[Leica] Fuel consumption when accelerating - was Prius (OT)

[jhnichols at bellsouth.net (Jim Nichols)]

Jacques,

Thanks for the response, but you are "preaching to the choir". I worked in 
the wind tunnel business for forty years.

Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jacques bilinski" <jacques_bilinski@yahoo.com>
To: "Leica Users Group" <lug@leica-users.org>
Sent: Friday, November 16, 2007 7:08 PM
Subject: [Leica] Fuel consumption when accelerating - was Prius (OT)


>>>>>
>  I have to agree about the fascination with the MPG readout.  I recently
> bought a 2007 Volvo V70 which has that readout available, and I find 
> myself
> consulting it frequently, which takes me away from looking through the
> windshield. I use it, mainly, to see the negative affect of rapid
> acceleration.
>  <<<<
>  A low instantanous fuel consumpiton when accelerating is not as bad as it 
> seems because kinetic enery is being added to the car which will be used 
> to propel it later. In fact competitive fuel consumpion drivers use a 
> method called 'pulse and glide' in which they accelerate fairly rapidly 
> and then shut off the engine and coast for a while. Internal combusion 
> engines are most efficent at fairly high power outputs. The reason fast 
> driving results in higher fuel consumption is primarily because of air 
> resistance. At some speeds the Prius will cycle its engine on and off 
> which improves cosumption, despite all the losses of converting the energy 
> to electricty, to chemical energy in the battery, back to electrical 
> energy, and then to kinetic energy.
>
>
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