Just curious what the advantages of DBW are since a lot of cars are coming with them these days. Honda civic, s2000, Scion tC, and the Acura TL are just a few examples. Reason why I ask is because i often hear people complaining that DBW actually sucks. It causes a dely in throttle response. Theres a huge thread over on the tC boards about it, and some people that were reviewing the civic also said it lagged too, however people report that the 2006 s2000 that has DBW causes no lag in throttle response.

 

DBW has a number advantages if implemented properly:

1. Allows the ability to tie a traction control system/yaw control system to the throttle body, giving the computer the ability to cut power when conditions require.

2. The computer can be tuned to automatically adjust to compensate for abrupt throttle movements to give a smoother transition.

3. Tuners, with some programming capabilities, can actually alter and tune the DBW system to provide any level of response that they want (this, of course, is only possible with proper programming knowledge and coding capability, but it can be done)

 

How often did the throttle lines actually getting stuck? Heard that was a reason for moving to DBW also.

 

see i can understand the above posted advantages, but i also (weirdly enough) thought that i read somewhere, that switching to DBW "freed up some hp" - i seem to remember seeing this in either car&driver/motortrend when they were reviewing some vehicle - i seem to remember that it was possibly a nissan (maxima?) or maybe a BMW (745).

 

I don't think it was that common, atleast on a newer car, I've had my old cars stick, but you can't ask much else from 30 year old cables and linkage that binds up due to rust.

 

The only faults that I can think of in a cable throttle is a stretched throttle cable, thats a real PITA...

 

Mine stretched out a bit (1G TL, 150k miles) but I just adjusted it, and there is no play in the beginning of the pedal now.

 

My throttle cable got stuck in the open postion on my old 96 altima. I couldn't stop the car so I had to throw it in Neutral, smash the brakes and put it in the grass in order to avoid the cars stopped in front of me at a light. Not fun!
I wnet under my dash to try and figure out wtf happened, and I say the frayed throttle cable stuck in the firewall shielding.

Got towed home and ordered a new cable from the dealer. Put it in myself, took 10 mins.

 

i dont know about the other cars, but the 2006 s2k's dbw system has no lag what so ever. i've test drove one and if i didn't know about the dbw system, i would not have knoticed it. i've driven a pre-06 as well and they feel the same.

 

Covers all the basics well. #1 is one of the biggest benefits, #2 can allow the car to "learn" your driving habits and adjust accordingly, #3 is also true and some cars have the ability to change throttle response at the touch of a button (ex: "Sport" button on the M3).

As for the lag, it isn't the system itself, it is the execution. Do you think fighter pilots would accept a lag? In cars it is fairly simple the more performance oriented the car the less lag is apparent, the DWB throttle system on the BMW S54 actually opens faster than possible with a cable system, so the lag is actually smaller. The more "pedestrian" the car the more lag that is dialed into the system in favor of smoother operation. Extreme sensitivity in throttle response, like sport mode in the M3 can cause what is called the "bucking bronco" or washing machine effect, where you bounce the car like a 15 year old learning to drive a stick, it is unusually pronounced in SMG cars since you don't have the clutch to smooth it out once you get started. In the end DBW can cause more problems than it solves in cars tuned for luxury (oft sited as a cause of the Lexus ES stumbles) but is usually excellent in pure performance cars. To further add to the problems each car is tuned differently so unlike in the past it is one more characteristic you have to learn about the car before feeling comfortable with it, while the whole time the cars computer is trying to learn you, often it helps to learn the car then reset the computer so you aren't fighting each other after you decide how you want to handle throttle application.

 

Some DBW cars already have had the motor that opens the throttle blade fail on them, or get stuck open. There are positves and negatives to both DBW and old school cable technology. I prefer cable since you feel a bit more connected to the car. If it is for a sedan or non sports car, i'd enjoy the DBW. But for an all out sports car, i rather have the Cable.

 

It took me a while to get used to the pedal feel on the 3rd gen TL.

 

the dbw in my legacy was much more sensitive then anything i was used to, but you get used to it fast. i like it. throttle response is great. dbw brakes are a diff story. not sure if i'd like that. i think my friends dad's sl500 has that. only drove it for like 5 mins so i cant really say.

 

You got lucky, Ive heard of stories where when you had the gas pedal to the floor, the throttle was only open 3/4 as much as it could have, when that happened the whole cable needed to be replaced.

 

pretty surprised they put drive-by-wire in this car for '06....

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....ticle_id=10493