Well just watched the video, but what am I missing. It says it has a clutch that can engage for emergencies but could still fail to connect too when the wire fails. ??

"Within a year we will see the first cars to feature this technology, according to what Nissan representatives said during a briefing. By using this new tech, the inputs made by the driver through the car’s steering wheel will be sent to a electronic engine control unit that can instruct an actuator how to move the tires. These future models will also benefit from a backup clutch designed to mechanically link the steering wheel and tires in case there are some problems. The system also communicate road surface feedback to the driver."

 

If that's the case (and that's the right thing to do), how does one eliminate the steering column?

 

There is s still a steering column. There is quite obviously some sort of fail-safe mechanism that activates the clutch to instantly link the steering column mechanically in the event of a dead battery or electronic failure of the system. Does any reasonable person think that engineers at Nissan who have been making automobiles since 1933 didn't think of the ""what ifs" when developing a new system like this on something so crucial to the car before bringing it to market? That's silly. Look at the video again. There is a steering column depicted. It's still there and just not connected unless it's needed in the event of a failure of the primary control system. There is still a steering rack. The movement is controlled by the motors receiving electronic signals rather then direct mechanical input from moving the wheel. Honestly,the basics of the system seem like they'd be pretty simple to me.

We have been driving cars with drive by wire for years. How many people complain of not having a direct feel to their accelerator pedal? Doesn't anybody wonder what will happen if that system fails catastrophically while we are driving and we don't have a back it up? How often have you heard about that?

I don't know if the new system will be great or not. I hope it is because I see a lot of potential in the future to possibly be able to control things that we can't with a traditional system (dynamic camber/caster/toe correction anyone?) But I'm not willing to pick it apart without having ever tried it, understanding the basics of how it works, and doom it to failure as unsafe. I'm pretty sure the guys who designed it know what they are doing and that Nissan has tested it quite a bit before incorporating it into cars. Maybe not? We'll find out soon.

 

I asked because there was a comment in one of the articles about a benefit being opening up design limitations by eliminating the steering column. That must have been an excited marketing type.

 

It could possibly get there one day, but unless I'm misunderstanding there is still a typical steering column connected to the rack but it is simply not connected during normal function and a clutch engages it if the electronic system fails.

 

Yeah, that's what it sounds like to me too. And I agree it would be unlikely that nissan would kick off this technology without a failsafe or two.

I recognize that this could be the direction of the future but I'm unlikely to be an early adopter. I still hate active steering (yes I know that's a completely different concept- just provided for illustrative purposes).

 

I wonder if we will still be able to lower our vehicles with this new sytem in place? Id assume it would knock the sensors all out of whack with new suspension geometry modifications

 

I don't see how lowering should adversely affect the system, unless you messed with the tie rods too.

 

I don't know because obviously none of us have had hands on time with it, but I'm inclined to think no. The position sensors are in the wheels themselves. If lowering would negatively affect it so would running higher or lower profile tires theoretically and that's pretty common. I'd think it wouldn't have any effect. I hope not.

Something I just thought of - is this going to be the new standard system on all Nissan/Infiniti models or might it be an added cost option? Perhaps part of the technology package. Most current G owners don't have that anyway so it may be a moot point for many of us except those who get the car truly loaded with all the optional packages.

 

I would be surprised if it were a tech option in the long run... might start out that way. Just feels like that would be more expensive to manufacture that way.

But, again, if there's a steering column anyway, that could be irrelevant.

 

If you think having a drive by wire steering is scary, wait till you see what else they're doing at Nissan. Try this site:


Basically it steers around any potential emergency in case you don't do it. It literally takes control for you into avoiding an accident. So what I've trained over 30+ years to learn as an instinct can supposedly be done by a computer and some sensors. Only problem I see with this is that you sort of have to let go of the steering wheel for it to do this unless they have the active steering also going on which then has the de-clutched connection and it's all drive-by-wire. Also it's nice that there is a clear lane for the car to maneuver around the obstruction. I don't mind all this **** as long as they allow me to turn these things off if I want to go to a manual system when I have more specific needs like track driving.

Al