Tips and tricks to live with the MG4 ACC

[Vingnut]

I have sifted trough the forum for a way to get the MG4 ACC to not slow down in curves, or at least not slow down so much as the ACC drives me crazy. Here are my findings so far, tested a little bit on my MG4 Luxury and it looks prommesing so far. Maybe this is known to many here but not as I have seen.

As a note, MG4 ACC is taking its cues from the same settings we use to drive it without ACC engaged (Stupid), therefore the ACC is a right pain in the back when engaged when the car is set to Normal mode and standard settings.

If one want the ACC to not slow down/not slow down as much and speed up quicker when it slows down, try this.

1. Put the car in Sport mode. This make the car speed up quicker after a slow down.

2. Put the cars regen in Adaptive mode. This make the car behave not so harsh when it slows down.

Not sure if this is needed but I used theese settings today on a B road here in Norway and the car behaved quite ok.

3. Turn off LKA (Lane keep assist). This reduses beeps and nudging in the steering wheel when driving on smal roads, and make the journy smoother.

4. Set the distance to next car infront of you (ACC) to minimum (left on the left joystic in LHD cars). Not 100% sure what this does but my hunch is that it reduses unwanted slow downs for objects not there. Ofcourse this has to be adjusted when actually following another car.

Try this out and let us know if this is a step in the right direction.

 

[Spaniard]

I have already mentioned that in two other posts, and I would go further after some more play:
Disable all the other assists: traffic sign recognition, front collision, and drowsiness/attention monitor.

I wonder if there is not enough CPU power (or bad thread design) to keep up with all these functions plus the ACC.

 

[Vingnut]

Had a test in 80kmt single carriageway A road with sweeping and hard highspeed curves and it did slow down a lot even with the settings in first post. Seem to work better on the slow stuff.

 

[siteguru]

The slow down for bends seems to be proportional to road speed and steering angle ... the more you turn the more you slow down, and the faster you're going the more apparent is the slow down.

 

[Rolfe]

I'm wondering if ACC veterans could give me some very basic tips on using the thing?

I've never used any sort of cruise control at all. I've never had a car with the facility. (I think it's always been an option on cars I've bought and I didn't take it.) However. Last week I had a passenger in the car and we were talking bells and whistles, and she said did it have a cruise control and how did that work with the regenerative braking? She said she found her basic cruise control very useful.

We were driving on an A road following other traffic, so I said, well, let's try it. I managed to use the left joystick to set it at 60 mph (the speed limit) and to stay three bars behind the car in front. More by luck than good judgement I have to say. It was an interesting experience and on the whole I quite liked it. I could see that setting the regen to adaptive, or maybe medium, would probably be better, because the braking was a wee bit fierce. But it worked pretty well.

One interesting thing was when we got to a roundabout and the car ahead was no longer "ahead" because it had turned into the roundabout. I felt the car speed up because there was nothing in front, but then when I steered into the roundabout myself it picked up the car in front again and settled down.

I was able to tab the speed down to 30 and then to 20 as we came into the village speed limits. However, when I turned off the main road to take my friend home, it all seemed to give up. If I took my foot off the accelerator the car simply slowed down, it didn't try to cruise at 20. Once I'd dropped off my friend I had thought to coast home at the 20 limit, but nothing doing. 20 was still showing on the dashboard, but the car needed me on the acceperator or it was just going to slow to a creep.

So not bad for a first try, but I could do with some inside tips and tricks.

 

[Ian Key]

I only use ACC on dual carriageways and motorways. On A roads and minor roads I use the Speed Limiter function so I set the speed and the car won't do over that unless I put my foot hard down when it will override the set limit.

 

[Rolfe]

I liked the way the car varied its speed to follow the car in front, mind you. It seemed to be an appropriate use for the facility. On a motorway or a dual carriageway I'm much more pro-actively changing lanes, but on this road there was no serious need or opportunity to overtake, so follow-my-leader was a good game to play.

 

[siteguru]

My experience is that ACC works best with:

Sport Mode
2 Bars distance
Adaptive Regen

... and can be used in any setting (I use it a lot in 30 zones).

 

[Rolfe]

Oh, I hadn't thought to try it in Sport mode. What's your thinking for that one?

 

[siteguru]

Quicker reaction to acceleration means distance control is more uniform rather than the throttle lag causing the distance to "yo-yo" (when using Normal or Eco) - the other modes may cause the car to accelerate more than it needs to, so it then has to slow down again ... and repeat.

 

[Rolfe]

Quicker reaction to acceleration means distance control is more uniform rather than the throttle lag causing the distance to "yo-yo" (when using Normal or Eco) - the other modes may cause the car to accelerate more than it needs to, so it then has to slow down again ... and repeat.

Thanks for that.

I'm also realising that people are using it in situations where they are not following another car. How does it work in that situation?

And why did it no longer work when I left the main road to drop my friend off? After that, although 20 was showing on the dashboard, the car was making no attempt to go at 20 mph.

 

[siteguru]

To the last point - no idea.

To the first - it acts like normal (non-adaptive) cruise and holds the car at the set speed.

 

[Ian Key]

And why did it no longer work when I left the main road to drop my friend off? After that, although 20 was showing on the dashboard, the car was making no attempt to go at 20 mph.

It doesn't engage below 20 so it won't accelerate up to 20 but if you are doing over 20 it will decelerate to 20. If that makes sense.

 

[Rolfe]

Oh thanks, I get it now. So if I'd accelerated to over 20 then it would have brought me back and kept me at 20? Is that it? It seemed to be working at first when I tabbed it down to 20 on entering the "safer villages" zone.

 

[Rolfe]

I think I feel a wee experimental trip up the A701 coming on.

 

[Ian Key]

Have a play and see what it does and what suits you.

 

[MartinSEsr]

I think I feel a wee experimental trip up the A701 coming on.

Our last four cars have been chosen (two Suzuki, two Golf GTi) BECAUSE they have ACC. Once you have had it and got used to it, it's the one thing I couldn't live without. Some marques charge a lot for it, namely Audi and BMW where it is a very expensive option. Some don't even do it.

Once used to it, muscle memory kicks in and and I use it without having to think too much in open roads at all speeds from 30 to 70, to cruise at the limit; and also in traffic everywhere. The advantages are that a) I don't have to look at the speedo - my max speed is the speed set, eg 40 for a 40 limit, and I'll be going slower if someone in front is. But not faster.

But (b) is the enhanced safety... The car has auto braking if it sees an impending collision anyway. But with ACC on, it slows down earlier if cars in front slow down, whether a basic power-off steady slow down, or anything up to very heavy braking if the car in front slows suddenly.

and (c) in stop-start traffic, it slows to a halt when cars stop, and then either automatically or with an tap of the accelerator speeds up to the set speed or the speed of the cars ahead.

It does take getting used to, learning the controls so you don't have to think. But once learnt, it is your best friend in the car.

I'm currently away and borrowd an Audi A5 with cruise but not ACC (a £1200 option). and heck it seems primitive after years of ACC.

 

[Rolfe]

I drove all the way to Moffat and back, and it was interesting.

I definitely love the follow-my-leader function, which is good on bendy roads and lets the driver in front do all the work. No problem going into bends because the car in front slowing causes your car to slow before the actual bend is reached. It's just perfect for travelling on a road where you either don't want to or can't pass the car in front. Sold.

I was much less secure without anyone in front. Bear in mind that I have never before used a cruise control of any description. Maybe the road was too bendy for a proper test of the function, but it was making me very nervous coming into bends. Perhaps it's my motorcycle training, but I slow down before the bend, and start accelerating as I come out of it. Having the MG4 with regenerative braking has made me more inclined to do that rather than less, as I try to go into the bend at the optimum speed just by taking my foot off the accelerator, without braking.

Approaching a bend that I could see but which the car seemed to have no inkling of was quite unnerving. I started stabbing at the brake, which of course deactivated the ACC anyway. Then I switched to tabbing down the speed with the joystick to go into the bend more slowly, then of course having to tab back up again once I came out. I didn't like it. I drove part of the way back with no ACC and felt a lot happier.

It was relatively OK on shallower bends, and it may simply be that that road was too bendy for the ACC to be a good idea at all. But it really was the absolute bee's knees when following another car round the same bends. (The "other car" on the way back was a Kia EV, which actually pulled into a layby and turned back as we got near to Mountain Cross, rather as I had done at Moffat. I began to wonder if he was out trying out his new automobile features too!)

I definitely need more practice, but I would appreciate hearing how experienced users handle that sort of situation.

 

[MartinSEsr]

Having had several ACC cars, when fellow passengers haven’t seen it before, I always explain carefully how it works…

And how it works, I explain, is that my car has a tractor beam (like in Star Trek) and the tractor beam attaches to the car in front, which then pulls us along. The passengers often look confused but nod knowingly to my confident technical explanation, as I smile wickedly.

 

[Rolfe]