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I'm starting to attempt Pulse & Gliding, where I can. Which is tough...'cause everyone wants to ride my rear-end when I'm at the bottom of the glide, then they accelerate right along with me, making me nervous to attempt the next glide. How do y'all deal with this?

I have my tires currently inflated to 40psi. I'll eventually work my way up to 44, I'm sure. The glide seems to work just fine. The problem is the pulsing. It seems even a slight tap on the pedal downshifts a gear. Assuming I'm doing a 40-50mph pulse, I have to barely touch the pedal, then slowly increase pressure to maintain 5th gear. Obviously that makes the acceleration take longer. I think at best I'm getting a 2:1 glide:pulse ratio, maybe more like 1.8:1. Advice, anyone?

Also, is a 10mph delta considered optimal? What if I could it 35-50, or 40-55, or 50-65, or something like that...would that be worth it? Traffic permitting, of course.

-Mike

The longer the glide, the better for FE; the bigger the delta, the better for FE.

I don't deal with traffic behind me; I make them deal with me. Well, unless the road is crowded enough that it isn't easy for them to pass me. ;) In which case, I'll accelerate slowly and just hold at the PSL. That usually gets them to go around me, so I can get back to P&G.

-soD

Hi Mike:

___You should not do it by impeding traffic but you should pick up the range, take alternate routes or using your traffic control techniques. What I would rather see you do is pick up your numbers using the basics first. P&G sounds like it is a bit much so early on and trust me, your Civic will give you an easy 50 + without resorting to P&G. Second item, unless you are SG-II equipped, you are really wasting your time as your results can be worse than a std. DWL/DWB steady state cruise. Too many try to force the techniques and end up choking on them. I would hate to see you go that route so early on :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Mike:You should not do it by impeding traffic but you should pick up the range,Meaning go more than 10mph spread...more like 15 or so?
What I would rather see you do is pick up your numbers using the basics first. P&G sounds like it is a bit much so early on and trust me, your Civic will give you an easy 50 + without resorting to P&G.
Well, so far I've upped my tire psi (only to 40 for the moment...I'll get it to 44 soon. But already I can tell the glides were longer than where they were at 35)
Do you really think I can get up to 50mpg without doing P&G? I figured P&G is pretty much the main way to do it. That, and tire pressure.
Second item, unless you are SG-II equipped, you are really wasting your time as your results can be worse than a std. DWL/DWB steady state cruise.My scangauge should arrive tomorrow if all goes well.
I'm curious what would cause my results to be worse than a std?
As for DWL/DWB I've already been trying to do those for a while (DWB mainly...DWL isn't too relevant, as there are hardly any hills here in Central Florida), though I'm definitely more aware of it. I try to use the gliding to a stop in N when possible...and in D when I think that's more worth it. It's definitely easier when there are no other cars around!
I also have been slowing down a little. It's actually a little more relaxing, until someone decides to read the serial # on my rear bumper and refuses to go around me.
Too many try to force the techniques and end up choking on them. I would hate to see you go that route so early on :(Oh I don't think I'm choking yet. I know this will take a while. That's why I'm asking questions...I want to make sure I'm not learning incorrectly.

Thanks for the advice!

-Mike

Yes, you can get 50mpg without P&G. I can do it in the FIT. Technique my friend. ;)

Put the psi up to the max side wall and start there( I have mine at 60psi.). Next, slow down, go 5-10mph under the speed limit, do not accelerate like you are racing, relax and don't be in a hurry. Plan ahead for the traffic.

Mike, Wayne was referring to the "bracket" when he said pick up the range. This means, raise your top speed and your low speed set points. You may also have to narrow your delta, though 5mph is almost useless. 10mph for a delta is quite good, 15mph is even better. 20mph is very nice when you can get a deserted road, but much above that and I've not been able to see a real benefit.

Keep in mind that in order to deal with traffic you are going to have to mix and match techniques and parameters. Sometimes you'll FAS. Sometimes you'll DFCO. Sometimes you'll need steady state. Sometimes you'll do P&G with constantly changing set points to accommodate traffic (15-45, then 30-45, then 20-45, then maybe 40-45). This is not just a steady "apply this technique and you'll get results" -- it is more the art of application with the best match to terrain, temperature, weather, traffic, and timing.

You can easily get worse results with P&G than you would with simple use of DWB and DWL if you can't see the immediate results of your efforts. Even with a ScanGauge, you must understand the mechanics of the operation completely to get the best results out of it.

Good luck and keep asking questions! All we ask is that you stay safe and familiarize yourself with the techniques at a rate allowing you to become not only extremely comfortable with them, but well versed in their proper application in a wide variety of situations.