I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: __Cruise control
I have a version of the NC which does not have cruise control included. I find it very useful on my other car and would like to add it. The local dealer looked dubious and siad it would ‘probably’ be very expensive, which I think it means they would have to find out ‘how’ to do the job! I can buy a replacement steering wheel with the necessary controls, but what else do I need? Has anyone done this? Alternatively I could buy a kit from Conrad Anderson but it comes with a stalk and they don’t know how to incorporate the wiring from a replacement steering wheel (i.e. a lot of extra cost).
Any advice from somone who has made this modification would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
I’m also in the same position, thus very interested in the options. I also looked at Conrad Anderson once before and even gave them a ring over a Skoda Fabia….I think it was.
I got the impression that various models they claim they can fit CC on, might be exaggerated. They told over the phone they believed they could fit it to the car I was enquiring about, but wouldn’t know for sure until their technician tried.
The reason they gave me for their uncertainty related to variations between models of that specific car. Fair enough, that’s most likely true, but I wasn’t about to pay circa £500 to possibly find out it wouldn’t work…and unfortunately that’s the basis they wanted to proceed on.
But possibly they’ve done enough MX5’s to know if it will or won’t work….assuming you’re prepared to pay £500-600.
Last year, I fitted cruise control to my 2007 NC 2.0 Sport (daily driver) taking the stalk option as finding a wheel with the correct buttons was near impossible at the time.
They have an option for using an enabled wheel if you find one at the right price but I decided to go with the stalk to see if it was fully functional and also I only had to cut a hole in the lower steering column cowl. If I find a wheel in the future (or hadn’t liked it) then it’s only a tenner to replace that cowl to hide the hole.
The stalk can be positioned to your liking as it has a bend and an angle at the base, so it’s easy to find a good position. I tweaked it once but is now optimal for me.
I really like using it on motorways and also love the speed limiting function now there are a lot of 20 limits springing up. It works well for me and is actually better that some OE systems as it also has memory for two cruise speeds and the speed limiter.
A couple of quick snaps below which show how I have it positioned. It doesn’t get in the way and is really easy to use with hands on the wheel along with being able to see the ‘active’ light whilst seated normally.
It cost me £185 and I’ve stopped looking for a wheel now but might get one if I stumble across one.
Fitting requires soldering skills and you need to lie upside down in the footwell to complete the wiring but I did it slowly in 2 hours (adjusted clutch too ). An auto electrician should find it really easy but just take it slowly if you do it yourself and go through the steps a few times before actually baring wires or cutting anything.
NB: Only do it yourself if you are confident and competent with auto electrics, as this controls the throttle when it’s engaged. However, there is a test mode which checks you have everything wired up and shows if anything needs attention.
When I was looking to retro fit the factory cruise about 8 or 9 years ago I found quite a lot of info on the USA Miata forum, including a German owner who was trying to purchase the parts required from the states(lhd of course) but can’t remember the outcome although I think he found that all the wiring was in place.
Softops with cruise seem rare, we were told in 13/14 that new ones weren’t available with cruise, presumably because they were concentrating on the ND, but I think Coupes(electric roof) may be more common so perhaps someone like Autolink who break MX’s may be worth a call.
Think I remember that if you can get the steering wheel switches fitting them to an existing wheel was fairly simple.
Being local Stony, (OP) if you want to see our original set up or discuss further send me an email or phone 563431.
Cheers Chris.
Just realised that posts no longer quote car owned or previously owned so my previous post might make more sense if you know that our previous MX was a 55 reg 2.0 sport, traded in 2015 for our 13 reg 2.0 sporttech softtop with factory fitted cruise.
Hello all, thanks for all that input. I found a steering wheel with the buttons all in place and have purchased it. I have also come across Bridgwater Electronics who market a suitable conversion kit. One of the options is to supply cables for connecting to an existing switch set. When the wheel arrives, I’ll be in touch with Bridgwater to see if they have the expected number of wires and a full description of what each one does. If I can sort that out I can save a 200 UK pound fitting charge and have a car that is exactly the same as those fitted with the cruise control option. I’ll take pictures and write it up as I go and then publish here for anyone else interested in doing this mod.
This seems like a reasonably good option, with the added benefits of two presets/limiter. Given I don’t have the skills, I wonder what an auto-electrian would charge to fit it?
I have purchased a replacement steering wheel with the necessary switches on it but still not yet ascertained what else I need to do after changing the existing wheel for the new one. I have found a place which can provide cruise control but it comes at a price and has an additional stalk. Would be a shame to do that if there is a way to use the ‘correct’ steering wheel. I really would like to know exactly what needs to be done to achieve cruise control now that I have the steering wheel. Please, someone?
Sorry to say I’ve had no further responses. I’ll be out of action for a couple of months but when I’m back I’ll try the replacement steering wheel, connecting up the plugs and see what happens… In the meantime, surely someone reading this will know what needs to be done? I will have to add a control to the accelerator pedal but is there an electronics box that needs to bee connected somewhere? Anyone?
I still have the car it’s my daily driver. The cruise control has been absolutely faultless and a real asset especially with strict rules on speed limits these days.
Did you buy a commercially available unit to do this? If so, which one? Or did you do it yourself? If so, are you happy to provide details of what needs to be done?
I know someone who retrofits OEM cruise control but it takes soldering of wires that are not in the stock look if the car was ordered without cruise control and some other parts and work. Not entirely sure; this guy earns some money with it so he is not really into sharing the full how to…
I you decide to ditch the wheel with cc buttons I might be interested as I want to let that guy do it.
As Max eluded to, unplug the brake switch connector to see if the loom and/or the switch have 4 pins, if they do then it’s just one extra step to put the steering wheel on that you’ve already sourced.
If you’re in the Portsmouth area, I could even give a hand.
Ive retrofitted cruise contol to my NC1 using stock parts and its fairly straightforward
). An auto electrician should find it really easy but just take it slowly if you do it yourself and go through the steps a few times before actually baring wires or cutting anything.