My C30

[Volvo C30]

Dear All,

As the proud owner of a Volvo C30, my first ever Volvo, I am growing to love, understand and appreciate this creation and many of its refinements, but I have a couple of questions I'm hoping you can answer for me.

1 Is it more fuel efficient to use Cruise Control when you can?

2 Should I drive with Traction Control on permanently or are there better times than others?

Best wishes,
Volvo C30

[Daim]

1. Yes
2. Yes

Ad 1.
Cruise Control costs no extra fuel, when used right.

The car will alway try to keep the speed. Means going uphill and downhill. There where you would give more gas, the CC will too. There where you wouldn't give any gas (downhill), it will - as it is keeping the speed.

I only get a good consumption with the CC on. With it off, every shock affects my foot and therefore the -pedal

Ad 2.
Leave traction control (and therefore DSTC -> ESP) on all the time

Less annoyance due to the light being on in the display and you are allways on the safe side. No driver can say, he/her can react better than the car - other than some really rare examples. I've had it before, that I hit a little bit of oil in a curve. The back end slid a tad (conditions allowed the higher speed!). The car was instantly stable. At the same time, on damp roads, the wheels can spin quicker than you think. I only have the "weak" 2.0l, but on a damp day, with my 225/35 R19 wheels, I get an easy spin without any hassle.

I haven't yet turned the TCS off in order to get forwards - neither in 20 cm of fresh snow, nor in a heavy rain. See it like an electrical limited slip differential. You don't turn that off every so often - just causes wheel spin on the side with no grip.

[Volvo C30]

Dear Daim,

Thank you for your response and indepth explanations.

I shall take your advice.

Many thanks again.

Volvo C30

[tt82]

1. No. Cruise control onlr maintains a set speed. It's more economical to use the accelerator with I think the best results coming from slowing down while climbing hills and possibly going a little bit faster downhill. Cruise control also needs very advanced and careful planning to make most use, I know with mine it you knock it off temporally and then click resume, it will accelerate hard to get back to the set speed instead of a gradual increase.

2. Can't see any reason why not. It shouldnt affect the running of the car and is there just in case.

[volvorocks]

Originally Posted by tt82

1. No. Cruise control onlr maintains a set speed. It's more economical to use the accelerator with I think the best results coming from slowing down while climbing hills and possibly going a little bit faster downhill. Cruise control also needs very advanced and careful planning to make most use, I know with mine it you knock it off temporally and then click resume, it will accelerate hard to get back to the set speed instead of a gradual increase.

Yes thats what I believe and also do.


Regards

[Daim]

Originally Posted by tt82

1. No. Cruise control onlr maintains a set speed. It's more economical to use the accelerator with I think the best results coming from slowing down while climbing hills and possibly going a little bit faster downhill. Cruise control also needs very advanced and careful planning to make most use, I know with mine it you knock it off temporally and then click resume, it will accelerate hard to get back to the set speed instead of a gradual increase.

Think of the reason why it is called "cruise control" and not "acceleration control" or "hill incline deceleration, decline acceleration control".

It has been made to keep a constant speed. A cruise is a set speed. Planes cruise at XXX mph. A cruise ship cruises at XX knots. Cruise aka constant speed.

You can always press "off" up and down a hill. That is a matter of moving a thumb about 1".

A steady speed is ALWAYS more effcient than accelerating and decelerating. To maintain a constant speed, you only need a few hp and these need to be fed less bales of hay (fuel). Best example: city driving. It costs more fuel to drive in a town (as you are always ac- and decelerating) than on a motorway or carriageway.

[tt82]

The Question was

Is it more fuel efficient to use Cruise Control when you can?

Maintining a set speed while climbing uphill uses more fuel than going up at a lower speed. So the answer is No.