Newbie from Colorado's foothills

northfork1218 · #1 07-12-2008, 08:26 PM

Hello....I am too am a newbie that heard of this great website from at T.V. report about hypermiling.
Being new and inexperienced I am curious about techniques for driving in the foothills. I have already "maxed" the air pressure on my tires and gingerly press the accelerator, coast whenever possible and shift to neutral when possible.....Anyway one question that I have is that I live in some "steep" country with one grade nearing 8%.....coasting isn't a problem but I do have to use the brakes more often. Is it better to downshift and hold a more constant speed with much less braking?
Thanks for the help!
Dave

worthywads · #2 07-12-2008, 10:34 PM

What's the vehicle and year? More than likely you are much better off in gear on the grades, only going into neutral at the very end to extend the coast. Where ya at?

Bike123 · #3 07-12-2008, 10:43 PM

Most newer cars have "Decel fuel cutoff." When your foot is completely off the gas pedal, and the engine rpms are above 1500 rpm (lower # on some cars), no gas is put into the engine. The engine still provides braking, though. If the hill is steep enough to get decel fuel cut and maintain speed, stay in gear. If it is too shallow to maintain speed with engine braking, neutral gets rid of the engine braking, but adds fuel consumption to maintain idle. Shutting down the engine eliminates the idle fuel consumption, but there are a lot of caveats -- learn the basics well first, and read up on "FAS" before attempting a moving FAS.

BTW, I'm in Ft Collins. Where are you?

pelewis2 · #4 07-12-2008, 10:46 PM

I live in CO too. I have found that going up and down the foothills really kills my fuel economy

. Definitely keep it in gear. (I live in Broomfield, work in the tech center south of Denver).

AnnArtisan · #5 07-13-2008, 03:22 AM

Dave and pelewis2, I realize it's kind of late notice, but if either of you can scoot over to Fort Collins by 11:30-ish tomorrow you can join in on a "clinic" offered by senior member Gershon who is scootering up here from Pueblo. It'd be great to see the most people benefit from his time, so please e-mail me privately if you can make it and want details on where to meet.

AnnA

AnnArtisan · #6 07-13-2008, 03:24 AM

Oops, I said "tomorrow" and then realized that it already is tomorrow. (I'm a night owl who can't keep track!) To clarify, Gershon will be in Fort Collins on Sunday (today) at 11:30 a.m.

AnnA

sailordave · #7 07-13-2008, 03:45 AM

What kind of transmission and vehicle do you have? I know some people coast down a hill and up the next but that isn't viable in some locations. I remember a trip we took to the mountains when I was a teenager. Some areas called for speeds as low as 25 mph and my dad was dropping the automatic transmission to the low gear. Said it helped him brake without wearing out the brakes.

R E P U B L I C · #8 07-13-2008, 08:56 AM

scootering up here from Pueblo to FT Collins??????oh my

northfork1218 · #9 07-14-2008, 01:19 PM

Thanks for the suggestions!
I'll try and respond to the questions posed to me.
I live in Buffalo Creek....SW Jefferson County.
I have a 2001 Subaru Outback -2.5 litre(? I think off the top of my head) Manuel Trans.

AnnA, sorry I didn't get to you message in time! Thanks for the offer though. I hope the class was helpful!