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Sweet Spot

JEBar

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over time I've found that every vehicle we have owned (there are 5 parked in the driveway right now) has speed (sweet spot) where it gets the best mileage .... for most it has been the lowest speed at which the automatic transmission (haven't owned a straight drive since '78) is in OD/highest gear and has sufficient torque to prevent transmission changes on minor grades .... as one example, the Allison transmission shifts into 6th gear at 58 - 59 mph in our Freightliner Sportchassis .... if I set the cruise at 61 - 62 mph she gets the best mileage .... I'm not talking about what speed it will undergo mileage certification, with its 3-cylinder engine, I wonder what the operational sweet spot for mileage in an Elio will be ...

Jim
 

wheaters

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I can hear the sweet spot on my Liege. It's just about 3,800 rpm, which also happens to be the torque peak we got on the rolling road results. The exhaust note just begins to rasp then. I fitted a different axle differential for touring and this happily coincides with motorway cruising speed in top gear, just about 70 mph. If I go beyond that rpm, the speed increase is at the expense of a lot more fuel consumption.
 

skygazer6033

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I've noticed 65 mph to be the "sweet spot" on most cars. At 55-60 it seems like a lot of auto trans cars the transmission can't decide on what gear it needs to be in. Above 65 mph the fuel flow goes up exponentially. Something like 20% more gas to go 5% faster. I was surprised to read the Elio trans was to be geared for 1700-1800 rpm at cruise. The only car I've owned that cruised a that low of rpm was a 95 Transam 6 speed. Most cars seem to be 2100-2300 rpm. IAV must really be tuning the engine for low end torque.
 

Edward43

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over time I've found that every vehicle we have owned (there are 5 parked in the driveway right now) has speed (sweet spot) where it gets the best mileage .... for most it has been the lowest speed at which the automatic transmission (haven't owned a straight drive since '78) is in OD/highest gear and has sufficient torque to prevent transmission changes on minor grades .... as one example, the Allison transmission shifts into 6th gear at 58 - 59 mph in our Freightliner Sportchassis .... if I set the cruise at 61 - 62 mph she gets the best mileage .... I'm not talking about what speed it will undergo mileage certification, with its 3-cylinder engine, I wonder what the operational sweet spot for mileage in an Elio will be ...

Jim
That is the $6800.00 dollar question, (or $200,000,000), depending on which side of the table you sit. I remember when Honda Insight owner's were constantly searching for that number. Their group, (very similar to our's), was very competitive about trying to reach the 70 MPG mark. With the technology that is available today for small motors, and Paul Elio's team of expert's who know that this is the number one challenge while sustaining a small motor for a long life, not to mention the miriade number of ways it will be used. Ah! So much to do yesterday..
 
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