Installing a cruise control

[Vulken Auto]

seen in test drive for a c class merc. will post some pics of my cousins toys.

[veyron1]

i agree with shan2nu and the rest of the dudes on this- cruise control isn't very useful-especially in India.in fact, it can be a total waste, because cruise control was originally designed for european countries, where you have 3-400 km long, straight interstates. where in India can you find a highway that's devoid of bends for more than 50 kms, non-congested, and can support cruising speeds of more than 140 km/h?
and apart from the mercs and beemers, the toyota camry,octavia L&k,superb and the new accord have cruise controls

[amitoj]

why are we assuming here that cruise control is meant for cruising at 3 digit speeds only?? there are many roads in india where one can cruise at comfortable speeds of around 80 - 90! the delhi chandigarh highway is one example... once u leave the usual daily rush of delhi - sonipat - panipat behind.
and it can also be used to jus relax your right foot for 5 to 10 mins occasionally in a 5 hr long drive... cant it?
but all said and done, i agree that in india, its more of a luxury than a necessity... but not a totally useless luxury either.

Amitoj

[Tarun]

Originally Posted by Harrie

well it was actually the fast idle knob. when i was going on the high way i would screw the lever all teh way back. the car would cruise at 60kmph with my feet off the gas pedal.

not sure if you could do that for your car. but give it a try. i am sure we can work up with some sort of a contraption.

Fast idle knob? Whats that? or You mean increasing the idling speed of the car ? Pls clarify.

[Tarun]

Originally Posted by zaphod

pedestrians,. tractors pulling out in front from nowhere, trucks without working brake lights etc.....

These factors or even more, at 170 or lesser to an extent, no matter how alert you are, with or without CC, but luck has to be in place.

Tarun

[Tarun]

Originally Posted by amitoj

why are we assuming here that cruise control is meant for cruising at 3 digit speeds only?? there are many roads in india where one can cruise at comfortable speeds of around 80 - 90! the delhi chandigarh highway is one example.
and it can also be used to jus relax your right foot for 5 to 10 mins occasionally in a 5 hr long drive... cant it?
but all said and done, i agree that in india, its more of a luxury than a necessity... but not a totally useless luxury either.

Amitoj

Totally !
If one tends to extract optimum use of facility within the available parameters, many things would have a different perspective and suddenly the advantages are visible.

You may find more users when metros are connected via express roads in future. Still a long shot.

Tarun

[Shan2nu]

why are we assuming here that cruise control is meant for cruising at 3 digit speeds only?? there are many roads in india where one can cruise at comfortable speeds of around 80 - 90! the delhi chandigarh highway is one example... once u leave the usual daily rush of delhi - sonipat - panipat behind.
and it can also be used to jus relax your right foot for 5 to 10 mins occasionally in a 5 hr long drive... cant it?
but all said and done, i agree that in india, its more of a luxury than a necessity... but not a totally useless luxury either.

Well, if i wanted to travel without having to strain myself, i'd sit in the back seat and appoint a driver to do the driving.

Ofcourse, to me, driving is a pleasure. LOL

Shan2nu

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

Well, if i wanted to travel without having to strain myself, i'd sit in the back seat and appoint a driver to do the driving.

Ofcourse, to me, driving is a pleasure. LOL

Shan2nu

lol.. u make me sound as if driving is a strain for me!!! I assure u if that were the case then i wont be here in the first place!
We are talking about using cruise control so that we enjoy driving for a longer period of time with as little stress as possible. thats all! Enthu'ed drivers are also humans after all. Its cruise control we are talking about... not putting the car on auto pilot!

cheers
amitoj

[Shan2nu]

Its cruise control we are talking about... not putting the car on auto pilot!

At this rate, we'll have auto pilots on cars, very soon. LOL

When people who have lived in the US and have driven cars with CC are saying it's not worth having in India, what makes you feel people here are gonna use.

And how many times are you gonna go on expressways where cruising speeds are un-interrupted? And for how long?

Shan2nu

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

At this rate, we'll have auto pilots on cars, very soon. LOL

Shan2nu

ummm wot rate are u talking about? we are just talking about it... discussing its merits n demerits.... and not blindly discarding it or accepting it.

BTW i have lived in canada for 9 months and i used cruise control every time i drove the 120 kms to toronto (yes they have metric system in canada... unlike US). of course not for the entire 120 kms but at least 60 kms of it. My cousins in toronto have used it on every long distance drive.

Why do u think that if people in US dont use CC, car manufacturers are still providing it in almost every other model there? Doesnt make economic sense giving people wot they dont use.. does it?

Amitoj

[Harrie]

IMHO a cruise control can also be used while travelling at 60kmph. is it not? i believe the bangalore - salem strech except for maybe a few interruptions in between will allow me to do that.

I have done it many a times. It really is deserted in the mornings and afternoon. Its just a luxury to sit with your foot off the gas pedal irrespective of whether you need to put it on the brakes the next second or after 5 minutes.

[Shan2nu]

Its just a luxury to sit with your foot off the gas pedal irrespective of whether you need to put it on the brakes the next second or after 5 minutes.

Cruise - To travel at a constant speed or at a speed providing maximum operating efficiency for a sustained period.

If there's an uncertainty as to when you might have to brake, then cruise control is a total waste. I can understand if you're gonna keep your foot off the pedals for hours at a stretch but, for 5 mins?

Cruise control in India is as useful as having a GPS Navigation system on your car. It's just there as a fancy gadget.

Doesnt make economic sense giving people wot they dont use.. does it?

The same can be said about seat belts in India. When majority of the population doesn't use it, why have it?

And lastly, this thread isn't about just cruise controls, it's about installing cruise control on a car that didn't come with it. On that note, i still feel it's not worth the effort.

I'm not complaining, if my car comes with it but, there's no sense in installing an after market cruise control on a car.

Shan2nu

[amitoj]

keeping ur foot off the pedal for hours isnt possible even in US and thats why its not done in US either. We are talking about using it sensibly.

comparing seatbelts with cruise control is comparing apples with oranges! one is a safety device and the other is a luxury.

Anyways, all i am saying is that i wont be too hasty in totally writing it off... i think it will definitely be of use... if one knows how to use it. harrie mentioned one road... tarun mentioned another... the bombay pune expressway is there... there are plenty of roads out there where u can cruise.

[Shan2nu]

Anyways, all i am saying is that i wont be too hasty in totally writing it off... i think it will definitely be of use... if one knows how to use it. harrie mentioned one road... tarun mentioned another... the bombay pune expressway is there... there are plenty of roads out there where u can cruise.

Agreed, but installing one on your car just to be able to cruise on these roads makes no sense, unless ofcourse one can't handle long distance driving, which again brings us back to the "hire a driver" option.

If at all i wanted to spend on something, i'd probably invest in something more useful like ABS or TCS.

Shan2nu

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by Shan2nu

but installing one on your car just to be able to cruise on these roads makes no sense, unless ofcourse one can't handle long distance driving
Shan2nu

so... u mean to say getting cruise control installed in ur car would mean that the person "cant handle long distance driving" ??? then we would have to assume that no one in US can handle long distance driving... coz they got cruise control!!

Anyways... high time we agreed to disagree.