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Curve Control - under Co-Pilot360 Technology


James Fremont

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Hi all,

I am one of those who read the literatures of a product I intend to buy - word-by-word and page-to-page. Especially those big ticket items…

Listed as one of the Standard Features in the official Ford 2020 Ranger brochure is this thing called ‘Curve Control’. I don’t know if this (feature) is inherited from the 2019 model, and I certainly couldn’t find this term mentioned ever again anywhere else. Not even the same brochure went into any detail after listing it as one of the Standard ‘Co-Pilot360’ technology features. The salesperson at the dealership I interacted with was equally clueless.

Unless it was a typo (maybe the brochure meant to say ‘Traction Control’ ?), I assume it is different from the ‘Stability Control’ described in the owner’s manual. As a side note – if my (long) driving history is indicative of my future driving, I probably won’t experience that traction control system at work ever, or at least I hope not. But I am curious to know what it is like, and whether it is really useful.

Anyone knows what this is all about?

Thanks.
 
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adsm08

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I have not come across anything that was specifically called "curve control" that I can remember.

HOWEVER

In the advanced ABS/Traction control systems web course I took a while back there was reference to a new feature, supposedly an enhancement of the stability control system, that would actively apply individual brakes to help control power application and slide through corners. In that course it was put forward as being used in conjunction with AWD systems, but it may be getting introduced to the Rangers for 2020.
 

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Co-pilot 360 Assist includes lane centering, which will keep you in the middle of your lane (assuming the system can tell where the lanes are - not always a good assumption on poorly marked roads) even if the road is curving. Curve Control uses all of this technology including stability control to help the vehicle negotiate the curves in the road. (edit for more detail) If the system senses that you have more steering input than the amount the vehicle is actually turning, e.g. are starting to understeer off the side of the road, it will drag the inside rear brake to help the vehicle successfully negotiate the turn.

Sometime later this fall, they plan to release the software to make certain properly-equipped vehicles "self-driving" in certain situations. They have not yet given us much detail on what the "certain situations" are.
 
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I can confirm that lane departure is is not 100%. In certain weather conditions, even though you can see the lines yourself, the vehicle can’t the the system shows the lines not being there.
 

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Fixed title spelling.
 

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I have always wondered how systems like this work when you're driving somewhere like for example, any road in New Jersey where the lines in the road have been repainted 400 times and don't actually point in any one particular direction anymore?

84535921.jpg


I mean, does your car simply give up and steer you into the nearest living thing as some form of sub-sentient mechanical protest?

I'm actually quite serious about this. This tech is becoming more and more standard but roads aren't getting any better. I don't want a car that's gonna drive me off a cliff because some road painter was drunk at work.
 
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James Fremont

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So, I guess the term ‘Curve Control’ is used to characterize the ‘Co-pilot 360’ functions, which is Ford’s marketing jargon for, well, Curve control.

I am not surprised one bit by your finding (regarding the lane departure alert feature). I don’t trust these new technologies at all, not in their nascent form anyway. In the few days of driving my new truck I found myself still looking over my shoulders when changing lanes, regardless what the little orange dot in the rear mirror tells me. The good old convex mirror works just fine, I think the money could be better spent elsewhere.

Speaking of which, don’t know if there is a dedicated discussion group in this forum about the ‘Ford Co-pilot 360’ features, I am interested in hearing your experience and/or opinions about it. I suspect some of the old school owners may not care much about this “driving aids” technology in general. I just want to borrow your experience/knowledge so I know how to treat it properly.
 
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I have always wondered how systems like this work when you're driving somewhere like for example, any road in New Jersey where the lines in the road have been repainted 400 times and don't actually point in any one particular direction anymore?

View attachment 54921

I mean, does your car simply give up and steer you into the nearest living thing as some form of sub-sentient mechanical protest?

I'm actually quite serious about this. This tech is becoming more and more standard but roads aren't getting any better. I don't want a car that's gonna drive me off a cliff because some road painter was drunk at work.
I have to shut the system off in construction zones. It starts freaking out in situation like what you show here.
 

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I have to shut the system off in construction zones. It starts freaking out in situation like what you show here.
What actually happens if you leave it on? Does it just beep at you to say you are not in your lane or does it physically try to correct the steering (i.e. swerve you into the wrong lane)? I know some are just warning systems, but some are active and will correct the steering. My issue is with the latter and what the car will do in that situation.

My moms 2020 edge doesn't have it at all as far as I know, which I find odd since its the pimp package model (titanium?). The most it has is the warning system that beeps if you have the blinker on and a car is next to you. I've driven it quite a bit and never seen it do anything about lane issues.

Edit - aparently it does have the co-pilot 360 system according to the ford website? It's either disabled or I don't understand how it works because it has never done anything that I know of. If no one is around me I change lanes without signaling, you'd assume it would be very upset about that?

And sorry for the highjack.
 
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If the system is engaged but you make an unsignaled lane change fast enough it will do nothing because the steering input tells it to sit down and shut up. If you are slow and lazy about it and let it drift it should get pissed at you.
 

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Dirtman, the photo you posted is similar to some of the situation where Tesla drivers have killed themselves - in more than 1 case, the photo showed the lane marking running right into the roadside concrete barrier, and sure enough, the autopilot steered the car right into the concrete barrier and killed the guy. That is only one of the reasons we are a long way from really self-driving vehicles. Its one thing to make them work in sunny California or Arizona, but quite another to make them work on snow-covered or rain-wetted roads in the midwest.
 

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Dirtman, the photo you posted is similar to some of the situation where Tesla drivers have killed themselves - in more than 1 case, the photo showed the lane marking running right into the roadside concrete barrier, and sure enough, the autopilot steered the car right into the concrete barrier and killed the guy. That is only one of the reasons we are a long way from really self-driving vehicles. Its one thing to make them work in sunny California or Arizona, but quite another to make them work on snow-covered or rain-wetted roads in the midwest.
in 1 of the most high profile instances, it was proven auto pilot was turned off but the driver thought it was on and didn't stop his vehicle from crashing
 

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What actually happens if you leave it on? Does it just beep at you to say you are not in your lane or does it physically try to correct the steering (i.e. swerve you into the wrong lane)? I know some are just warning systems, but some are active and will correct the steering. My issue is with the latter and what the car will do in that situation.

My moms 2020 edge doesn't have it at all as far as I know, which I find odd since its the pimp package model (titanium?). The most it has is the warning system that beeps if you have the blinker on and a car is next to you. I've driven it quite a bit and never seen it do anything about lane issues.

Edit - aparently it does have the co-pilot 360 system according to the ford website? It's either disabled or I don't understand how it works because it has never done anything that I know of. If no one is around me I change lanes without signaling, you'd assume it would be very upset about that?

And sorry for the highjack.
They system is designed to input steering corrections. When the painted lines and the ground out lines cross, the steering system will fight you if you try to follow the new route because the system sees both. I have mine set on the minimum force level but I would imagine at even higher levels, the driver can still over power the system inputs. It just annoying. So I shut it off.

The system can be somewhat sensitive on the narrow roads in PA was well. I imagine NJ would have similar narrow roads also. For local driving, I shut the system off in order to not deal with the "ping pong" effect the system induces on the narrow roads if you don't maintain a perfect center of the lane position. It only comes on above 35 mph, so it isn't happening all the time but like the construction zone scenario, it's annoying.

I generally leave the system off unless I'm doing a lot of highway driving on a longer trip. It does help keep your mind on the road and in your lane for such trips. Not that I have much of a problem staying in my lane with vehicles that don't have the system and I've done plenty of several hour trips just fine without it or cruise control.
 

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in 1 of the most high profile instances, it was proven auto pilot was turned off but the driver thought it was on and didn't stop his vehicle from crashing
Well that just means that he wasn't smart enough to be needed in this life anymore.
 

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