Q50 drive by wire

[darylzero]

http://www.wired.com/2014/06/infiniti-q ... r-by-wire/

If Infiniti ever has the guts to go for the lobotomy and strip out the mechanical steering system (it left it in there as a backup), it could cut the car’s weight and boost fuel economy. Taking out those components would also make it easier (cheaper) to produce left- and right-hand drive versions of the car, good news for a company that does business all over the world. With steer-by-wire, it’s an easy jump to systems that can be used by drivers who are paralyzed or have other handicaps.

So does this mean when these cars go to 2nd owners or when warranty's run out that people will be ripping out the steering system?

[RicerX]

Possibly but I would never do it.

All cars eventually experience some type of electrical issue. What on earth would happen if you were headed down the highway and some wire somewhere shorted and you suddenly lost all steering?

This system needs a few iterations of being tried and tested before we start putting the cart in front of the horse here. Removing the mechanical steering piece is just a bad idea at this point in time.

[Jesda]

The mechanical backup doesnt work either. There have been some videos posted on Youtube showing the wheel stuck in place, rendering the car undrivable.

It's also terrible for steering feel and feedback which to me makes the vehicle more dangerous. You need that feedback in weather situations.

[Bubba1]

The mechanical backup doesnt work either. There have been some videos posted on Youtube showing the wheel stuck in place, rendering the car undrivable.

It's also terrible for steering feel and feedback which to me makes the vehicle more dangerous. You need that feedback in weather situations.

Given the utter lack of driving skill of the average American driver, steering feedback and driver involvement ( a la CVT), Nissan/Infiniti seems to be shifting to a disturbing lower priority. You'd think a company that spends so much money on F1 would think differently.

[darylzero]

The mechanical backup doesnt work either. There have been some videos posted on Youtube showing the wheel stuck in place, rendering the car undrivable.

It's also terrible for steering feel and feedback which to me makes the vehicle more dangerous. You need that feedback in weather situations.

wow! That is scary.

I wondered about the no feedback. What if you are going over pot holes and while you will feel the bump you may not realize it was much worse because the wheel didn't suddenly turn.

Back to my original question; I guess people may take it out then if it doesn't work and to save a few hundred pounds especially if they tune their car.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Here's the thing:

Electronic throttle failure means either stopping or accelerating (solved by changing gears or removing the ignition key unless you're a braindead Toyota owner).
Electronic steering or brake failure means disaster and potentially death.

No @#$%ing thank you.