Originally Posted by DracoFelis
(Post 61386)
3) While discussing cruse controls (and fuel economy) with my mechanic, the point that constant throttle pressure (what used to be known as a "throttle lock") is often (in many driving situations) even better for fuel economy than a traditional "cruse control" (which maintains a constant speed, by varying the throttle pressure) came up. It was at that point, that I mentioned a hack that a fellow gassavers forum member made, whereby they added a power switch to the servo motor in their cruse. This (apparently very simple) mod allows you to take a normal (constant speed, but variable throttle) cruse control, and convert it (at the flip of a switch) into a (constant throttle, but speed may "drift") "throttle lock" (and back again, as needs arise). And in either mode, the original "safety features" (of automatically disengaging the cruse control when you step on a pedal) are fully retained! Once my mechanic heard about that mod (and how it worked), he thought the idea was fantastic! So we plan to also add in this "cruse control to throttle lock" switch to the cruse control we put on my car (so I can choose either operating mode whenever I wish, even switching modes while driving down the road)!
NOTE: If you are really cheap, there are mechanical "throttle locks" on the market for much cheaper than full cruse controls (some mechanical options costing $40 or less). However, the reason I finally decided to go with the cruse (with the "throttle lock switch" hack), instead of one of the mechanical options, is that the cruse/hack combo gives me both options, and retains the full (automatic cutoff when a pedal is used) features of modern cruse controls. So I really get pretty much the best of all worlds this way, except for the initially higher cost of this option.
And remember, in either mode (normal "cruse control" mode or hacked "throttle lock" mode) my cruse control (once it's installed, which will hopefully be "soon") will do the work of maintaining a slower speed (if that's what I want), instead of me having to force my foot back when my foot naturally wants to step harder. So I should be able to "relax" (with my foot off the gas pedal) and just make sure the car is pointed where I want it to go...
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