Hi guys, a good friend of mine has a TS V6 Executive manual, and wants to fit cruise control. It's non-airbag

Would it be better to just get a generic cruise control kit from AutoBarn and fit it, or is there much point in finding a wrecked TR or TS SE/Elite/Verada, and stealing the right bits from it?

(I'm assuming we'd need the master on/off switch, cruise module, steering wheel + cruise stalk)

My gut feeling is to just go with the generic cruise kit, which looks to be much less troublesome.

Any feedback, suggestions and advice would be very much appreciated
Thanks

Would it be better to just get a generic cruise control kit from AutoBarn and fit it, or is there much point in finding a wrecked TR or TS SE/Elite/Verada, and stealing the right bits from it?
If you can do it, a genuine Mitsi cruise will work better than an aftermarket cruise, as the Mitsi cruise has been tuned specifically for the Magna.


(I'm assuming we'd need the master on/off switch, cruise module, steering wheel + cruise stalk)
And the brake / clutch switches, and maybe the BEM....

You may be unlucky if the cruise requires a different ECU......or you may be lucky and find that the Magna has all the wiring harness in place to allow a cruise module to be plugged straight into it!
(On the gen3, I think the BEM handles the cruise functionality.)

To get an indication if a Mitsi cruise can be retro-fitted, give your local Mitsi dealer a ring, and ask if they can fit a genuine cruise to your Magna, and get a price.
If they say it's not possible, or quote some ridiculously high price, then you know it's probably not worth the effort trying....


My gut feeling is to just go with the generic cruise kit, which looks to be much less troublesome.
Several months ago, I bought a 2004 Toyota Tarago GLi. I wanted to get cruise fitted to it (the GLx has factory cruise), but the Toyota dealer quoted me several thousand dollars for a genuine Toyota cruise, as it would require transplanting the GLx ECU and wiring harness into my GLi!

I ended up getting an AusCruise system installed, designed and made by an Aussie company called Autron.
However, I had some initial performance issues (http://martybugs.net/reviews/auscruise.cgi), but Autron were very helpful, and reprogrammed the unit.

People in the cruise industry will generally say that that the performance/etc of an aftermarket cruise is about 90% of that of a factory cruise.

Cheers,
Martin.

I fitted an after market cruise to my TR over 10 years ago. The dealer told me it was not possible to fit the original.

They kit came with a small magnet to attach to a drive shaft and a pickup coil for speed sensing. I didn't like that idea and instead taped into the speedo reed switch circuit which the ECU used for speed sensing. Also taped into the brake light circuit for brake pedal sensing. The connections to these 2 circuits are soldered joints and heat shrink tubing covers the whole connection and as a result has been trouble free.

The only problem with the setup is that the throttle actuator is a plain lever and as a result will not fully open the throttle or kick down under cruise. For most highway driving this has not been a problem only when I have towed a 500 kg dog trailer on interstate trips.

Rob