Opinions or suggestions on use of cruise control

I find that quite a few speeds are hard to hold in my car. 25, 40 and 45, not to mention anything at 60 or above. I find the car and or myself are always creeping up faster than the limit.

I trouble shot my cruise control system and found the amplifier to be faulty and sent it off to GDI to get it tested and rebuilt.

I was wondering in the mean time whats the word on the use of cuise control, benefits or down falls? Myself, I find I always creep up faster than desire or posted speed limit and must lift off the gas petal or tap the brakes.

For back roads I always work the throttle, so am not thinking about using it there, unless I am driving my folks around and they demand I stick to 35mph the whole way, where as I vary to 55 depending on the road and other conditions.

A good cruise control can save you gas but you need to get your foot away from the gas and let it do its job and it's best used where there is no traffic or it is light. Some cruise controls will drop out on steep hills but that will be obvious - just get on the pedal before you loose too much speed. The average driver has a tendency to constantly work the pedal up and down - which is terrible for gas mileage. I drove in an economy run when I was a teen and learned good control for best mileage. My wife didn't seem to able to let the cruise control do its job - she felt out of control until we took a long trip - then she got to really like it. As long as they are working correctly I don't know of any downfalls - if one really went haywire and put the pedal to the metal just remember you've got the brake and the ignition key you can turn off as well as Neutral.

I find it mostly useless here as other cars do not hold there speed.
On the highway set at 55 I still run up on cars that past me moments before because after they pass at 80 miles an hour they drop down to 45 (I guess they think that makes up for going 80) so I creep right up at a steady 55 and have to slow down.
Topper

I just about have to have cruise control on any vehicle I drive due to back problems. and I use the gas pedal just till I'm out of my garage and hit 30mph and engage it. I know I get better mileage the more I use the C/C. If you want to max out your gas mileage install a vacuum gauge and drive by the readings.

If it weren't for the problem Topper mentioned, CC would be more useful AND safer because the driver doesn't have to divert attention to monitor the speedometer. A heads up display on the windshield is better than looking further down to the speedo but still it's a distraction from continuously viewing the road ahead and to the sides.

I like and use cruise when I can but way too many drivers are erratic and distracted. If we all used cruise it would work better.

Some new luxery cars have a distance sensor in the front which will slow down when it gets too close to the vehicle in front of them. I agree though, it can be very annoying when people pass you then pull over in front of you and slow down. Then you pass them and they decide they have to be in front again so they speed up, pass you and get back in front of you and slow down again.
Remember you shouldn't use it in bad weather such as rain or snow as it could cause unpredictable behavior.
You can actually beat cruise at getting better gas mileage if you really want to since you can look ahead and see hills. Cruise will have to give more gas to go up a hill, if you want to really save gas you can accelerate gently a bit before a hill then let your speed drop going up it and then coast down the other side. Someone needs to integrate a GPS system so it can think ahead a little bit.

I use it out in the country, as long as I have more than a couple miles to go. Never in the city or when the speed limit is less than 55. If the speed limit is under 55, then I always assume I might have to slow down suddenly. There's no point to using it then.
If there are a lot of hills, I don't bother using it. I can do a much better job of keeping the speed constant because I can anticipate having to slow down or speed up.

My car has great cruise control.. I use it quite often. It keeps the correct speed and I can use it to accelerate slowly. On steep hills I have to turn off overdrive to keep the transmission from 'shifting' back and forth.

My dad never uses it, and he always drives when there are passengers. He changes speed a lot, and it bothers me as the passenger, I'd like a steady speed.

Its for my mercedes 240d, 81 model with manual tranny. I know those cars are known to be under powered and to drive it up basically keep the gas petal to the floor, but mines seems to creep speed wise once I get up to speed and I find myself keeping up with traffic vs the posted limit where ever I go. I guess I need a more progress throttle linkage so I can better regulate the position of the lever or just tap the brakes while on the gas to maintain the right speed.

I normally keep it under 70 on the interstate if the flow of traffic is faster, but I try to stay right on the local speed limits on all other roads.

All good points too. Ive had second thoughs if the fact I always work the petal makes me a better driver vs sitting back and just steering. The fuel economy is one too. Ive heard cruse control is good, others say you can beat it. If I know my route, I will gas it before a hill to keep the same limit, where as if you wait til you start to slow and under 50, you need to upshift briefly til you get back to speed.

My dad bought a few kits from sears roebuck when he got a few tickets and it seemed to of helped him, although he does not have it today. Infact I think he went through a few brain boxes. I think another family member had a similar problem. The benz, far as I Know it hasnt worked in at least 10 years maybe more. The box smelled aweful, like sulfur and when I peeked inside I saw two quarter watt resistors that were discolored and smelled the most.