Never Use Cruise Control When it's Wet?

[Jader1973]

AW111 said:

Can't have been Melbourne then. It rains a lot of days in winter, everyone copes.

They cope by driving like fkwits who are terrified of a drop of water.

If it is raining I am guaranteed an extra 15 to 30 mins on my commute.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

ModernAndy said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Does it not occur to them that the people who did it and who are dead, aren't around to post their experiences!

We could start a thread about Russian roulette, and no doubt there'd be someone who did it and who isn't dead. That doesn't prove it's safe.

That gave me a very genuine lol

I'm glad, but I wasn't intending to amuse. It seriously fking winds me up. It's beyond stupid.

[shovelheadrob]

M11 MFP said:

Certainly in the 90's & 00's some American trucks had a warning in the manual and cab about using cruise control on frozen roads. I would assume the system combines with traction control or slip measurement now to prevent this happening.

I have a '99 F350 we recently did a tour of France with a caravan, I can confirm that the cruise will try to kill you in the wet, going through the Pyrenees in the wet & the speed dropped on an incline, just enough for the transmission to kickdown, 600ft/lb of torque & little weight over the back wheels gives instant opposite lock with the slightest bit of road camber or bend.

[shovelheadrob]

M11 MFP said:

Certainly in the 90's & 00's some American trucks had a warning in the manual and cab about using cruise control on frozen roads. I would assume the system combines with traction control or slip measurement now to prevent this happening.

I have a '99 F350 we recently did a tour of France with a caravan, I can confirm that the cruise will try to kill you in the wet, going through the Pyrenees in the wet & the speed dropped on an incline, just enough for the transmission to kickdown, 600ft/lb of torque & little weight over the back wheels gives instant opposite lock with the slightest bit of road camber or bend.

[ModernAndy]

Sounds like there's actually a lot more truth to this than I originally thought (and I'm obviously not saying you'll crash/die if using CC in the wet). The 'article' did also mention that some cars (American made) have CC that won't work if the wipers are on.

[Debaser]

ModernAndy said:

Sounds like there's actually a lot more truth to this than I originally thought

No there isn't. Cruise control in the wet is perfectly safe.

[shovelheadrob]

Debaser said:

ModernAndy said:

Sounds like there's actually a lot more truth to this than I originally thought

No there isn't. Cruise control in the wet is perfectly safe.

On all newer vehicles I would agree, but I have owned many older American vehicles & their systems are a bit primitive to say the least! They don't have TC so when your speed drops the throttle is opened, if the driving wheels break traction the cruise will back off when they reach the set speed, in that short space of time you may well be sideways.

[ModernAndy]

Debaser said:

ModernAndy said:

Sounds like there's actually a lot more truth to this than I originally thought

No there isn't. Cruise control in the wet is perfectly safe.

As has been said above, on modern cars absolutely but on older cars with more 'primitive' systems it appears you might have to watch out so there definitely is more truth to this than I originally thought.

[Debaser]

ModernAndy said:

Debaser said:

ModernAndy said:

Sounds like there's actually a lot more truth to this than I originally thought

No there isn't. Cruise control in the wet is perfectly safe.

As has been said above, on modern cars absolutely but on older cars with more 'primitive' systems it appears you might have to watch out so there definitely is more truth to this than I originally thought.

The issue above relates to driving around bends on a mountain road in an old American pick up, in the wet, with cruise control on.

If you need a Facebook warning to tell you that might not be a great idea then fair enough.

[V8LM]

Most cars ascertain their speed from the output shaft of the gearbox or from a toothed wheel on the differential. As said many many times above, losing traction in the snow/wet/oil/custard will cause the driven wheel to spin and hence the apparent speed increase. Cruise control will therefore cut the throttle.

[ModernAndy]

Debaser said:

The issue above relates to driving around bends on a mountain road in an old American pick up, in the wet, with cruise control on.

If you need a Facebook warning to tell you that might not be a great idea then fair enough.

I agree. I wouldn't use cruise control on windy roads at all even in perfect conditions, I don't like the lack of throttle control going round corners. I just didn't think there was any chance of a car on cruise control going out of control and crashing and it appears I was wrong.

[akirk]

ModernAndy said:

It's actually been a while since I've had a car with cruise control but I read a shared post on somebody's Facebook that warned of the dangers of using cruise control when the road is wet as the car can suddenly accelerate if it hydroplanes. I am a bit skeptical about this so has anybody heard that this can be an issue and confirm this?

Technically impossible...
Hydroplaning / aquaplaning means a total loss of grip
Loss of grip means that the car can rev as much as it likes, but that is not transferred to the road as there is a total loss of grip
Therefore - no acceleration...

however, those revs / that extra power once you move through the water and regain grip...

Edited by akirk on Monday 22 December 22:29

[bigfatnick]

Gonewest said:

Is it also true that if you own a Winnibego, or similar, motorhome you cannot get up out of the drivers seat to make a coffee whilst being on cruise?

My dads Laguna beeps at you and turns the cruise off if you let go of the steering wheel (on that slight left hand corner that holds the car in lane 1 of a motorway) for maybe 10 seconds or so. Never managed to replicate the conditions in another vehicle.

shovelheadrob said:

M11 MFP said:

Certainly in the 90's & 00's some American trucks had a warning in the manual and cab about using cruise control on frozen roads. I would assume the system combines with traction control or slip measurement now to prevent this happening.

I have a '99 F350 we recently did a tour of France with a caravan, I can confirm that the cruise will try to kill you in the wet, going through the Pyrenees in the wet & the speed dropped on an incline, just enough for the transmission to kickdown, 600ft/lb of torque & little weight over the back wheels gives instant opposite lock with the slightest bit of road camber or bend.

My bosses old f250 I used to use when living in aus was similar, the switch on the brake pedal for the brake lights was knackered and unless you really stood on the brakes (potentially enough to light up the rears - thinking about it) the cruise control wouldn't cancel. Those power stroke diesels are an impressively powerful thing - apparently made my international, the guys who make trucks.