| strat61caster |
06-06-2014 09:38 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by paulca
(Post 1781786)
Also it may produce better economy when cruising, I haven't tested this though.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J_kennington
(Post 1781871)
I won't lie, on interstates/long open roads. I get WAY better gas mileage using cruise control lol. But, like moose said. We as humans can't decide exactly where the throttle should be unlike the computer. Much less hold it consistently.
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Combustion engines operate most efficiently at steady state operation: constant load, same throttle position. Accelerating uses a lot more gas than maintaining speed, and I don't know about you guys but for me it's a very concentrated effort to maintain a constant speed as I cruise along, there's no way I can maintain that over a >30 minute stretch of boring highway or commuting and that's where the cruise control kicks in.
Where it may not work so well is elevation changes, going uphill is an increase in load so the cruise control opens the throttle to compensate when in reality it may be best to allow the car to slow or downshift which is likely more efficient than the engine struggling in too high of a gear. There are instances of certain cruise controls getting flummoxed by hills and hunting for gears in automatics.
Cruise control is great for driving efficiently and has definitely saved me a few bucks. Set it to 65, get some entertainment on the radio, relax and keep my eyes on the road. Yes it's boring but not every hour+ long trip can be turned into a 3 hour detour of
:burnrubber:
and avoiding speed traps.
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