I’ve always had a stupid pipe dream of building an “analog” car if you will, where there are absolutely zero electronics in the car and it’s just pure road feel. Sounds really stupid and impractical in a modern context but was wondering when was the last time we had truly mechanical cars before electronic assistance became the norm?
People are trying so hard to be pedantic without actually reading the question.
An electronic ignition is not “electronic assistance”.
An electronic fuel injector is not “electronic assistance”.
I daily drive a small Japanese kei car which is pretty much fully analog. It has a carbeurator and a vacuum advanced distributor. Along with probs a solenoid activated gearbox with actual gears instead of CVT.
You should probably drive an analog car before you start obsessing over building one.
Cable-driven throttle bodies are far superior to drive-by-wire, yes. But why the hell wouldn’t you want electronic fuel injection?
No they’re not. DBW actually reacts faster than a cable. Any lag is from software. Plenty of cable throttled cars with dog shit throttle response. Many more factors than just what drives the throttle body
Dbw reacts quicker? Think about what is wrong with that statement on a basic level.
I’ve thought about it on a basic level and have still concluded that the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound.
Um, ok. Still isn’t correct though.
Gonna have a bit of a hard time getting combustion without electronics lol.
what are you talking about…like 100% no electronics or majority of the car close to such? a 2002 camaro had a cable throttle body…1960’s sports cars had a ton of mechanical aspects minus ignition systems.
Generally…1960’s-1970’s
I miss cabled throttles, they were so much more responsive. These days you have to spend a grand on a custom dyno tune just program out the throttle lag from fly by wire throttles.
My biggest no-no on the new CTRs
BMW had purely mechanical ECUs in the 30s, though I think most would prefer computer chips
That is super cool to see
The Lotus Elise S1 is the newest production car I can think that has:
- Mechanical Throttle
- No Brake Servo
- No Power steering
Obviously more focused track cars like Caterhams and Radicals maybe had them for longer.
F body camaros have mechanical throttle and an LS V8.
go kart
Let’s go the whole way with this and not have power steering or power brakes either. Lotus Seven anyone? Yes please!
Edit: now that I think about it, my old Porsche 914 would also qualify, although it had a rudimentary form of fuel injection.
Road feel? Build a light car With good suspension. You’ll get plenty of road feel & improved throttle response.
I’d prefer a carburetor, personally. They aren’t nearly as efficient as modern fuel injection but, you can work on a carburetor if it has an issue & having less electronics makes a car easier to figure out, when something does go wrong.Just rent a 1970s Cessna 152s or 172s and do a few laps in the traffic pattern with it. All analogue guages, carbureted engine with direct throttle and direct mixture control.
Even starting the damn thing requires manual priming with fuel. It’s doubly fun if you happen to flood it with too much fuel and having to do a flooded engine start.
Realistic answer would be a Go-Kart built with 2-stroke engines. Your butt is the suspension so you’d feel the road alright.
Yup, flying GA really makes you appreciate the technology in car engines.
Could even go further with a 1930s/40s J3 with no electrical system at all haha
Why don’t you just build a kit car then