Cruthuro "3-drive・α" that can be set from 30 to 140km/h

　From 2013, the author, who lives in Nagoya, rented an office in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, and moved his base of activities to the Kanto region. It became an image similar to that of a salaried worker leaving his family behind, and there were more opportunities to move between Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, where her home is, and Kawasaki on the highway. Between Nagoya and Kawasaki, the high-speed section alone exceeds 300km. I wanted to make driving as easy as possible, so I installed an auto cruise controller.

3-drive α. Acc is displayed when the auto cruise controller is in operation

　The auto cruise controller is a device that maintains the set vehicle speed, allowing the vehicle to run at a constant speed without operating the accelerator. There is also the possibility of improving fuel efficiency because it can run at a more stable speed than when operated by a human. These two points are what the author expects, reducing fatigue in long-distance high-speed driving and improving fuel efficiency.

　The author chose the Pivot Auto Cruise & Throttle Controller "3-drive・α". Pivot is a company that specializes in software and hardware related to electronic engine control, such as engine control for racing, engine computers for commercial vehicles, ECO systems for car navigation systems, meters, and sensors.

3-drive・α is a product that has both the function of an auto cruise controller and the function of a throttle controller. The speed that can be set as an auto cruise controller is from 30km/h to 140km/h. Auto-cruise can be canceled by stepping on the brake or pressing the release switch while driving at the set speed. The speed setting is set by pressing the set switch while driving. It is also possible to make fine adjustments by operating the switch, and the speed can be increased or decreased by 2 km/h each time the up switch or down switch is pressed during auto-cruising.

Another function, the throttle controller, is a function that changes the relationship between the accelerator opening and the throttle opening to 7 stages in sports mode and 5 stages in eco mode, and improves the engine response when the accelerator is pressed. can be changed. Regarding the throttle controller, please refer to this article (http://car.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/series/minigoods/20120420_527086.html).

　When purchasing a general-purpose commercial product, many people may be worried about whether they can install it themselves. I am one of them, so I downloaded the compatible car model list and instruction manual from the Pivot website and checked in advance. The rough installation flow is ``connect the dedicated cable to the accelerator connector'', ``take out the signal from the brake'', and ``take out the vehicle speed pulse''. If you can do these three things, you can install it.

●Vehicle compatibility list (PDF) http://pivotjp.com/product/tha/img/tha_list.pdf

●Instruction Manualhttp://pivotjp.com/download/img/pdf/3DA.pdf

Wiring diagram

Before purchasing, I took a picture of the upper part of the accelerator pedal and brake pedal with a digital camera, and was able to confirm the connectors that looked like those. There are two ways to take out the signal from the brake, one is to prepare an optional harness, and the other is to take out the signal from the connector by yourself. I decided to prepare an optional harness, so I decided that if I could extract the vehicle speed pulse from the vehicle speed signal line, I could install it.

A similar connector to the top of the accelerator pedal, and a similar connector to the top of the brake pedal

If you use a harness for the brakes, the only difficulty with most car models is getting the vehicle speed pulse. In the wiring diagram of the pivot, the author's step wagon (RG1) is supposed to take out the vehicle speed pulse from under the hood. I found a box that looks like it, but it's in a slightly difficult position to work with.

Wiring list (vehicle speed/brake related) http://pivotjp.com/download/img/pdf/THA-signal.pdf

　When I visited the home of Mr. Ken Miyake, who happens to live near my office in Kawasaki and is engaged in consulting related to car navigation systems, I consulted him about extracting the vehicle speed pulse. He said, ``There is information on the car navigation maker's web page,'' and found out that it could be taken out from the left side of the passenger seat, and got a feeling that it would be installed.

● [Special Project] Understanding the relationship between cars and audio through Saisoku Navi (Part 2) Text by Ken Miyake http://car.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/special/20120803_550789.html

●Wiring diagrams for each model released by Alpinehttp://www.alpine.co.jp/support/fitting/

The main components of the 3-drive・α product are a controller that performs display and operation, and a control unit. In addition, cables, double-sided tape, Insulok band, voltage tester, etc. are sold as the main body. Vehicle-specific harnesses and brake harnesses are sold separately as they differ for each vehicle model. The author also prepared an optional set switch that enables operation at hand.