When I first drove the car home, one of my biggest complaint was the cruise control, unable to maintain the set speed. It fluctuates by as much as 10 mph, which rendered the function useless.

Why is there a dramatic change from 10 mph flutuation to almost dead on? As I pondered, there were 2 mods that I did since I used the cruise control last. I upgraded to Nology ignition wires and Alta CAI. Any explanations? What made the difference, the wires or the CAI or both? :???:

 

You have entered the Twilight Zone?

 

>>When I first drove the car home, one of my biggest complaint was the cruise control, unable to maintain the set speed. It fluctuates by as much as 10 mph, which renders the function useless.

 

No v36 upgrade! The only mechanical changes were Nology wires and Alta intake. I'm suspecting the Nology wires might've played a factor in the responding time of the engine; hence decreased the fluctuation. I was hoping someone could elaborate on the possibilities. :smile:

 

I would expect that on a flat road your cruise control speed would only vary slightly, while on an incline / descent it would vary more. You have to remember that the MINI is only a 1.6 ltr four cylinder with from only 100 to 150 Lb-ft of torque (100 normally aspirated, 150 supercharged). To expect it to function like a six or eight cylinder vehicle is not realistic, as such vehicle typically has 50% to 100% more available torque to smooth things out on inclined roadways. I think that the MINI system works within its designed capabilities. However don't expect it to work like a V-8, because it never will.

 

I think yours might be tempermental. I know my cruise control can be off. In my old Nissan Sentra with 115 hp, it's cruise control was awesome! Only on steep hills did it have a problem maintaining speed. I figured with 185 hp, my MINI's cruise should be able to hold a speed better than my old Sentra...but life isn't that fair. I miss the Sentra's cruise... I put 120,000 miles on the Sentra and nearly 30,000 miles on my MINI, both of which I used the cruise control a lot.

_________________
Happy Motoring!

 

>>I think yours might be tempermental.

I certainly hope not. It was a 800 miles trip on the same day and the cruise control performed nearly perfect, except on some of the steeper hills.

Is it possible that the upgraded ignition wires and/or CAI solved the problem?

 

This might be a dumb question but if your MINI is a stick shift, was it in the same gear each time? If you're in the highest gear, (fifth or sixth/MC or MCS), it could be that it's more difficult for the cruise to maintain speed than if you're in fourth or fifth. This is bacause the throttle would need to reposition itself more to maintain speed in the higher gear. Since there is no auto downshift feature it'll always be hard for a stick to maintain speed as well as an auto unless the road is pretty flat.



R.E.

 

>>This might be a dumb question but if your MINI is a stick shift, was it in the same gear each time?

The cruising speed was somewhere between 65 to 75 mph and always in 6th gear.

 

6th gear is likely too high at that speed to provide the necessary power for maintaining speed on an incline. That will be the besdt for cruising at highway speed, but it would need to be in 5th to have the power you are looking for to keep it steady.

Patrick

 

Is it posible the engine is broke in now? I hear people say their Mini's seem faster and more powerful after they are broken in -- perhaps this is object proof that Mini's do run better after breakin.

emerika

 

>>6th gear is likely too high at that speed to provide the necessary power for maintaining speed on an incline. That will be the besdt for cruising at highway speed, but it would need to be in 5th to have the power you are looking for to keep it steady.

Thank you all for responding in trying to solve the mystery! :smile:

Patrick, what you stated here might explain why there was a 10 mph fluctuation when the car was stock. However, after installing the Nology wires and Alta intake, the fluctuation is now almost unnoticeable under the same driving condition.

Here's the scenario (both with same driving condition, cruising speed, and in 6th gear):

Before: When the car was stock, the fluctuation can vary by as much as 10mph.
After: With upgraded ignition wires and intake, the fluctuation is "almost" not noticeable.

Here's my question. Can ignition wire and the intake play a factor in cruise control? If so, how? If not, I'm really in the "Twilight Zone."

 

huh, my cruise control on the MCS was dead-on each time from the
beginning...so was not sure why some people were complaining on
the other thread. :smile:

 

>>huh, my cruise control on the MCS was dead-on each time from the
>>beginning...so was not sure why some people were complaining on
>>the other thread. :smile:
>>

Ken, I wish mine was like yours from the beginning. After the ignition wires and intake upgrade, I think it is now.

 

Try taking the ignition wires and intake off, then re-testing the cruise.

 

Andy, good suggestion! I thought of doing that also, but too lazy to remove and reinstall them.

For the ease of removal, I'll try it with the ignition wires first to see if the fluctuation comes back.

 

If it hadn't been tested for a while, the "break-in" factor would need to be considered as well as the intake and wires. The only logical reason for a difference would be either an increase in power due to break-in and/or mods, and/or the difference between controlling your speed at 65 mph vs 75 mph. Speed control would likely be a bit more precise at 75 mph in 6th gear because your little engine would be futher up it's power band.

Ok,it sounds good to me anyway. :smile:



R.E.