ECON and Cruise Control...your opinions

[Qxxx4]

seeing how im doing 85kms each way from my home in brampton to my job in waterloo, 5 times a week...i guess i can say im now a high mileage driver. I used to do 25 kms a day lol

anyways, being that its getting hotter, Im curious as to how ECON works...is it better than opening the windows? Ive used it alot and nvr use AC anymore unless its scorching hot. I probably wont even use either in 2 weeks when i start working steady midnights, but im verrry curious

Also..cruise...everyone has mixed opinions...is it good in our Q's? I have alot of hilly stretches on the highway.

Oh and my tires are Falken S??-04...forget the model name. How many kms can you do on an average performance tire on highway?

thanks peeps...ive been away from forums for a while, been super busy with the internship preparation, its only 4 months though so if i drive everyday its 13,000 kms on my q....but im going to search for carpoolers.

OH and while im talking about tires...i LOVE my 20's. but god damn do I miss the comfort of my 65 profile tires. these are 45 and i can feel it at low speed. I dunno how people roll on lower profile.

Last week I was out in the county (windsor, south ontario, pure boonies) at a junkyard with a friend, lookin for a rear bumper for his ford contour....all big 3 stuff, they only had 2 nissans, first gen pathys. damn. On my way home I saw my Q parked on his big a** driveway out in the county...and i am totally wishing I had some cash to blow on a pathy and just make it total off road. Imagine having two R50's one for street, one for offroad.

If i had a choice...id get an exact replica of fisherdudes...love the green, and love the wheels. But considering the good condition my q is, i just cant make it an offroader, especially when all my driving is on road, aside from the winter time haha

[fueler]

I use ECON mode like 95% of the time. Youre getting fresh air in from the outside, but the AC compressor is not running. Makes my motor run noticeably cooler too. But then again, the weather in SD is pretty much nice all the time. A/C kinda gives me a headache unless its over 100*F outside thats the only time i actually use the AUTO function.

But thats just me. I know people who just leave the AC on all the time and dont ever turn it off.

[AJRK]

So wait, you're going to commute now? Not going to move there? That kind of mileage isn't awful... it's good highway mileage too.

In regards to the A/C, just use AUTO when it's hot. Run ECON the rest of the time. You don't want to be driving on the highway with the windows open, it's worse for gas mileage than running the A/C. The only exception to that is tilting the sunroof.

For the cruise control, yeah it's good to use. I use it as much as I can. If the terrain is so hilly that it will cause your Q to hunt for a lower gear, then I'd not use cruise control.

I commute too, through very hilly terrain, and I turn off the cruise control through 2 sections of the drive, depending on traffic.

[volp]

whats the difference between econ and auto?

[W O T]

Econ is just airAuto is your A/C

Qxx4 I feel you on the loss of ride quality with low pros, I ditched my 20"s after last season, its just to nice of a ride with the 65's on there, and not having the extra attention from rims is nice to

Whats the treadwear rating on the tires, Ive gotten 20k out of my Falken Ziex's on my Crx. But also only 5000 on some Falken Azenis.

[Mariach]

Look at you lucky guys. 'Climate control'... I have that too! 3 knobs and 2 buttons! haha It's funny, my moms '91 Maxima had the exact same climate control system as the Pathy, but for some reason, my SE '01 only has basic air and A/C!

That being said, I rarely turn my A/C on... Worst thing I will do is tilt the sunroof up a bit if I start cooking. If it's a good ol' 'Smog advisory' day in Toronto, I'll hit the A/C.

[hospitalbuilder]

I use ECON 100% of the time by default. The A/C compressor on my 99 Q gave up the ghost a year and a half ago. That was right about the time I moved from Atlanta to Denver. I have survived so far, but there was a week or two last summer where I really wanted A/C. No A/C would definitely not be an option if I had stayed in the ATL, but the lack of humidity in Denver, makes it mostly tolerable.

It really depends on where you are and your tolerance for heat. Honestly on hot days when we can, we take the wife's car. So all things equal, I would use the Auto function, but the $1,000 quotes to get the A/C working again is a bit rich for me. Especially for something I really only need a few weeks out of the year.

[fueler]

the $1,000 quotes to get the A/C working again

thats on the high end of the pricing scale. come to SD ill get it done guaranteed under $350

[SnowSurfLax]

From where? your guy quoted me about $600 bucks, same as everywhere else.

[Qxxx4]

awesome so my guess was right about econ, i figured its just a fan going, did not know it might cool down your engine.

As for the falkens...only 20k?? really? thats a rip lol

AJRK, i moved into the apartment and there was new roomates, the place was so disgusting i took off about 4 hours of trying to deal with it. When it came time to put my groceries in the fridge and saw old spills everywhere, and pubic hairs all around the washroom/sink, it was it for me.

Id rather be at home and the q is so low on miles i might as well use it before rust/age has its way with it. Its been good to me and from the looks of it, it will be for quite some time. Its only until august anyways.

[Mariach]

GTA meet sooner than later then??????

[AJRK]

GTA meet sooner than later then??????

No wait for me!

[fueler]

From where? your guy quoted me about $600 bucks, same as everywhere else.

Next time im there ill ask for a "quote for a friend" - esp easy since you have the same car as me - ill get it under $400 for ya guaranteed Your AC compressor is broke? or is it still running and just noisy (like you mentioned last time)

Modified by fueler at 9:32 AM 5/7/2009
Modified by fueler at 9:33 AM 5/7/2009

[fueler]

did not know it might cool down your engine.

yup... with the engine on, and ECON mode, put your hand on the condensor (the "mini radiator" in front of the real radiator) and feel how cool it is then turn the A/C on for a few mins and touch the condensor again. After like 5 mins of using AC it gets so hot you cant even hold your hand on it.

I dont have a scangauge to measure temps but i really notice it via the fan clutch. Whenever i have the AC on, the fan clutch blows so ridiculously hard it sounds like the turbo spooling on a school bus... it locks up so hard that it makes the QX4 like a sloth engaged 100% of the time unless i hit the freeway

i have an aftermarket fan clutch tho it locks up harder than stock, i dont recall it ever behaving like this with the stock fan clutch

Modified by fueler at 9:47 AM 5/7/2009
Modified by fueler at 9:48 AM 5/7/2009

[ganesh21]

I use Econ when on the highway.

Only use AC when it is hot.

[SnowSurfLax]

Next time im there ill ask for a "quote for a friend" - esp easy since you have the same car as me - ill get it under $400 for ya guaranteed Your AC compressor is broke? or is it still running and just noisy (like you mentioned last time)

It's still blowing cold, but only until it seizes up. The clutch whines when the AC is not engaged, but when the compressor is engaged, it makes a horrible knocking noise. So I basically need a whole new unit.

And given how nasty hot mine gets, I can't go without AC. It's nasty to sit in nice work clothes and have swear pouring off my balls.

[fueler]

black is hotter than s*** ! luckily i got shade everywhere i park so it really only sees sun while im driving... but if ya let it warm up in direct sunlight, its the worst thing in the world by 1pm

[slickroger]

i use econ all the time i rarely ever use the AC maybe once or twice a year.

I like the hot weather it doesn't bother me at all, i was made for it.

i do about 120 kms a day but its awesome because its night time and all the highways are mine. there is honestly like 2 cars on the gardiner around 3:00am and there usually flying enough that im confident they will get pulled over before i do.

[sixty4]

In my QX4, I use my AUTO air more or less when the temperature is over 75 degrees. I use ECON when its pointless to use the air so between 70 and 75 and under 70 I just turn it off or use heat if its that cold out. It may just be more humid in VA that what many of you guys get. 75 with high humidity feels like 85.

My fiance has an I30, she NEVER uses the Auto where I adjust the temperature to get my comfort she adjusts the blower. I tell her its like being at home with the air on. I don't get up in the middle of the nights and turn the air condition down by changing how hard its blowing, I adjust the temperature.

I think in some some speeds having the drag of wind blowing into your car, windows down your using as much or more gas because of the drag. Think about all that wind resistance blowing into the back of the truck?

[KyooX4]

I always use AUTO. If it's cold out, I'll turn the temp up. If it's hot out, I'll turn the temp down (@ 74 deg). Here in florida, it gets very humid which makes the heat a lot worse. There's only a small window in spring and autumn where you can get by using the fan. Also, I've never really been much of a windows-down-person.

As for cruise; there's hardly any hills here in florida let alone mountains. So I use cruise control about 90% of the time. The only time I don't is when there's a lot of traffic (stop and go) or if it's raining.