wheel bearing?

[hnm738]

hi there

i got a tip gpx

was wandering do you always need to hold the accelerator to maintain speed? coz as soon as i let go of the pedel my car slows down straight away? and even going down hill it would even slow down and dats in 4th gear. but if i put it in neutral the car would roll freely...

where as i got a commodore vt when i reach 60 or 50 ks i dont need to hold the pedal to maintain that speed just not as often the car would just keep going freely. and say when im doing 60 and goin down hill this car would pik up speed to 70 just like a manual when you let the gears go


so is it because of my car bearing or transmission or is everybody else the same

[MattG]

The tiptronic auto is an intelligent gearbox. When you are travelling down hill it will automatically shift down a gear to help you maintain a constant speed rather than speeding up.
eg going 60Km/h down a hill in 4th gear the car will shift into 3rd and keep doing 60km/h.

As for keeping you foot on the accelerator, thats what the accelerator is for...making the car go
Cars with bigger engines and more torque may cruise without needing as much throttle, but most cars would require some throttle to cruise constantly at 60Km/h when not going down hill.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the car.

M@

[hnm738]

but the thing is i use tip

i always leave it on gear 4 and it would slow down so my foot would always be stuck to the pedal to maintain speed thats y i think my car drinks petrol like water

even mor ethen my commidore which is 3.8litre engine

[elmo]

I drive a lot of different model Falcons (taxi's) and they seem to "clutch" when you take your foot off the gas, this makes the car roll freely and sometimes accelrate down hill.
However, the later ones seem to be more direct drive, and when you take your foot off they slow down straight away, but if goin down a hill it will still accelerate.
I think they have changed the design to reduce brake wear cause you have to keep braking to slow down all the time. When it clutches, they do this to save fuel, but in the newer ones i think they cut the fuel off. When i take my foot off in an AU it sounds like an exhaust brake on a truck, just quieter.
Sounds like the FTO might just be a bit smarter than the commie?(and older fords)

[elmo]

oops, just read the subject, can give more advice....
If you think it is a wheel bearing, jack the car and spin each wheel by hand. If any are hard to turn it is a bearing.
Listen for squeeks and feel for tight spots when you do it.
Also it might be worth checkin if your handbrake is dragging a bit. Both back wheels will be hard to turn if this is the case.
Hope that helps

[payaya]

falcons have a feature where the torque convertor locks and unlocks at certain times.

It stops the har revving high when its not needed sometimes, sort of like putting your car in nutrual.

[hnm738]

yeah maybe dats it

when im going 60 i i tried putting to neutral and it runs like my commidore if not den it slows the car down a lot thus waste a lot of fuel because i have to keep my feet on the pedal and keep the rev

[rxboy]

Sounds normal to me. I let go of accelerator and the car gradually decelerates up to the point where road friction balances out acceleration. In my parents Ford Falcon, I can reach 60 and let go of the accelerator. The car will remain at 60 on a level road as if it has cruise control.

[hnm738]

yeah that sounds right

maybe its just the design of the fto maybe in japan they got lots of slopes so they dont really want to gain speed

[MattG]

Also remember that the FTO is a lot lighter than a Falcon or Commodore and therefore has less momentum. As it has less momentum it means that any forces acting on the car (either accelerating or decelerating) will have a greater effect.
This means that the FTO requires less torque to move quickly from a standstill than a Falcon, but it also means that forces such as friction from the tyres on the road and also with the air, will cause the FTO to slow down quicker than the Falcon.

M@