What exactly does drive by wire give you?

 

It lets you drive by a wire

No but seriously I have been wondering the same thing

 

a drive by wire throttle should mean that the gas pedal is connected to a computer sensor which connects to a computer that controls fuel uptake and injection all electronically.

regular throttles use mechanical linkages (rods, springs, joints, valves, etc) from the pedal to the fuel uptake and injection ... e.g. pressing the gas pedal essentially physically opens a fuel valve.

to be honest "drive by wire throttle" sounds shady to me. although some high-end bmw's in europe have drive by wire steering which is very cool, but banned in the us.

paul

 

Drive-by-wire throttle is suppose to give a better throttle response. The gas pedal position is monitored electronically and is then send to the engine computer which then change the engine output instantly.

The best part is that the throttle response feel can be reprogrammed, so that a slow car can be made feel faster. Let's say you'll have to step the gas pedal down to the floor in order to accelerate a slow car. The drive-by-wire throttle can be programmed such that a small movement in the gas pedal will result in a big or maximum opening in the throttle plate (= gas pedal to the floor). In this way, the slow car will feel faster.

 

Thanks, doesn't sound so great to me. I can think of 10 things I'd take first. Oh well...