Cruise Control

Tempted to get this retro fitted.

Could someone who has had this done let me know:

1) if the controls are genuine Audi parts or aftermarket.

2) does it replace your light stalk? Might be helpful if someone has a picture, I have no idea what cruise control looks like.

3) does it use the trip computer display at all? I don't have the mpg display, car is a 2002 1.4 petrol SE. I've also never used cruise control before, hence all the silly questions

4) roughly how much does it cost in total

5) is it worth it?

Hi,

If you do any motorway miles at all then a cruise control retrofit is well worth it.
It is just the indicator stalk that is replaced not the wiper one
Whether it is genuine parts or aftermarket may depend on who is supplying it, but they all seem to be Audi quality whatever.
You don't need to have the full MPG type display (DIS)
They are a few people that will fit this for you and they will offer a quote.

I don't have a specific picture of it but I am sure that someone else will post one,

Hope this helps

Steve B

Hi Venusinfurs,

I've fitted cruise control oodles of times and have only ever used genuine stalks. As Steve says, it is only the indicator stalk that gets replaced, and whether or not you have the wiper stalk controls for DIS or not doesn't matter. Two designs are available, both of which can be seen in this thread: http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?23513-Service-Offered-Retrofitting-Cruise-Control
The first option is by far the more popular, and I can understand why; most find it much more intuitive. In fact, I've only ever fitted the second option once.

venusinfurs said:

5) is it worth it?

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Oh yes! Many will know that I'm a cruise control addict. I find being able to rest both my legs whilst motorway cruising such a luxury, but its benefits are much broader. For instance, setting cruise so as to not have to watch your speedo in average speed check zones is great; you progress as quickly as the law allows whilst keeping your eyes firmly on the road ahead.

A lesson in its use is thrown in as a freebee.

Cheers,

Tom

Cruise is WELL worth having, but then I spend a lot of time in average speed zones on M1 and M62.

timmus said:

Hi Venusinfurs,

Oh yes! Many will know that I'm a cruise control addict. I find being able to rest both my legs whilst motorway cruising such a luxury, but its benefits are much broader. For instance, setting cruise so as to not have to watch your speedo in average speed check zones is great; you progress as quickly as the law allows whilst keeping your eyes firmly on the road ahead.

Cheers,

Tom

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If you are addicted to CC you would love the ACC I have on my A7. It is by far the best biggest step in in many year the evolution of driver support. It is the best option I have in the A7, and I have many.

Hi

I'll join in with the unanimous agreement that Cruise Control is great.

Initially I had it fitted following two speeding fines on the motorway 50mph restrictions at the same place. But another benefit is that in my case, it improved my driving technique - easier to achieve smooth driving by the need to anticipate much further ahead. Also a good effect on fuel economy.

If you get the opportunity, I'd say go for it!

Hilary

timmus said:

Hi Venusinfurs,

I've fitted cruise control oodles of times and have only ever used genuine stalks. As Steve says, it is only the indicator stalk that gets replaced, and whether or not you have the wiper stalk controls for DIS or not doesn't matter. Two designs are available, both of which can be seen in this thread: http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?23513-Service-Offered-Retrofitting-Cruise-Control
The first option is by far the more popular, and I can understand why; most find it much more intuitive. In fact, I've only ever fitted the second option once.



Oh yes! Many will know that I'm a cruise control addict. I find being able to rest both my legs whilst motorway cruising such a luxury, but its benefits are much broader. For instance, setting cruise so as to not have to watch your speedo in average speed check zones is great; you progress as quickly as the law allows whilst keeping your eyes firmly on the road ahead.

A lesson in its use is thrown in as a freebee.

Cheers,

Tom

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I've got the second type installed and I can confirm it's far from intuitive. I'd go for the first option.
I only use cruise in motorway 50 zones but it's worth it just for that.
Russ

YorkshireHill said:

Also a good effect on fuel economy.

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Hi Hilary,

You are correct, but unfortunately there are others that will disagree.

Some people say that cruise control makes the economy worse !!! I disagree with that and agree with you.

Cruise control will simply hold the car at the same speed even when going up or down hill.
If you did the same thing manually with the pedal then you would get the same economy, not worse.

The reason I believe that it improves economy is that you can set a sensible speed and leave it there. Without cruise control you will occasionally go faster than you intended and so have to then ease off.
With cruise control you could set it at let's say 60 mph on the motorway and get very good MPG. With using the pedal instead you may find yourself driving at a speed above the speed you want (unless you constantly look at the speedo and that is not ideal).

So I am with you, and certainly the way that I use the cruise (by setting it to a speed that is slightly lower than I normally would drive) it does improve the economy and give a more relaxing drive too.

Steve B

Thank you Steve B. That is a really clear explanation. I suppose what I meant to say was that the cruise control had a good effect on fuel economy in my individual case. Over a 6 month period while I used it in the FSI the mpg figures were better however I did a greater percentage of motorway journeys.

Now here's another question . . .

In the TDI I find I am changing gear more often and therefore stopping and starting the cruise control - will that have the effect of reducing fuel efficiency? By that I'm referring to non-motorway driving.

Perhaps I'll wear it out too quickly and will need to make another trip to Timmus for a third time!

Hilary

Hi Hilary and Steve

I agree with your comments but the downside of cruise is that it's always adjusting the throttle to maintain the exact 'set' speed and this is not good for economy. A proficient driver, driving with economy in mind will let the target speed drift by a few mph either way thus being more gentle on the throttle than cruise.

So, on one hand cruise stops you speed drifting up to a less economical cruising speed but on the other hand it's always playing with the throttle, which is not good for economy.

Hopefully our resident masters of economy will expand on both our theories.

Cheers Spike

Birchall said:

You are correct, but unfortunately there are others that will disagree.

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I'd say that for 99.9% of drivers, fuel economy is increased by using cruise control. For hypermiling gurus like MikeMars, whose concentration when driving is almost wholly on keeping fuel consumption to an absolute minimum, cruise control is marginally less efficient.

Edit: Spike and I were writing at the same time. As I understand it, engine efficiency is increased if the load remains reasonably stable. When driving on cruise, when it is the road speed that is kept constant, engine load varies greatly depending on whether you're going uphill or downhill. However, if you're willing to slow significantly when going uphill and allow your speed to increase when heading downhill, engine load will vary less and thus total fuel consumption will be lower. So, in theory, and with concentration, driving without cruise control is the way of getting the absolute best mpg scores. If I don't drive on cruise control, my speed tends to fluctuate depending on all manner of things, not least the music I'm listening to! So, for the vast majority of the population, using cruise control results in greater fuel efficiency.

Cheers,

Tom

This is a must have MOD which I really wanted and I got it installed when Tony had the offer going for £99 which was a great opportunity and right timing (funds wise / I do love offers) lol

I think its great to have it especially for someone like me who has a heavy foot!!! on the motorway. But I have learnt to lay off now especially with more and more cameras and those cameras along the M1 (Luton area etc) and hence, I've learnt to show respect to those signs and apply the cruise which puts me at ease knowing I am within the limit and don't have to worry about getting that feeling "did I just get flashed"!!

Go for it mate!

Birchall said:

Some people say that cruise control makes the economy worse !!! I disagree with that and agree with you.
Steve B

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I'm a cruise control convert, really didn't think that I'd use it but took advantage of A2Cars' promotion. So glad that I did, use it daily, even for short bursts on my commute. It's just a nice luxury, wouldn't be without it.

However, cruise control is definitely not better for MPG. The answer ultimately comes down to how good a driver you are from an economy perspective, for most I'd guess that it is better i.e, most don't care. At the end of the day it's not a drastic difference but cruise control is too heavy footed and doesn't anticipate hills et al. Even on the flat, you're more prone to loosing road speed and as long as you accelerate slowly, that's more efficient. If you exceed your target speed, lift and coast is also beneficial.
Pulse and glide demonstrates that a constant speed is not the most efficient.

Just being "some people," always important to have both sides of the argument, especially when it's the correct side ;-) .
Cheers,
Tom.

P.S, now that Tom has brought up engine load, when do we dissect hyper-milling with turbos?

YorkshireHill said:

Thank you Steve B. That is a really clear explanation. I suppose what I meant to say was that the cruise control had a good effect on fuel economy in my individual case. Over a 6 month period while I used it in the FSI the mpg figures were better however I did a greater percentage of motorway journeys.

Now here's another question . . .

In the TDI I find I am changing gear more often and therefore stopping and starting the cruise control - will that have the effect of reducing fuel efficiency? By that I'm referring to non-motorway driving.

Perhaps I'll wear it out too quickly and will need to make another trip to Timmus for a third time!

Hilary

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HI,

The operation of the cruise control is not really affected by the number of times it engages and disengages, most of it is electronic.

The buttons on the Cruise Control arm are pretty good quality and so they should not wear out easily.
Regardless of if you are using cruise control or not the car is less economical when accelerating and at high revs and high speeds.
So to me the economy is not linked to the cruise control in any significant way, so I wouldn't worry about that.

Steve B

tagscuderia said:

Just being "some people," always important to have both sides of the argument, especially when it's the correct side ;-) .
Cheers,
Tom.

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I LOVE the way that you can disagree without causing any offence and the sense of humour is brilliant.

Steve B

One final word from me on the "does cruise control damage your MPG?" question.

It is not the cruise control that is costing you MPG, it is the driving at a constant speed not anticipating hills etc.

BUT I am just a "normal" driver and not into extreme economy. When driving on the motorway I like to keep a constant speed and so I am actually doing exactly what the cruise control is doing, minor changes to the throttle to maintain the speed.
If I was a very economical driver as some of you are (Hyper miling and all that) then yes cruise control will not mimic those driving styles. (and I wouldn't want it to)

When I drive on the motorway I focus on the road conditions, the other traffic and the speed limits, not the MPG.

I am not saying that those that do focus on MPG are doing anything wrong, or are NOT concentrating on the other aspects of driving, it is quite simply not my style.

So to me if the cruise control is keeping my speed constant and with it off I do the same, then any difference in MPG will be negligible.

I do like a friendly debate!!!
But on this occasion I think that we are BOTH right. Cruise control will not drive the car in an economical style, I agree with that, but I personally don't drive economically anyway, so no difference. The cruise control is doing what I would be doing anyway.
Those that DO drive economically WILL see a drop in MPG if they use it, because the cruise control will be driving the car differently to an ultra economical style.

Steve B

I tend to actively drive in an economical fashion when not on motorways and dual carriageways, etc. I try to use my brakes as little as possible, anticipate the road ahead, maintain momentum as much as possible, etc. But once I'm on the motorway, I stick the car on cruise. I enjoy driving for economy when I'm actually driving, but when I'm just pointing it between the white lines for mile after mile of motorway, cruise control probably is the more economical option for me. It's also more comfortable, and there's a lot to be said for that!

Cheers,

Tom

The biggest benefit with CC is, for many drivers like myself, is a more passive driving style which will lead to the biggest gain in fuel consumption.

steaman said:

The biggest benefit with CC is, for many drivers like myself, is a more passive driving style which will lead to the biggest gain in fuel consumption.

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That is definitely the case for me.
Steve B

Birchall said:

One final word from me on the "does cruise control damage your MPG?" question...

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What a let down, the opening line held great promise but alas, it was all rather pragmatic -- that's not how things are done on the internet Steve!
I enjoy a good bit of hyper-milling but the practical advantages of cruise cannot be denied. Driving to Snowdonia I 'hyper-mill' (minus pulse and glide) but after a 6-9 hour walk, it's cruise all the way home!