All new drivers in Sweden must learn how to drive with the environment in mind. New drivers are being trained to start the car only after engaging first gear, letting off the parking brake, and checking their surroundings. Other tricks like using the highest possible gear when you are driving as well as using engine braking as much as possible are also taught. The Swedes also promote the use of biofuels.
Businesses are signing fleet drivers up for the classes to help reduce emissions because those same driving techniques also increase fuel economy. Parents of the young drivers are supportive of the classes and some students are even critiquing their parents’ driving after they complete the class. Other European countries are considering adding this eco-training to the requirements for obtaining a new drivers license as well.
+ Planet Ark: Swedish Drivers Face Test of Eco-Credentials (via Autoblog Green)
Engine braking increases fuel economy? Can someone explain how that saves more fuel than disengaging the clutch which would bring the engine to an idle as you stop - as opposed to down-shifting and bringing up engine revs?
Dan- I always wondered why my fuel economy gauge went up under engine braking. Here’s my thought- if the engine is being driven using the energy from the moving car, rather than being totally driven by the gas, maybe that uses energy that would otherwise be wasted (the negative acceleration) to run the engine. Wouldn’t they also mention starting in second and skip-shifting? In my highly uncontrolled experiments in my 944, skip-shifting, combined with starting in second, can yield a good 2 mpg increase over a single tank.
The fuel isn’t injected under engine braking, while idle, of course, does use fuel.
How does starting in second increase fuel economy? I find I generally have to push the gas harder to get it going (or pull slower out on the clutch, but I like my clutch)
I haven’t experimented with it, but I assume starting in second saves fuel because you can go from zero to about 25 MPH before shifting into third, as opposed to having to shift from first to second to third. You might need more gas to get going in second, but you don’t have wasted gas with an extra shift from first to second.
If I recall, Corvettes had (or still have) a skip-shift “feature” that uses this principle to help with fuel mileage.
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