B gear and cruise control

While waiting for the (persistent non-) arrival for my car pool stickers, I am trying to figure out roadtrip driving strategies. (And, keeping in mind I didn't know what gears 1 and 2 and the overdrive were for in 6+ years of driving a '91 Acura Integra GS...) Once I get the stickers, I am planning on a drive from the San Francisco Bay Area (about 40 miles north of SF) to LA. For driving the Grapevine just north of LA, up to about 4100 feet w/ very steep grades (not to mention the Waldo Grade just north of the Golden Gate Bridge), I have always just used cruise control. Does one use B with cruise control, or is that not necessary, since, in theory, the cruise control uses the engine to brake (doesn't it?) so I don't need to ride the brakes anyway...I got the car on May 10, and still have only about 200 miles on it, so I really am still figuring it all out (although, it has occurred to even newbie me that it is obvious that EPA does NOT have ANY stop signs on whatever track it is that is used to calculate city MPG...) Please help! :huh:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu @ Jun 2 2006, 09:53 PM) [snapback]265042[/snapback]</div>

In fact, I am not entirely sure just WHAT I AM talking about, in general, but in this case, what I mean, and what I THINK I understand is:

In cruise control, the car does not engage the physical brakes to slow the car to the set speed, so I assumed it must somehow use the engine, thus preventing overuse (and therefore overheating) of the brakes themselves. I mean, I can FEEL the accelerator pedal going up and down in cruise control, while I do not feel any action of the brake pedal. Now, from your post, I think I am more confused than before, not to mention worried about damaging the battery, by overcharging it. CAN I just use cruise control as I have in the past, or will I damage the car somehow? (And THIS is indeed where Toyota did, I think, do an oops, as noted elsewhere on the boards, in not having a temp gauge--am I gonna end up stuck somewhere on the grapevine surrounded by mad truckers and overheated...?) On the other hand, given how attentive Toyota has otherwise been to safety issues, I guess I kinda believe that it isn't REALLY likely that regular driving like that--after all, there are more than a few mountains around that Priuses are expected to deal with, and I've not seen any reports of defunct Prii littering the landscape of the Rockies, much less the Grapevine, so I expect this might be a case of TMI for me!

OTOH, will I get better mileage w/ cruise control or B here? (And, should I REALLY worry about that too much either, since I infinitely prefer to keep an eye on the traffic on the LA route than the speedo--even though the position of the speedo does make it much easier to look at while still watching the road--given the loony truckers...I tend to go about 5 miles over whatever speed limit is posted--all other things being equal--and STILL get passed by trucks blowing my doors off, despite THEIR lower posted speed limits... )

Anyway, thank you (and previous poster as well) for the reassurance! It is looking more and more like my trip won't be until the weekend before July 4th, so I will have plenty of time to experiment before that. (But a battle to be fought before--my husband recently replaced his '97 BMW 5series with a 2002 BMW 5whatever, and he wants to take HIS new car--for comfort issues, he claims. I keep trying to tell him that the Arabs have enough money, and we would save enough in gas for the 800+ miles...he says it wouldn't be THAT much $, since his gets close to 30 mpg on the freeway, and nothing much we've seen seems to assure us that I'll do much better than about 45. NOT to mention that I AM more comfortable driving than passenging[!], and, since I have a bum left foot, I can't drive his stick beemer. Anybody got any killer arguments I can use on this one?)

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Maytrix @ Jun 4 2006, 06:50 AM) [snapback]265546[/snapback]</div>

Now here is maybe something that might be yet another incorrect assumption of mine. It has always seemed to me that I get better mileage w/ cruise control, which I have always attributed to the maintaining of a steady speed, combined with the more constant acceleration/deceleration used by cruise control (and with all the other acronyms/abbreviations, can't we just agree on CC?). Is this yet another fantasy of mine gone forever?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tochatihu @ Jun 4 2006, 06:44 AM) [snapback]265543[/snapback]</div>

Ok, I don't know about the accelerator movement or lack thereof with the Prius--it DID definitely move perceptibly in my Acura, and in a rental LeSabre I drove recently. And I would never use CC in any conditions other than wide open dry roads!

As to making history in this fashion--I reckon I'll pass and look for my 15 minutes of fame elsewhere :lol:

And I don't think the dinner upgrade'll do it--my younger sister in LALALAND is at a culinary school, and my older sister is married to an Italian who learned how to cook from his mama, who was born in the Old Country, so we do better eating with my family!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(berylrb @ Jun 5 2006, 08:03 AM) [snapback]265959[/snapback]</div>

'Nother question here...I keep seeing references all over the board for these tire pressure settings. The sticker inside my doorframe says 35/33. Does everyone else have different tires than I do? (OOOhhh, now you're gonna ask me what the tires are, aren't you--well--the garage is upstairs, and I ain't goin' there just now...the tires are whatever standard tires came with the car, bought in NoCal May 10 & manuf in, I think, Apr or Mar...Yup, I could also get THAT info by going up to the garage...I'M LAZY )