[ale] [OT] - Ethanol-free gas in the Atlanta area? - and gas saving tips

[Ted W.]

On 09/17/2013 07:40 PM, Ron Frazier (ALE) wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I just experienced something fascinating in my car.  We've got two car related threads going, but this one is also fuel related, so I'll put it here.
> 
> In the UltraGauge manual and in that Popular Mechanics article, I read that many cars occasionally turn their fuel injectors off to save fuel.  I sort of said yea, yea, all well and good.  But I also assumed that my 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe and my wife's 2007 Hyundai Sonata didn't have this feature.  Surely, I would have noticed it.
> 
> So, I took the Santa Fe out to go have supper.  I had torque running beside me on the android tablet.  When I was cruising down a pretty steep hill, I took my foot totally off the gas pedal.  I kept one eye on the fuel flow gauge on the tablet.  Of course, you'd expect instant mpg to go up, which it did.  What I DIDN'T expect, and could hardly believe, is that after a few seconds, the fuel flow went to ZERO.  It didn't go down.  It went AWAY!  I was totally amazed.  So my car does have this feature.  There was NO discernable difference in the feel of the car versus when the injectors were on.  The momentum of the car keeps the engine turning and the accessories running.  I don't know if they have a way of removing cylinder compression or something.  When I got to the bottom of the hill and tapped the gas pedal, the fuel flow resumed and I got power exactly like I expected to and went up the other side of the hill.
> 
> This was totally fascinating.  Note that you have to be on a pretty steep hill and going at a decent speed for this to work, at least in my car.  If the ECU thinks it's losing the ability to keep things running, it will re engage the fuel.  Now that I know what to look for, though, I want to see how often I can make this happen while maintaining safety.  Burning NO FUEL, and getting infinite MPG, even for a few seconds, is very enticing.  I have a theory that touching the brake may make this happen sooner, but I haven't confirmed this.  I have to research that.
> 
> If you have an addon gauge system for your car, either torque, scanguage, ultragauge, or other, definitely turn on the fuel flow gauge and watch it coasting down hills.  Ultragauge has configuration screens specifically for dealing with injector cut off.  I don't know about the others.
> 
> I thought this was way cooler than dirt, to paraphrase the cliche, so I'm passing it along.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> Ron

Ron, I would have been thoroughly surprised had you found your car, as
new as it is, /didn't/ have this feature. I drive a '99 Subaru Forester
and I use a ScanGaugeII to monitor my fuel consumption. When I leave it
in gear (it is a manual 5-spd) going down a hill the MPG reading
instantly jumps (and stays) at 99999MPG which leads me to believe the
fuel injectors are not in use.

Cheers,
Ted W.