Quote:
Originally Posted by mcrussell
Do you find the FCW & ACC useful options? I am thinking of retrofitting them if I can source the parts cheap enough
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Yes I do find it very useful.
ACC really comes inot its own on motorways where traffic is heavy and it just allows you to cruise along and it will simply keep its distance from the car in front. It feels very weird at first exepcially when teh car in front stop and your car stops. If you car is stoppe for more than about 3 seconds, it will stay where it is unless you press thet RES button or touch the gas or touch the scrolly thing on the steering wheel (what ever that is called!)
ACC is not goo for around town , if you've set a speed of say 40mph and come up to a roundabout and slowed down by the car in front, if it moves left or right out of the way, the car will simply try and speed up to 40mph again. SO its best use are fast roads. Be aware that cars cutting you up may cause your car to brake quite heavily.
Forware collision alert for me is really just an insurance policy. I occasionally get a RED car alert waring in the HUD if it thinks I'm going to hit it but I'm already on teh brakes or teh car in frnt is turning off to one side and is not actually a threat. There are a couple of settings in the Idrive you can set for how early you want the warning. I have it set to the earliest.
On one occasion I got a check control warning on the HUD stating "Collision alert disabled" (or similar words I don't recall) and this was down to some snow / slush that had built up on the sensor under the bumper. Wiping it off allow FCW to work again.
I'd say ACC is worth having , try it if you can although I suspect you may find it difficult to find a demo car at a BMW dealership with it fitted.
The sensor under the bumper is not obvious but is a sort of recessed rectangle so you can spot a car with it very easily once you know what you are looking for. to date, I've never noticed anotehr car with it to date around London yet so I suspect its not a common option specifed in the UK.