Drive by wire

[David Whipple]

My question is What are the benefits of drive by wire. The old cable throttle must be much less expensive to manufacture. They almost never failed. and in my opinion are quicker to respond than the drive by wire systems.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the introduction of new technologies in to the field. It keeps it interesting.

I remember the switch from points to electronic ignition, and the move from carbs to fuel injection, and the integration of OBDII. Many older mechanics resisted these changes though the benefits of the these systems were obvious.

Maybe I’m just blind to the benefits.

Topic

[Dave]

Agreed some of the older stuff worked just fine.

[William Sevier]

[quote=”da_whipple” post=53681]My question is What are the benefits of drive by wire. The old cable throttle must be much less expensive to manufacture. They almost never failed. and in my opinion are quicker to respond than the drive by wire systems.

Don’t get me wrong. I love the introduction of new technologies in to the field. It keeps it interesting.

I remember the switch from points to electronic ignition, and the move from carbs to fuel injection, and the integration of OBDII. Many older mechanics resisted these changes though the benefits of the these systems were obvious.

Maybe I’m just blind to the benefits.[/quote]

I have a 1984 Ford Bronco 2, 2.8L V6 4×4 5 speed, and I also have a 2008 Toyota Tundra Double Cab 5.7L V8 6 Speed Auto 4×4.

I like both my trucks, however I will say this for a fact. If you are doing a lot of driving on rough roads, offroad, trails, etc. The drive by wire sucks. Not to mention theres a huge hesitation or more of a lag time between when you floor board the accelerator and when the computer decides to tell the engine you want to go faster really fast. Not to mention on rough roads and trails the throttle with the drive by wire is extremely touchy so if your foot starts bouncing off the accelerator pedal you get a surging effect of the throttle. With my Bronco 2’s actual manual throttle cable, I get instant throttle changes, and since the manual throttle has springs attached to it, and a bit of resistance, the offroad and trail driving is much easier because you aren’t getting all of the feedback from unintended throttle application because of your foot bouncing off of the pedal.

When it comes to mechanical stuff, I have to say I’d rather have the old stuff, at least when something breaks I can fix it myself. This computerized stuff is not only expensive, but oftentimes is dealer proprietary crap meaning empty your bank account cuz its gonna get expensive. I can adjust a carburetor on my old truck and make it run great. Something goes wrong with that newer truck its a trip to the dealer because I don’t have the equipment to diagnose or repair electronic stuff on a vehicle.

84 Bronco 2, a little rough, but gets me from point a to point b
[IMG]http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh548/mowerguy2012/IMG_0973_zps7213a616.jpg[/IMG]

08 Toyota Tundra
[IMG]http://i1251.photobucket.com/albums/hh548/mowerguy2012/Photobucket%20Desktop%20-%20BILLS-PC/2012/WillowCreekOct232012.jpg[/IMG]

[Jim]

whipple you almost answered your own question. why are most things changed on engines- emissions-. engineers figured that if they can get that throttle plate to open a little later or close a little sooner or softer they can clean up the emissions. it dose work to that advantage ill say, but it seems more problematic too. I can’t keep track of all the throttle bodies we have replaced in our shop. On the bigger GM engines we have to change the throttle body sensors to a updated part and re-flash the computer to change diagnostics on the throttle body code they set. When the throttle bodies fail there usually not covered by the powertrain warranty. that is usually not a good conversation when the customer realizes they have to pay $300.00 + for a new one. drive by wire is good but it needs to evolve a long way before its great.

[Brian]

That is a great question one I have asked myself in recent years especially since my first car that had one was a 2005 Ford Mustang GT.

Basically here is an answer:
There are several reasons why electronic throttle actuation is preferable to a conventional throttle cable:
• The vehicle’s on board electronic systems are able to control all of the engine’s operation with the exception of the amount of incoming air.
• The use of throttle actuation ensures that the engine only receives the correct amount of throttle opening for any give situation
• The optimization of the air supply will also ensure that harmful exhaust emissions are kept to an absolute minimum and drivability is maintained, regardless of the circumstances. Coupling the electronic throttle actuation to the adaptive cruise control, traction control, idle speed control and vehicle stability control systems also means finer control can be achieved.
The use of such a system has advantages over the conventional cable version by:
• Eliminating the mechanical element of a throttle cable and substituting it with fast responding electronics, reduces the number of moving parts (and associated wear) and therefore requires minimum adjustment and maintenance.
• Greater accuracy of data improves the drivability of the vehicle, which in turn provides better response and economy.

• “Disadvantage” is that manufacturers often reduce throttle sensitivity in the low-mid throttle range to make the car easier or safer to control – or to protect the drivetrain (gearbox, clutch, etc.) from driver abuse. The feeling to the driver is that the throttle feels less responsive. There are aftermarket electronic kits to increase throttle sensitivity, to re-gain a more direct-feeling relationship between pedal position and throttle valve opening.

Now… personal opinion are yes there is a decrease in sensitivity in throttle response, but I think you feel it more with the modern day muscle cars with more horse power than your typical economy cars…. Most Mftr. companies have already switched to this setup in their muscle cars specifically for better computer fuel control and safety. It has made aftermarket addition a little harder to manage at times in the beginning because of the Drive-by-wire system if the CPU did not like a particular parameter it would very literally shut the system down and caused a no start condition for a time till the system would reset. I had an issue with an aftermarket tuner that did this and Ford had to get my car started. After all that I purchased a different handheld tuner and had a professional tuner “Dyno Tune” the car and I have had no issues since that time. All in all I don’t really see too big of a problem with them, they are getting better and my now > ’06 Mustang is doing just fine with one.

[college man]

I still like the cable method. The drive by
wire has that response lag when you mash the
gas.Cable doesn’t. 😉 But drive by wire does away
with the IAC. I still vote for the cable.

[Author]

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