Here is a curly one for you guys. I was disappointed that my X Japan 2016 F-Type does not have cruise control. I had no idea of that when I bought it "sight unseen". The steering wheel has provision but the place for the buttons has blanks in it. I need to be able to set the speed to stop getting tickets for speeding. I have only owned it for three months and have had two so far.

My question is, have any of you had any experience in retro fitting cruise control?

I have tried to send a picture but don't know how.

Regards
TrevorD from New Zealand

 

Oh, that stinks! I don’t know about retrofitting, but I know there are other options than cruise control which might be more helpful across a broader spectrum of driving conditions, and in all likelihood, you’ll want a multi-pronged approach for maximum protection due to the diversity of threats you face in NZ.

First, are you using a radar detector? Awareness of surreptitious surveillance is very powerful. You should be able to plug an excellent unit in on the dash or windscreen quickly and relatively inexpensively, like sub USD$1k for the latest and greatest. They’re good against fixed and mobile radar threats.

It looks like laser jammers are not legal there, but a good radar detector should have laser detection, too, which while ineffective against direct attack, might offer some hope if it catches scatter off another vehicle under attack. It’s nothing to count on, but it’s better than nothing.

The other big thing to add to any countermeasures suite is Waze navigation app. User reported camera and police spottings can give you audible advanced threat warning. All fixed NZTA road cams should be on Waze, which is also helpful for average speed monitor zones as a reminder to regulate your speed. Waze also displays posted

All together, cruise control, radar and laser detector, and Waze should help keep you out of trouble, and each is helpful independent of the others, so you don’t have to throw down for all at once. Depending on the threats you face in your area, I’d prioritize Waze immediately since you probably have a phone already; that’s a no-brainer. The RD might get tricky if you have an athermic windscreen, necessitating a pricey remote unit. As I said, I’ve no idea about retrofitting CC, but it also seems the least useful tool to me, but it depends on how and where you drive primarily.

Anyway, sorry you have to live under police tyranny. I mean we all do to some extent, but it sounds like you Kiwis got it bad!

 

Thanks Chaad, I will take that on board and see where that leads me.

Cheers
TrevorD

 

How did they get you? Here, out on the interstate they give you 15 over but 20 over is a guaranteed ticket. Local roads 10 over is acceptable accept school zones of course.

I use Waze religiously, doesn’t matter if I already know where I’m going, I have it up and running. You don’t need to have a destination put in for it to tell you about the road ahead but it is more thoughtful on the complete path, obviously. Waze doesn’t help with rolling patrols. You need to watch your speed differential with those around you. Don’t want to be the nail that sticks out. Which is hard in the F Type to begin with.

VASCAR and Brown Thunder is the worst. Really no defense. Fortunately those are usually only used in “enforcement actions” and the usual speed zones which most locals are aware of.

The dealership might be aware of how much of the car’s cruise control system is missing. I imagine it’s somewhat common for ya’ll to transship from Japan? Changing out the switch pack is not hard for a tech, I just don’t know what else might be uninstalled.

 

If you had cruise control, you would also have ASL (speed limiter). When you hit that button in the cruise control cluster, the speed you select is the max speed the car will go, unless you floor it.

Annoying when I accidentally hit it, but it sounds like what you want.

 

The 'retrofit' would require adding the necessary modules, wiring, and buttons, then having the CCF adjusted to configure all the modules for it, and then running the configurations of the affected modules. Not exactly a small task but anything is possible if you're willing to spend enough.

Might be cheaper to look for a car with the options you want though. What's your VIN? I'm curious what the build sheet in topix looks like. I don't think you can order a car in NAS without cruise.

 

I’m kinda shocked that any of the trims in any market for a car like this would not have something as basic as cruise control. Would never have expected that.

 

Either add CarPlay/Android Auto to the head unit, or mount your phone so that it BEEPS when you go more than your comfortable excess speed with WAZE on the screen.

 

"Unexpected" is often what I feel when looking at F build sheets; Jag did a great job of making new car spec tedious (if you can consider that great, which I do not). I myself do not like feeling "nickel and dimed," and am typically willing to pay a premium to avoid it. I'd be surprised if any buyer dropping in the $80-$100k range wouldn't really just prefer to get the whole package rather than dink around with a salesperson or on a website having to tick a million boxes, but I'm not in the car biz and may be way off on that.

I mean, it strikes me as rather ridiculous, too, that on my R-Dynamic car, the R-Dynamic specific settings controls (on the inTouch screen, for shock rate, steering rate, etc.) would be optional. It just seems petty, and the kind of thing that also just complicates the factory build process. Again, building cars ain't my biz, but I can't help but be surprised that a buyer would voluntarily elect to omit that.

/rant. Sorry for the thread drift.

 

Oh man, I totally agree with you on everything said here.

 

Four kilometers over the speed limit you can get a ticket. But it would be an unfair cop to give you a ticket under 10. I was unlucky. He was excited as it was the second Jag he had stopped that day. And I heard he boasted at the Police Station about it. I have an insider there.

If the computer is the same, and the harness to the wheel is the same, then it might be just the buttons, but I don't feel lucky about it. Probably a too big job.

I am lucky to have Beacham's Jaguar Restorers in my home town. I might ask them in the absence of any wisdom from the forum. Otherwise it is a radar detector for me. About NZ $1,400.

Thanks Robert8
Cheers
TrevorD