Results

The Honda started out in 2nd gear at 2660 RPM. However, 90% WOT at the start of the passing maneuver immediately caused a shift down to 1st gear at 4750 RPM. The vehicle accelerated to 34 mph (5300 RPM) before shifting back into 2nd gear, and to 58 mph (again 5300 RPM) before shifting into 3rd gear. After traveling a total distance of 605 ft and reaching a speed of 62 mph, the Honda had achieved a safe distance (88 ft; 2 second following distance for the Mack truck), at which point the Honda returned to its westbound lane of travel. The total distance for the passing maneuver was 685 ft.

Since the goal was to find the minimum passing distance, the Honda's throttle was initially set to 100% WOT. However, it was quickly found that this resulted in an unsafe maneuver. Therefore, the throttle input was reduced to 90% WOT and later to 75% WOT to keep the lateral acceleration below 0.5 g.

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