Matthew Carson <mcars@vt.edu> wrote:
>
>Some coworkers and I were discussing today the feel of elctronic throttle
>control versus conventional throttle cable feel, and I
>was curious how people that autox with them (such as in C5s, '99+
>V6 F-cars, I am sure there are others) feel about them.
>From the "others" camp, the Paintless Wonder has the Bosch
drive-by-wire throttle. The only time that I notice it
while autocrossing is in the tech line. It seems that many
a tech person cannot fathom a car with no throttle return
spring to check. :-) When engaging/disengaging the
cruise control on the highway, the throttle pedal doesn't move.
Otherwise, I forget that it's there.
>Can you tell a difference?
I haven't driven a similar turbo car w/o it, so I can't say
that there is a difference.
>Is it better or worse?
There might be a little actuator delay, but the Bosch system
doesn't seem too slow. It sounds like there could be a big
difference between the GM system and the Bosch system, however.
I wish that Bosch had put just a little more intelligence
into their system. When you mat the throttle pedal, the
throttle body apparently just opens up all the way. Most
of the time, you could accelerate faster if the throttle
plate wasn't 100% open at lower RPM's. Somebody pointed out
that expecting the ECM to compensate for poor throttle
input from the driver was silly, but if you look at the
other pedal on the floor, ABS does just that. If the ECM
sees wide-open-pedal, it should take over and try to
maximize acceleration through slower throttle plate movement.
(Maybe that's what the GM system does???) The present Bosch
system behaves like nothing more than a throttle pot wired
directly to the throttle actuator, replacing the old cable
with a wire.....
-Arthur ("Don't need no stinkin' paint" edition.)
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