# Cruise control, what a difference



## gm6vxb (Nov 3, 2007)

Have had cruise control fitted to our 130JTD at Conrad Anderson's.
What a difference in fuel consumption, gone from 27ish to 35+ motorway cruising at lorry 60MPH. Travelling down the M40 from Birmingham to Wyatts Covert also much more relaxed, so much so when I turned the control off had to look for where the throttle pedal was 
:lol: 
Money well spent on (as the wife says) yet another toy.
Martin.


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## 96633 (Nov 3, 2005)

Hey Martin - why is it these wives never understand!

Brian


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## geraldandannie (Jun 4, 2006)

Definitely worth buying, Martin, IMO. Especially useful for those long drones across the continent - it made our summer holiday drive so much more relaxing  

Gerald


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Cruise control*

Hi

My new van has cruise control fitted and I remain to be convinced that it is more economical with CC than without.

I will however do a good 200 or 300 hundred miles non stop both with and without cruise con in use as a test.

Somehow, I feel more in control of the motorhome with my foot on the pedal too.

Russell


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## EdinburghCamper (Sep 13, 2008)

I can concur, on my 2.3 fiat ducato, CC adds a MASSIVE chunk to my fuel econemy. Foot on pedal seems to be 50% + worse.

Gary.


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

Have to disagree, whilst cruise control is the best accessory that a driver can have, it will only save fuel on reasonably flat journeys. On a hill the CC will try to force the vehicle to maintain its speed, wasting fuel as can be evidenced from the black smoke. Where a change of gear and allowing the vehicle to find a comfortable speed at around 2000 revs will save fuel. The moment you touch the clutch, CC will disengage.
Gerry


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## johng1974 (Jan 17, 2007)

I tend to agree with Gerry..

Plus on the downhills, the speed will be pulled back, which cant be as efficient as allowing it to run-on?


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

Martin,

What was the cost?


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

If Cruise Control really did give a 32% increase in miles per gallon,
A. I would buy it. 
B. Every manufacturer would fit it free!


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## Mat7 (May 15, 2005)

I tend to get a very heavy foot the longer I have been driving - so if i set out on an adventure i may set off with good intentions but as the hours tick by the urge to get there sub consciously takes over! 
I find Cruise Control solves this problem very elegantly not only do i arrive more refreshed i have indeed got better fuel economy!

Works for me!

Cheers
Matt :lol: 8O


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## eddied (May 9, 2005)

Ciao tutti, to be convinced of the utility of CC, try driving across the Val Padana, Bologna to Milano, without it.
saluti, eddied


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## sideways (Jun 2, 2008)

I,ve never had a vehicle with cruise before and was a bit apprehensive about it fearing i would feel a lack of control, however its the best thing i,ve ever had, coupled with the sprintshift it made the run to Benidorm so much more relaxing.I wont buy another camper without it.


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## asprn (Feb 10, 2006)

I love cruise control on our RV. Being an auto box, there's no issue with gearing - go uphill, flicks down a gear at the right time, go downhill, vice versa.

Dougie.


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## oldenstar (Nov 9, 2006)

On any long journey cruise control is relaxing AND economical.

Personally I will leave cruise on most of the time, but not on steep inclines where I would normally change down anyway. As for running on when going downhill my computer always shows 99.9 mpg when doing this. On steep down slopes cruise can't hold the set speed anyway.

Have to say, with cruise on and both armrests down it's the most relaxing driving I can remember-The X250 has a lot of critics but in this mode it is hard to beat.

Paul


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## rolyk (Aug 24, 2007)

I emailed Motor Mods in Gloucester last week for an installed cost for my Transit. They came back wanting £499 which is rather more than I want to pay!

I'll be interested to hear what Martin paid at Conrad Anderson.

Roly


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## exmusso (Jun 18, 2006)

*Cruise Control*

Hi all,

I had Cruise Control fitted in 2006 to my Tranny prior to my European trip and has been the best thing I've done.

Like Martin, I live in the North of Scotland and it's a long, boring road to Dover. The Cruise comes into it's own on the M74/M6 sections and then in 
Europe if using the Autoroutes.

Unbelievably, I had to go to Clitheroe in England as no-one could fit in Scotland.

Rolyk, you have a PM.

Cheers,
Alan


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## EdinburghCamper (Sep 13, 2008)

GerryD said:


> Have to disagree, whilst cruise control is the best accessory that a driver can have, it will only save fuel on reasonably flat journeys. On a hill the CC will try to force the vehicle to maintain its speed, wasting fuel as can be evidenced from the black smoke. Where a change of gear and allowing the vehicle to find a comfortable speed at around 2000 revs will save fuel. The moment you touch the clutch, CC will disengage.
> Gerry


Perhaps my counter is wrong, or my foot too heavy, but even on hills, it is a SLIGHT improvement for me. Nothing like the improvement on the flat though.

Gary.


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## EdinburghCamper (Sep 13, 2008)

oldenstar said:


> On any long journey cruise control is relaxing AND economical.
> 
> Personally I will leave cruise on most of the time, but not on steep inclines where I would normally change down anyway. As for running on when going downhill my computer always shows 99.9 mpg when doing this. On steep down slopes cruise can't hold the set speed anyway.
> 
> ...


I find on the downhills, its still best to disengage gear, as for the first few seconds, you will waste a bit of fuel as the van tries to maintain speed.

As soon as I get over the top of any hill, and point downwards, its freefall 

Gary.


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

Paul[/quote] 
I find on the downhills, its still best to disengage gear, as for the first few seconds, you will waste a bit of fuel as the van tries to maintain speed.

As soon as I get over the top of any hill, and point downwards, its freefall  
Gary.[/quote]

Dis-engaging gears surely means you have no control over the engine and your relying only on your brakes, I prefer to have complete control all the time


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## thieawin (Jun 7, 2006)

not only that but disengaging the engine and freewheeling is illegal almost everywhere


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## EdinburghCamper (Sep 13, 2008)

Had no idea it was illigal, strange. I must admit, not sure I understand why disengaging whilst using your breaks is deemed wrong.

Does no one roll up to lights, or roll in very slow traffic?
Gary.


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## 113044 (Jun 6, 2008)

It's possible to buy kits and do it yourself,,, like this one on Ebay 350095681873 £180!!


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## kenp (Sep 8, 2006)

*cruise control*

Why not visit the website http://conrad-anderson.co.uk/cruisecontrols/cruisecontrols-models.htm

There are descriptions, prices, fitting charges and even an article on how to fit it yourself on a Fiat Ducato.

They even offer an overnight hook-up.


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## 101405 (Oct 15, 2006)

Had C/C on my old hymer 694 on long flat runs it was great, but it will reduce clutch life if you labour on Inclines/ hills, It also Induces you to set higher max speed, you sould not be relaxed to the point you think you are in an armchair thats bad, and driving for 2or 300miles non stop is also not good. . stop every 2 -1/2hrs . C/C is really made for Autoboxes/autochange and you should always have your feet near the pedals! Not on the dash! 




une conducteur professional.


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## gm6vxb (Nov 3, 2007)

Now back from our trip down to Pinewood studios, a return trip of 650 miles on motorways and dual carriageways in some pretty poor weather, mostly windy.
Observations on having cruise on:
1. Yes it definately improves MPG on less hilly routes or when not battering into a head wind.
2. Slight improvement overall including the hilly bits of the journey.
3. Definately more relaxed as long as there is not too much traffic close by.
4. Not cheap, but won't put prices on here in case the wife finds out !!.

Listening to the engine note, cruise was reducing throttle when I would quite possibly still had my foot down, on a few occassions I was even going to overide the control and change down until I looked at speed and instantanious MPG.
Yes you can get much better MPG's without cruise control, but what happens when you get to a hill. Do you put your foot down to keep speed up, or let the speed drop, and if so how far. Then when you are going downhill, do you let the van pick up to whatever speed it wants, or put it in neutral (eeek).
With cruise control the speed is constant, maybe using more fuel going uphill, but if you try to keep a reasonable speed manually the cruise starts reducing throttle quicker than I would if doing the same manually.
Yes I could use a (manual) lighter throttle to improve economy and let the speed reduce, but try that on Shap or Beattock and you would probably be doing 30MPH when you got to the top, and in a lower gear so possibly more fuel consumption. Then down the other side, well speed limit is 70MPH. 
On the new FIAT (and other engines) if you let the engine overun (which cruise control does anyway to maintain speed) the fuel supply shuts off if revs are above tickover. If you put the gearbox in neutral you use fuel to keep the engine ticking over.

Overall I would estimate an improvement of between 3 and 5MPG, but as I have not done the same journey without cruise, and in the same weather this is purely an estimate.

Martin.


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## pneumatician (May 1, 2005)

*Cruise Control*

I have cruise control and think for long continental trips its great, seem to have little opportunity to use it in the UK tho.
I usually set mine at about 5k below the speed limit. 
Wether its being a motorcyclist or just competitive by nature with cruise disengaged I do tend to speed up when other vehicles start overtaking me especially Campers  cheek.

Steve


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