>Just had a thought on a new (and hopefully non-inflammatory) topic.
>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.
>Can you tell a difference?
Yes. At least, I can tell a profound difference between my C5 and other
cars I've driven. All C5s have had electronic throttle, so it's kind of
hard to compare.
>Is it better or worse?
Worse. The tip-in is very abrupt and hard to control, even when consciously
trying to anticipate it.
>I know driving them on our roll test machine I can feel a slight lag in
>response, but loadings and such are different, and I have >never autoxed
>one. Does the slight lag make you smoother?
No. It doesn't really feel like a lag, though that may in fact be what's
happening. It feels like you get a slightly different response based on how
fast you press the pedal, like in a stereo knob where when you spin it
rapidly you get large jumps, and when you are turn it slowly you get
double-digit precision. Note that's an enormous exaggeration of what the
effect is that I'm describing. What you notice driving is that the throttle
response is non-linear and you have to get used to it. I always assumed it
wasn't a limitation of the mechanism, but GM dicking around with the
response map in some way.
Joe Goeke was instructing me at a McKamey school this year, on street tires,
and he kept saying "easy on the throttle, smooth on the gas". Then he took
the car for a couple of runs and I got to say "easy on the throttle, smooth
on the gas"...
Something I also noticed was that there were SIGNIFICANT increases in engine
power at exactly 5K and 10K miles, and I wondered if there was a break-in
program in there somewhere as well.
KeS
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