Having trouble with fuel consumption with RFB 2.0

[pocatellodave]

I can't seem to hit the sweet spot for fuel conserving,and unless someone can give me a bit of help,I'm just going to uncheck the fuel setting in game play options,so I can finish a patrol.
pocatellodave

[VonHesse]

I don't know if RFB changes the fuel consumption values, but I did a ton of testing with stock SH4 awhile back - driving boats in a straight line untill they ran out of fuel - and here's the best "max range at (X)nm." numbers I came up with:

S-18 max tested range = 17,718.9 nm @ 6 knots
Gato max tested range = 15,526.5 nm @ 9.75 knots

The weather and other factors can play a minimal role, but those numbers are generally solid and accurate. Be aware, though, running "daylight submerged" consistently WILL drain your overall max range. Since you're only running on one engine when the batteries are charging, you're forcing it to use more fuel in order to maintain your desired speed.

All the boring details and methodology can be found here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=158236&page=6

Hope that helps :salute:

[SteveUK]

Can only say on my experience with the S Class and Sargo so far but for S Class I find 7.5 knots to be ok and on Sargo 9.5 both give me 14/15,000 range approx. No doubt you can get higher as VonHesse said but I find thats what works for me.

[LukeFF]

From the latest patch readme:

Max ranges for all American subs is now based on the sub carrying fuel in their main ballast tanks (S and Tench classes already had this feature). The new ranges for the rest of the subs is as follows:

-Porpoise: 22,000 miles @ 8 knots
-Salmon, Sargo, Tambor, Gar, Gato, Balao: 15,000 miles at 10 knotsIn other words, 8 knots yields the best balance between speed and range for the Porpoise class, while 10 knots yields the best results for the rest of the fleet sub classes. The best balance of speed/range for the S boats is listed in the RFB manual.

[Singed]

If you are running the latest RFB patch (and you should be, it is awesome), LukeFF and his team changed the throttle around to more historical settings. Standard speed is about 16 knots and 2/3ds is around 14 knots. Hitting 10 knots for best efficiency surfaced has to be done manually, same for lurking at 1 knot submerged for battery endurance.

I read about it in the readme, it was very clear, right there in front of me and for some reason it still didn't register in my head, which lead to a rather short patrol and keeping my fingers crossed as I got to Midway on fumes.

If your used to running standard throttle from previous patches, that could well be what is killing your fuel, 16 knots sucks down the diesel.

I think RFB is awesome, love the changes in the patch and appreciate all the hard work that goes in to the mod, but I must confess that I had to sit down and figure out how to mod the throttle settings back to what they were prior to the patch. Apologies for that guys, but the throttle changes just seemed like it added too many mouse clicks to normal operations for my own personal tastes.

[pocatellodave]

Thanks for all the replies.I think I had it about right but I wasn't always using the regular speeed settings.I'm going to stick to the knotmeter at just about 11 knots,If I'm running at 10 knots in a gato,my favorite,I seem to do ok.You must keep an eye on your knot meter,because right out of no where you will be at flank speed.I have run done to Darwin many times to top off my tanks,but I found out another sad thing,you don't get any torps when you rearm!I love RFB and I thank everyone involved.I know there will be some tricky areas,and that is to be expected.Both the RFB team and Ducimus are true heros to us wanna be skippers.Cheers for their efforts.For SHIII a fellow made a mode that really helped with the fuel consumption problem,but that isn't doing we SH IV skippers any good.I hate at play at at a low realism because of unchecking the limited fuel box,but I may have to,if I cannot strech my fuel better.I'm play at 83%,and that's because I don't like messing with setting up torps,let the robot do that.and I like to be able to see outside the box shall we say,it adds to the enjoyment for me,even though it's wrong to do so.I just want to have fun with either TMO or RFB,and I have to hit the realism to allow this to happen.I wouldn't be happy with full realism,and it's all about happiness.I fly Aces High,and I really moan when they have a machine doing something it wasn't capable of in rl.Again thanks for all the help,and good hunting.
pocatellodave

[Wilcke]

I am in the middle of a Sargo tour, Sea Dragon. 9 knots is the sweet spot for this boat. I just set the speed on the knots dial when transiting the long legs of the trip.

Happy Hunting!

Nice work on RFB2.0 and the latest patch! This is an awesome mod, I just played cat and mouse with two IJN minesweepers near Tarakan Island, in broad daylight with heavy seas. I did get a shot off at 2500 yards, went deep and left post haste. It was a miss, but the hunt was very enjoyable, working with the TDC!