It's funny how some things pass you by. But then it's also funny how sometimes the truck manufacturers launch a new bit of kit with 'all the stops in'...if you see what I mean. Take Scania's Ecocruise. I'd never heard of the bloomin' thing until I saw an article about it in this month's Scania World . Indeed until today I had no idea it existed. Yet it was launched in 2006 (which came as a surprise to me) ans is a rather clever device to boost your fuel economy when you're hill climbing with the cruise control on. 
Ecocruise as as close as you'll get (for the moment anyway) to having a set of eyeballs attached to the truck which allows it to see the road ahead. You all know the situation, you've got cruise control on and you start climbing up a hill. If you've got an auto box it will start changing down for you...if you've a manual then you'll DIY the downshifts. With the cruise control set at, say, 56mph as your speed drops the truck will still be trying to accelerate back up to that top speed so you end up climbing with full power as if your right foot is firmly down on the floor---even as you go over the top of the hill and down the other side--which is just wasteful on fuel. Clearly, as you approach the crest of the hill you don't actually want that to happen. You want to ease off the throttle so the momentum of the truck rolls you over the top and down the other side while you save a bit of fuel in the process thanks to that 'free energy'. It's somethign you'd be taught in if you were doing economy driver training---and you'd certainly be expected to do it on a Commercial Motor roadtest! I call it 'finessing'--as every little bit counts. Of course the average driver isn't going to do that is he?
And here's where Ecocruise comes in. As the truck nears the crest of the hill with the cruise control on, the Ecocruise control system senses that gradient is starting to level out because the truck starts to accelerate back up to full speed again. However, Ecocruise avoids any extra acceleration until the crest has been passed, unless the speed has dropped more than 20 km/h during climbing. Simple eh?
Ecocruise is available as an option across the Scania truck range although for the moment I understand it's not offered in the UK--but hold fire on that as I will talk to my old mate Scania GB Technical Manager Cliver Burnet about it tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Scania says: "The system implements techniques familiar to any driver skilled in advanced economy driving, avoiding acceleration when appropriate and employing the momentum of the vehicle when suitable."It goes on to say: "Scania Ecocruise is designed to save fuel without any significant loss of overall performance," before adding that an operator would need to look carefully at the kind of work and gross weights they were operaing at before speccing it--not least as Ecocruise "...is of little interest to operators interested in using maximum performance at all times."
However, with the right combination of route, driving and specification, it says that it offers the following potential:
• Regular fuel savings of several percent possible in the right conditions
• Easier to achieve consistent driver performance and spread in fuel economy between drivers reduced from around 35 to 20%
-
Negligible reductions in overll journey times whilst saving fuel
How to save fuel climbing a hill the Scania way---brought to you by Biglorryblog!
Running on cruise control, the behaviour of the vehicle is familiar to any driver that masters economy driving:
• While climbing a hill, full engine power is applied. With Scania Opticruise,
gearchanging is adapted to maintain maximum speed within economical revs
• Additional fuel savings are possible by setting the cruise control lower than the speed limiter. Cruising at 85 instead of 89 km/h will save an additional percent or two. This can also be used to gain benefit from the vehicle's momentum when descending a hill.
How to save fuel coming down
Coming down to the bottom of a hill, Scania Ecocruise strives to maintain a higher speed than the cruise control setting in order that you get a 'run-up to the next hill and enter it at a higher speed, if possible.
• Unless a new hill comes up, the vehicle will revert to the previous cruising speed after 30-45 seconds.
Well what do you think? Good idea or not? It's as close you'll get to the truck 'seeing' the road ahead. And it's another way to concentrate on braking and steering rather than gearchanging and economy driving. Of course ti works best of all with an auto but then I can't remember the last time I went out in a manufacturer's top weight artic that had a manual in it.....
" A driver skilled in economy driving", Thanks very much for those kind words, Mr Burnet. Before Ecocruise arrived on the scene I, and many more like me,used to resort to that tried and tested,infallible, diesel miserly old trick of putting her in "Aberdeen Over-drive", as we free-wheeled, for many miles, on anything resembling a favourable gradient.