cruise control - worth it?

[no2lurch]

i know zaust's kit is sold but it got me thinking...

is cruise control worth it on a 325 touring?

does it have a detrimental effect on mpg?

what do the kits consist of?

what e30's came with it from factory?

[SteSE]

If your using your E30 daily and do long trips on the motorway then yes, probably. The main advantage i can see is through those poxy road works everywhere on the motorway. Get to 50mph or whatever the limit is, plonk it on and woo-hoo no speeding tickits.

Not sure if any E30's came with it from the Factory, be interesting to know. Knowing BMW they probably did as the technology was around then, my old mans senator (F reg) had it.

[Ziggy]

i know zaust's kit is sold but it got me thinking...

is cruise control worth it on a 325 touring?

Yep, definitely.

does it have a detrimental effect on mpg?

Quite the opposite.

what do the kits consist of?

Controller stalk, ECU, actuator & cable, clutch switch (as long as it wasn't from an auto), loom.

what e30's came with it from factory?

AFAIK it was only ever an optional extra, so none of them had it as standard.

[daimlerman]

If fitting to a manual car,do remember to fit the clutch switch,otherwise you may just need a new engine if you de-clutch with cruise engaged....

[Ziggy]

If fitting to a manual car,do remember to fit the clutch switch,otherwise you may just need a new engine if you de-clutch with cruise engaged....

I really should get round to doing that - I must have had CC fitted for a couple of years now, with no clutch switch...

[no2lurch]

why what happens?

[Ziggy]

why what happens?

Same as if you try & maintain a speed using the accelerator pedal whilst de-clutched!

[zaust]

what do the kits consist of?

Controller stalk, ECU, actuator & cable, clutch switch (as long as it wasn't from an auto), loom.

+ bracket tomount to the inlet manifold and the lower casing round the s/wheel with cut out to accept the extra stalk.

[iDreamBeemer]

Thanks for the tip Ziggy. Zaust's CC will be going on the new 325i.

Do you have the brake switch fitted instead?

[daimlerman]

E30 cruise control is early technology,it's best suited to an auto as I understand that fitting a cancel switch to the clutch pedal is not straightforward. Snag with no switch on the clutch is that the thottle WILL remain open with the CC engaged and clutch depressed,will be terminal as the ECU rev. limiter does not work on no load... Modern systems such as on the Mercedes trucks I drive to earn E30 chits have a 'dip valve' fitted to enable gearchanges with CC engaged,very handy on hills!!

[Ziggy]

+ bracket tomount to the inlet manifold and the lower casing round the s/wheel with cut out to accept the extra stalk.

Comprehensive then! My inlet mani bracket didn't need swapping over IIRC, & the column cover was just a case of attack-with-stanley-knife - it's marked where you need to cut.

Thanks for the tip Ziggy. Zaust's CC will be going on the new 325i.

Do you have the brake switch fitted instead?

There should be a brake switch and a clutch switch, but I only have the one on the brake & the stalk itself. Like I said above - I really should sort it out, but I've never really felt the need. I know it's there, I don't use it anywhere than I'm likely to de-clutch without braking first & well, the rev-limiter gets lonely if you don't use it once in a while.

Shouldn't apply here, but as well as auto kits needing the extra switch, LHD kits will need a couple of wires extending.

Fitting's easy, the only fiddly bit is getting the bits through the bulkhead. Easiest way is to tie a bit of wire round them & pull them through. Might sound strange, but you'll realise it works after spending half an hour trying to push them through!

[Ziggy]

E30 cruise control is early technology,it's best suited to an auto as I understand that fitting a cancel switch to the clutch pedal is not straightforward. Snag with no switch on the clutch is that the thottle WILL remain open with the CC engaged and clutch depressed,will be terminal as the ECU rev. limiter does not work on no load... Modern systems such as on the Mercedes trucks I drive to earn E30 chits have a 'dip valve' fitted to enable gearchanges with CC engaged,very handy on hills!!

I'm sure I've hit the rev limiter doing this... only once or twice, but thankfully it worked! I'd have got round to fitting the clutch switch if I'd suspected what you're suggesting!

Maybe it's just that it's never under much load with the CC engaged, & you don't slow down very rapidly just by dipping the clutch, so it's easy to notice before it over revs?

[Jon_Bmw]

I want it on my 318is, BUT i have never ever seen it fitted. Is there a bracket that bolts onto the m42 manifold or not? I have a nasty feeling its only for m20 engines

[Ziggy]

Fairly sure it's been done (ask E30Mark maybe?), but seem to remember it needed a different bowden cable?

[Ziggy]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... ic&t=25226

[Jon_Bmw]

Good linking ability sir. I need to get lucky at a scrapyard now.

[Bob_S]

I have it fitted on my m50 and it's great for mindless motorway exercising it's an auto kit on a manual car you just have to rememebr to dab the brakes or knock it off if you forsee any clutch action

[gazza]

bought the switch for the pedal box yesterday.....my 2005 etk said it was £8 ish dealer tucked me up £18 for it and £3 for the bracket it fits to

[Simon13]

Cruise is the ball bags, it's a very good reliable system on an E30 is isn't a complete ball ache to fit. But the clutch pedal switch and bracket can be frustrating.

You'll never better the economy of cruise as it uses the bear minimum all the time. It works fine with autos and manuals

Jon, you need to buy a cruise control cable from a 318ti compact iirc. Dan318iS will know as i helped with his a while ago. This will allow you to use an M20 kit on a 318is. As far as i'm aware all facelift kits are the same bar the throttle cable

I'm after a manual/auto M20 one if anyone knows!

[bss325i]

Mr13 retro fitted it to mine while i wrestled a black headining into Oz's car.

100% recomend i to anyone.

I achieved my best ever MPG with it on a long run 27.9 mpg.

[nickso]

Good linking ability sir. I need to get lucky at a scrapyard now.

the cable only moves the throttle assembly. just mod your existing throttle assy to suit the m20 cable. i fitted an m20 kit to an m30'd e30 and all i did was file out the hole for the end of the cable to attach to. first few days after fitting it i had it wedged in with a bit of wood until i got round to filing out the hole. obviously the m42 might be different again but you might be able to do it without the expense of another cable.

[poolnoodle]

bump and where / how does the servo mount? I purchased a retro fit for my '83 323 from US but haven't been able to work out how to mount servo. Does it matter that much? Pics would be handy

[Simon13]

Good linking ability sir. I need to get lucky at a scrapyard now.

the cable only moves the throttle assembly. just mod your existing throttle assy to suit the m20 cable. i fitted an m20 kit to an m30'd e30 and all i did was file out the hole for the end of the cable to attach to. first few days after fitting it i had it wedged in with a bit of wood until i got round to filing out the hole. obviously the m42 might be different again but you might be able to do it without the expense of another cable.

well if you can make a round hole square! as thats the difference between the 2

later cruise mounts next to the airbox. The early system is furth back towards the fuse box

[Ziggy]

On the airbox bracket, behind the left headlight.

[nickso]

Good linking ability sir. I need to get lucky at a scrapyard now.

the cable only moves the throttle assembly. just mod your existing throttle assy to suit the m20 cable. i fitted an m20 kit to an m30'd e30 and all i did was file out the hole for the end of the cable to attach to. first few days after fitting it i had it wedged in with a bit of wood until i got round to filing out the hole. obviously the m42 might be different again but you might be able to do it without the expense of another cable.

well if you can make a round hole square! as thats the difference between the 2

easy then, thats exactly what i did with the m30.

[Ziggy]

Oh yeah, I had to do that when I fitted the m30 too!

[Rodderz]

How much would you expect a C/C set up to cost 2nd hand?

[Simon13]

£100 complete with everything there

[furqall]

i had it on my old c2 2.7 alpina that was an auto it was a god send