billnls430

The Laser Cruise Control is fantastic. It takes a little getting used to, but the function it performs is really incredible. When you are in heavy freeway traffic, you set the speed you would like to go and the distance you want to maintain and it controls your speed accordingly, slowing you down to keep a safe following distance.

Has anyone else experienced that when it rains, the Laser Cruise Control drops out, so that there is no cruise control available at all?

I can understand that the laser part may not work in rain conditions, but I would expect speed control to still be available. It is, you have to switch to the Conventional Mode by pushing the control stick back towards the dash. This changes the display from Radar to Normal.

svukelich

It is supposed to work that way. If the wipers are on continuously the Laser cruise is disabled. The detector will be wet with rain or the laser will bounch off the rain if it is too hard. Push and Hold the switch until the manual cruise function is selected if you want to use cruise in the rain.

cschow

I originally thought the laser cruise control was a silly feature, but that was before I got my LS. After I tried it a few times, I've grown to really like the feature. I do wonder, however, about how it would react if it encountered a car having laser jammers, and how it and a laser jammer would react if I installed a laser jammer on the LS.

Anyone have any experiences they can share about how the laser cruise control system interacts with laser jammers, whether your own or someone elses?

jstjohnz

Something that I noticed on a recent trip. I was driving in pretty heavy rain, but had the wipers turned off. I was using Rain-X on the windshield and it was doing a good job of clearing the rain even without the wipers.

I was using laser cruise, and on a couple of occasions I got the "cruise not available" warning and it dropped out. Not sure if it was triggered by the rain sensor signal or if it was triggered by the radar cruise itself as a result of the rain interfering with the signal. I am assuming the latter since it only happened a couple of times in really heavy rain. If I put the wipers on 'auto' they would start up and the cruise would drop out immediately.

Regarding interference between radar cruise and laser jammers, I don't think there is a problem. I have the passport laser jammer mounted on my front grille and have not noticed any strange behavior.

I am also impressed with the ability of the radar cruise to track the proper vehicle even during turns. I wonder if the beam is somehow aimed according to the position of the steering wheel?

-jim-

cschow

Wow, I'm pretty surprised, but glad to learn that there is no interference. I had thought that I might have to switch off any jammer I would get when toggling on the laser cruise control.

I've been thinking about getting a Passport ZR-3. Is that the unit you're using? If so I'd be interest in hearing how well it performs in real life. Additionally, can you post or send some pictures of the install, in particular, I'm curious to see where/how the front detector/jammer module is installed and where the control panel is mounted. Did you do the install yourself?

houstonnw

On the '04 laser cruise control, once the wipers go to "low" the cruise control will shut off. To access the standard cruise you need to turn the cruise control on, and then without using the laser cruise, push the cruise stalk forward for 1 second. Obviously if you've already used the laser cruise then you need to turn the cruise off and then on again.

The upcoming radar cruise will work when the wipers are on "low" and only shut off when they go to "high". I really wanted the radar cruise but couldn't wait. Oh well, I love the car, more each day actually!

XeroK00L

A bit off topic but, just out of curiousity, does anyone know if the radar cruise control that comes with the pre-collision package is subject to the same limitation that the laser cruise control has in fog or rain?
I think that by using a radar the issue with the low visibility conditions may be remedied.

houstonnw

It shouldn't have any problem with fog or driving into the setting sun. It will shut off when the wipers go to "high". I don't know if that is due to a problem with detecting the car ahead in heavy rain or just a safety feature like "if it's raining that hard you shouldn't be using the cruise anyway dummy!"

jstjohnz

I'm not sure of the model, it is like the ZR-3 but is just for laser, and plugs into, and is controlled by, my 8500.

I did not install the rear jammer. I mounted the front units using existing bolt holes (1 per side). They are inboard of the headlights and shoot through one of the slots in the grille. I will try to post a picture, the installation doesn't look at all like an add-on, it blends in perfectly.

As far as how it works, I don't know that I've ever detected a real laser signal. I get false alarms ocassionally, usually from tool booths that are scanning for automatic toll transponders, where the display shows "laser" but I have never seen it show "jamming".

Yes I did the install. The "black box" is under the driver's side carpet against the firewall. The wire to the 8500 runs underneath the windshield trim. The extra mute button mounts on one of the existing center-console area switch panels.

-jim-

LS007

I'm using a ZR-3 laser shifter with my Solo S2 radar detecor. I went with the Solo S2 because it offered the ability to be battery powered when removed from my LS430. When connecting to a radar detector, like the 8500 or Solo S2 you don't need to have the ZR-3 control panel mounted. It can be hidden as all warnings are displayed on your radar detector. If your radar detector is off or removed the ZR-3 control panel then gives you warnings and lights.

As for mounting, I've placed the two front ZR-3 sensors on either side of the license plate in between the grilles. This was done by remounting the sensors inside the included mounts as opposed to how they are shown/packaged. The rear sensor is above the license plate on the two holes (looks ugly) but my new larger Stealth license plate frames fix this. The ZR-3 control panel is above my rear view mirror and I removed the velvet sunshade stick (or whatever it's called) to assure the sunglass holder would still open. The display cord runs down the front piller and under the dash on the drivers side. This is where the ZR-3 hide away box is located. Like Jim (jstjohnz) I mounted the mute button to the left on one of the center button consoles. This is easy reach from the gear shift **** where I find my hand resting most of the time. My installation also might be a bit different as I've added an Escort Smart Cord into the spare drawer in the center console. The warning LED is then hooked into the mute circuit on the ML stereo. I get a couple seconds of mute when the detector or laser shifter go off. It also provides the extra red flashing LED in my center console to warn me . This was not easy to add as the ZR-3 and radar dector expected to be connected directly to each other.

How does it all work? I think I've been hit with a laser at least once and my system triggered. Didn't get me pulled, so don't really know if it helped. My wife has a Lidatek LE-20 on the front of her bug and got pegged just recently. The cop looked at the gun strangly as she zipped passed.

cschow

Nice hearing about the ZR-3 installs. In the end I decided to order a Lidatek LE-30 system with extra laser detector/emitter pod (I'm part of the group buy which was started this past winter by a group of mostly BMW owners). My plan is to put both detector/emitters up front and not worry about rear coverage for now. I have no clue how hard its going to be to install, but I hope I can do it, or find someone who can do it for me. Wish me luck.

I asked the Lidatek people about possible interference with laser cruise control systems. They said they tested the LE-30 with the Lexus and Infinity laser cruise control systems and the LE-30 won't false based on these systems.