Cruise control observations
 

Just a couple of quick points that I don't recall seeing mentioned before:

• The cruise control has "tap-up, tap-down," which allows you to adjust the set speed by one mph either way with a quick tap of the rocker switch.
• The fly-by-wire throttle disconnects the driver from the cruise control. The gas pedal doesn't move at all, which makes it hard to drop out of cruise smoothly because you can't feel and hold the current throttle position before disengaging the cruise.

Another thing I noticed while using the Cruise....

It surges, ever so slightly. The Tach & Speedo do not change, but I can feel it.

Told you it was slight.

Strange, I've been thinking that the throttle-by-wire makes this the best Cruise Control I've used. It makes it easier to set and change without any latency between setting the CC and when it figures out what speed to be at and when it reaches speed.

I agree with both those points, and I have not noticed any surging. I'm not trying to pick nits, just pointing out the disconnection between the pedal and the throttle.

I have only used the cruise twice so far on my car and noticed the surging almost instantly -- subtle but irritating.

I use it every day and it is the best cruise I have had. That would include about 5 different cars in the past 7 years.

I have had three cars so far and only one of them had cruise. Plus, the one with cruise would only work about a quarter of the time so I am looking forward to having this feature, surge or no surge.

-JiM

Re: Cruise control observations
 

1. That's a standard feature on most modern cruise control.

2. That's a good point about the throttle by wire and cruise control operation. I haven't had the chance to try it out yet.

Cruisin'...........
 

I have found the cruise very precise, but I use the speedo in metric.....it might be that it wanders up and down inside the MPH setting you want, while still holding the right setpoint?
What I am getting at is that a given KPH setting is much smaller than a given MPH setting, i.e. less 'wander' room?
Can't hurt to try it.....
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doc

edit - I do agree with the drive-by-wire observation, it is hard to know how much throttle to give it as it comes off control....

The surging could be just subtle changes in the road elevation that causes the engine to work harder at those points.

Just want to point out here that according to conventional wisdom, you probably shouldn't use your cruise control (except to confirm it works) during your break-in period... It's the whole "vary your speed, don't maintain the same speed/engine RPM for a long time while in break-in" thing.

I wonder if the surging has to do with the A/C cycling? It will have to wait for me to test the theory.
Vince

The response is so quick that when you "bump up" speed by a single mph, you can feel it press you back in the seat. You get that 1 mph increase very quickly.

Interesting observation about the drive-by-wire. Not being a true gearhead, I had forgotten about it. However, I experience no difficulty disengaging cruise and matching throttle position for a smooth transition. I'm not sure how I do it, it just seems to come naturally. I'll have to pay more attention next time so I can explain how. I think it just comes down to matching rpm/gear/roadspeed/engine sound and it all seems to work out. I find the 8's cruise very smooth, precise and easy to use. Great for relieving boredom on those straight stretches.

'cancel'
 

There are 4 basic ways to disengage cruise - depress the clutch, the brake, hit the 'cancel' button on the steering wheel or the 'on/off' switch. It does surge if you hit 'accel' button - I'm amazed how much, even at 60 or 65 it is able to 'surge' in 6th gear. If you want to set it a little faster and don't want the surge, just accelerate with the gas pedal and then hit 'set' again. Very simple and not intrusive at all.

p.s. You CAN use cruise during the break-in period. I did. I just hit the speed button up and down a lot while doing it. I doubt I ever stayed steady the same speed for more than 3 miles in the first 600 miles. Maybe as little as one mile was the most.

I think the cruise is the best I've owned. The one in my VW New Beetle TDI was very good too. The TDI's torque allowed the speed to hardly ever vary. The RX-8 is amazingly constant too.

Of course, I'm pretty sure in the 8 I can't shift through the gears to 5th without ever touching the 'gas' pedal like one can do in a TDI - not that that is practical - but it was interesting.