105 replies to this topic

[Vic Harder]

I think my cc saves me gas, not to mention making my driving more predictable for those around me, as it holds speed very consistently, even downhill (love the Allison transmission for that!).

 

And to Packrat's point, I have never noticed sway from a semi's wind impact.  I am very happy with the handling on my rig. 

 

To wit, we still have snow with deep ruts on our street, and I have to do a 180 to park.  Unless I want to do a 3+ point, I just crank the wheel, boot it and let the back end swing around... voila, parking spot is now right in front of me.  Try doing that with a top heavy rig! 

[evansbigdayout]

Bill, the cruise control in my 2012 tundra does the same thing on even slightly hilly terrain so I don't use it.  But I do notice 1-2mpg increase when I use it on level drives and freeway stretches.  It's not a huge increase, so I don't try to use it religiously.

[klahanie]

Bill, back in the day (post oil crisis) all the tips to improve you fuel economy included the heavy use of CC. But I never really bought into it, in part because of what you mentioned and also because of the frequent delay sensing a hill climb where the controller would belatedly "step on it" to maintain speed. Unlike the driver who could cheat a bit by speeding up before the hill or better yet speed up going down the hill that proceeded it. (yah, I know you can still do that with CC on)

 

Nowadays the sensing and modulation is much improved so I'll use it on the flats or if there are lots of cars passing and I just want to stay out of speed race. Don't really use it for fuel economy.

 

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Vic, I noticed you skipped over the "slow down" suggestion . Understandable from you neck of the woods. Don't know if its the cheap Alberta gas or the rush to get to BC but  I know when it comes to driving fast you folks have a proud reputation to uphold. 

Edited by klahanie, 29 March 2018 - 11:35 PM.

[Vic Harder]

Vic, I noticed you skipped over the "slow down" suggestion . Understandable from you neck of the woods. Don't know if its the cheap Alberta gas or the rush to get to BC but  I know when it comes to driving fast you folks have a proud reputation to uphold. 

LOL!  Unlike most Alberta folks, I love corners and usually speed up for those!  And I don't generally speed on the straights!  Maybe that's because I grew up on the wet coast and used to teach autocross driving.  

 

My defensive driving training and skills have given me a preference for driving slightly faster than others, so that can "see" and anticipate what is coming up, rather than trying to see what's behind.  That is true when I drive cars, and even more so with a camper on the truck.

 

Gas is not "cheap" in Alberta, at least not relative to the USA.

[BillTheHiker]

I just searched Tacomaworld.com to see if others have similar experience to mine with their Tacomas and sure enough, they do:

https://www.tacomawo...mileage.510449/

Edited by BillTheHiker, 30 March 2018 - 12:02 AM.

[moveinon]

Between my Tacoma + Fleet (16 MPG) and my Prius (49 MPG) I average about 33 MPG which seams pretty good to me.

[BBZ]

14 F150 Super Crew 6.5 bed, 5.0 liter with 82 ish Fleet, two dog, two adults and full.. 16.3 for over 4500 miles down Baja and back..

 

Recent trip to Moab and Back (about 800 miles).. only one adult and not as full -19 mpg 

 

Certainly keeping it under 70 is the key for my truck..

[kmcintyre]

2015 RAM 1500 EcoDiesel w/ 3.92 rear gears, Eagle camper.  I get 20mph at about 75mph.  If I drop it down to 55-65 it goes up to about 23 but I don't go that slow.

[Ramblinman]

Hi! This is one of my favourite threads. I am bumping it to the top to see if anyone would like to contribute further. 

[JaSAn]

On my trip to Nebraska from Minnesota I was bucking 10 - 20 mph headwinds.  And wouldn't you know it, I only had one day of tailwinds.  Very hilly; I was in Tow/Haul mode for most of my highway driving in Nebraska and was controlling the throttle, so I was slowing on hills to avoid shifting.  Also includes about 150 miles of gravel and two track driving at ~15 - 25 mph.

 

2012 Ram 2500 Hemi 4X4 & Grandby, 86 octane.

 • 12.5 MPG average over trip (1957 miles, 156 gallons)

 • 10.4 to 11.5 MPG will hills and 20 MPH headwinds

 • 16.5 MPG (computer reported) my one day with tailwind.