Nissan Steer-by-wire Options

[richee3]

First things first, a link to click. Clicky!

Spark notes: Similar to removing the throttle cable for drive by wire, Nissan is disconnecting the steering wheel from the steering rack. They're replacing the physical connection with a multitude of sensors and two electric motors. But don't worry, just to make sure everything is twice as expensive as it needs to be, they're making sure that the steering wheel can still be connected to the steering rack via a clutch.

Your thoughts?

I feel like this will dull the driving experience for those of us who enjoy it, drive manufacturing costs up which will of course be passed along to the consumer, add weight, and provide more things to break.

[soulshadow]

I used to have a Prius 2011 model which was electric powered on everything down to the frame. My thoughts is that the price does not reflect the true value of the car even if the amount of money you spend on gas is less than an average car.

Will it add more weight and price? well of course! Its going too especially since its going on a Infiniti and it is not like regular people are going to buy brand new luxury cars, so scratch that off the list.

An issue that will potentially arise would be people trying to take advantage of the electronic controls and of course crash their cars complaining it went out of control.

As far as driving experience goes, a boat / plane has almost no feel to the steering controls, however you can always imitate that feel like on a PS3 controller with the rumble shock or vibration motors to bring a "Realistic "feel. I think the clutch is only their so that in case something happens you still have manual control over the car.