Cruise Control

I use it extensively on our empty roads, both in and out of town to prevent me speeding. It is certainly the most economic way of cruising and controls the speed better than a foot can.

'snip'

'snip'

I have found that out in the country where we have long straight flat stretches it is great, however up and down hills it is certainly not fuel efficient as it squirts on the gas to get up a minor, but steep hill, trying to maintain the set speed, when it would have been more economical to let the speed drop slightly and use far less fuel. For this reason where there are hills or inclines on your journey it would be more economical not to use cruise.

Regards Starman from Oz

Malcolm William Mason wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

I use it from time to time on long interstate drives so I can take my foot off the gas and keep it from cramping. Lets me shift position a bit. I've also used it on two lane roads in the South when I've got a local cop two feet from my back bumper planning on adding me to his revenue for the day. Set it for 50 mph in a 55 mph zone.

Using the cruise control system is fr me the more economical way to reduce fuel consumption, even in in journey with hills and inclines, it works always better that my feet. But, it may because I m driving a Diesel.

Cheers

Pascal

"Malcolm William Mason" a écrit dans le message de news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

In all of the responses, not one said if they had a manual or automatic transmission. I have a 900T with a manual and I don't use the cruise control either. Two reasons: first, I did not buy a car with a turbo and 5 speed to let some automated system control the speed and second the cruise control does not look ahead. I can look ahead and see the hill. I slow down going up the hill, whereas the cruise control would maintain the speed, so I can go down the hill without using brakes. This saves on gas and brakes. If the hill was really steep, this would give me a chance to downshift at a more appropriate speed.

Other makes have "smart" automatic transissions and downshift while going down a steep hill. Are any of the Saab automatics programmed to do this?

I must say that I have had the same experience as Starman and Ma Twain. Laura makes a comfortable point and if give a really long stretch of very flat highway I would agree. I have only experienced this condition in Canada's Prairies. Perhaps the US southwest would be similar but I have not had the experience. At any rate , I am very happy with my % speed box and HOT engine. On a varied trip I average between 32.0 nd 33.0 mpUSg.

Malcolm

Hi Malcolm, I'm on my 10th Saab, I think (it gets hard to remember). =20 Currently running a 9-5SE.

The only conditionsI consider suitable for using cruise control is on freeways and highways, and then only in fairly light traffic. In those conditions, I use mine all the time, love it, and quite honestly think that any variation on fuel consumption between cruise control and manual control would be minute and completely swamped by other factors, such as the weight of lead in the foot, and the terrain.

To be certain that the cruise control increases consumption, you would need to do several calibrated trips over the same terrain in the same traffic conditions and at the same average speed. How are you measuring the consumption anyway? You are not just relying on the car SID, I hope. It can fluctuate wildly depending on when it was last reset. If you are, to get the best accuracy try resetting it at the start of a trip on manual over a set course, note the final average, then go back to the start, reset again, and do the same trip at the same average speed on cruise control, then note the result again. =20 I really don't think you will see much difference.

You can make a small improvement by flicking off the cruise control as you go up a steepish hill, then flicking it on again at the top. The cruise control tries to keep a constant speed up the hill, whereas you get slightly better economy using constant throttle up the hill (but you will lose speed, of course).

I strongly recommend (based on experience) NOT using cruise control on winding country roads or in heavy/city traffic - it's far too dangerous. One moment of distraction and you can enter a curve far too fast or run up the rear of the car in front.

--=20 Regards, Peter Wilkins

Have you had an issue with speeding tickets in the South?

My problem with cruise control is that it will hold the speed right to the top of the hill. Then you have to brake on the way down. You can play the game and flick the cruise control on and off. If you drive a manual transmission you can slow down by keeping the same gas pedal position going up the hill. Then you downshift at the crest of the hill, keeping within the speed limit without using your brakes going down the hill.

If I had a really long stretch of very flat highway and a 5 speed with a turbo and VR rated tires - gas mileage would be the last thing on my mind.

ma_twain wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com:

In the places I was driving -- South Georgia, South Alabama -- speeding tickets are the major source of revenue for the small towns. Georgia did take the radar gun away from one town. The cop there (only one in the town) had written 4500 tickets in a one-year stretch. The town has a population of about 600 and was on a major highway to Florida. There aren't any interstates down there and only one 4-lane (2 in each direction)-- the infamous corridor Z that runs from St. Louis, Mo., to Brunswick, Ga. The speed limit changes about every 2-3 miles specifically to trap cars and allow the small town cops to write tickets. Can't use cruise control on Corridor Z. Outside of Z, cops in the south will spot you 15 MPH over the posted limit -- or so I was told by ones I was stopped for going 20 or more over. Always talked them out of giving me a ticket though. Usually claimed that I was using my cruise control and it must be broken. Never had a Saab there. Was driving a Lincoln Mark VIII.

In the area I'm talking about there aren't any hills. Not many turns, either. Not really a whole lot of roads when it comes right down to it. Biggest problem is deer on the roads. It's mainly peanut and cotton fields and pine forests (commercially grown for pulp and bark mulch and some for turpentine near the coast.) I've never used cruise control in East Tennessee. Never even thought about using it. All hills and turns. I'll use it from time to time on interstates to give my foot a rest, shake it out. 600-800 mile drives in a day aren't unusual for me and I only stop for gas. But even driving long flat interstate stretches (Kansas, Iowa, Illinois come to mind) I never turned it on and left it on.

I'm in N Ga, and just the other day I got pulled over in my 900se doing 79mph in a 55, had the wrong insurance card (it had expired), and my license had an incorrect address and I was pulled over my the state patrol, notorious for NEVER writing warnings. Somehow I talked my way out of it but before walking away he looked into my car at the ignition between the seats abd said, "that's the ignition? ...never seen that before". For the sake of remaining on-topic, I wasn't using cruise. Can't do that in the foothills.

What's HOT?

CC is great on long hiway trips. I go to the Catskill Mtns. (upstate NY, US) (~130mi, ~3hrs) a few times every summer. I'm much more relaxed & less tired when I arrive even tho I use cruise on about half the trip. Adjusting it on hills is no big deal; keeps me alert. Didn't notice any difference in gas mileage.