hi is it possible to tow the van at say 60 mph with the cruise on? i thought it might struggle when you hit an incline and what would happen if you didnt change gear and just left it? I havent towed with the new car as yet so looking for some advice. thanks. david.
towing with cruise control
- Thread starter david_374241686
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Cruise control works best with automatics because they change down as necessary when you hit a hill.
Cruise control with a manual transmission will just result in the accelerator being depressed down to the floorboard and if that that's not enough to hold the speed, the car will just go slower or even stall unless you finally do change down.
Cruise control with a manual transmission will just result in the accelerator being depressed down to the floorboard and if that that's not enough to hold the speed, the car will just go slower or even stall unless you finally do change down.
thanks lutz. its taking me a while to get used to using the cruise control but i thought thats what would happen when towing. thanks again.
My cruise cuts out if the engine is under load and the speed reduction is more than 10% of the set speed - and it is very sensitive. So at 60 it will cut out at 53.
David,
Have to aggree with Lutz on this one - never tried a manual with cruise but I think it would have limited use even when not towing.
My last tow car, a Shogun, was auto with cruise and I used it all the time with excelent results.
Two snags to look out for in general terms though, firstly anticipate slowing down on hills and flick out of O/D to prevent changing down two gears in rapid succession (a bit frenetic in the transmission dept) and secondly don't let the speed drop too low, 40 on some cars, or cruise drops out and leaves you effectively in neutral - a bit dangerous to others if you are towing and rapidly slow due to loss of traction!
Have to aggree with Lutz on this one - never tried a manual with cruise but I think it would have limited use even when not towing.
My last tow car, a Shogun, was auto with cruise and I used it all the time with excelent results.
Two snags to look out for in general terms though, firstly anticipate slowing down on hills and flick out of O/D to prevent changing down two gears in rapid succession (a bit frenetic in the transmission dept) and secondly don't let the speed drop too low, 40 on some cars, or cruise drops out and leaves you effectively in neutral - a bit dangerous to others if you are towing and rapidly slow due to loss of traction!
I use cruise on my auto a lot of the time. As Lutz says they just change up and down as necessary. I used it on the French Autoroutes where the traffic is normally quieter than on our roads and found it very relaxing. I sometimes turnsd it off as I got bored doing nothing!
If you set it for the legal towing limit then there is no fear of breaking the law.
Graeme.
If you set it for the legal towing limit then there is no fear of breaking the law.
Graeme.
I use cruise control a lot when towing with our 6 sp manual Seat Alhambra with a van MTPLM of 1710 Kg (c.94% towing ratio).
Cruise control is really intended for free moving motorway conditions and under these conditions 5th is only necessary for anything above a slight incline, in this case 5th at 60mph equates to peak torque.
I tend to find that I change to 5th before climbing a hill and then back into 6th to go downhill and on the straight.
I really do not need to do this it would be happy in 5th all the time, I just seem to be conditioned to go for the highest gear available.
I find MPG improves using cruise control in 5th or 6th on a solo trip recently I saw 61.9mpg and that was at 55-60 mph (following wife in a sickly car) on a mainly motorway trip.
I can see that cruise control would probably be best suited to an auto but it is also very good on manuals.
Cruise control is really intended for free moving motorway conditions and under these conditions 5th is only necessary for anything above a slight incline, in this case 5th at 60mph equates to peak torque.
I tend to find that I change to 5th before climbing a hill and then back into 6th to go downhill and on the straight.
I really do not need to do this it would be happy in 5th all the time, I just seem to be conditioned to go for the highest gear available.
I find MPG improves using cruise control in 5th or 6th on a solo trip recently I saw 61.9mpg and that was at 55-60 mph (following wife in a sickly car) on a mainly motorway trip.
I can see that cruise control would probably be best suited to an auto but it is also very good on manuals.
I can only be of limited assistance here but I have driven & towed with both manual & automatic cruise control cars. Solo both work fine with the proviso that you will need to change gear manually on a steep hill - I drive cars with plenty of power when solo so they can manage most things without changing gear. When towing the same applies although the changing gear thing becomes a more frequent event. As ever it is all about power to weight ratio.
Some cruise controls I have come accross will not give anywhere near full throttle which makes the slowing/ changing gear problems worse again.
Chris
Our new car has cruise control and is manual I wish I had it years ago!. Solo our car is actually more economical in 5th, 6th is quieter but uses 7% more fuel even at 80mph.
The cruise control has a resume feature such that if you press the clutch to change gear it cancels the cruise but press resume and it immediately returns to the previously set speed
The cruise control has a resume feature such that if you press the clutch to change gear it cancels the cruise but press resume and it immediately returns to the previously set speed
I use my cruise when towing on motorways, if I have to change down to 4th because of traffic or going up an incline I press resume when I get the chance of building my speed back up to was before. Think it`s very good
I use cruise control (with an auto) to keep me sat at the speed limit on quiet(ish) stretches of motorway or long dual carriageways. I actually use the satnav to judge cruising speed - 60 mph on the satnav equates to 64 on the cars speedo.
I also use the speed limiting function when driving on winding country roads.
My last car was a manual with cruise control - I find the auto / cruise combination works much better than a manual/cruise setup.
I also use the speed limiting function when driving on winding country roads.
My last car was a manual with cruise control - I find the auto / cruise combination works much better than a manual/cruise setup.
High,
I have cruise control on a Saab 9-3 2.2 diesel manual shift and I really appreciate it. Being diesel its power band is quite wide and 30mph in 4th is easily maintained even on quite moderate inclines.
I have not towed with it yet, but given the torque from the engine, I believe it would work quite well on motorways.
Its real advantage around our area is the plethora of 30mph zones with the government's money raising cameras. And of course on motorways where it is all too easy to allow the sped to creep up with manual control.
My ideal solution would be an auto diesel with cruise control.
I have cruise control on a Saab 9-3 2.2 diesel manual shift and I really appreciate it. Being diesel its power band is quite wide and 30mph in 4th is easily maintained even on quite moderate inclines.
I have not towed with it yet, but given the torque from the engine, I believe it would work quite well on motorways.
Its real advantage around our area is the plethora of 30mph zones with the government's money raising cameras. And of course on motorways where it is all too easy to allow the sped to creep up with manual control.
My ideal solution would be an auto diesel with cruise control.
Having had Cruise on our last four cars and on both mine and my wife's current cars. I would say it works better with wide ratio auto boxes and with cars with bags of Torque.
When towing through the Ardennes last year it was possible to let the car dig in and hold on but it's not good for the transmission or the engine, you are better to disconnect at the foot of the hill and use your judgement and your right foot to ascertain that a early down shift either as an override on a autobox or a conventional down shift will yield better progress and less wear.
Remember a car cannot sense gradient till it's to late
When towing through the Ardennes last year it was possible to let the car dig in and hold on but it's not good for the transmission or the engine, you are better to disconnect at the foot of the hill and use your judgement and your right foot to ascertain that a early down shift either as an override on a autobox or a conventional down shift will yield better progress and less wear.
Remember a car cannot sense gradient till it's to late
I tow with a manual 3.2 Shogun. I use cruse control all the time on motorways. If I see a significant hill I knock it out of cruise and change down to 4th then simply resume cruise.
This works for me but dont know what your towcar is.
Steve
This works for me but dont know what your towcar is.
Steve
hi steve. we have a seat alhambra 130 6 speed man. We have not long had the car and only picked up our van a few weeks ago so havent towed it on motorways yet just a windey A road.
wouldnt there be a danger of "nodding off" what with an auto box, cruise control etc etc all you`re having to do is steeer the thing?
Ian,
The effect of using cruise control is very much the opposite, for me at least. I find driving with cruise control much less tiring, on our annual drive to Andorra I found I could drive for much longer before feeling tired.
The effect of using cruise control is very much the opposite, for me at least. I find driving with cruise control much less tiring, on our annual drive to Andorra I found I could drive for much longer before feeling tired.
Hi all,
I used to tow a 1400kg caravan with an Audi A4 2.5tdi Quattro 180bhp chipped to 210bhp, it was a 6 speed manual and would pull the van in 6th on cruise set at 60mph up any hill on the A30 in and out of Cornwall and to Scotland and back without the need to change down a gear and without dropping below 53-54mph. I now tow a 1700kg van with a Mercedes ML270cdi auto chipped to 200bhp and this will also hold its speed but the auto box can hunt a little on hills, I prefer manuals but I bought the auto because a manual ML would be hard to sell and the torque is reduced, but I do now like the auto box for towing, I find cruise control excellent and always use it towing, your speed is one less thing to concentrate on, but with an under powered car it will be less relaxing, everyone to thier own.
spj
I used to tow a 1400kg caravan with an Audi A4 2.5tdi Quattro 180bhp chipped to 210bhp, it was a 6 speed manual and would pull the van in 6th on cruise set at 60mph up any hill on the A30 in and out of Cornwall and to Scotland and back without the need to change down a gear and without dropping below 53-54mph. I now tow a 1700kg van with a Mercedes ML270cdi auto chipped to 200bhp and this will also hold its speed but the auto box can hunt a little on hills, I prefer manuals but I bought the auto because a manual ML would be hard to sell and the torque is reduced, but I do now like the auto box for towing, I find cruise control excellent and always use it towing, your speed is one less thing to concentrate on, but with an under powered car it will be less relaxing, everyone to thier own.
spj
Spj, I would have thought that especially with a slightly underpowered car with automatic transmission, cruise control would be more relaxing because you don't have to use the accelerator to keep up with the traffic. The cruse control with do that for you and the automatic will change down a gear or two, as neessary.
Lutz,
my point was that with enough power, changing gear is not needed and with cruise control on you dont have to watch your speed as it is done for you, an auto will drop a gear on its own but sometimes they do so when it is not really needed for example going over the top of a hill or on a steady incline they can hunt between two gears, this I find irritating and a lower powered auto will hunt even more although as you said it will change down its self, and a lower powered manual will need to be worked to mantain speed.
my point was that with enough power, changing gear is not needed and with cruise control on you dont have to watch your speed as it is done for you, an auto will drop a gear on its own but sometimes they do so when it is not really needed for example going over the top of a hill or on a steady incline they can hunt between two gears, this I find irritating and a lower powered auto will hunt even more although as you said it will change down its self, and a lower powered manual will need to be worked to mantain speed.
Agreed. I was just looking at it from another angle. If the car is slightly underpowered and needs to change gear more often anyway, then one might as well let the cruise control and automatic do it for you, which is more relaxing than having to do all the gear changes yourself.
With the trend to ever more gears in modern automatic transmissions (currently between 5 and 7 speed), these won't stay in one gear even if the engine is relatively powerful. The days of the old 3 or 4 speed automatic where, with a big enough engine, it would change into top once you had arrived at your cruising speed and stay there almost regardless, are gone.
With the trend to ever more gears in modern automatic transmissions (currently between 5 and 7 speed), these won't stay in one gear even if the engine is relatively powerful. The days of the old 3 or 4 speed automatic where, with a big enough engine, it would change into top once you had arrived at your cruising speed and stay there almost regardless, are gone.
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