fuel use + cruise

[chopper666]

i have a 475 approx run coming up X2

east midlands to past inverness, then back a week later. aa route finder recon about 9hrs +

I have no particular schedule to keep or times that i have to arrive at either end - but i want to do each leg in a day.

whats the ideal best speed to sit at to get best fuel economy - most of route will be M6 motorway. i am happy to roll along and enjoy the scenery going past
does cruise control get better economy than a careful right foot?

[Tim]

Keeping it at 70 will be both comfortable and green. Faster the speed the more you use. 56mph is the optimum I think in all the tests I read. Cruise control is the best way to save fuel on long constant speed runs.

[Michal]

You should be able to do 500 miles easily. I do my trips to Poland in one go. I leave work a bit earlier (16.30) to catch a ferry or a tunnerl (21.00) and arrive in Poland at about midday next day. I am the only driver and have done the trip a couple of times now. 500 miles sounds like a warm up to me... Regarding speed, they say 90km/h (55mph) is the perfect speed for most vehicles. It's just so boring...

[obiwan]

...green...

:funny:funny:funny

[ColinE]

Best way to be economical..............loose your keys

[chopper666]

:D:D i know, i know - fuel economy and "green" are not really the order of the day with one of these! its a long drag so just trying to do it at least cost - and to see what i can squeeze out of a tank.

then when i have reached my destination, will have the chance for some costal runs on country lanes where i think my fuel consumption will be very low if you get my meaning;)

[re-tread]

i have a 475 approx run coming up X2

east midlands to past inverness, then back a week later. aa route finder recon about 9hrs +

I have no particular schedule to keep or times that i have to arrive at either end - but i want to do each leg in a day.

whats the ideal best speed to sit at to get best fuel economy - most of route will be M6 motorway. i am happy to roll along and enjoy the scenery going past
does cruise control get better economy than a careful right foot?

I did a similar run up onto the Black Isle just north of Inverness when I had my ZS180. All intentions of taking it steady to get the most out of the tank and to enjoy the scenery. Went up via Fort William and along Loch Ness but back via A9. Just something about the roads up there. Out went the good intentions and in came the lead right foot.;) I do quite a bit of Motorway driving in the 260. No cruise control on my Mk1 so gentle acceleration and keeping it below 80 returns low to mid 20's. A run last week to Aylesbury and back returned a little over 27 :)

You're about right with 9 hours. It took us 8 from Wakefield.

Enjoy

[chopper666]

Tim! obviously i wouldnt be going past 70 as that would be against the law :rolleyes:;)

isnt 65 meant to be the magic number?

michal - yes i'm planning to do it in a day, have done east midlands to oban and the like before no worries. a long drive is not a problem for me. i just try and stay relaxed and take it steady. just toilet stops - and fuel to factor in!

I will be stopping to use toilets - i saw clarkson going new york taxi driver style the other night on dave or whatever. i wont be weeing into a bottle :)

[Belcher]

Don't be tempted to wait until the light comes on, and then some. I did this a while back on the M4 and regretted it. Ended up on the hard shoulder calling the RAC :o The RAC bloke said that due to the horseshoe shape of the tanks in the 260, when you are on a straight and steady run, the fuel never gets sloshed about enough to balance the two sides up. The sensor must be on the opposite side to the fuel line outlet. Had I of rocked the back of the car enough when I ran out, I may have gained enough to get me the mere 2 miles to the next service station :mad:

[black olive]

cruise control- on the M6- with cocks in BM's and Audis ready to cut in front at evry opportunity- no chance

[ksilver]

cruise control- on the M6- with cocks in BM's and Audis ready to cut in front at evry opportunity- no chance

It all depends on what you set the cruise at!! :stir

[zeb.thomas]

Going up to Scotland again on saturday for a couple of weeks, 522 miles each way. Last year we did 2100 miles and an average of 27.2 mpg and thats going into edinburugh and glasgow. I would say cruise control will use more fuel, I tend to use a bit of throttle downhill to gain momentum up the next hill(the old rollercoaster effect).
The last run from Neath up to Shepards Bush round trip was 368 miles on 12.1gallons staying around 70-75mph.
With my laptop on the car I found that about 65mph to the most economical, going down to 56mph seemed to be slightly worse.
Driving round town, well thats a different story.

[Belcher]

With my laptop on the car I found that about 65mph to the most economical,

:confused: Explain please ?? :cool:

[SH4RKY]

The 56 number is probably an average for many cars tested in the UK. The actual number will vary car to car depending on things such as the drag coefficient and the 'sweet' spot of the particular engine and gearing.

For example: A big slippery omega idling along will probably be more economical at 65 than at 50 as it is surprisingly aerodynamic and the engine is under less strain to stay at the higher speed (gearing etc). While a brick faced umm... little car (cappochino thing maybe) will be better at a slower speed as its engine would be revving higher and the drag of the wind could be canceling out the extra power. Poorly explained I know but thats the way I see it.


Make sure your tyres are correctly inflated too.


oh... i just realised you are probably reffering to how he monitors it with his laptop... haha.

anywho, i find slower speeds actual end up becoming quite boring and tiring. I find sitting in the average speed cam zones on the motorway almost make me fall asleep at times :eek: where as at 70-80ish i feel much more alert.

[zeb.thomas]

:confused: Explain please ?? :cool:
Just a programme I use on the laptop called Autoenginuity, which is very good on ford vehicles. Gives a lot more info on the EEC5 system than the T4, including live,average mpg readings and a dynamic rolling road.
Will be off in the morning for two weeks, hopefully WIFI there to log in.

[Nich]

Just a programme I use on the laptop called Autoenginuity, which is very good on ford vehicles. Gives a lot more info on the EEC5 system than the T4, including live,average mpg readings and a dynamic rolling road.
Will be off in the morning for two weeks, hopefully WIFI there to log in.

How do you interface with the 260?

[zeb.thomas]

Connection made through the 16 pin diagnostic connector.

Zeb

[Max260]

Only costs £265

[Belcher]

Just a programme I use on the laptop called Autoenginuity, which is very good on ford vehicles. Gives a lot more info on the EEC5 system than the T4, including live,average mpg readings and a dynamic rolling road.
Will be off in the morning for two weeks, hopefully WIFI there to log in.

Just downloaded this and tried it with my ELM327 interface. Didn't seem to pick it up even though I told it what COM port to use :(

[Herman]

Just downloaded this and tried it with my ELM327 interface. Didn't seem to pick it up even though I told it what COM port to use :(

I got the Elm as well, but no good on the 260. Works on the TF though.

[WNJ516]

Regarding the AUTOENGINUITY have a word with Gendan who sell the system, I,ve had the autoenginuity connected to my car by Zeb and it is good, gives much more info than Enginecheck Pro which i find good and i have used on other cars to diagnose faults, but glad to say have not had a fault with the 260 to test it, but the latter is half the cost of Autoenginuity.