FCM - has anybody let the vehicle stop itself?

[Sunder]

Distance is 2 seconds behind the leading car at the closest setting.

So about 60m @ 110km/h. Yeah. I think this one is dead in the water. Not much drafting advantage at that distance.

 

[jaapv]

I have used ACC for about 4000km so far, so some of this would have been behind a truck, however I did not think about drafting at the time. 30m (6 car lengths) is very close at 100km/h+ , the closest ACC distance allows cars to freely pull inbetween you and the vehicle ahead so I would think is is much more than 30m, so the effect would be negligable and probably outweighed by the diesel fumes you'd be breathing and slow hill climbs.

It's not a distance that you'd want to be fiddling with your radio, that's for sure. I personally wouldn't do it behind a car, since they can stop very quickly, but most trucks take a VERY long time to slow down, so I've always felt it to be a low risk if I'm feeling alert and enjoying the drive.

Thanks for the information. Wish I had a laser range finder so I could confirm for sure what the distance is when I do the drive this weekend. I'll be going past Gosford, so I'll wave hi if I see you

If anyone does already have the figures for what distance ACC keeps at 70mph, I'd still appreciate the figure.

I drive on ACC shortest distance on the Motorway/Autobahn without feeling nervous about it at all. In fact, I find the other distances too long as they encourage slower drivers to cut in. And I am not a tailgater - far from it.

 

[Neverfuel]

I have used ACC for about 4000km so far, so some of this would have been behind a truck, however I did not think about drafting at the time. 30m (6 car lengths) is very close at 100km/h+ , the closest ACC distance allows cars to freely pull inbetween you and the vehicle ahead so I would think is is much more than 30m, so the effect would be negligable and probably outweighed by the diesel fumes you'd be breathing and slow hill climbs.

It's not a distance that you'd want to be fiddling with your radio, that's for sure. I personally wouldn't do it behind a car, since they can stop very quickly, but most trucks take a VERY long time to slow down, so I've always felt it to be a low risk if I'm feeling alert and enjoying the drive.

Thanks for the information. Wish I had a laser range finder so I could confirm for sure what the distance is when I do the drive this weekend. I'll be going past Gosford, so I'll wave hi if I see you

If anyone does already have the figures for what distance ACC keeps at 70mph, I'd still appreciate the figure.

I drive on ACC shortest distance on the Motorway/Autobahn without feeling nervous about it at all. In fact, I find the other distances too long as they encourage slower drivers to cut in. And I am not a tailgater - far from it.

Even the shortest distance on the ACC observes the recommended 2 second rule at motorway speeds, use mine at every opportunity. I can't see a need for the normal cruise control mode anymore.

 

[jaapv]

Indeed, I sometimes drive hundreds of Kms without touching brake or accelerator.

 

[Sunder]

I drive on ACC shortest distance on the Motorway/Autobahn without feeling nervous about it at all. In fact, I find the other distances too long as they encourage slower drivers to cut in. And I am not a tailgater - far from it.

I wouldn't have a problem with ACC at 61 metres either.

Or for that matter, 30 metres with ACC.

Or 61 metres without ACC.

It's only 30m @ 110km/h without ACC that I was talking about. That's less than 1 second of time to brake if the car in front stopped instantly. Probably about 1.5 seconds total available time to avoid a collision, assuming your ability to stop was better than the car in front. Considering they say that a person with 0.2 seconds reaction time, needs a full second to move their foot onto the brake and start pressing, that's not a lot of spare distraction time.

 

[Neverfuel]

I drive on ACC shortest distance on the Motorway/Autobahn without feeling nervous about it at all. In fact, I find the other distances too long as they encourage slower drivers to cut in. And I am not a tailgater - far from it.

I wouldn't have a problem with ACC at 61 metres either.

Or for that matter, 30 metres with ACC.

Or 61 metres without ACC.

It's only 30m @ 110km/h without ACC that I was talking about. That's less than 1 second of time to brake if the car in front stopped instantly. Probably about 1.5 seconds total available time to avoid a collision, assuming your ability to stop was better than the car in front. Considering they say that a person with 0.2 seconds reaction time, needs a full second to move their foot onto the brake and start pressing, that's not a lot of spare distraction time.

Hi Sunder

Please read page 6-7 of the following post, it may help:

http://www.myoutlanderphev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1913&p=22160&hilit=Brake+lag#p22160

 

[Sunder]

Thanks. That just seems to be confirmation of what was already said. ACC isn't really all that useful in this situation.

With the very low amount of fuel we already use, it doesn't seem to be much worth in reducing it even further at the expense of safety.

 

[Kim]

So about 60m @ 110km/h. Yeah. I think this one is dead in the water. Not much drafting advantage at that distance.

That's what I thought before I descided to finally give the ACC a try about two weeks ago:
I've driven the very same route/highway for many times before,
cruise control set to ~95km/h (shame the car doesn't show exacly like in ACC).
When I arrive at my destination, I usually have 6-8 km left in the battery.

Then, two weeks ago, came this opportunity:
I was pulling on the highway (which is only 250m away from here) directly behind one of the bigger lorrys.
So I thought I give it a try and put the car into ACC. (Lorry was going somewhat between 92 and 96)
He drove almost all the way I had to go, but only took of 2 km before my exit.
To my surprise, for the very first time, I found 17 km left in my battery when I arrived.

That was a figure I didn't expect so see, because I also had the feeling, that my outi was to far behind the lorry to really benefit from it.
Au contraire!

 

[Sunder]

Guess it won't hurt to try. Will be hard to benchmark accurately though.