Re: Drive By Wire
Does anyone think that Kevin Cour added 900 lbs to his car to slow it down .9 of a second to run Fletcher second round? According to "Live Timing" Cour was on a high 9.60's run @ 138+ Mph when he ran Norton first round. Second round Cour dials 10.57 and runs 10.562. Compare the two runs and '60 ft. is only down .096 on the on 10.562 run. Maybe they took 90 hp. from the engine on tune up, if they did it would not 60 ft. with a .1 of a second from the high 9.60s run. What I think happened the ECM was programmed to open throttle, at let's say 75% at the hit and run at, let's pick a number, 57% the rest of the run. His 60ft was quicker on the 10.562 run than on the 10.531 run in qualifying.
If NHRA would change the rule to "No drive by wire", a lot of the temptation would be removed. Anytime you have a computer controlling the air supply to the engine, the driver is just along for the ride. The fix would be a cable from the accelerator to the throttle shaft on one side and a throttle positioning sensor to tell the computer what it's position is. As opposed to programming the computer and letting it operate the throttle plates to trace a previous run.
Billy, I read the 2009 rulebook and you are right. Either the Fords didn't go by the rules or NHRA turned a blind eye.
For me personally, I want redundancy (a return spring) in closing the throttle. Just in case something goes wrong.
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