R36 Adaptive Cruise Control

[Leagle]

I tried the Adaptive Cruise after seeing this thread and can confirm that it will pull the car all the way to a complete stop - although not at the cruising distance . It's a little bit strange trying to trust the car to brake to complete stop for you, but it does a good job even applying greater or less force to pull the car up at a given distance - does feel like a very subtle version of the ABS kicking in. I even tried it on a slight incline and the car engages the park brake once stopped to prevent rolling.

The car didn't start moving afterwards once traffic got moving... I reckon that would be too much to ask!

Hey Psyk its good that you are starting to use an option that you failed to initially appreciate lol!

BTW what did you mean by your comment ".... although not at the cruising distance"?

Also, have you (or anyone else) had any issues in overtaking cars with the front assist on? I.e if you get a little too close to the car ahead just before changing lanes to overtake, does front assist intervene (slowing down when the car is supposed to be speeding up?)

[Psyk]

Hey Psyk its good that you are starting to use an option that you failed to initially appreciate lol!

BTW what did you mean by your comment ".... although not at the cruising distance"?

Also, have you (or anyone else) had any issues in overtaking cars with the front assist on? I.e if you get a little too close to the car ahead just before changing lanes to overtake, does front assist intervene (slowing down when the car is supposed to be speeding up?)

LOL! I swear there must still be a whole lot of stuff that I haven't tried yet.

When the adaptive cruise is on you can adjust via the cruise control stick the distance you are from the front car. Click the knob back and it increases the distance between you and the front car, click it forward and decreases the distance (i.e. you're closer to the front car). When the car in front slows down, the ACC will slow the car down to maintain the set cruising distance. However, when the front car keeps slowing down and eventually stops, the system is smart enough to keep moving, close the distance and stop maybe a few meters behind. It's actually pretty cool - or so I only found out! I hardly used it, but I will now!

It's funny you should ask about the front assist stepping in. Driving the other day, I changed lanes just as the car in front hit the brakes quite quickly. I was in the middle of changing lanes and there was a loud audible alert in the car which took me by surprise. I'd changed lanes already so wasn't anywhere close to hitting the car, but it was quite close and I had to quickly move. I didn't notice anything else other than the 'gong'. However I don't think it will slam on the brakes to stop an accident, I believe it primes the brakes/ABS, sounds an audible alert, tensions the seatbelts etc. to prepare for impact. I'd be interested in anyone else experience with it as it's something I don't want to test!

I'm now driving with front-assist turned on too

[Rocket36]

It won't emergency stop. No car will (except a Volvo and only below 40kph) yet. Give it time though. The more control is taken away from humans, the safer and more efficient the roads can be believe it or not.

[Dr Block]

LOL! I swear there must still be a whole lot of stuff that I haven't tried yet.

When the adaptive cruise is on you can adjust via the cruise control stick the distance you are from the front car. Click the knob back and it increases the distance between you and the front car, click it forward and decreases the distance (i.e. you're closer to the front car). When the car in front slows down, the ACC will slow the car down to maintain the set cruising distance. However, when the front car keeps slowing down and eventually stops, the system is smart enough to keep moving, close the distance and stop maybe a few meters behind. It's actually pretty cool - or so I only found out! I hardly used it, but I will now!

It's funny you should ask about the front assist stepping in. Driving the other day, I changed lanes just as the car in front hit the brakes quite quickly. I was in the middle of changing lanes and there was a loud audible alert in the car which took me by surprise. I'd changed lanes already so wasn't anywhere close to hitting the car, but it was quite close and I had to quickly move. I didn't notice anything else other than the 'gong'. However I don't think it will slam on the brakes to stop an accident, I believe it primes the brakes/ABS, sounds an audible alert, tensions the seatbelts etc. to prepare for impact. I'd be interested in anyone else experience with it as it's something I don't want to test!

I'm now driving with front-assist turned on too

With the ACC on my Lexus, if someone jumps into the gap between me and the car in front i get a very loud audible alert and flashing icon on the dash.

Also, a couple of times when a crash has appeared to be imminent, the car primes the abs/esc and pretensions the seatbelts,quite disconcerting! Happened twice to me when cars in front have come to a screeching halt.

Never hit any yet,so can't comment on the gazillion airbags in the car and their effectiveness!!

[Leagle]

LOL! I swear there must still be a whole lot of stuff that I haven't tried yet.

When the adaptive cruise is on you can adjust via the cruise control stick the distance you are from the front car. Click the knob back and it increases the distance between you and the front car, click it forward and decreases the distance (i.e. you're closer to the front car). When the car in front slows down, the ACC will slow the car down to maintain the set cruising distance. However, when the front car keeps slowing down and eventually stops, the system is smart enough to keep moving, close the distance and stop maybe a few meters behind. It's actually pretty cool - or so I only found out! I hardly used it, but I will now!

It's funny you should ask about the front assist stepping in. Driving the other day, I changed lanes just as the car in front hit the brakes quite quickly. I was in the middle of changing lanes and there was a loud audible alert in the car which took me by surprise. I'd changed lanes already so wasn't anywhere close to hitting the car, but it was quite close and I had to quickly move. I didn't notice anything else other than the 'gong'. However I don't think it will slam on the brakes to stop an accident, I believe it primes the brakes/ABS, sounds an audible alert, tensions the seatbelts etc. to prepare for impact. I'd be interested in anyone else experience with it as it's something I don't want to test!

I'm now driving with front-assist turned on too

Thanks Psyk, I read the manual's section on the ACC and read that front assist does NOT actually brake for you (though you should feel a brief jolt - which from what I could tell seems to be a very brief braking application). You are correct though that that it does prime the brakes/abs etc and sounds an audible alert.

What I was a little concerned about is whether or not the "jolt" would interfere with a close overtaking manouvre - from what you are saying, probably not.

I believe Rocket is spot on about Volvo being the only one that offers a front assist unit that actually brakes the car to avoid rear ending the car in front - such as the Volvo XC60 - but it only works at speeds up to 30km/hr. It doesn't work with pedestrians though (though I believe they are working on a system which will).

In theory, given that the CC can automatically brake to a standstill with acc on, there is no reason why the front assist could not brake for you automatically. But I guess its due to acc's limitation (which presumably the driver should be aware of when activating acc) such as driving around corners and through tunnels (where it does not work too well apparently).

At the end of the day, acc seems like a worthwhile option, though there is so much more potential in the future.

BTW I noticed that the European spec cars also offers Blind Spot Assist on the CC, something we miss out on aussie spec cars. I don't know why. I would have found that quite useful, probably more so that front assist - though once again, this system has limitations (eg only operating above 60km/hr).

Its quite funny, I ticked just about every other option (acc and the pana roof aside), and am more than happy with all the other toys (particularly the RNS510 and dynaudio), but you always want more....

[Dr Block]

You can never have enough toys,Leagle!

[Rocket36]

Blind spot assistance? LoL!!! Sounds very "gimicky". Just set you mirrors properly and there are no blind spots (other than below the boot lid right behind the car).

[Leagle]

Blind spot assistance? LoL!!! Sounds very "gimicky". Just set you mirrors properly and there are no blind spots (other than below the boot lid right behind the car).

You know its funny you say that - like everyone else, I thought a lot of these driving aids were gimicky - before I bought the car.

For example, I can easily reverse park and thought that the ultimate gimick was self park assist. But at only circa $900 - and due to it having the ultimate wow factor, I thought I had to have it!

And you know what, it actually works extremely well (sorry I know this is a little off topic to the acc lol, maybe it should be renamed driving aids).

Anyway... having used it quite a few times, I have found it extremely accurate and fast. In fact, having tried to reverse park myself in the same spot (and despite having 25 years+ of driving experience) I actually have found it to be faster than me! Hence an aid which is strictly not essential but handy to have nevertheless - indeed probably more handy for me given that I do more inner city driving than freeway driving. The only limitation I have found so far being that it pretty much mirrors the car parked in front.

Anyway, the point that I am making is that I have quickly concluded these driving aids are NOT gimicky. They are actually quite useful. The blind spot assist I cannot 100% comment on as I do not have it. But if it actually does what it says it does, it must avoid a few potentially embarrassing (if not dangerous) moments whilst attempting to change lanes in freeway driving. The irony being, that even with lane assist, a driver deliberately changing lanes could easily still have an accident if they inadvertently did not see the car in their car's blind spot.

Sad to say... but I reckon if these driving aids get too good in the future, we wont be "driving" our own cars much longer.

[Rocket36]

The irony being, that even with lane assist, a driver deliberately changing lanes could easily still have an accident if they inadvertently did not see the car in their car's blind spot.

If they have a blind spot then their mirrors aren't set properly... Set your mirrors properly and problem is solved. I.e. no blind spots...

Sad to say... but I reckon if these driving aids get too good in the future, we wont be "driving" our own cars much longer.

Agreed and it will actually be a good thing. Cars that communicate with each other can travel faster and not need to stop. They will simply coordinate their approach to intersections etc. Almost ALL crashes are a direct result of having a human in control. Sad but true.

[Leagle]

If they have a blind spot then their mirrors aren't set properly... Set your mirrors properly and problem is solved. I.e. no blind spots...



Agreed and it will actually be a good thing. Cars that communicate with each other can travel faster and not need to stop. They will simply coordinate their approach to intersections etc. Almost ALL crashes are a direct result of having a human in control. Sad but true.

Particularly when you have been up during the wee hours of the morning lol