Garmin Update Adds ecoRoute™

Darren · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 10:34 am Post subject: Garmin Update Adds ecoRoute™

As part of the recent firmware updates for nuvi 2x5 and 7x5 devices Garmin added their new ecoRoute™ feature.

ecoRoute™ is a neat little plug-in that allows you to configure the fuel price and average fuel consumption of your car and then find more fuel efficient routes, track your fuel usage and also monitor and improve your driving style to become more fuel efficient.

ecoRoute™ adds a 'Less Fuel' routing preference option and 'Mileage Monitor' provides a per-trip report of mileage and fuel usage, now you can see just how much those short trips into town and the school run are actually costing you.

The 'Driving Challenge' adds a live score to the map screen. The score (out of 100) rises and falls as you accelerate/decelerate, the higher the number, the smoother and more fuel efficient your driving style. You can even save your scores and see if you can better them!
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Darren Griffin

Jellyroll · Lifetime Member Joined: May 17, 2006 Posts: 54

This strikes me as a splendid set of ideas. It's long been a source of irritation to me that navigation systems tend to offer "quickest" and "shortest", but not a true (and customisable) "optimum". Where a journey can be shortened by 10% for a 5% increase in journey time, say, that's not a bad trade-off, but the resulting route is neither quickest nor shortest. I face this much of the time on journeys between North West and South East, with the A1/M62 route being markedly shorter than the M1/M6 route, but a touch slower (in theory - in practice it depends on who's broken down in which roadworks), so it never gets chosen first time around, even though it's usually the preferable route for me.

Routes can be imagined to lie on a triangle, with "quickest" at one apex, "shortest" at a second, and "cheapest" at the third ("cheapest" represented by cruising at the most fuel-efficient speed for the vehicle on roads with least acceleration & deceleration), and I suspect that any one person's ideal route might be at a different point on the triangle depending on the purpose of the journey, and two people's ideal points might be radically different depending on their vehicle and their attitude.

Darren · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:15 pm Post subject:

I particularly like the 'Driving Challenge' game, already I find myself trying t better my last score with smoother acceleration and planning farther ahead to anticipate braking etc!
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Darren Griffin

NickG · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 12:53 pm Post subject:

What I've always thought is weird about driving economically, is that it doesn't seem to matter how hard you accellerate as long as you NEVER accellerate in a way which will cause you to have to brake soon afterwards. Accellerating doesn't really waste energy as long as you can maintain that speed for a long time. All braking wastes energy, but obviously cannot be avoided all of the time! Smile

The theory behind is this that braking wastes all your energy, so even if you accellerate quite quickly, as long as you don't then immediately brake, that energy is not wasted. Combine this with the fact that most engines are the most efficient at close to full throttle, it seems you're better off accellerating briskly when the road is clear in order to reach the optimal cruising speed (usually around 55mph) more quickly.

My cars manual even tells you to do this in the section on driving economically which surprised me greatly as I'd always been told that accellerating briskly was bad for fuel economy.

Another trick is to try to avoid coming to a full stop whereever possible. Coasting onto a roundabout at as little as 2mph saves loads of fuel over starting from a complete standstill apparently.

The biggest savings to be had, are from limiting your cruising speed on motorways. The difference in ecomomy between cruising at 65mph and 75mph is apparently about 15%! I've certainly noticed this in my car and I can get an extra 8-10mpg if I stick to the slow lane on my regular cruises up the M3.

Darren · Posted: Thu Jan 29, 2009 1:33 pm Post subject:

Interesting, I'd always thought that gentle acceleration was more fuel efficient too!

Although now you mention it I can see the logic in getting to speed quickly.
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Darren Griffin

bberry · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 20, 2008 Posts: 6

Will they be adding more devices later, I have nuvi 760?

Darren

bberry · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 20, 2008 Posts: 6

Thanks

concretemike · Occasional Visitor Joined: Nov 28, 2008 Posts: 8

Hidden away in the recent Garmin update is a mileage logger, that actually records all your journeys, the start and end points, mileage, fuel used and more. That alone is worth the whole Garmin unit, if, like me you cant remember to fill mileage logs in!

Of course, you do have to have the Garmin on!

frankiex · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 25, 2006 Posts: 51

excuse me for being ignorant but what are the series 2x5 and 7x5.

I looked on Garmin website products and I couldn't see them anywhere.

Frank

Darren · Posted: Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:32 pm Post subject:

frankiex · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 25, 2006 Posts: 51

Thanks for that.

I wonder if it will become available for the nuvi 310.

Frank

Nonny · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 21, 2006 Posts: 20

JohnWB · Regular Visitor Joined: Mar 22, 2005 Posts: 83

I have a 255WT with the latest updates (I think) and I have not seen this ecoRoute or the mileage logger. Could someone please let me know where abouts do i have to look to find them.

PaulB2005 · Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 3:13 pm Post subject:

Have you tried WebUpdater?

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