Cruise or right boot?

[otherclive]

but even so CC doesn't allow me to easy off when going downhill which I tend to do when towing.....

Hello Clive

The comment makes me suspect you don't fully appreciate how CC works, CC does exactly what your foot does, if you need less or no throttle to maintain speed, just like you CC will reduce the throttle. So CC will automatically ease off when going down hill.

Do you mean you want to reduce speed when going down hill?, which is not the same as just lifting off.

That is easy enough to do with CC, simple disengage the control, its usually a flick of a switch, and its just as easy to re-engage when you want to return to the previous set speed.

Prof,
My first car with CC was a Chrysler LeBaron which I quickly learnt would attempt to go around 20mph bends in the Gatineau Mountains when set at 50mph CC speed! That was in the mid 80s and I have had many cars with CC since that time, so I think I have somehow learnt how it works and how to use it. Most CC cars that I have owned have not activated the brakes to adjust speed so when going over the crest of a hill the car gains speed on the downhill stretch until the CC has eased off the fuel and wind resistance has slowed the car down again to the pre set speed. Still carrying the lessons of my Caravan Club course many years ago I have tended to ease off on the throttle as the hill is crested and then back on again when I am happy all is okay. I don't have to think about it, it is just natural action. CC doesn't do this with the same anticipation that I have, and then to have to click around with a small switch to reduce speed and then click back up again, or to over-ride it with brakes and then restore set speed both defeats the aim, and takes more attention than than just backing off the throttle a bit with the right foot.

 

[Parksy]

The cc on my Sorrento uses engine braking to some extent on gentle downhills, the auto gearbox will make a downshift and a dab on the brake immediately disengages the cc speed pre set to return to manual control.
The previously set speed can be resumes by briefly pressing the reset / acceleration switch. The pre set speed can also be reduced by 8x 2mph increments when holding down the Coast / Set switch.
The overall cc switch is separate to the pre set steering wheel switches.

 

[Gafferbill]

You will love it Steve.......I must be a big fan as I actually paid out for a Conrad Anderson DIY kit and fitted it to my Terrano in 2001.(Nissan did not fit one)
The ability to set a speed in the mid to low 50's mph and maintain it with a heavy brick shaped vehicle is where it will help with economy.....not for most people I know.
Set it at 60mph and your fighting with the traffic and using more fuel.

 

[Dustydog]

but even so CC doesn't allow me to easy off when going downhill which I tend to do when towing.....

Hello Clive

The comment makes me suspect you don't fully appreciate how CC works, CC does exactly what your foot does, if you need less or no throttle to maintain speed, just like you CC will reduce the throttle. So CC will automatically ease off when going down hill.

Do you mean you want to reduce speed when going down hill?, which is not the same as just lifting off.

That is easy enough to do with CC, simple disengage the control, its usually a flick of a switch, and its just as easy to re-engage when you want to return to the previous set speed.

Prof,
My first car with CC was a Chrysler LeBaron which I quickly learnt would attempt to go around 20mph bends in the Gatineau Mountains when set at 50mph CC speed! That was in the mid 80s and I have had many cars with CC since that time, so I think I have somehow learnt how it works and how to use it. Most CC cars that I have owned have not activated the brakes to adjust speed so when going over the crest of a hill the car gains speed on the downhill stretch until the CC has eased off the fuel and wind resistance has slowed the car down again to the pre set speed. Still carrying the lessons of my Caravan Club course many years ago I have tended to ease off on the throttle as the hill is crested and then back on again when I am happy all is okay. I don't have to think about it, it is just natural action. CC doesn't do this with the same anticipation that I have, and then to have to click around with a small switch to reduce speed and then click back up again, or to over-ride it with brakes and then restore set speed both defeats the aim, and takes more attention than than just backing off the throttle a bit with the right foot.

Golly Gosh! This old dog is not the only one who beats the CC switching it off manually before the decent Thank you Clive. I'm glad I'm not the only manual over rider :cheer:

 

[Gabsgrandad]

Sorry, but mid to low 50's is not for me on m/way, always have lorries up your rear or at the side of you. CC set on 60 alleviates all that, don't know what this "fight with traffic means". 60 keeps lorries behind me. Might be more expensive fuel wise but far more comfortable than doing 'lorry speed'

 

[DrZhivago]

Sorry, but mid to low 50's is not for me on m/way, always have lorries up your rear or at the side of you.

Agreed. Setting a speed lower than lorry speed is just asking for trouble, both aggro from lorry drivers (6-inch tail-gating for example) and even possible rear-ending.

far more comfortable than doing 'lorry speed'

Not agreed. Doing lorry speed is fine, they tend to treat you as one of themselves. When towing I often find a lorry doing a steady 60 or thereabouts and keep 3-4 seconds behind them. If it overtakes a slower lorry, so do I after waiting for it to pass and open a gap beyond. I sometimes accompany the same lorry for 50 miles and get disappointed when it turns off. It is more economical too as you are within their tail wind envelope to some extent.

 

[DrZhivago]

My first car with CC was a Chrysler LeBaron which I quickly learnt would attempt to go around 20mph bends in the Gatineau Mountains when set at 50mph CC speed!

What were you thinking of, entering 20mph bends with CC set to 50mph (If I've understood you correctly)? What were you expecting to happen?

Still carrying the lessons of my Caravan Club course many years ago I have tended to ease off on the throttle as the hill is crested and then back on again when I am happy all is okay. .... CC doesn't do this with the same anticipation that I have

Again, I would say that if you are cresting the sort of hill that you cannot see what is over the crest, or judge that all will be OK when you pass it, you should not be in CC.

 

[Gafferbill]

Don't know where you do your driving but LGV,s have speed limiters fitted set at 56mph in the whole of the EU by law.
I spent many years as an owner driver of a 38 ton Artic with a fuel bills of £50,000/year.
I have done millions of miles with cruise control set at 50mph with no isues.
That technique saved me £5000/year and was total profit and I used to hate drivers that followed my truck using it as their wind break.

 

[MichaelE]

I disagree with the previous members. Switch to "Instant readout" when you hit a hill and see your fuel consumption sink to 5mp.

This is a snapshot of what the car is doing economy wise for that moment in time not an overall picture? Take an instant readout going down a hill ? I get nearly double?

 

[MichaelE]

Mine also has active cruise , very clever piece of kit, it will drive the car in traffic from stop to crawling along. My previous cars had cruise and always used it on motorways and a roads. When is cruise and you are maintaining a set speed you suddenly see how peoples speed who aren't using it are up and down. I have never found that the car revs itself to death to get up inclines just steadily drops a gear to the top and downhill just still stays at the same speed. Economy wise still around the 24 mpg .
Wouldn't be without it a much more relaxing drive.

 

[otherclive]

My first car with CC was a Chrysler LeBaron which I quickly learnt would attempt to go around 20mph bends in the Gatineau Mountains when set at 50mph CC speed!

What were you thinking of, entering 20mph bends with CC set to 50mph (If I've understood you correctly)? What were you expecting to happen?

Still carrying the lessons of my Caravan Club course many years ago I have tended to ease off on the throttle as the hill is crested and then back on again when I am happy all is okay. .... CC doesn't do this with the same anticipation that I have

Again, I would say that if you are cresting the sort of hill that you cannot see what is over the crest, or judge that all will be OK when you pass it, you should not be in CC.

Ah well, the Lebaron was a mini Cadillac which was laden with too much gadgetry some useful some not so useful; most unreliable. It even had voice dashboard that welcomed me in the mornings and then confidently announced "that all monitored systems are functioning" when several unmonitored ones weren't. I swopped it for a canvas top Jeep Renegade. Anyway I never said that I actually went around 20mph bend at 50mph, only that the car "would attempt to" The circumstances were that I had only had the car a few days and decided to take it out into the Gatineau Mountains which have good flowing roads with spectacular scenery and possible wildlife sightings. I had not tried CC before so set it to match the speed I was doing; 50mph. Unlike these days bends were not always signed and certainly didn't have advisory speed signs. So there I was cruising along taking most things in (except perhaps the road!) when the road sharpened and my foot was somewhere to the right of the pedal and resting on the footrest. Taking in that the road's curvature was very sharp based on the convergence of sight lines, net result required a very quick turn in and stab on the brakes with some body lean and tyre squeals. That was a salutary lesson in the use of CC, one I haven't forgot.

I thought about adopting a Sadiq Khan approach to your comments re hills, but suffice to say that you should gain from my previous post that I am not a fan of CC and only switch it on periodically to see if it still works. As not having it working could affect the car's eventual resale value.

 

[KeefySher]

Can't remember which was first CC or ABS, probably CC.

As with all new things it is incumbent on a driving licence holder to keep abreast of developments in respect of driving.

As mentioned before I have been using CC for 30 odd years, initially in US built cars in the US & Canada where driving styles are different to other places. When I first had CC in a UK spec car in the UK, I too tested it out, notably on the M40/M5 intersection northbound. I can report a constant speed in excess of the posted limit is possible in that particular roadster

My first car with ABS, that I recall, was a hot hatch Astra GTE 16v, c1990 vintage. Whilst ABS works in a lot of road conditions, it doesn't work in all. However, at the time my peer group, who didn't have ABS on their cars recounted it was possible with ABS to overtake at any point, when faced with an oncoming vehicle, brake hard and steer back into lane as the ABS would keep you safe, according to the advertising media put out by car manufacturers. ABS allowed steering under braking and would always stop you, apparently. No, I didn't use that technique

Prior to the fancy new CC, there was always the old piece of wood and brick on the throttle for long distance cruising. Just knock the brick off when required

 

[Gabsgrandad]

That's right Bill they do all have limiters, and all flat out at 56, (where do they do 60?) and if you are doing under that they ain't/don't stay behind you. As I said at 50+ they are in your boot or at the side of you, and if not they're blocking 2 lanes trying to overtake 1 another for miles. I know where I do my driving!

 

[DrZhivago]

Don't know where you do your driving but LGV,s have speed limiters fitted set at 56mph

Then there must be some significant inaccuracies. Some I see are certainly around 60, or a bit more, according to my speedo. Occasionally you see a "rogue" lorry clearly doing more like 65 hopping round the others; maybe the driver has hacked the limiter. Perhaps I need to check my speedo, you've got me thinking now.

I used to hate drivers that followed my truck using it as their wind break.

3-4 seconds behind, more than the recommended minimum 2 seconds, is no different from, or more than, how most trucks are with each other in the inner lane. What I am saying is simply that I am driving like another lorry would.

 

[DrZhivago]

I have been using CC for 30 odd years, initially in US built cars

I can beat you there; I made one for myself around 1971 inspired by a commercially available one reviewed in (AFAIR) Autocar magazine. Like the commercial one it simply held the throttle in a fixed position. It was not a success because, as I discovered, even slight changes in gradient have a surprising effect on speed with the throttle fixed.

But before that, the pre-war Morris 8 had a hand operated throttle lock. In his memoirs "Signalman's Morning" Adrian Vaughan describes driving one while sitting on the roof, steering with his feet through the open sun hatch, having set the throttle. This was in rural Berkshire in the early 1960's. I don't think a Morris 8 makes a very good tow car though :lol:

 

[DrZhivago]

I thought about adopting a Sadiq Khan approach to your comments re hills, but suffice to say that you should gain from my previous post that I am not a fan of CC.

What's a Sadiq Khan approach ??

Yes, I reaslised you were advising against CC approaching blind summits, but my "you" was aimed at the general reader. We are on the same side, honest

 

[ProfJohnL]

....
Prof,
... Most CC cars that I have owned have not activated the brakes to adjust speed so when going over the crest of a hill the car gains speed on the downhill stretch until the CC has eased off the fuel and wind resistance has slowed the car down again to the pre set speed. Still carrying the lessons of my Caravan Club course many years ago I have tended to ease off on the throttle as the hill is crested and then back on again when I am happy all is okay. I don't have to think about it, it is just natural action. CC doesn't do this with the same anticipation that I have, and then to have to click around with a small switch to reduce speed and then click back up again, or to over-ride it with brakes and then restore set speed both defeats the aim, and takes more attention than than just backing off the throttle a bit with the right foot.

You have just changed the goal posts, we were discussing going down hill, not approaching a crest. You are correct most CC will not anticipate, it's usually a reactive system,. But it's not as difficult to disable as you make out, so when approaching a blind feature its easy enough to disengage and re-engage. Certainly in my current VW its no harder than using the turn signal stalk.

 

[RayS]

I've come to this one a bit late, but I've had cc on the last three towcars and would not be without it. The first two were Mercedes where the cc also incorporated a speed limiter which probably saved my licence several times over.
The current Freelander does not have this facility - although you can set a speed limit in the main electronics it's nothing like as easy or good as that set through the CC stalk.
Towing mainly in Europe (Spain) where the HGV limit is higher than the towed caravan limit you commonly find yourself as a member of a convoy - which is no bad thing apart from the veiw up front gets a bit boring after 50 km or more. But it's more restful and you just keep a sensible distance behind the truck ( and notice whether his stop lights are all working) set the CC and relax. If you appear to be closing the gap, simply tap the minus button a couple of times, reverse if the gap is widening too much. Simples.

My OH who now does most of the towing has also got used to it and appreciates being able to mover the right leg about a bit on long hauls. She has also got used to overriding the auto box when going down hills.

 

[Dustydog]

Can we take a vote please
YES. I love CC.

 

[Hutch]

Yes, me aswell, and speed limiters. hmy: , or is this another subject.

 

[Martin24]

One vote for and one against in this household.

Does that mean no vote? :silly:

 

[ProfJohnL]

One vote for and one against in this household.

Does that mean no vote? :silly:

It depends on which voting system you used,

First past the post - who voted first
Single transferable vote - who wears the trousers
Proportional representation - who is the heaviest
Electoral college - who does most of the towing
:lol:

 

[Parksy]

One vote for and one against in this household.

Does that mean no vote? :silly:

It depends on which voting system you used,

First past the post - who voted first
Single transferable vote - who wears the trousers
Proportional representation - who is the heaviest
Electoral college - who does most of the towing
:lol:

:cheer:
cc for me, now that I have a car with it fitted.
I'm the only driver, does that mean that I'm a dictator Prof?

 

[Martin24]

Prof, I'll say no more than there's a 50:50 split on your list.

 

[ProfJohnL]

One vote for and one against in this household.

Does that mean no vote? :silly:

It depends on which voting system you used,

First past the post - who voted first
Single transferable vote - who wears the trousers
Proportional representation - who is the heaviest
Electoral college - who does most of the towing
:lol:

:cheer:
cc for me, now that I have a car with it fitted.
I'm the only driver, does that mean that I'm a dictator Prof?

hmy: Whatever you say El Capitan :lol: