Aftermarket Cruise Control

K-Mart sell one ! - A friend has fitted a couple to his and another's car. Seem to work OK but require a degree of mechcanical knowledge.

Peter, I had an Autopilot CC fitted in Feb this year to my '94 80 series by Autobahn for $390 fitted ($290 for the unit alone). A few houres to fit while at work didn't worry me. I do a lot of black-top miles so it makes driving a lot more relaxing and keeps the flashing blue lights turned off. I haven't noticed any real differences in fuel economy, but that wasn't its intended purpose, but the vehicles seem to respond less "violently" when travelling at 90-95 km/h - not as much speed up or engine braking.

I fitted a K-mart cruise control (I'd have to walk out to the car to check the brand) to my 100 series diesel about 1.5 yrs ago and its still working fine. Its been through river crossings and down plenty of rocky corrugated tracks. The speed sensor is via magnets stuck and wired to the tail shaft which i thought wouldn't last but i'm still on the originals. For the price i'm happy with the kit.

Peter, I fitted an aftermarket CC about 7 years ago to my '93 L/C Turbo Diesel. Initially, I had a problem with "hunting" (ie surging) which is caused by too much sensitivity (gain). I fixed it by lengthening the lever arm on the throttle control and it has worked like a treat ever since. The TD is a super responsive engine at high speeds which caused the hunting. I don't know about the petrol version. Regards,

I have used the KMart CCs on two cars for about ten years and they have been great, and at a long way under two hundred bucks a throw I'm not complaining. They came with plenty of installation instructions including a video. One of them is about to be swapped to my diesel hilux where I intend to control via engine revs rather than tailshaft revs. Could be interesting for 'crawling'. Good luck Pete, Ed