My friend has 03 GTI. He was telling me that his throttle was control electronicly. We looked at my tC, and saw no cable from the firewall. So I guess its "drive by wire"?

 

"Drive by wire" usually means the steering has no mechanical connection. The tC and GTI are "throttle by wire", meaning there's no throttle cable, just a sensor on the accelerator pedal and a motor on the throttle body. In the case of the tC, the ECU actually controls the throttle, so if you quickly close the throttle it may close it more slowly. It has a number of "programs" that it uses to control the throttle based on a bunch of sensors.

 

Speaking of true drive by wire.. Its funny that Mercedes is bragging on the drive by wire they are starting to use.. right after their "brake by wire" systems failed miserably!

But, that is off topic I know, just made me think about it. The tc does have an electronic throttle control as Jason said. Some are not too fond of it and say it causes too much lag. Mine seems fine, so I am happy with it for now.

 

I don't notice lag, but I do notice that sometimes it doesn't do exactly what I want it to do (like if I rapidly release the throttle, I would normally expect it to close.) This is a somewhat minor quibble, and the ECU's decisions usually give me better fuel economy (I suspect,) but it would be nice if I had a "direct" switch that would take the ECU out of the gas pedal/throttle body loop.

 

I've been wondering for a while if the tC was throttle by wire. At an an AutoX a few months ago when they were inspecting my car, they couldn't find the throttle cable and decided it must by wire. Since no one had said this in the past during inspection, and since the tC' engine compartment is kind of cramped, I figured they had just overlooked it. I've never noticed any problems with it. Then again, I wasn't sure until now that the tC had this feature. I'll have to pay more attention to it now.

 

Yeah its definitely by wire. If you put on cruise control there is no slack in the gas pedal.

 

Yeah, I noticed when I depress the clutch at revs over 3k, that revs spike a bit, before returning to idle revs.

 

i hav a 4spd auto and i notice the lag..i dont like it at all..it takes a little less then a second for the ecu to respond when i hit the accelerator. i heard that a grounding kit can eliminate this problem or help it some. is that true?

 

No, and if it does, then there is an issue with the car that the dealer should fix. The system is designed and referenced from the stock setup.

I have heard one other owner of the auto that says they notice the lag. I test drove an auto before I bought mine (didnt have a manual on the lot) and didnt notice it, and dont notice it on my 5 spd.

 

Automatics generally have less response anyway. Sorry bro, automatics just don't have the control.

 

Series_1.0

Do you like driving an automatic. I'm soo hooked on manuals. In my opinion, so fun to drive.

 

well my parents bought the car for me. they wouldnt let me hav a manual. i dont hate driving an auto, especially since i live in houston and traffic is crazy. i would've gotten a manual if i had the choice but i didnt. i think its fun to drive sticks too but i think sometimes after those long days, i wouldnt wanna deal with clutch and shift all the way home while stuck in traffic. yeah i know that manuals are faster then autos and i dont need any flaming about how i shouldnt even mod an auto. its my car, my money, and i'll do what i want :smile:

 

 

Why did they decide on an auto? I've been driving for 12 years now. I've driven an auto a couple of times, my parents have always driven sticks. I didn't drive an auto until I was 26 and now I,m 28 now. I guess I'm partial.

 

when i said its my car i mean its my car. they bought it for me. they just didnt want me driving a manual for their own reasons.

 

Were you the one who was saying a while back that they bought you an automatic because you tend to drive, talk on your cell, eat, jack off, and do tons of stuff simultaneously while you drive?



Hehe if that's not you, then nevermind.

 

there is plenty of throttle lag...it kinda sucks when you need to downshift and you don't want to jolt the car...so you blip the throttle, which takes effectly twice as long as a non-wired car would, then you can ease the clutch in to downshift.

lots of lag, it seems to be getting worse since i got the car a few months ago

 

I ahve no problem downshifting....I learned to anticipate the "lag" and learned when to hit the throttle. the "lag" is so minimum that it doesn't really make much of a difference anyway.

 

lol nope not me. funny person tho

 

Yeah I'm used to a throttle cable..I'm not liking this sensor-driven BS.