For those who are wondering, Drive By Wire (DBW) is a cable leading from the gas pedal to the throttle plate under the hood, that's all replaced with a sensor at the gas pedal and a sensor at the throttle body. So when you press down on the gas, it sends a signal to the ECU, which then sends a signal to the throttle body...ECU has full control all the time.

The only downfall I see to DBW is when it comes to tuning. Besides that, I don't mind having it.

 

i dont mind DBW.....i really dont notice the lag, and its not like i care.....i drive a camry, not a sports car
if i wanted to go fast, id have bought a supra.

 

Well I fixed the cable already. What a horsesh!t design. There is a metal part crimped onto the cable itself. The metal part then slips inside a plastic sleeve that attaches to the gas pedal. The metal piece pulled through the plastic and didn't even break it!

I found an aluminum washer to fit in the sleeve. I then cut a slit in the sleeve and in the washer (at different angles so they can't even line up). Then I clamped the washer down and slide the cable with the washer crimped onto it into the sleeve. Now the the cable will have to pull through aluminum instead of plastic to have that happen again. I suspect that it won't.

Here's some pics that my Dad took. He's not a photographer by any means so he doesn't center the object he's photographing.

I put the smack down on some ricers before I broke down. I hold the record at Brainerd International Raceway for 35 runs in one day.

Here's a vid of me putting the smack down on a Monte Carlo (now sound from my digital camara):



Here I am bitch slapping an SRT4. I was impressed because he was doing over 105 MPH at the top end:



Again, bitch slapping a ricer. After this run my hand slipped off the shifter because it was covered in sweat when I tried to pull it into second so I aborted the run. The run after that I broke the throttle cable. This was my last full pass:

 

hey TRD when are you gonna run the camry :lol:

i might end up tracking mine friday night....some of my friends are taking their cars down, so i might join in for the hell of it

 

hey TRD when are you gonna run the camry :lol:

i might end up tracking mine friday night....some of my friends are taking their cars down, so i might join in for the hell of it

I honestly thought about getting it and running it after my throttle cable broke.

I've been sick for some time now and really didn't feel like running my car anyways but they aren't running the event again for a month.

After limping the car home with no throttle I just wasn't in a good mood. :cursin: :headbang: :bleh:

My Dad and I went out for pizza instead.

I honestly doubt I'll even run it unless the Formula is broke down or I can't finish something before the next Street Legal Drags. There isn't one for a month so I shouldn't have any problems wrapping up some planned work on the Formula. Next mod - deleting ABS for better braking performance. After that it's mostly maintenance type stuff. Adjustments, dyeing the seats, recover headliner (small part between A pillars), and little crap.

The Camry isn't my race car. It's my driver/back up car so when I have the Formula down for ordered parts or mods/repairs I still have some wheels to get me around. I have a feeling that the Camry wouldn't take the abuse that the Formula does either. :lol:

 

i doubt it would take heavy abuse.....i just wanna run mine for the hell of it....
and im not as fortunte as you to have a race car as well as my camry....at some point im gonna jump on the 3sgte gen 3 coupe bandwagon and have a project car so i can go rip on some mustangs in a camry

 

The Camry was just supposed to be a backup car. I just like it too much so I drive it all the time.

Until I got my Camry last year, my Formula was my daily driver. That's how it got 241,000 miles on it.

 

So what happened when your cable broke? You coasted to a stop right? So what happens when your drive by wire fails under hard acceleration and the solenoid (or whatever) sticks full open? Put it in nuetral and blow the engine? Turn off the key and lose steering? Sorry, maybe I'm too old school. And don't even get me started on steering by wire! (Although I did have a friend lose mechanical steering once and smash a fender- but it was a custom setup and not well designed.)

 

Steering still works with the engine turned off. Just that there is no power steering assist.

One thing I don't like about electronic throttle is when canceling cruise control. With a cable throttle, the cruise control pulled the pedal down and you could feel where that was. I could put my foot down on the pedal, cancel cruise, and keep going the same speed without any jolt. With electronic throttle, it's like a guessing game. This might be more obvious on a manual car like mine though because it will go to engine brake fairly quick.

 

Steering still works with the engine turned off. Just that there is no power steering assist.

One thing I don't like about electronic throttle is when canceling cruise control. With a cable throttle, the cruise control pulled the pedal down and you could feel where that was. I could put my foot down on the pedal, cancel cruise, and keep going the same speed without any jolt. With electronic throttle, it's like a guessing game. This might be more obvious on a manual car like mine though because it will go to engine brake fairly quick.

Honestly, I've never noticed that when I cancel the cruise.

 

call me oldschool, but i say you can't beat a good old fashioned throttle cable... the throttle responds exactly as you want it to, when you want it to (it's not a guessing game), and you feel every change in the position of the accelerator, not to mention if something goes wrong, you can affordably and easily replace a cable, whereas with DBW, it's a whole affair what with the computer chips and all....

 

DBW is the way of the future. planes have had it for years!

 

DBW still sucks -- if youre not on a track, your cables wont snap ....

i actually dont even know if my Subie is DBW, but i think it is because the acceleration is funky

 

I don't like Drive By Wire either, it is very annoying, I think they should get rid of it because I don't really see any benefit to having it, all I notice is the hesitation it causes. My old 90 Cam didn't hesitate at all but now my brand new '07 Cam does, to me that is stupid. Drive by wire should at the very least be an option so those who don't want it don't have to have it. Also I think that the sales people need to explain to their customers Drive By Wire so they will know nothing is wrong with the car and that it is normal behavior.

 

i see DBW as another thing that can go wrong. i feel like i have the mentaility of a 70-year-old trapped in the body of a 29-year-old. i miss driving cars with carbureators. if there was a problem with the fuel system, it was usually found and fixed in about 20 minutes.

ever leave you ASR button on by accident when racing?

 

i much prefer DBM...

you know ... Drive by Monkey

 

The advantage to DBW is the computer can now control the throttle as well as the brake system for ABS and traction control. It also eliminates the need for a separate cruise control actuator. So from the manufacturers standpoint its a big improvement. I personally dont like the feel/response in my wifes 03 camry, especially that split second dead spot on acceleration. Its just not smooth unless you accelerate real slow. Another dissadvantage is it that assembly ever goes bad its going to cost you big time $$$$. Have seem many go bad on VW and Volvo, none on toyota....yet. Not to get off subject, but had a prius with a failed high voltage generator unit. Dealer quoted $10K for repair and its out of warranty .....Technology is a great thing when it works, but sometimes it ends up biting you in the ass. God I love my 67

 

DBM seems like it could work really well for the right person. I'm concerned about delay when the monkey is intoxicated though.

I've never felt any kind of delay. It's strange, I've never felt it in any Toyota that I've ever driven.

 

ive felt intense delay from DBW

and i still havent looked to see if my Subie is DBW, but it has the worst delay ever ... so i hope for its sake that it is

when i floor it, it will stick at about 2k rpms ... then you will feel the car sink to the floor, and all of a sudden the nose will be in the air and it hits redline instantly .... and its N/A with 160ish HP, so it shouldnt be that weird

 

this may be a stupid question, but what does "N/A" mean when referring to induction?

 

N/A = Naturally Aspirated, also known as all motor, meaning no forced inductions, which refers to either a supercharger or turbocharger.

 

Has anyone ever tried resetting their computer to see if the delay they experience improves/disappears?

I don't let other people drive my car so it doesn't try and adapt to different driving styles. That may be why I'm not experiencing it. That doesn't explain why I don't feel it in other people's cars though.

 

Never really thought about doing that. Might have to try that sometime in the future when I'm not lazy.

 

I don't like Drive By Wire either, it is very annoying, I think they should get rid of it because I don't really see any benefit to having it, all I notice is the hesitation it causes. My old 90 Cam didn't hesitate at all but now my brand new '07 Cam does, to me that is stupid. Drive by wire should at the very least be an option so those who don't want it don't have to have it. Also I think that the sales people need to explain to their customers Drive By Wire so they will know nothing is wrong with the car and that it is normal behavior.

Drive by Wire is not the cause of the hesitation; the transmission is. The new 5-spd and (to a lesser extent) 6-spd transmissions in the 07 Camry line have a pronounced delay downshifting when the gas pedal is pressed hard and fast. This is most likely due to mechanical or hydraulic limitations in the transmission. You can see this by comparing what happens when you press the gas pedal just hard enough to accelerate w/o causing a downshift versus pressing it hard enough to force a downshift. In the first case, the response is fast; in the second, it is sluggish.

 

^Wouldn't that be user error rather than the transmission?

Edit:
Nevermind. Suddenly realized you meant 5 an 6 speed auto.