mx5cartalk.com

Hey guys. Iv got a 2002 mx5 manual, I want to install cruise control.
Just wondering if anyone has any information on prices n good brands n how difficult it is. Any information would be fantastic.

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It is quite difficult. You will need a new pedal that support the cruise control (it allow the wiring from the pedal itself to the system) then you will need a cruise control system.

Here is the link on how to remove the cruise control, you should be able to get the idea of how difficult it is.
http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=433555

or

http://www.miata.net/garage/msm_cruise.html

It's not that hard, if you can install a car stereo or alarm system you can probably install a cruise control.

They all come with instructions but basically you have to tap into a vacuum source from the intake manifold, the throttle, the road speed sensor behind the dash, the brake and clutch switches under the dash and of course a power supply and earth. I have installed a cruise control in a previous car but cheated and got the MX5 one professionally installed. The good thing about the MX5 unit is that the controls are on the steering wheel and it all looks factory installed. The one I installed was an older version and used another stalk on the steering column so looked a bit aftermarket. Though the Mazda OEM NB8B one also used an additional stalk.

The only thing I don't like about the MX5 system is that it uses vacuum to control the servo and, being a turbo car, on a long gentle uphill climb on boost it eventually runs out of vacuum and thus cant maintain the set speed even though it uses a vacuum canister that's supposed to alleviate that. The one I installed on my other car used an electric servo so always maintained a constant speed regardless of the terrain. The vacuum version should work fine on a non-turbo car though.

I got mine fitted in 2002 so no idea what sort of money they're going for now. I got mine fitted by a place at Silverwater.http://www.cruisecontrols.com.au/products.html They did a good job and I've never had any problems with it and apart from the gentle uphill issue mentioned earlier it always maintains a constant speed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rostra-250-1223 ... OU:AU:3160

I bought and installed that exact unit to my car last winter and it works a treat. Only regret is not having it installed it years ago. I purposely got an electronic unit to avoid issues with vacuum issues and boost, but if your car is not boosted the vacuum units are cheaper and will work just as well.

Honestly the most difficult part of the install was running the wiring through the firewall, but I am rather fussy about that sort of thing. I have the control unit mounted next to the ABS unit in the engine bay, ran wiring through the factory main harness grommet on the passenger side and tapped directly to the ECU harness which is the shortest possible path.

Mine is powered by the cigar lighter circuit as is a fused easy to reach power circuit that is non-critical. Tacho and Vehicle Speed Sensor signals tapped from ECU harness. Cancel tapped to the brake pedal switch. I didn't hook up the clutch switch but the system has a built-in safety that auto-cancels if it senses a spike in revs without a corresponding increase in vehicle speed.

Interestingly, the engine side throttle cable mount on the NB8B has a spare second slot which is perfect for anchoring an aftermarket cruise control throttle cable.

If you have questions, fire away.

I put in an AP60 about 8 years ago. It took about 2 hours to install. In a light car like ours with high compression, manual box and low gearing it's accurate to 1 kmh, up hill and down. It's still being used virtually every time I drive the car. It's still going like new. Mine just uses a little keypad stuck to the centre console beside the gear lever = so much better than a stalk.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Cruise-Contr ... 503&_uhb=1

Garry wrote:The only thing I don't like about the MX5 system is that it uses vacuum to control the servo and, being a turbo car, on a long gentle uphill climb on boost it eventually runs out of vacuum and thus cant maintain the set speed even though it uses a vacuum canister that's supposed to alleviate that.
I got mine fitted by a place at Silverwater.http://www.cruisecontrols.com.au/products.html They did a good job and I've never had any problems with it and apart from the gentle uphill issue mentioned earlier it always maintains a constant speed.

When I had the same system fitted I firstly researched it and asked for the more expensive electric version to avoid the issue with long uphill climbs and was told the vacuum one would work perfectly, only to find the same issue you have. This was very annoying.

Even more annoying is the fact the Version 3 of the car now has a Haltech stand alone ECU that, despite assurances before choosing it, has no idea how to interface with the cruise control and cycles every 2-3 seconds between accelerating with about 5% extra throttle and decelerating with about 15% less throttle to keep at a set speed. This is even more annoying.

The cruise control ECU will have configurable settings to fix the issues you've described.

Locutus wrote:The cruise control ECU will have configurable settings to fix the issues you've described.

Please tell me more so I can pass on to tuner, who I'm seeing tomorrow.

I can't get more specific than that - you will need to reference the user manual for the specific cruise control ECU that you have on your car. It must be configurable because it is an aftermarket unit that needs to be adaptable to all sorts of engine configurations (and therefore performance characteristics).

davekmoore wrote:
When I had the same system fitted I firstly researched it and asked for the more expensive electric version to avoid the issue with long uphill climbs and was told the vacuum one would work perfectly, only to find the same issue you have. This was very annoying.

I was going to get the electric version as well after my favourable experience with the unit I installed in my previous car but I was talked out of it by the installer for the MX5 saying the vacuum system would be fine. So I was annoyed too. Luckily it doesn't run out of vacuum very often. But I curse the installer every time it does.

Local agent reckons adding a vacuum tank will solve the uphill issues as well as the "hunting". We'll see early next week.

Hey Skyee
Droo and I are looking into getting the rostra 250-1223 for both the NA and the NB.
Once we have a shipped price organised, I'll let you know the deal.

fastfreddygassit wrote:Hey Skyee
Droo and I are looking into getting the rostra 250-1223 for both the NA and the NB.
Once we have a shipped price organised, I'll let you know the deal.

I was looking at getting the same setup for the SP, I hate not having cruise control.

Nick Viner had one fitted to his Titanium about four years ago Auscruise was the brand made in Somerton Vic. he had his fitted in Geelong all up was $600 plus and was very happy with it.

Thanks everyone for your help

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