"Cruise control is really sucky for fuel efficiency"
Really? I've always noticed the economy on long trips goes up when I use the cruise control as compared to when antimony drives the same leg without CC...
I guess the real question is which wastes more energy -- 1) using brakes to convert forward momentum to heat 2) using engine braking to convert forward momentum into engine rpms.
My gut tells me engine braking is more efficient b/c you can get some of the energy back in the form of faster acceleration at the bottom of the hill.
Also, I think mataining a constant speed is more efficient than oscillating.
The most efficient (I think) would be to turn the car off at the top of the hill and coast down, turn the engine back on when drops below set speed, but this setup isn't going to happen, b/c you need brakes and stuff to keep working...
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momijizukamori
Re: Scion, and cruise control
Date: 2009-07-13 18:22 (UTC)Really? I've always noticed the economy on long trips goes up when I use the cruise control as compared to when antimony drives the same leg without CC...
I guess the real question is which wastes more energy --
1) using brakes to convert forward momentum to heat
2) using engine braking to convert forward momentum into engine rpms.
My gut tells me engine braking is more efficient b/c you can get some of the energy back in the form of faster acceleration at the bottom of the hill.
Also, I think mataining a constant speed is more efficient than oscillating.
The most efficient (I think) would be to turn the car off at the top of the hill and coast down, turn the engine back on when drops below set speed, but this setup isn't going to happen, b/c you need brakes and stuff to keep working...