More etorque

[yrraljguthrie]

This is not a question, just an observation some may comment on.

I'm a little lazy and there are a lot of 35 mph rural streets around my house. Not much traffic and few stops. Hilly. So I turned on the speed control and set it at 35 mph. I was caught a little off guard when I thought the pickup was going slower when I went down the first hill. Of course, it wasn't, but the regenerative braking was kicking in and wouldn't let the truck roll free down the hill. I had noticed previously that driving around on these roads at 35-40 mph didn't seem to hurt the fuel economy. It would actually click up a tenth or two. It seems to me that the cruise control seemed to visibly help the fuel economy even at highway speeds. It doesn't make sense to me yet since I don't know how the braking could change mpg. Accept when braking the engine is not working.

I could be wrong about the mpg changing, but I know the regen braking kicks in more often when using the speed control.

 

[Jim M]

I've noticed that drag going downhill too. It helps maintain the speed setting but sometimes drops it a mile or two below. Overall, cruise control gets better mileage than my manual driving. I think I keep a little more pressure on the gas just to maintain the speed.

 

[S_Bedard]

While downhill, is-it steep enough to give time to the motor to stop ?