How do you use cruise control properly?

inkey$

inkey$

Lifer
 Sevenoaks & Suffolk
Like the title says. May seem like an odd question but I cant be the only person thats either never had it before or had it but not wanted to use it.

Initially I was put off by the fact that you were effectively not in complete control with your right leg off the gas but on a blast to Cambridge yesterday decided to experiment with it. On the M11 I set it for 70mph and was fine but when you come up behind slower traffic I couldnt work out whether to brake, switch off the CC or accelerate past (not always possible).

Maybe I just need to use it more and find out. Anyone else find the whole system a bit hands off?! Apologies if this is a really stupid thread. If it is it wont be the first in my near 2000 posts :D
 
Press it once and it suspends, press it twice it switches off.

So I press it once and the car slows down, once the other car is out of the BMW lane, I press resume to continue. Hardly ever I need to brake and most of it can be done from the cruise control itself.

Sometimes I use the accelerator to get passed the car a little quicker and when letting the accelerator go, it resumes the previous speed again.
 
On my e46 i set it for motorway speed then used the +/- on the steering wheel (unless braking needed quickly) :) -miss it on the zed but dont fancy blowing my electrics or getting turned upside down by stealers :(
 
I love CC on my company D3BT, would like it on my ///M too, particularly on the motorway, when you touch the brakes or clutch for a gear change it cancels and as previously said you can accelerate through your set speed if you need to then release your foot and it goes back to your set speed :thumbsup:
 
Don't forget that once set you can press the button one click away or pull towards you. Each time increases or decreases the speed in a 1mph increments so you can easily adjust to slightly changing traffic situations as you slowly close in or drop back in a line.

Very rare I have to use brake intervention. sometimes apvr notes slight throttle to pass traffic then foot off and it returns to preset speed.

move lever like an indicator switch to cancel

Just driven the length of the M40 and up M42 on cruise and don't think I tounch the throttle aside when an idiot in a Volvo cut in on my without cause :thumbsdown:
 
Push once to set

hold push to increase speed
hold pull to decrease speed (like to slow down for traffic)

if you do touch the clutch or brake, press the button to revert back to your last set speed.

If like you, im coming up to slow traffic, I either make the decision to overtake or i pull to decrease speed and hover over the brake.
 
malibudave said:
Sounds like you need to buy a car with adaptive cruise control so that it brakes for you.
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Never had this, but I am not sure I like the idea. CC I do like because of the comfort increase on motorway / higher speed road trips and long journeys, but you're still involved to a reasonably high degree. With adaptive cruise I'd be fearful of becoming too distanced from control of the car, and I am not sure I'd trust it, especially in inclement weather. That said, I do like the idea of emergency brake assist where the car can effectively react way faster than you if it senses a significant decrease in traffic in front of you.

Anyone use adaptive cruise / does it work well ?

And inkey$ - nothing to add to the advice above, just play with it - pretty quickly you'll find how you like to use it. I am going to fit it to my car in the spring, probably with some help :thumbsup:
 
I wouldn't buy a car without cruise now, so useful and makes for relaxed driving. Once you get over the fear of not being in control, you can use it like your breaks and accelerator. So even in traffic its on, I would say that it is on more than its off, as you change speed limit change, increase/decrease the speed using cruise. On the e89 a slight push increases by 1 mph, a further push increases by 5 mph, the same with slowing except the e89 has a breaking function, the e85/e86 does not have this I believe, only engine breaking.
 
sars said:
the same with slowing except the e89 has a breaking function, the e85/e86 does not have this I believe, only engine breaking.
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I've often wondered about this as on the A75 just outside Dumfries there is a pretty steep hill that if I'm in manual mode doing 60 just releasing the throttle and relying on the engine braking the speed creeps up, however with cruise on it does hold the speed which makes me think there must be some kind of braking going on, but then I could be wrong :) .
 
Often drive cars with adaptive cruise control and your're right it is a bit strange to let the car take over. Obviously no matter how complex the system it can never take over from driver intuition and so quite often you will see that the cars 4 or 5 ahead are slowing so you would naturally slow but ACC (Adaptive cruise control) wont. Can be a bit unnerving!

You always have to be aware of whats around when it is active and it does take some time to trust it, but the systems now are very good and particularly on British roads where people are forever "getting in the way" it does make motorway driving a lot more relaxing.
 
pvr said:
So I press it once and the car slows down, once the other car is out of the BMW lane, I press resume to continue. Hardly ever I need to brake and most of it can be done from the cruise control itself.

Sometimes I use the accelerator to get passed the car a little quicker and when letting the accelerator go, it resumes the previous speed again.
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Snap. put it on and sit there. if you are coming up behind something and cant move out to overtake, nock it off using the stalk.you slow down, car passes you by, move out and nock it back on again. rarely any need for any breaking business.

Sometimes just a blip on the accelerator to get round a slower vehicle infront. depends on the situation

I now get cruise rage occasionally, usually when people cant hold a constant speed and seemingly speed up and slow down for no reason as :x
 
Greeno said:
I now get cruise rage occasionally, usually when people cant hold a constant speed and seemingly speed up and slow down for no reason as :x
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Had this the other day, was on cruise all the way over the M62 and kept overtaking this couple in a fiesta, went on for about 40 minutes or so, until the passenger decided that because I kept overtaking them and slowing down that I was the complete numpty (no comments please), people can be so rude :lol:
 
Easy in the zed no cruise,it is a sports car after all,in the 330 very rare only if going up to scotland,but then sparse. :thumbsup: after that right foot takes care as it is a part of me and I am attached to it. :rofl:
 
I find cruise in the zed a little less user friendly than my 3 series was. Can't really add much to the advice above, but do find it useful in long stretches of 30mph or 40mph zones. I don't care if I cause a tailback. I'm happy to sit with cruise on, at the speed limit. Gives you peace of mind if you see any traffic cops


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Can't live without it...all three of my cars have it fitted. Originally its because I drive down through France a lot (now a 2200 mile round trip from home in Wales) and at 6' 3" I used to get awful backache from being jammed in the same position for hours on end.

Just one small addendum to the instructions mentioned in various threads.....I don't have my instruction book to hand but some CCs do kick out if road speed (or in some cases the revs) rises or falls by more than a certain percentage of the set speed, i.e. if you accelerate too much it may drop out (or in a less powerful car, if it slows down too much on a very steep hill, again it will kick out). Not sure what the Zed does in this respect as its never happened to me.

But as said, absolutely no need for concern since it kicks out whenever you brake, change gear or just flick the CC stalk. Having said that, on my auto Nissan 4x4 it even stays on even if the box changes down, so long as the revs don't get too low or you don't put it into neutral, but I'm pretty sure that on a manual box there will be a gearbox sensor fitted to kick it out if you change gear.
 
Never used it, but tempted to retrofit. It would make motorway driving considerably less painful.
 
I don't find the cruise on my E85 anywhere near as easy to use as my old (2004) Clio. The Clio had buttons on the steering wheel and was very intuitive IME, whereas I have to think a bit more before touching the BMW stalk. Perhaps I'm just not familiar enough with it as I rarely get the chance to use it.
 
What's the view on fuel economy using CC? I've heard conflicting reports - some saying it is good for MPG and some saying the opposite because of constant minor throttle/brake to maintain the set speed. Never done a comparison myself.
 
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