Fly-By-Wire Gas Pedal for better speed control

Most of us have become aware it is rare for a fatal accident not to be
felonized. It used to be unless there was wanton disrespect for laws, life
and property, an automobile accident was just that, an accident. Civil,
not criminal laws applied. Today, if you are overspeeding, easily proved
from your car's tell-tale chip, and you cause a fatal, you will be
prosecuted for vehicular manslaughter.

Given that, your car should be reducing your driver workload to stay legal.
That is not the case. Your gas pedal is working overtime to make speed
control next to impossible. Compared to older model cars, the modern gas
pedal is far too sensitive. Press it down 15% of its travel and your car
does not pick up to 15% of its top speed; it will likely do 85 mph! This
fault makes it hard not to gradually pick up speed unconsciously on an
extended drive, where your foot "gets tired." You should not have to
constantly monitor the speedometer to keep from creeping up in speed. Most
drivers cannot help but speed up, slow down, and cycle that way for the
whole road trip. Cruise control, the auto-makers' solution, is like a
Microsoft patch, something to fix a defect that never should be in the
design.

A solution is a fly-by-wire throttle. The car's computer can do wonders
with this idea. Here's how it would work:

The computer constantly monitors your car's performance and adjusts the
sensitivity accordingly, just like your CD burner tests read performance
before you rip your favorite music to a CD-R. Thus, it adjusts pedal
sensitivity according to car load, outside temperature, pressure, effect of
gradient, rolling resistance, gas octane, etc. from a default baseline.
This is not as hard as it sounds. From the throttle position sensor, MAP
sensor, incoming air temp sensor, etc. it gets all that data. The only
other sensor needed is an accelerometer. The computer would calculate
everything and then adjust the gas pedal potentiometer signal to make the
pedal LINEAR. Thus, press down 50% of pedal travel and your car will go
50% of its top speed under the conditions. So, if the top speed of your
loaded car is 75 mph on a steep mountain grade, pressing down 50% will
yield about 40 mph. Also, there can be force feedback on the pedal to
further enhance control. Too light a pedal makes for a sinking pedal and
speed creep. A linear solenoid or torque motor could be computer
controlled to increase pedal resistance with increasing pedal depression.
This feedback is in contrast to the featherweight pedal at any position in
current setups. Force feedback makes for excellent control cues to the
right foot.

There would be a world of difference between the above described gas pedal
and the one in your present car. Speed and power would be far easier to
control and most importantly, maintain homeostasis. Unintentional
overspeeding, a prime factor in accidents would be largely eliminated.

Attorneys: The car can be blamed in court for unintentional overspeeding.
This is a viable defense for valid engineering deficiencies built into
today's models. Gas pedal setups in all cars of the last 25 years are
ultra-low ratio; that is, a small movement of the pedal causes a large
movement of the intake manifold air-flow valve and results in an
oversensitive pedal. The reason for this faulty design decision is due to
competitive sales forces at work. That car which is perceived to be more
powerful, sells. Any car can be made to seem more powerful by rigging the
pedal so a little touch cracks the air-flow valve wide open.
Unfortunately, control suffers from this unethical ruse.

There is also a problem with ultra-low ratio steering, but I will address
that in a later post.

 

Did I not just read a post by you where you were advocating junking modern
electronic engine and transmission management in cars?

 

WHAT?!?!? A post from Nomen regarding automotive electronics that
not one single time compares auto systems to airplane systems?

He must be getting ill, call the doctor!

Ted

 

<top post>
Bullshit.

Everybody should be able to easily FEEL what the foot is causing the engine
to do, and the eyes should SEE what the car is doing relative to the ground.
Speeding is speeding, and is ONLY a result of the foot being a bit to
aggressive, and the eye a bit too blind.
</top post>

 

Yes, Nomen is out to lunch as usual. However, I will say that I'm not a
fan (yet, anyway) of the throttle-by-wire systems. Maybe after some
further development. I have a new Sonata (yes, I realize it isn't a
Chrysler) with an electronic throttle and standard shift. The throttle
is very light (no feel as with conventional throttles) apparently due to
very light springs, the engine is very quiet, and the clutch is also
very light compared to other standard shift vehicles I own (Chevy K1500
pickup and Jeep Comanche pickup) or have owned in the past (everything
from VW Beetles to an Opel Manta).

This makes starting out smoothly a real challenge. It is hard to feel
or hear what is going on and it is hard to watch both the tach and
traffic at the same time. And the engine, while quite powerful when
revved, has very little torque below 1200 RPM. So, unless you want to
wear the clutch by revving to 2000 before engaging it, it is all too
easy to stall it.

Matt

 

d c told us in obd training that the a set of electric motors was cheaper
than a cable and throttle body gm has been using this electric throttle since
2000

 

Your Hyundai is using a electric throttle!