On 05/06/16 15:49, Roger Mills wrote:
On 05/06/2016 12:58, Bob Eager wrote:
On Sun, 05 Jun 2016 11:46:16 +0100, Roger Mills wrote:

On 05/06/2016 08:24, Bob Eager wrote:


I'm one who only really uses them on motorways (or other long,
uneventful roads). The rest of the time I use the speed limiter, as
it's much less work.


What sort of device is the speed limiter, and how dos it work?

Mine works two ways.

1) Turn it on, and it sets to the current speed. Adjust it up or down as
required. The car won't go faster than the set limit (unless you do kick-
down), but since it doesn't use the brakes, it can go over if (say) on a
hill descent - in that case it chimes and flashes.

2) Turn it on, and it obeys the current speed limit. You can set a
'margin'. This is done by use of the satnav, but primarily through image
recognition of speed limit signs.




Ta! [Ignore the questions in my previous post, which I wrote before
reading this.]

When in speed limiter mode, do you still need your foot on your throttle
- so that you control the speed (subject to the limit) - or does it work
without pressing the throttle, like a conventional cruise control

AIUI - I dont have it - its like a rev limiter.

Either cruise control OR speed limit.

Speed limit is manual throttle but with 'thats as fast as I am going
unless you go for maximum rabbit'.


--
"It is an established fact to 97% confidence limits that left wing
conspirators see right wing conspiracies everywhere"

Tim+ a écrit :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
You mean "being a manual it holds the set speed less well than an auto".

No I mean it holds the set speed much more accurately, at least until I
touch the brake or clutch.


And on a hill...?

Well it would have to be a serious hill, but I would change down and
re-engage cruise.


So, it can't maintain the set speed without intervention. Something an auto
can do. I rest my case. ;-)

Tim

In exceptional circumstances, no. Its a diesel, with massive torque, so
only rarely do I find it necessary on an open road to change down even
when towing. More often I have to disengage cruise, due to bends and
traffic.

On 05/06/16 16:02, Roger Mills wrote:
On 05/06/2016 13:58, Tim+ wrote:
Harry wrote:
Mike Barnes a écrit :
I can set the car to 'beep' when a certain speed is reached, and
that suits
me better. Conveniently it's not loud enough to wake SWMBO.

Mine has one of those, but other than testing to prove it works, I
don't use it. I rely upon cruise to hold my speed and being a manual,
it hold the set speed fairly well.


You mean "being a manual it holds the set speed less well than an auto".


Why should that be? I've only ever driven one auto with cruise control -
and that was a hire car in Australia. That behaved in a very peculiar
and erratic way. If you started to go up a hill, it would open the
throttle to try to maintain speed - often resulting in kicking down to
the next gear, whereupon it would accelerate rapidly - exceeding the set
speed - and then promptly shut the throttle and change up again - only
for the same gear hunting process to keep repeating.

Well obviously Rod Speed had been at it.

The Freelander will hunt a little when cold, but once warm its spot on.
Hard acceleration gradually easing off as it gets to the correct speed.

Its a matter of proper programming.



At least with a manual, *you* choose the gear and the cruise control
only has one parameter to control. Obviously, if it can't maintain the
chosen speed in the current gear even by using full throttle, you'll
need to give it a bit of help - but that's preferable to having an auto
thrashing the gears willy nilly!

Modern boxes and modern cruise control is better than that.



--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

On 05/06/16 17:18, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
You mean "being a manual it holds the set speed less well than an auto".

No I mean it holds the set speed much more accurately, at least until I
touch the brake or clutch.

You must have driven crap autos then.



--
"The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll
look exactly the same afterwards."

Billy Connolly

The Natural Philosopher a écrit :
You must have driven crap autos then.

No, it was the top of the range, though quite a few years ago..

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
...
News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out how
the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point in
having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to learn how
all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights are
all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute when a
tail bulb fails.

Which car is that ?

On 05/06/16 20:08, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
The Natural Philosopher a écrit :
You must have driven crap autos then.

No, it was the top of the range, though quite a few years ago..

The first auto I drove was a Ford Zephyr or Zodiac or something.
Absolutely hopeless.That would be around 1975.

The first I owned was a Jag XK8, Blissful. That was around 1999




--
Canada is all right really, though not for the whole weekend.

"Saki"

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
...
The Natural Philosopher a écrit :
On 05/06/16 10:31, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/06/16 10:21, Mike Barnes wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 05/06/16 09:10, DerbyBorn wrote:
Bob Eager wrote in
:

On Sat, 04 Jun 2016 21:15:15 +0100, The Natural Philosopher wrote:

Bull****. Its fantastic for knowing you are not exceeding stupid
lefty**** speed limits. set it to the limit, and engage it until
you
need to slow down : 30, 40 , 50 , 60, 79. It works for all of them
so
you don't need to keep looking at the speedo, but can actually
watch
out for more hazards than just speed cameras.

It's OK, but an automatic speed limiter is better.

If I'm in one of those areas with constantly changing speed limits
(and cameras) I just engage the limiter and let it sort it all out.

In practice, I do know what the limit is all the time, but it
protects
me against a mistake.




Many Cruise Controls have a "Speed Limiter" Setting.

Mine doesn't. Wish it did.

I'm uneasy about the idea of a speed limiter when, in an emergency, I
might want to exceed any limit I'd set, without the faff of disabling
the limiter.


Doesn't a massive stab with the right foot do that, the way a stab on
the brakes disables cruise control?


I decided to google this as I was interested.

"He adds: €œA big advantage with Fords Speed Limiter is that the system
also has a built in override feature which allows you to go above your
speed limit if you need to overtake. By pressing the accelerator to the
floor, the software will temporarily disable the speed limit function so
the driver can overtake, and then the system is automatically engaged
again when your speed reduces back to the set limit. If you do override
the system, the instrument panel display indicates you are exceeding your
set limit. So with Speed Limiter the driver can still overtake if
necessary, without having to turn the system off using the steering wheel
controls.€�

€œBecause Fords Speed Limiter is not linked to the brakes and controls
speed by limiting acceleration, there are situations, for example when
descending steep hills, where the vehicle might exceed the maximum speed
set. If this happens a warning chime sounds and a light flashes in the
cluster display.€�

Seem,s a very sensible way to organise a useful feature.

Unfortunately, its Ford.

Apart from maybe Toyota, the worst cars on the road otherwise.

The one feature missing from limiters and cruise controls is ease of
selection of the speed you want - pressing a button when you are doing the
speed you want, just doesn't hack it for me. An array of buttons marked
20, 30, 40, 50 and etc.. would be much better.

I'd rather have voice control so you dont have to look at the buttons
to select the right one.

On 05/06/2016 18:34, Andy Burns wrote:
Roger Mills wrote:

Andy Burns wrote:

Roger Mills wrote:

I suppose that since cruise control only works on the throttle - and
not on the brakes - there is some risk of exceeding the set speed on
a steep decline.

Mine slows itself in exactly that situation using the brakes.

Interesting. What car is that?

Audi A4. I presume it uses the ABS reservoir in the same way it does to
hold the car on the brakes (not the "hand" brake) when stationary. It
also periodically "wipes" the brakes to keep them dry.

It is extremely nice to have a system that maintains speed down as well
as up hill. Especially in a very hilly area with lots of speed cameras.

--
Rod

"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

Tim Streater a écrit :
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out
how the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, it is great. I can just leave it to get on with it. I dislike manual
control, I would be constantly having to retrim it as the outdoor ambient
changed.

No, it's a pain in the arse, at least as implemented in my C4. I don't
give a monkey's about whether the temperature I want is 22C or
whatever. When I get in the car, if I'm cold I want to get hot ASAP, so
I set temp to max. Once I'm warm enough, air at a somewhat lower temp
is what I want. So I turn the temp down from, say 27 to say 22. But
what actually happens is that instead of getting air at 22 I get air
*much* colder than that, because the car thinks I want the entire
ambient temp to get to 22 ASAP.

What I want is a simple slider or dial, such that I get air out of it
at a temp that exactly relates to the dial/slider position.

No reason why a well designed climate control can't have a
button which tells it to operate the way you want when getting
into the car cold and do it the way you want when you tell it to
stop doing that by unpressing that button when warm enough.

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
You mean "being a manual it holds the set speed less well than an auto".

No I mean it holds the set speed much more accurately, at least until I
touch the brake or clutch.


And on a hill...?

Well it would have to be a serious hill, but I would change down and
re-engage cruise.


So, it can't maintain the set speed without intervention. Something an auto
can do. I rest my case. ;-)

Tim

In exceptional circumstances, no. Its a diesel, with massive torque, so
only rarely do I find it necessary on an open road to change down even
when towing. More often I have to disengage cruise, due to bends and
traffic.


Not everyone lives in flatland. I've just driven on a ****load of roads
that no torquey diesel could hope to ascend in top gear. Autos work better
with cruise control than manuals, period.

Tim

--
Trolls and troll feeders go in my killfile

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
On 05/06/2016 12:11, tim... wrote:

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
On 04/06/2016 16:23, DerbyBorn wrote:
What is it that tends to define the typical specification of cars
imported
into a particular country?

Some countries I have been to do not seem to have reversing sensors
over a
time when they have become commonplace in the UK.

Cruise Control whilst unusual in the UK is very common across all
classes
of car in other countries.

I suppose other additions like GPS / SatNav are a bit country specific.


I can see how an Importer of one brand would make a decision, but this
seems to go across brands.

All of these things are available everywhere as options - even on low
end cars.

As a manufacture fit they are most certainly not available on low end
cars.



I'm not sure which low end cars you have in mind, but thinks like power
steering, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, etc. - which were at one
time only available on luxury cars - are now available either by default
or as factory fit options on pretty much everything.

There are plenty of low end cars which don't have manufacturer options
for GPS / Satnav, essentially because so many use their smartphone for that.

Slomo wrote:


"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

Tim Streater a écrit :
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out
how the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, it is great. I can just leave it to get on with it. I dislike manual
control, I would be constantly having to retrim it as the outdoor ambient
changed.

No, it's a pain in the arse, at least as implemented in my C4. I don't
give a monkey's about whether the temperature I want is 22C or
whatever. When I get in the car, if I'm cold I want to get hot ASAP, so
I set temp to max. Once I'm warm enough, air at a somewhat lower temp
is what I want. So I turn the temp down from, say 27 to say 22. But
what actually happens is that instead of getting air at 22 I get air
*much* colder than that, because the car thinks I want the entire
ambient temp to get to 22 ASAP.

What I want is a simple slider or dial, such that I get air out of it
at a temp that exactly relates to the dial/slider position.

No reason why a well designed climate control can't have a
button which tells it to operate the way you want when getting
into the car cold and do it the way you want when you tell it to
stop doing that by unpressing that button when warm enough.



Why would you want a system to mimic idiotic behaviour?

Climate control left to its own devices does *exactly* what Tim is trying
to achieve without interference. It works to get the cabin to the preset
temp as quickly as possible. If the engine isn't hot enough no amount of
fiddling will get it to heat up faster.

Tim

--
Trolls and troll feeders go in my killfile

"Tim+" wrote in message
...
Slomo wrote:


"Tim Streater" wrote in message
.. .
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

Tim Streater a écrit :
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the
cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out
how the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No
point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, it is great. I can just leave it to get on with it. I dislike
manual
control, I would be constantly having to retrim it as the outdoor
ambient
changed.

No, it's a pain in the arse, at least as implemented in my C4. I don't
give a monkey's about whether the temperature I want is 22C or
whatever. When I get in the car, if I'm cold I want to get hot ASAP, so
I set temp to max. Once I'm warm enough, air at a somewhat lower temp
is what I want. So I turn the temp down from, say 27 to say 22. But
what actually happens is that instead of getting air at 22 I get air
*much* colder than that, because the car thinks I want the entire
ambient temp to get to 22 ASAP.

What I want is a simple slider or dial, such that I get air out of it
at a temp that exactly relates to the dial/slider position.

No reason why a well designed climate control can't have a
button which tells it to operate the way you want when getting
into the car cold and do it the way you want when you tell it to
stop doing that by unpressing that button when warm enough.



Why would you want a system to mimic idiotic behaviour?

For those who want it to operate like that.

Climate control left to its own devices does *exactly* what Tim is trying
to achieve without interference.

No it does not when the person wants the car much
hotter than normal when they have got very cold
outside the car, want to be warmed up as quickly
as possible when they get into the car, and then
automatically return to normal temp once the
individual has been quickly warmed up.

It works to get the cabin to the preset temp as quickly as possible.

But he doesnt want the preset temperature initially,
he wants much warmer to warm himself up quickly.

If the engine isn't hot enough no amount
of fiddling will get it to heat up faster.

But when the engine is hot enough, it can do what he wants.

On 05/06/2016 18:33, Tim+ wrote:
A manual car cannot maintain a constant speed up a steep hill without user
input, an auto can (within limits of course).

Yesterday I drove my wife's 55BHP hatchback 50 miles of dual carriageway
with the back stuffed full of things, and didn't have to change down on
any of the hills.

I'm aware that there are hills that would have required it - M40 going
up the Chilterns' scarp for instance - but they are rare on roads where
I'd use cruise.

Many years ago I had a Cavalier auto - and _that_ climbed that hill in top.

Andy

In message , Tim+
writes
Slomo wrote:

No reason why a well designed climate control can't have a
button which tells it to operate the way you want when getting
into the car cold and do it the way you want when you tell it to
stop doing that by unpressing that button when warm enough.



Why would you want a system to mimic idiotic behaviour?

Climate control left to its own devices does *exactly* what Tim is trying
to achieve without interference. It works to get the cabin to the preset
temp as quickly as possible. If the engine isn't hot enough no amount of
fiddling will get it to heat up faster.

Takes about 5 miles in a diesel Fiesta:-(

How difficult would it be to reverse the air con to give heat in the
cabin?

--
Tim Lamb

On 05/06/2016 21:41, Vir Campestris wrote:
I'm aware that there are hills that would have required it - M40 going
up the Chilterns' scarp for instance - but they are rare on roads where
I'd use cruise.

That is not much of a hill! My car manages it in 7th gear - unless the
traffic seizes up.

--
Rod

Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out how the
cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people. (The
same goes for auto just-about-anything.)

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights, and wipers. I'm pleased
with all of them.

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

Tim+ a écrit :
Not everyone lives in flatland. I've just driven on a ****load of roads
that no torquey diesel could hope to ascend in top gear. Autos work better
with cruise control than manuals, period.

I don't live in a flatland. Next week I will be towing a large caravan
through the worst of the Welsh mountains, which I have done several
times before - I fully expect to have cruise engaged for much of the
drive.

Vir Campestris wrote:

Yesterday I drove my wife's 55BHP hatchback 50 miles of dual carriageway
with the back stuffed full of things, and didn't have to change down on
any of the hills.

I'm aware that there are hills that would have required it - M40 going
up the Chilterns' scarp for instance - but they are rare on roads where
I'd use cruise.

Many years ago I had a Cavalier auto - and _that_ climbed that hill in top.

Memories of my old 1500 cc Beetle. M62 eastbound was fun. If I
didn't get a good run at it I had to change down before the
summit.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Plant amazing Acers.

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out
how the
cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people. (The
same goes for auto just-about-anything.)

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights,

auto lights eh!

does it somehow know that you are in a county that requires daylight running
and automatically turn them on for you?

tim

"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...


"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
On 05/06/2016 12:11, tim... wrote:

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
On 04/06/2016 16:23, DerbyBorn wrote:
What is it that tends to define the typical specification of cars
imported
into a particular country?

Some countries I have been to do not seem to have reversing sensors
over a
time when they have become commonplace in the UK.

Cruise Control whilst unusual in the UK is very common across all
classes
of car in other countries.

I suppose other additions like GPS / SatNav are a bit country
specific.


I can see how an Importer of one brand would make a decision, but this
seems to go across brands.

All of these things are available everywhere as options - even on low
end cars.

As a manufacture fit they are most certainly not available on low end
cars.



I'm not sure which low end cars you have in mind, but thinks like power
steering, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, etc. - which were at one
time only available on luxury cars - are now available either by default
or as factory fit options on pretty much everything.

There are plenty of low end cars which don't have manufacturer options
for GPS / Satnav, essentially because so many use their smartphone for
that.

OTOH, if there is an easy aftermarket fit then there is no incentive value
forcing the driver to upgrade a model class to get that toy and thus more
incentive to offer it as a manufacturing option.

And for this particular option it is now getting to the point where it is
cheaper for a manufacturer to specify a "smart" centre console in all of
their cars that muck around with two different supply chains.

Once you have a smart centre console, sat nav is just a software upgrade
(and the addition of a GPS aerial - the wiring for which will probably
already be in situ for the same reason as above)

tim

On Mon, 06 Jun 2016 00:36:36 +0100, Tim Streater
wrote:

snip

I might at this moment have a cabtemp of 17. If I move the setting to
22, I get air at 900C until the *cabin* reaches 22. Conversely, if I at
this moment the cabtemp is 27 and I want air at 22, what I actually get
is air at -273C until the cabin reaches 22.

LOL (and I actually did for the first time in a long time).

What you are describing there is a digital engineers idea of a
solution, not necessarily what everyone wants (especially you).

A dead loss and I'm fed up
with it.

It sounds exactly the same scenario as HID headlights. Nice in theory,
especially when you are sitting behind them driving down an unlit road
(at night g) but not so nice for *anyone* who gets swept with them
whilst waiting to get onto a roundabout (or worse, when someone has
pulled up on the wrong side of the road and left their headlights on).

Maybe they will be fine (required even) when cars are driving
themselves (at night) but then I'll be able to shut my eyes and have a
nap. ;-)

As an aside, anyone with tinnitus like mine will easily understand the
human temperature scenario thing above. Because I have tinnitus I like
some background 'noise' to help mask it (TV, radio, white noise in
bed). Too much noise (duration and / or volume) and my tinnitus level
increases so it would be very difficult for any automatic system to
manage that.

Cheers, T i m

Harry Bloomfield wrote:
Tim+ a écrit :
Not everyone lives in flatland. I've just driven on a ****load of roads
that no torquey diesel could hope to ascend in top gear. Autos work better
with cruise control than manuals, period.

I don't live in a flatland. Next week I will be towing a large caravan
through the worst of the Welsh mountains, which I have done several
times before - I fully expect to have cruise engaged for much of the
drive.


Never said that you couldn't, just that CC works better with an auto.

Tim

--
Trolls and troll feeders go in my killfile

On 06/06/16 09:34, Jethro_uk wrote:
On Sun, 05 Jun 2016 13:56:53 +0100, Harry Bloomfield wrote:

The one feature missing from limiters and cruise controls is ease of
selection of the speed you want - pressing a button when you are doing
the speed you want, just doesn't hack it for me. An array of buttons
marked 20, 30, 40, 50 and etc.. would be much better.

Which the Citroen I have has - and is pants.

I can't for the life of me think why they didn't make it like the cruise
control where you get to desired speed, hit "set" and forget. It's a real
PITA on these 30/40/30/40/30/40-in-one-mile roads you have nowdays. In
fact on such roads now, I just leave it at 30. Half the time you can't go
over 30 anyway (because the traffic ahead is behind cars already in the
next 30 stretch) and the other half by the time a car has decided to
overtake you, you've entered a 30 again.


I have that and have given up using it. To set the speed you first have
to be travelling at that speed, so rather useless unless you have a nice
straight steady, uncluttered bit of road in which to fiddle with the
setting. Useless if limits are always changing. It needs a simple
dial/switch to select 20/30/40/50/70


--
djc

(–€Ì¿Ä¹Ì¯–€Ì¿ Ì¿)
No low-hanging fruit, just a lot of small berries up a tall tree.

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 06 Jun 2016 08:28:54 +0100, tim... wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the
cruise control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered
finding out how the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No
point in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took
time to learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people. (The
same goes for auto just-about-anything.)

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights,

auto lights eh!

does it somehow know that you are in a county that requires daylight
running and automatically turn them on for you?

tim

Are DRL separate to side/dipped/main beam lights ?

only on a Volvo (and I don't know that's even true anymore)

tim

On Mon, 6 Jun 2016 09:31:09 +0100 (GMT+01:00), jim k wrote:

Harry Bloomfield Wrote in message:
Tim+ a écrit :
Not everyone lives in flatland. I've just driven on a ****load of roads
that no torquey diesel could hope to ascend in top gear. Autos work better
with cruise control than manuals, period.

I don't live in a flatland. Next week I will be towing a large caravan
through the worst of the Welsh mountains, which I have done several
times before - I fully expect to have cruise engaged for much of the
drive.

And a fecking massive tailback behind...

Book a hotel ffs :-)

;-)

Even when towing a trailer behind my 1000cc motorbike (the combo
tested above 100 mph (on a test track of course)) I am limited to the
'reduced' speeds on many roads but unlike many car / caravan
combinations:

Can go up any hill at a realistic speed.
Can go round most corners at a realistic speed.
Can still filter though traffic (the trailer is narrower than the
touring cases) so don't take up any space in a traffic jam.
*Will* pull over as soon as realise I am impeding someone else and
allow them past (and can do so easier than a car / caravan because I'm
not as wide).
I can be seen past by anyone following so not as frustrating as
following a caravan (or any other large / speed restricted / slow
vehicle of course).

We loved some of the roads in Scotland as they have what looks like a
hard shoulder where part of the (single) carriageway is marked off
with a solid white line (like a cycle lane or narrow hard shoulder or
bus lane). Drivers are encouraged to pull into these lane when being
overtaken by faster vehicles and in generally everyone uses them.

Cheers, T i m

Mike Barnes Wrote in message:
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out how the
cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people. (The
same goes for auto just-about-anything.)


Yes, I think that's the thing.

Though don't really see the point myself of what Tim wants :-)

Actually, I *think* our Galaxy might do what Tim wants. You can
turn the auto mode off (indirectly, by pressing the fan speed
selector button) , not really sure though what it does with the
air temp then. It's not a function I'm bothered about.
Occasionally I whack it onto full heating or cooling mode, though
it probably doesn't achieve anymore than just turning it to a
high or low temp.

Most of the time it lives set on auto and works well.

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights, and wipers. I'm pleased
with all of them.

Yup. Though I do have a habit now of going to drive off in SWMBO's
car without turning the lights on at night :-)
--
--
Chris French

Harry Bloomfield Wrote in message:
Tim+ a écrit :
Not everyone lives in flatland. I've just driven on a ****load of roads
that no torquey diesel could hope to ascend in top gear. Autos work better
with cruise control than manuals, period.

I don't live in a flatland. Next week I will be towing a large caravan
through the worst of the Welsh mountains, which I have done several
times before - I fully expect to have cruise engaged for much of the
drive.

And a fecking massive tailback behind...

Book a hotel ffs :-)
--
Jim K


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http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

tim... wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the cruise
control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered finding out
how the
cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No point
in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took time to
learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors, auto
climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's lights
are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a substitute
when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people. (The
same goes for auto just-about-anything.)

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights,

auto lights eh!

does it somehow know that you are in a county that requires daylight running
and automatically turn them on for you?

Apparently that's an issue for you, but it isn't an issue for me, and
unless you can explain why it should be, you've just supported my point.
Thanks.

--
Mike Barnes
Cheshire, England

"tim..." wrote in message
...

"Rod Speed" wrote in message
...


"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
On 05/06/2016 12:11, tim... wrote:

"Roger Mills" wrote in message
...
On 04/06/2016 16:23, DerbyBorn wrote:
What is it that tends to define the typical specification of cars
imported
into a particular country?

Some countries I have been to do not seem to have reversing sensors
over a
time when they have become commonplace in the UK.

Cruise Control whilst unusual in the UK is very common across all
classes
of car in other countries.

I suppose other additions like GPS / SatNav are a bit country
specific.


I can see how an Importer of one brand would make a decision, but
this
seems to go across brands.

All of these things are available everywhere as options - even on low
end cars.

As a manufacture fit they are most certainly not available on low end
cars.



I'm not sure which low end cars you have in mind, but thinks like power
steering, anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, etc. - which were at one
time only available on luxury cars - are now available either by default
or as factory fit options on pretty much everything.

There are plenty of low end cars which don't have manufacturer options
for GPS / Satnav, essentially because so many use their smartphone for
that.

OTOH, if there is an easy aftermarket fit then there is no incentive value
forcing the driver to upgrade a model class to get that toy and thus more
incentive to offer it as a manufacturing option.

And for this particular option it is now getting to the point where it is
cheaper for a manufacturer to specify a "smart" centre console in all of
their cars that muck around with two different supply chains.

And yet there are plenty like Hyundai and Kia
that don't include them in their cheapest cars.

Once you have a smart centre console, sat nav is just a software upgrade
(and the addition of a GPS aerial - the wiring for which will probably
already be in situ for the same reason as above)

See above.

On Mon, 06 Jun 2016 08:28:53 +0000, Jethro_uk wrote:

On Mon, 06 Jun 2016 08:28:54 +0100, tim... wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the
cruise control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered
finding out how the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No
point in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took
time to learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors,
auto climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's
lights are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a
substitute when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people.
(The same goes for auto just-about-anything.)

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights,

auto lights eh!

does it somehow know that you are in a county that requires daylight
running and automatically turn them on for you?

tim

Are DRL separate to side/dipped/main beam lights ?

Yes. My car has them (LED). It also has auto lights, which:
1) Come on when it's dark enough (FSVO dark)
2) Auto-dip


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On Mon, 06 Jun 2016 09:59:37 +0100, tim... wrote:

"Jethro_uk" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 06 Jun 2016 08:28:54 +0100, tim... wrote:

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
...
Tim Streater wrote:
In article , Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

News a écrit :
I used my last car for 18 years, and very, very rarely used the
cruise control. This car, owned for a year, I haven't bothered
finding out how the cruise control works.

I'm on my fourth car with cruise and each I used extensively. No
point in having a driving aid fitted, if you don't use it. I took
time to learn how all the gadgets on my car work.

The satnav, the auto wipers, the auto seat, the reverse sensors,
auto climate and so on. Even how it constantly checks the caravan's
lights are all working and puts a brake light on half power as a
substitute when a tail bulb fails.

Auto climate is a pain in the arse.

No, *some* auto climates are a pain in the arse for *some* people.
(The same goes for auto just-about-anything.)

I'm on my third car with auto climate, lights,

auto lights eh!

does it somehow know that you are in a county that requires daylight
running and automatically turn them on for you?

tim

Are DRL separate to side/dipped/main beam lights ?

only on a Volvo (and I don't know that's even true anymore)

True on my Ford.



--
My posts are my copyright and if @diy_forums or Home Owners' Hub
wish to copy them they can pay me £1 a message.
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK: http://www.mirrorservice.org
*lightning surge protection* - a w_tom conductor

On 06/06/2016 09:59, tim... wrote:


Are DRL separate to side/dipped/main beam lights ?

only on a Volvo (and I don't know that's even true anymore)

I thought most modern DRLs were separate - often LEDs.

On Saturday, June 4, 2016 at 9:14:55 PM UTC+1, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 04/06/16 17:16, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
DerbyBorn a écrit :
What is it that tends to define the typical specification of cars
imported into a particular country?

Some countries I have been to do not seem to have reversing sensors
over a time when they have become commonplace in the UK.

Cruise Control whilst unusual in the UK is very common across all
classes of car in other countries.

I suppose other additions like GPS / SatNav are a bit country specific..


I can see how an Importer of one brand would make a decision, but this
seems to go across brands.

Well, cruise would not be much use in a country where they don't have
(m)any motorways.


Bull****. Its fantastic for knowing you are not exceeding stupid
lefty**** speed limits. set it to the limit, and engage it until you
need to slow down : 30, 40 , 50 , 60, 79. It works for all of them so
you don't need to keep looking at the speedo, but can actually watch out
for more hazards than just speed cameras.



My car has every toy you could think of or wish for, including built in
TV and sat/nav, apart from it being a manual. I am equally happy with
either auto or manual, both have their good and bad points so far as I
am concerned.

IN town traffic I get a stiff left leg from manuals, and I like the
faster reaction times I get from left foot braking on an auto.


--
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's
too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

most useful for average speed limits, which have grown 5-fold in the last few years and soon will be everywhere as the technology has got better.

On 06/06/2016 09:31, jim wrote:
Harry Wrote in message:

I don't live in a flatland. Next week I will be towing a large caravan
through the worst of the Welsh mountains, which I have done several
times before - I fully expect to have cruise engaged for much of the
drive.

And a fecking massive tailback behind...


I used to be a caravanner until a few years ago.

The only time I had a tailback behind me was when one or two morons
immediately behind me could easily have overtaken - but didn't - making
it progressively more difficult for those behind *them*.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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checked.

On 06/06/2016 09:55, DJC wrote:

I have that and have given up using it. To set the speed you first have
to be travelling at that speed, so rather useless unless you have a nice
straight steady, uncluttered bit of road in which to fiddle with the
setting. Useless if limits are always changing. It needs a simple
dial/switch to select 20/30/40/50/70

That would only be useful if it had an accurate way of measuring speed.
If it uses the car's speedometer it will always control to a lower speed
than you want.

On my Volvo, you have to drive manually to the required speed (which I
measure with a GPS) and then press Set - but there are also up and down
buttons for fine tuning, and a Resume button to go back to the set speed
if you've had to drop out of CC for any reason.

That works perfectly well as far as I'm concerned - except that I
*would* like the constant distance option which later models have.
--
Cheers,
Roger
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checked.

On 06/06/16 15:21, Roger Mills wrote:
That would only be useful if it had an accurate way of measuring speed.
If it uses the car's speedometer it will always control to a lower speed
than you want.

Alol ways taht uise car tuyres will be inaccuratye die to trye qwear if
nothing else.

Short of Doppler radar or similar I cant see anyway to measure a cars
speed accurately apart from GPS.


--
"It is an established fact to 97% confidence limits that left wing
conspirators see right wing conspiracies everywhere"

On 06/06/16 15:12, Roger Mills wrote:
On 06/06/2016 09:31, jim wrote:
Harry Wrote in message:

I don't live in a flatland. Next week I will be towing a large caravan
through the worst of the Welsh mountains, which I have done several
times before - I fully expect to have cruise engaged for much of the
drive.

And a fecking massive tailback behind...


I used to be a caravanner until a few years ago.

The only time I had a tailback behind me was when one or two morons
immediately behind me could easily have overtaken - but didn't - making
it progressively more difficult for those behind *them*.

In around 1972, I set out on a bank holiday Friday - well it was
actually saturday morning when we left - from Surrey to Dartmouth
Naval college with 3/4 ton of discothèque lighting gear in my trusty
Bedford CA Mk II van.

AS we joined the A303, there was a queue of what appeared to be 100
miles of cars towing caravans, all heading west.

After ten minutes, I noticed that nothing was heading East. For the next
20 miles I drove *down the RHS of the single carriageway*, pulling over
twice when I saw lights coming from the other direction.

Till I passed the ignorant **** doing 40 mph, that no other caravan
towing car would dare overtake.

IIRC we made dartmouth around 7 a.m and had a nice breakfast in the mess
before going to sleep somewhere.



--
"It is an established fact to 97% confidence limits that left wing
conspirators see right wing conspiracies everywhere"

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...

On 06/06/16 15:21, Roger Mills wrote:
That would only be useful if it had an accurate way of measuring speed.
If it uses the car's speedometer it will always control to a lower speed
than you want.

Alol ways taht uise car tuyres will be inaccuratye die to trye qwear if
nothing else.

Please remove finger from arse before typing. TIA.


Short of Doppler radar or similar I cant see anyway to measure a cars speed
accurately apart from GPS.