to a stop at the same point. Sorry if that's confusing!

The point would be to compare the 2 techniques covering the same distance and using the same initial speed.

Sounds like someone at the smart forum already figured out that when descending a grade, anything less than 7% will yield better FE if you go to neutral due to the engine-braking effect. That suggests coasting in N on level ground will also beat using fuel cut-off mode.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

I don't think you need to have changes in elevation over considerable distances, just find a marked route on google earth with a decent elevation change and run a couple SG segments. you can also measure the time it takes you to go whatever distance, and your initial and final speed. The difference in KE during both types of run should show you about how much drag is associated with the transmission, while your SG should show you which type of driving is more fuel efficient.

[psyshack]

I saw my first smart several weeks ago here in Tulsa on the broken arrow express way. It was Blue and Silver. I honked at the driver and give the thumbs up. He didnt seemed impressed that anybody knew what he was driving or how rare it is in these parts.

I bet you will get 100 mpg+ out of it before its all said and done.

I myself would buy a Atom over a Smart.

[smartzuuk]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Ah, so you CAN go into neutral from any gear! I thought that being a sequential shifter, it would be like my last motorcycle where to get to neutral from 6th, for example, I had to shift sequentially down through 5-4-3-2 to get to N. (Although the motorcycle had a clutch, where the smart doesn't).

Yes - you can go to neutral, and also - you can go back into gear.

The smart does have a 'clutch', vis a vis, a friction disc... but the control is electronic, rather than a pedal.

I'll have to look for somewhere to try using neutral for FE tests.

[MetroMPG]

Right you are. I should have said "clutch pedal" or "manual clutch".

Now, if one reason for not stopping the engine (e.g. P&G) is to keep oil flowing to keep the turbo from getting too hot (is that correct?), is an electric oil pump an option? I read that idea somewhere recently.

[smartzuuk]

A thought I guess, but that would require 'hybrid mode' on SG right? And I use 'diesela'.

Baby steps... LOL