I Had No Idea Cruise Controllers Were So Passionate

"philipilihp" (philiphilip) 11/18/2013 at 14:54 • Filed to: Sensitivelopnik

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I !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! much more sensitive than I could have ever imagined, apparently.

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Does everyone feel this way about their cruise control?

ddavidn > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 14:56

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I couldn't even tell you if mine works or not. If I start varying speed, I know it's time to pull off and get some coffee or food.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 14:56

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It freaks me out. I'm driving because I want to.

CalzoneGolem > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 14:57

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I hate it. It is ok to go beyond me set speed while coasting down a hill STOP DOWNSHIFTING!!

Nighthawkwill7, Hoon Depot Manager > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 15:01

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I have only ever used cruise control once in my life and I've driven long stretches (300+ miles) at a time without stopping. I just don't find it necessary.

Also, FP is rife with raging assholes so those reactions are to be expected.

Nibbles > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 15:06

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Yeah, FP commenters blowing it out of proportion

I don't use mine because of mountain country, the automatic transmission and the wheezy-ass 4 banger it's connected to.

I regulate my speed better than cruise does. I don't react to inclines, shoving the trans into 2nd gear and keeping it there long after its done its job; unlike cruise control I can anticipate situations where more fuel will be needed. Yes, this means my foot gets better fuel economy than cruise control. Yeah, I've done cross-country trips. No, I didn't use cruise control. No, I didn't cause any traffic fuckups because my speed fluctuated by a fraction of a percent.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 15:08

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I use it all the time.

I'm not going to yell at you for not though. I have a really bad right knee and driving aggravates it. especially on long trips. After a few trips between NJ and MI I took apart a 92 Jimmy donor truck to install it on my 88 s10 blazer (stole it's seats too lol). man that was a painful 12 hour ride before I installed it.

Keeps me consistent, in the Milan I can up and down my speed with buttons on the steering wheel, it's real easy on our boring straight line highways out here.

Unlike the FP idiots, I'm not going to hate on you for not using it. I can't not use it.

philipilihp > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 11/18/2013 at 15:15

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That just about sums up my sentiment exactly.

ncasolowork2 > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 15:24

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There really is nothing more aggravating than passing the same car 4 times in an hour because that car can't maintain a consistent speed. Especially if that car causes you to have to back out of cruise control. I think my record is passing a car 9 times in a single trip. I can tell you I wasn't the one varying my speed over a wide range.

davedave1111 > ncasolowork2 11/18/2013 at 15:35

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As long as the road's pretty empty, I may well do that. Not if it's going to bother anyone, of course, but it's really boring driving the same speed for too long. Also, for optimal fuel economy you're better off accelerating a bit, then coasting down a little.

Also, though, I'll vary my speed according to what's ahead. It might be safe to do 10 (ahem) over the limit when there's no-one near me, but then I'll slow down because I'm coming up on some traffic a long way ahead and want to give them time to shake out into single file before I get up to them, or some such.

I'm always a bit amused by the guys on cruise control who I'll pass in the faster bits, but then get passed by when I slow down slightly for some moderate hazard or other - say a joining slip road or something. It never occurred to me it would be annoying to anyone.

davedave1111 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 11/18/2013 at 15:39

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When you say 'all the time', how often do you mean? I've never had a car with cruise control, that I remember - maybe a rental once or twice. Do you only put it on on US-long journeys, or does it get used on ordinary short trips whenever you go on a highway?

What I consider a long drive would be considered a short trip in the States, so I'm not sure whether I wouldn't use cruise control, or just don't do the kind of driving where I would.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > davedave1111 11/18/2013 at 16:04

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I spend over an hour on the long/straight/boring US Interstate system every day. So I use my cruise every day. I also travel about 40 minutes on a long straight boring not very populated area. It is incredibly easy to go way faster than I should on that road. The Mercury Milan accelerates a lot easier than most would think lol. On that road I use it more as a precaution to keep me from getting in trouble haha.

I use my cruise control every day. On the ride home there's normally a lot of traffic and I can't lock it in on the highway, but the morning I definitely do and on that backroad. My old Chevy Blazer I'd set it in domestic areas to make sure I didnt go over 25 mph, the Milan won't let me set it until I'm over 30.

davedave1111 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 11/18/2013 at 16:17

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Is that an hour each way, or in total? Either way, yeah, that's a lot of driving by my standards. I drive more than an hour in London going a few miles sometimes, but otherwise I rarely drive that long at highway speeds.

I'd probably be a lot more willing to drive long distances if we had US petrol prices here. At at least £1.30 a litre, going 100 miles in the E30 costs me about $30 or so even with a fairly light foot.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > davedave1111 11/18/2013 at 16:30

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Americans bitch way too much about gas prices. I paid 3.09 a gallon this morning. I can travel about 380-400 miles on one fillup which cost me 42.75 this morning.

I travel roughly 53 miles a day and about an hour each way. You'd go broke with my commute!

I used to live in New Jersey (I live in Michigan now, outside Detroit), and the traffic there was insane....like the drive an hour to go a few miles insane like you deal with.

Our here in Michigan if you get on a backroad there is NO ONE in your way.

davedave1111 > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 11/18/2013 at 16:59

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To be fair, if I had your commute I'd have paid more attention to fuel economy when I bought my current car - even with US prices, because I'm stingy like that... At the moment I only drive a couple of thousand miles a year, if that, so I didn't give it a second thought.

I haven't commuted by car in years, though. Only once, when I had a job just outside London and was living nearly at the foot of the motorway. Last time I had a regular commute into Central London I bought a motorbike; it would take way too long to drive in, and there's nowhere to park.

Not sure we have any traffic quite like yours, though - not from the pictures I've seen of LA chocka-highways.

In London it's more a case of trying to pick your way through back-streets, minor roads, and one-way systems whilst waiting for idiots at every light, intersection, constriction, turning, bus stop, etc etc.

I found this picture while I was looking for an example. It's not really what I'm talking about, but it has so much random Jalop awesome that I thought I'd share:

This is more the kind of thing I was thinking of:

Skif6996 > philipilihp 11/18/2013 at 18:29

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I use it in my Stratus every day. I drie about 18 miles on a small highway and i set it at 65. It keeps me from accidentally speeding up and getting a ticket. I do not use it much in my wifes Mazda 3. It is completely inconsistent. Slushbox downshifts two gears every time the car drops a couple mph from where it is set and then climbs 15mph. Cant stand it. I wouldnt go off on a tangent because someone doesnt use it, but it works for me. I have been known to flip out over people hanging things from their mirror though so what do I know.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > davedave1111 11/19/2013 at 09:07

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Well, thankfully outside Detroit it's not anywhere near as bad as LA.

but we have a very grid style street map in our area, the main east/west roads are even labeled by their mile number.

Where I grew up in NJ the streets are as old as the colonial era, sooo it's more like what you deal with, messy traffic through winding disorienting streets. It's almost too easy to navigate out here!