Cruise Control is In and Works Great

SweetRed04

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I finally got the Snake Oyl cruise control system completely installed. It works very well.

It is unfortunate they don't really provide decent instructions. I would have saved days if they had simply said to make a hole in the firewall grommet and they had explained that some of the bodywork needs to be removed to remove the fenderwell with instructions how to do that. For $500 they could make up and print 3 more pages of instructions.

The only custom thing I did was make a swivel connection for the accelerator because I didn't want the cable kinking when I floored it. The custom part was easier to make and install than starting a drill on the angle needed to follow the illustrations.
 
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SweetRed04

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I'd say it works fine. There aren't many hills nearby, but it seemed to track speed well - maybe not as perfectly as a factory system in a regular car. I attribute that to the fact they needed to limit how fast it reacts (system gain) since if you set it in 2nd, it might auto light up the tires.

I was able to engage it at about 35 MPH.

I wanted to have it for trips and to avoid tickets when travelling cross country.
 

JKVIPER

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I'm in the process now of installing it and yes the directions are at best marginal.

As well, it took me a couple hours to figure out how to get the inner fender well off. Basically, you need to loosen up the all the bolts and screws on the side sill and then you can create enought clearance so you can remove it.

Also, I put some masking tape around the painted wheel well on the quarter panel since there are some sharp hardware clips attached to the inner fender well that could scratch the body panel when removing.
 

PatentLaw

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With all due respect, I am not going to install anything in my car that requires tape. I realize that you purchased the unit before knowing this,.... to your detriment. I thank you for being honest.
 

Warfang

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Why not? It should come standard.

Don't get me started... at least the whiners for traction control are coming from a safety standpoint (they're WRONG btw). Cruise control is a luxury item for lazy people. Buy a vette, dummy! You can even get a HUD.... ooooo... neeeat! :bonker:

ps-In case you're the sensitive type... the namecalling is in jest. I'm sure you're a rocket scientist. :D
 

viperbilliam

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To those of you who disapprove cruise control in Vipers: Have you ever driven your Vipers on a long trip, like for an hour or so and without fear of getting tickets? It's nice to be able to move the feet around! Some of you have other vehicles for that; fine but some of us only have the Viper and some of us WANT to drive the Viper for that special trip.
 
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Venomiss

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I'm in the process now of installing it and yes the directions are at best marginal.

As well, it took me a couple hours to figure out how to get the inner fender well off. Basically, you need to loosen up the all the bolts and screws on the side sill and then you can create enought clearance so you can remove it.

Also, I put some masking tape around the painted wheel well on the quarter panel since there are some sharp hardware clips attached to the inner fender well that could scratch the body panel when removing.
Someone should take pictures and do a tutorial....it would be nice to let others know how to install and what to expect.:)
 

Flyntgr

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I've used my Snakoyl cruise control on several LONNNNGGG trips, like 650 miles in a day, and I find it absolutely essential. Otherwise my sciatic nerve gives me fits after keeping my right foot on the accel. pedal all day long. My gen. I was even worse. This should be an option, even if it IS a sports car! My H.O. Flyntgr
 

Warfang

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To those of you who disapprove cruise control in Vipers: Have you ever driven your Vipers on a long trip, like for an hour or so and without fear of getting tickets? It's nice to be able to move the feet around! Some of you have other vehicles for that; fine but some of us only have the Viper and some of us WANT to drive the Viper for that special trip.
The first day I picked up my Viper was a 4 hour drive back home. I had no problem making the distance, and never sped excessively. I still make frequent +1 hr drives... never a problem. But I can understand why someone would want CC.

The issue isn't whether or not YOU enjoy having a good aftermartket cruise control added in. If that's what you want, that's great. But no way should it be mandatory, or even a wasted R&D OPTION. Some entrepreneurial company will see a demand and pay for his own R&D and someone who would want that option should pay for it without the rest of us having to.

The Viper is a back-to-BASICS car. ABS was bad enough standard. It should remain pure from the factory, and the rest of us that want doodads, should fork our own money for them. Frankly, I'd prefer ABS and an aftermarket traction control in at least one of my Vipers (Only one now, but I can dream). I just don't think Dodge should dilute the Viper brand with unneccessary gizmos. Whatever rice or creature comforts you want, you have every right to add.

God bless America! :usa:
 

Chuck 98 RT/10

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I have no problem with owners customizing their Vipers with aftermarket parts.

I thank the aftermarket companies for producing them and I thank Dodge for not forcing all of us to have them.

It is a perfect world.

Enjoy your cruise control on your Viper.
 

viperbilliam

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I prefer to have SRT engineers design the system to the car THEY designed. I don't why it shouldn't be offered as an option at the very least. I don't want to have to deal with aftermarket installation/warranty issues.
 

Chuck 98 RT/10

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I prefer to have SRT engineers design the system to the car THEY designed. I don't why it shouldn't be offered as an option at the very least. I don't want to have to deal with aftermarket installation/warranty issues.

Most of those bells and whistles like cruise aren't designed by the auto manufacturers. They are designed by companies like the one that builds the cruise for Snake Oyl who then puts in a bid for the manufacturer's contract, which usually goes to the lowest bidder.

Woodhouse and Tator are pretty darn reputable installers if you'd like to get cruise on your vet...I mean Viper.
 

Racer Robbie

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I finally got the Snake Oyl cruise control system completely installed. It works very well.

It is unfortunate they don't really provide decent instructions. quote]

I had the same problem when I bought motor mounts from Snake Oyl. They provided no instructions at all! None. :nono:

Robbie
 

Racer Robbie

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The Viper is a back-to-BASICS car. ABS was bad enough standard. It should remain pure from the factory, and the rest of us that want doodads, should fork our own money for them.

I totally agree with the above statement. The viper is a remake of the Shelby AC Cobra. This was a pure street/race car with no creature comforts. DC gave is A/C and power doors/locks. That is enough for me as I bought the viper because I wanted an experience as close to the cobra as possible. The plus side of the viper was that it had a top. Keep it pure, keep it simple! This is just my humble opinion and I know others have bought the viper for their own personal reasons. If you want a GT car with all the comforts of home buy a corvette. If you want a street legal race car you buy a viper, the King of the Hill!

Robbie
 

JKVIPER

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Ok,

Finally finished the job and it actually works. It was a lot more work than I thought it would be to put it in but it does work quite well. On long trips I will definitely be glad I installed it.

Two clicks on the transmitter to set the speed, one more click to speed up or slow down once on cruise. Tap the break and it shuts off.

It took me 10-12 hours to install this item. I am not a mechanic, but I am also not too bad with tools and wire splicing/soldering. The main challenge is the directions, also one of the brackets did not fit and had to be drilled out in order to mount it on the factory studs on the interior transmission tunnel. Also, the bracket to hold the transmitter does not fit/clip on the lower dash panel like the picture shows you. I simply used the supplied velcro and did not use the clip. Now that I've been through one install I could probably install the kit in about 2-3 hours.

Here are some tips for those who buy the kit and will install it themselves:

Taking the inner fender well off:
1)Gently unscrew the plastic fender well thumbscrew retainers. Don't force them since they are fairly soft plastic
2)The two retainers that hold the top piece of the fender well have philips head screws, but they screw into molleys. You have to hold the outside rim of the molley so it does not turn, then unscrew with the philips head and the screw will come out. Then genlty pull out the molley
3)The plastic cap looking things that hold the mud flap and rear inner fender well in place are plastic plugs that need to be gently pryed out. The piece that is left(it is larger than the head of the plug) is a large molley which needs to be gently pulled/pryed out once the plug is fully removed.
4)Take all the screws off the side sill(Top and bottom). This will allow you to gently pull the side sill/fender away from the rear inner fender well and remove it.
5)Be carefull not to scratch the painted lip on the fender since the inner fender well has some sharp clips attached to it for the mounting screws. I used masking tape on the fender lip to prevent it from getting scratched.

Feeding the cable and harness through the gromet:
1)The instructions say you can slip it through the gromet, but I just did not see how. I drilled a hole in the rubber gromet above the factory harness and the cable and harness went right through to the foot box. I then used silcon sealent to make sure no moisture would get through.


Connecting the two wires to the hot and cold brake wires:

1)I would get on my back with you're head looking under the dash. You will see a switch attched to the front of the break pedal assembly. Gently rotate the white switch counter clockwise and gently pull it away from the bracket and it should pop right out when the tabs align with the holes in the bracket. Once out, you can drop down that wire harness and splice right into the two wires.


Hooking up the harness to the 12V accessory wire:

1)You need to take off the lower dash panel. Unscrew the two screws at the bottom of the panel. There are four aluminim clips mounted on the top of that panel and one on the side near the center console. Gently pull the top of the panel down from right above the pedal adjustment switch. You should be able to get a good grip on it there. Once you see how the clips pop out, pull the rest of the top clips out, then gently pull the panel so the side clip pops out from the center console. If you disconnect the harness for the power pedal adjustments the whole lower dash panel can be removed. Actually this would be one of the first steps I would do, it would make installing the cable and everything else easier.

2)I disconnected the harness from the bottom of the steering column. There is a red plastic harness lock that needs to be slided/pushed to the other side before it will let you remove the harness plug. Once removed, you will see there are two fat pink/violet wires and two thinner wires with blue tracers. The two pink wires are the hot wires, one is powered all the time, the other is powered when the key is in the accessory position. That is the one you want. That pink wire was in the middle of the plug while the other pink wire was on the end. Anyway it is easy to check with a tester when it is hot or not.

Hope this eases the install process of the next buyer...
 

05Viper

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When I installed mine, the thing I did different was I dropped the panel below the steering column, rebent the bracket that came with the transmitter and mounted it to that panel. I bent it so the controller is flush mounted but can still slide out to change the battery when needed. It is mounted to the right of the steering column as far inboard as I could.
 

JKVIPER

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When I installed mine, the thing I did different was I dropped the panel below the steering column, rebent the bracket that came with the transmitter and mounted it to that panel. I bent it so the controller is flush mounted but can still slide out to change the battery when needed. It is mounted to the right of the steering column as far inboard as I could.


I tried the same thing but made a mess out of the bracket so I just velcroed it on after a few &^%#$%%^ words. I am now thinking of making one out of hobby brass or aluminum that would fit since brass or aluminum are pretty soft so it would be easier than steel to work with.
 

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