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Cruise Control feels like ICE
- Thread starter S-2000 Roadster
- Start date
Ummm, mine does (roadster 2.0). On the end of the blinker stalk there are the convex and concave buttons, and the larger flat "cancel" button. You press the convex one to engage cruise control at the current speed, or hold it to accelerate. But if you just "click it" (think like a mouse click), it raises the speed setting by 1mph. Similarly the concave button nearer the driver is the "resume/decelerate" button, and clicking it changes the set speed down by 1mph. This is pretty much the interface on all cruise controls I've ever seen. I don't remember whether it was documented in the manual, but I tried it and it works. (Yes it is... page 6-9 in my manual.)
I agree about the units. Even worse was England, which seemed to take most of the pain and then backtracked.
Just as a datapoint, the cruise switch is a GM part that dates back to the 1980's - here's a pic of an '87 Vauxhall Carlton GSI (ace car btw) - the behavior of the cruise control is all Tesla as it's software. For me the fact that it holds speed uphill and down wins it a reward. My Audi did the same by conspicuously putting on the brakes... not smooth!
Agreed on the terrible ergonomics, but not all of your other points. And the "forgets below 30" is not correct; the limit, I think, is 2mph or a full stop. Resume works ok above that. Have yours checked. (And override is done with the go pedal.)
+1 for the terrible ergonomics, or should I say "-1" for Tesla Motors? I've hit the Off button when I wanted the two-way toggle, and that's a shocking mistake.
It does seem strange that mpt's photo of the GM part is in a right-hand-drive vehicle. What's the story there? It seems backwards that a British maker would source a crappy GM part, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I've never had Resume work, and I certainly haven't dropped below 2 mph on the freeway! I'm going to have to test this some more.
You can still use the crappy behavior if you predict it well enough. I frequently use the Off button to slow down when I reach the freeway exit for home, and I time it right at the point where aggressive regeneration braking is what I want, rather than the horrible side-effect that it would normally be.
It does seem strange that mpt's photo of the GM part is in a right-hand-drive vehicle. What's the story there? It seems backwards that a British maker would source a crappy GM part, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised.
I've never had Resume work, and I certainly haven't dropped below 2 mph on the freeway! I'm going to have to test this some more.
You can still use the crappy behavior if you predict it well enough. I frequently use the Off button to slow down when I reach the freeway exit for home, and I time it right at the point where aggressive regeneration braking is what I want, rather than the horrible side-effect that it would normally be.
Resume requires holding down the button long enough, but not too long. It's hard to make it work.
I've also hit cancel when I wanted to slow down a little. Wham!
I actually like the way the cruise drives; I just don't like the control stalk.
I've also hit cancel when I wanted to slow down a little. Wham!
I actually like the way the cruise drives; I just don't like the control stalk.
Nik
Got there eventually :-)
Vauxhall is a UK-only brand for GM - the same cars are generally sold as Opel in the rest of Europe.
I remember one of the tech blogs referring to the parts supply chain as being one of the hardest parts of the process. Mainly it was being able to secure supply in such low numbers. Part of the reason that small auto companies have to use parts-bin spares is not just the cost of design, engineering, functional testing, safety testing, fire testing, etc. etc. but that these auto factories will knock out 10,000 parts before you can reach for the off-switch. So, Lotus use the freely available GM part and hence Tesla follows suit. I recall that they had to almost beg to use the airbag in the wheel.
In the 90's Lotus had a fad for Peugeot interior parts; better I thought but probably more expensive.
I'm speculating that the choice of the big LCD display in the 'S' isn't just about style but about cost. Just think of all the controls, wires, cables, leavers, plastic parts, illumination sources and ducts that disappear when you just go for an LCD panel and an off-the-shelf CPU unit. And, it's your supply chain; not GM.
BTW: When I snapped that Cruise control stalk off I was very glad of its heritage; just $43 for a replacement Living with a Tesla Roadster
...In the US this car is the Cadillac Cetera
Oh, and another thing; the prototype cars used the GM window switches; the early round ones; I loved those in the Cavaliers and Carltons, they had such a lovely 'click' when you pressed them, and they lit up. Stupid really but before the car shipped, in my mind I imagined clicking them; part of the whole experience. Crazy eh? Ooh, I wonder if I could retro-fit them...
In the 90's Lotus had a fad for Peugeot interior parts; better I thought but probably more expensive.
I'm speculating that the choice of the big LCD display in the 'S' isn't just about style but about cost. Just think of all the controls, wires, cables, leavers, plastic parts, illumination sources and ducts that disappear when you just go for an LCD panel and an off-the-shelf CPU unit. And, it's your supply chain; not GM.
BTW: When I snapped that Cruise control stalk off I was very glad of its heritage; just $43 for a replacement Living with a Tesla Roadster
...In the US this car is the Cadillac Cetera
Oh, and another thing; the prototype cars used the GM window switches; the early round ones; I loved those in the Cavaliers and Carltons, they had such a lovely 'click' when you pressed them, and they lit up. Stupid really but before the car shipped, in my mind I imagined clicking them; part of the whole experience. Crazy eh? Ooh, I wonder if I could retro-fit them...
Ooo, do it! ... then send photos. I wish I knew more about the Elise so I could help with the research (assuming that there are easy-fit options that could be moved over from Elise to Roadster).
My S2000 has window switches that click twice. Part way down will only operate the window motor while you're pressing (momentary); all the way down to the second click will actuate the automatic motor mode where it doesn't stop until the window is all the way down. This is not only ergonomic and intuitive, but it is 100% reliable. Lifting the switch is a third contact to bring the window up, but only so long as you're holding it - in that respect they're the same as the Roadster when raising the window.
The Roadster switches are fine, but I really hate the picky timing. Sometimes I'm too fast for the tap-to-auto-lower-to-the-bottom. Then I hold too long and get the momentary function. I think that the timing of the cruise control must be the same: too fast on the Resume and it doesn't Resume; too long and it Reduces speed instead of Resuming speed. It's like the main computer is reading all of these switches but the interrupt response is too slow to react to faster human inputs.
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I might be way off here, but I don't think that any cruise control system ever touches the brakes. At the most, you'll get engine compression braking (ICE) or regenerative braking (EV).
Ha! In the late 80s I built my own digital dashboard / car computer based on a Vic20 motherboard all in 6502 (6510) assembly as well!
But I think you got me beat on the fuel injection part. I didn't try to touch the actual drive-train interface... Just lighting and monitoring.
mnx
2018 M3P
My BMW applies the brakes on hills to maintain the set cruise speed. it's annoying... I try not to use cruise control in hilly areas for that reason.
No. The cruise will disengage but it won't forget the setpoint. I think a "rolling stop" is enough to keep it.
More info.
@William3: Sounds as if we're both right, although it depends on your definitions :wink:
Again my comments are limited to Roadster 1.5. Below 30 the RESUME feature does NOT work, but that does not mean that the car forgot the setpoint. So ... in your 2.0+ ... try this: accelerate to 32mph; set cruise; after short while cancel cruise (with, for example, brake pedal). Decelerate below 30, try RESUME; it won't work. Accelerate to above 30, let's say even higher than setpoint, like 42. Try RESUME; it works (let "go" of GoPedal). The car will settle back to 32. (The same procedure and result with a higher setpoint, like 55, etc.)
:smile:
@William3: Sounds as if we're both right, although it depends on your definitions :wink:
Again my comments are limited to Roadster 1.5. Below 30 the RESUME feature does NOT work, but that does not mean that the car forgot the setpoint. So ... in your 2.0+ ... try this: accelerate to 32mph; set cruise; after short while cancel cruise (with, for example, brake pedal). Decelerate below 30, try RESUME; it won't work. Accelerate to above 30, let's say even higher than setpoint, like 42. Try RESUME; it works (let "go" of GoPedal). The car will settle back to 32. (The same procedure and result with a higher setpoint, like 55, etc.)
:smile:
I just tested with my 2.5 base roadster (delivered in spring 2011).
1] I went to 70kph and engaged cruise control. Everything good.
2] Dropped out of cruise control and decelerated to 60kph, resumed cruise control and car took over back to 70kph set speed.
3] Dropped out of cruise control and decelerated to 25kph. Car refused to resume cruise control. Accelerated back up to 60kph, resumed cruise control and car took over back to 70kph set speed.
4] Dropped out of cruise control and came to a complete stop at a traffic light. Accelerated back to 60kph, but car refused to resume cruise control.
The manual says:
That seemed to match what I experienced.
If your car is resetting the set speed to zero in anything other than those four conditions, then it is broken (or the 2010/2011 manual and car I am driving is different than yours). Mine is UK spec.
That said, the cruise control in the roadster is far from ideal. I can't understand the logic for limiting it to >30mph(48kph) and the buttons are ridiculously hard to press.
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