Just wondering the difference between drive by wire and mechanical throttle linkage.

Drive by wire is completely electronic. Your throttle could be replaced by the volume knob off of your old stereo.

Non DBW you foot pulls a cable that operates the air butterflies on the throttle body.

Exactly what does it use for feedback.

Ususally a spring and position sensor.

Wheatstone bridge or digital control.

To All:

Bluntly speaking, I do NOT care for "Fly By Wire" control. A radio transmitter at my right foot operating a receiver mounted to the throttle body is NOT my view of an "ideal" system. Depending upon the particular manufacturer, some setups involve a rheostat at the gas pedal, hardwired to an actuator solenoid attached to the throttle body. Others I have seen are completely "wireless."

I have absolutely NO use for either technique. Superceding all of the older mechanical systems with solid-state (semiconductor) systems is not always and necessarily progress. :thumbsdow

Circa 1902, Sir Frank Bowden, founder/owner of the Raleigh Bicycle Company, was credited with inventing/perfecting the famous "Bowden cable" principle. Simple, flexible, reliable, and inexpensive, the "Bowden cable" has worked almost flawlessly for well over 100 years. The throttle, cruise, and (on my trusty '86) clutch actuation on my Accords is via Bowden cables. I've NEVER had one single problem with a Bowden cable, not in my entire life. Not even on the many multi-speed bicycles I had as a child. Not on any of the motorcycles I had, as a teenager/adult.

IMO, sometimes technology is a step backwards. That FBW unit on your car does NOT work one Iota better than a Bowden cable. But you can bet your A$$ it will cost you serious, major $$$$ to repair/replace...when it malfunctions and/or fails.

Thanks, but NO Thanks! Change, merely for sake of change, is NOT a valid reason for change! :thumbsdow I'll gladly keep my Bowden cables! They WORK...extremely WELL! :thmsup: :yes:

There are advantages and disadvantages to DBW throttles...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_by_wire

Sjlee and All:

Thanks for the informative reference to WikiPedia. It only reinforces what I indirectly alluded to above:

"The cost of DbW systems is often greater than conventional systems. The extra costs stem from greater complexity, development costs and the redundant elements needed to make the system safe. Failures in the control systems can result in an unstoppable runaway vehicle - if the throttle, ignition and transmission are all beyond the direct control of the driver there is no effective way to stop the vehicle in such an event."

What NEXT? "Braking By Wire?" Thanks, but NO Thanks! I'd rather WALK! :lmao:

Sjlee and All:

Thanks for the informative reference to WikiPedia. It only reinforces what I indirectly alluded to above:

"The cost of DbW systems is often greater than conventional systems. The extra costs stem from greater complexity, development costs and the redundant elements needed to make the system safe. Failures in the control systems can result in an unstoppable runaway vehicle - if the throttle, ignition and transmission are all beyond the direct control of the driver there is no effective way to stop the vehicle in such an event."

What NEXT? "Braking By Wire?" Thanks, but NO Thanks! I'd rather WALK! :lmao:

I've never had a problem with my cars that had cable throttles nor the ones with DBW. That being said, it wasn't unheard of in older cars with cable throttles to have a stuck throttle... granted, it was usually rectified by using your foot to pull up on the gas pedal.

Also, Fly-By-Wire has been used for decades in military jets (like the F16), so I don't think the concept itself is prone to issues.

Sjlee:

Points well-stated and granted. But in the case of military hardware, where I'm permitted to design/build in a 10,000 percent overkill (redundancy safety) factor, at American taxpayer expense, is a quite different situation which sharply contrasts against designing/producing products for commercial sale, in the private sector, particularly given the difference in economies of scale. Ergo, General Dynamics furnishing 100 F-16 "Falcons" to USAF is NOT quite the same event as Honda Motor Company furnishing 100,000 vehicles to the general public.

Get rid of the (touchy-feely) Marketing types, the (cheap-A$$) Cost Accountants, and the (damned) Lawyers. As an Engineer, just write me a BLANK CHECK...and I can deliver you virtually ANYTHING you so desire.

As Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. once famously said, "Give a man a clear-cut job, with proper resources, then GET THE HELL OUT OF HIS WAY!" :D