Whats your cruising speed?

[Road Runner]

I have tried 50, 55, 60 and 65 but still get the same MPG

Also where do you use your overdrive? I have been leaving mine on always but most of my journeys are getting in and out of Wales (OK i know all the jokes) with up and downs all the way and wonder if I left it off would it be better using some more revs and the engine not labouring so much?

 

[johnsandywhite]

:Cool: I always used to have the pedal to the metal. Now I just amble along at 55mph. Cruise should only be used when cruising on the motorway or fairly level country roads. Kick down can increase fuel consumption whereas careful use of the throttle can save fuel.
Never SLAM the throttle to the floor. Always feed it in slowly. Unless of course you need that extra HUMPH to get you over a step.

 

[madbluemad]

I normally set my cruise at 50 to 55mph. Never above.

The only time that I will drive faster than this is to get past somebody and then I will not exceed 60mph.

The overdrive takes a bit of getting used to but it is reccomended for hilly areas were you dont want to be on automatic transmission. It will save fuel if you can use it properley. I havent used it enough to be able to really comment on it.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Road Runner]

:Cool: I always used to have the pedal to the metal. Now I just amble along at 55mph. Cruise should only be used when cruising on the motorway or fairly level country roads. Kick down can increase fuel consumption whereas careful use of the throttle can save fuel.
Never SLAM the throttle to the floor. Always feed it in slowly. Unless of course you need that extra HUMPH to get you over a step.

So how about overdrive use John?

 

[johnsandywhite]

So how about overdrive use John?

oh: Sorry. Senior moment. On the RV I always use overdrive except when I over-ride it to climb hills/mountains. Otherwise it continually cycles up and down the o/d gears and kick down. Much more economic to manually control the speed and gear in that situation. IMH&HO.

 

[olley]

Hi john 55-60mph but with fuel prices the way they are maybe slow down a tad.

Overdrive switch on all the time except when slowing down for junctions or hills.

Olley

 

[Wildman]

Hi John, sorry no overdrive so can't comment, as for cruise speed, well 45-50 after all I'm campering, no rush and like to enjoy the countryside. Will the beast do more than that, to be honest I've not tried to find out.

 

[madbluemad]

Hi john 55-60mph but with fuel prices the way they are maybe slow down a tad.

Overdrive switch on all the time except when slowing down for junctions or hills.

Olley

Hi Olley, I think I need to read up on how to use my overdrive. I thought it was really only for use in hilly areas. The rest of the time on automatic transmission (not overdrive)

Jim
oh:

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[Road Runner]

I like 55 to 60 but so do the lorries with ther 58 mph limiter so they all tailgate each other or side by side and I hate being amongst them as they for sure out brake meoh:

 

[Wildman]

Hi Olley, I think I need to read up on how to use my overdrive. I thought it was really only for use in hilly areas. The rest of the time on automatic transmission (not overdrive)

Jim
oh:

overdrive is a higher gear, not a lower one, you have been using it back to front, not from ballygobackwards are you?

 

[madbluemad]

overdrive is a higher gear, not a lower one, you have been using it back to front, not from ballygobackwards are you?

You must be aware of something that the Ford Motor Company isn't, unless your just confused.

 

[Geo]

You must be aware of something that the Ford Motor Company isn't, unless your just confused.

Im afraid he's right you appear to be using it backwardoh:
over drive is a higher cruising gear, you would switch it of when hill climbing or as Olley has suggested slowing down using the engine/gears to brake:Sad:
Geo

 

[Thepips]

Crusing speed depends on the circumstances. I've been know to run at over 70 to catch a ferry!
In normal use I drive at an indicated 60 in overdrive with cruise on, gearbox in economy mode and engine brake off to get about 12mpg. Any slower than that and the engine doesn't have the torque to stay in top gear. Of course, this is offset by much less drag so it all seems to even itself out over the 600 miles it takes to empty the tank.

Regards
Doug

 

[madbluemad]

Im afraid he's right you appear to be using it backwardoh:
over drive is a higher cruising gear, you would switch it of when hill climbing or as Olley has suggested slowing down using the engine/gears to brake:Sad:
Geo

Hi GEO, All this I know. Its maybe the way I put myself over. Not to worry, its not the first time that Ive been misunderstood and I guess it wont be the last.

Cheers

Jim

Note: Where I come from is shown on my profile page. You dont need instructions for that one but I'll give them anyway.

 

[American Dream]

55 Seems the right speed for me...Although the other day she seemed to creep a bit up on that.
Seems around 50-60 I get the best economy

Overdrive is, by definition an gearing higher than 1:1 ratio.Used on long hauls or those lovely long flat freeways they have over there....:Cool:

Just found this.

Early manual automotive transmissions were limited to three or sometimes four speeds, with only the most sophisticated being five speeds. This left an unfulfilled need for a higher gear ratio for highway cruising, which was filled by the addition of separate overdrive units. However, automotive manual transmissions manufactured since the 1980s tend to include a larger selection of gear ratios than before, the highest of which is usually greater than 1:1. This trend has rendered the overdrive a complex and obsolete solution to economy gearing in automobiles, and very few cars are fitted with them today, although they still appear on large trucks, where more gear ratios are always in demand.

Generally speaking, overdrive (OD) is the highest gear in the transmission. Most automatic transmissions have three speeds and overdrive (fourth speed). Overdrive allows the engine to operate at a lower rpm for a given road speed. This allows the vehicle to realize better fuel efficiency, and often quieter operation on the highway. When it is switched on, the transmission can shift into overdrive mode after a certain speed is reached (usually 70+ km/h [43+ mph] depending on the load). When it is off, the transmission shifting is limited to the lower gears. For normal driving conditions, operation of the overdrive should be enabled only if the average speed is above 70 km/h (approx. 43 MPH).
It may be necessary to switch it off if the vehicle is being operated in a mountainous area.

 

[Road Runner]

It may be necessary to switch it off if the vehicle is being operated in a mountainous area.

Yupp that fit my way out of Wales and proberly why my consumption is heavy

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[johnsandywhite]

Yupp that fit my way out of Wales and proberly why my consumption is heavy

BUT. I believe you DO have big feet John (RR)?

 

[olley]

Hi most gear changing on modern Allison RV autoboxes is done by the gearbox ECU in conjunction with the Engine ECU.

You may think that when you move the lever (if you have one) that you are operating the box, but all you are doing is putting a request to the ECU to change gear, if the ECU thinks that you would cause damage to the engine or box by doing so it will ignore your request.

The word "overdrive" can be a bit of a misnomer, my Brave has a 5 speed Allison box (the LCT 1000) but at that time (2004) the Actia digital display could only show 3 gears plus drive, so winnies and some other manufacturers simply stuck a switch on the dash and called it an overdrive.

Olley

 

[Road Runner]

BUT. I believe you DO have big feet John (RR)?

I never have got the mpg it states on the box

 

[madbluemad]

I never have got the mpg it states on the box

John

How do you work out your mpg. Do you make a note of where the needle is on the fuel gauge when you fill up and them measure your mileage until the needle on the gauge is where it was when you filled up or do you have a computer thingy that just tells you.

I dont have a computer thingy and try to do it the old fashioned way, problem is how accurate is it.

Jim

 

[johnsandywhite]

John

How do you work out your mpg. Do you make a note of where the needle is on the fuel gauge when you fill up and them measure your mileage until the needle on the gauge is where it was when you filled up or do you have a computer thingy that just tells you.

I dont have a computer thingy and try to do it the old fashioned way, problem is how accurate is it.

Jim

:Cool: The easiest way is to do a running mpg/mileage.

ie. You fill up. Note the mileage.
Next time you fill up you note the mileage and work out the mpg. Do this each time and eventually you will get an average mpg.

 

[madbluemad]

:Cool: The easiest way is to do a running mpg/mileage.

ie. You fill up. Note the mileage.
Next time you fill up you note the mileage and work out the mpg. Do this each time and eventually you will get an average mpg.

Hi John

There seems to be something missing from there but its the wrong end of the day to be thinking about it, off on a few hundred mile trip tomorrow night and so I'll have time to figure out what I think is missing.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Road Runner]

John

How do you work out your mpg. Do you make a note of where the needle is on the fuel gauge when you fill up and them measure your mileage until the needle on the gauge is where it was when you filled up or do you have a computer thingy that just tells you.

I dont have a computer thingy and try to do it the old fashioned way, problem is how accurate is it.

Jim

I brim the tank (fill) set my trip mileometer to 0 then when i next fill up see how many litres i have used and divide it it by 4.54 to give me gallons.

Then i divide the mileage by the gallons I have used.

 

[pappajohn]

overdrive is a higher gear, not a lower one, you have been using it back to front, not from ballygobackwards are you?

agreed roger.......overdrive is ,as the name implies, a switchable higher gear above the normal top gear for higher speed cruising without the engine revving so high.
leaving it switched on should make no difference as the box will still change down if it needs to, probably sooner as the engine load will be greater on hills.

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[Hybrids]

Happy at 55 >60 (non O/D auto)
Run to Malvern and back (250miles) seemed to return around 15mpg, expecting drop to around 12mpg towing the race car.

 

[pappajohn]

I never have got the mpg it states on the box

and you never will john.oh:

the stated MPG is a calculation of many variables non of which you will acheive......gear ratio, throttle position, wind resistance, air density, weather conditions and many others......looks good on the advertising bunf but near impossible to acheive in normal everyday driving.

 

[pappajohn]

I brim the tank (fill) set my trip mileometer to 0 then when i next fill up see how many litres i have used and divide it it by 4.54 to give me gallons.

Then i divide the mileage by the gallons I have used.

:thumb::thumb::thumb: do that over a few tankfulls for more accurate MPG.

 

[Bulletguy]

Cruise control isn't a problem for me.....just use my foot.

Overdrive is simply 5th gear.

38-40mpg is normal as my engine is non-turbo....so nicely crude, basic and simple which means cheap to run, cheap to maintain, and cheap to replace parts.

It will pull 80+ mph if i wanted it to, but whats the point of that in a camper/mh or rv? None were built as high performance vehicles!

 

[Road Runner]

My mpg taking into account i am always towing a car and most of the miles is either up and down hill in Wales is 6.85 MPG

Times 2.4 taking into account the price i pay for LPG

Mine will pull 80 plus to but dont like stopping from itoh::shout:

 

[Thepips]

Mine will pull 80 plus to but dont like stopping from itoh::shout:

Now that explains the eyes on your avatar
Regards
Doug