Drive-by-wire for dual carbs/throttle bodies???, would you run them?? Options

[Mueller]

A lot of newer cars do not have the traditional cable that goes from the gas pedal to the throttle body...instead the pedal has a potentiometer*, this in wired to the ECU which tells the throttle body how much to open, just because you have your foot buried to the floor, the throttle body might only be open 50% since the ECU is dictating what is going on.

Now a drive-by-wire throttle body could be wired directly to the pot. on the gas pedal to be 1:1 at all times......with a setup like this on dual carbs or individual throttle bodies, no need to worry about thermal expansion of motor and how that effects the linkage.


* (similar to a variable resitor which varies the voltage output depending on foot placement)

[jsteele22]

While I totally agree that the system has to be made extra-safe and reliable, and that anybody who tries to sell this (or anything) had better be ready for lawsuits, it really, really isn't a very complicated system. There's only one parameter to control, its easy to measure, and it varies quite slowly compared to many other feedback systems.

In fact, DBW throttle control isn't very different from cruise control. You give an input (desired speed vs desired throttle position), the system compares this to a feedback signal (actual speed vs. actual throttle position) and the system automatically generates an appropriate control output (actuale pedal via vacuum servo vs. actuate throttle via electric servo). In fact, the only difference that I can see is that in DBW the desired input is allowed to vary a bit more quickly. This is pretty much a non-issue. The one crucial difference that worries people is that with cruise control, the mechanical linkage is still there - you can turn off the controller in an instant and go back to manual mode. But once you use cruise control, it starts to feel pretty comfortable for its intended use. I think DBW would be the same. (Most people who use it now don't even know...)

Also, I think that a lot of folks who drive 30-year old cars are already used to the idea that control over their their throttle or clutch (i.e., the cables) might possibly give out at any minute .....