Nick Jones Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Ok, so what exactly is the great game with these bloody stupid electric handbrake things, what idiot thought this could be an "improvement". First it's spot the poxy button (hiding among other, similar ones), then it's remember to press the other poxy button that give you "automatic hill start control" (an extra cost option apparently ) to spare you the embarrassment of smoking the front tyres while dragging the rears :B and then what happens if when it goes wrong and either fails to hold you or leaves you sat at the lights spinning your wheels and going nowhere.... Why can't we just have a simple lever, with a little button on the end, attached to the wheels with a nice length of simple, old fashioned cable (no). Guess who's been driving something a bit too modern today...... I'll freely accept that there have been many advances made in car tech in recent years, but I refuse to accept that this is one of them (taz) Nick Edit: And another thing, how the hell are you going to do a handbrake turn with one these things?! Utterly useless device.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_GT6 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I heard something along the lines of they are only guaranteed for so many pushes too, god knows how they'd tell though. OOOoooh I can see it now, San Francisco 2010, 'sorry sir, the little black box says you've pushed the handbrake button 1,000,001 times, you should have had it changed before you parked on that hill and left your range rover to run over that busload of children.' WARRANTY VOOOOOOOOOID Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sorbs Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 They are the height of gayness. Apart from the fact that they'll go expensively wrong one day, they seem to be interlocked with so many other things. For example, you can't start the car unless the handbrake is on (great when you've stalled a hired Passat on a busy roundabout in Glasgow), the handbrake won't auto-release if you don't have your seatbelt on etc. etc.. They are just wrong on so many levels. The handbrake turn issue is a very good point too, although they do stop you pdq if you press the button at motorway speeds. I'm not sure if you can leave the handbrake off when you park the car either. I seem to recall that they automatically apply themselves when you switch the engine off. Ever gone away for a few days and come back to find your handbrake properly seized on? It's not fun. What's wrong with pulling a lever? Then there are auto lights and wipers and those stupid seatbelt buzzers. Why do I need to wear my seatbelt when I'm driving 20 yards in a car park? I know I'm not wearing it, I don't need a buzzer and flashing light to tell me. Needless complexity for the sake of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2vitesses Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Nick, as an electronics engineer I am amazed that the designers feel the need to improve the wheel!! It seems that they want to put a micro in any thing these days, just for the hell of it! We have lost COMMON SENSE!! Just cause we can change somthing doesn't mean we have to!!! It makes much better sense to have an independant system that will work if the electrics fail! Today I had to fix an aircraft radio, the set has A to D chips everwhere! The bloody volume control is a normsl pot fed to a micro controling a chip!!!! These sets are just a load of crap, we sold two then decided not to promote them anymore, cause when it goes wrong, the customer will chase us!!! One great principal: KISS Keep It Simple Stupid!! Just cause you can don't mean you should!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_GT6 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Yup. Its gunna get like on WALL:E! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 What's a handbrake? ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_GT6 Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Its that lever in the middle of the car you leave on when trying to push the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I reckon the increasing use of electronics in cars is probably in an effort to reduce costs, component and fitting, whilst at the same time trying to fool the consumer that it must be better because it is electronically controlled :-/ It surely has to be cheaper for the manufacturer to add a few more wires and connectors to a wiring loom than having the cost of making a hand lever, cable and routing it through the car. How many cars already do not have a throttle cable any more? and how long before the steering wheel is no longer mechanically connected to the wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 how long before the steering wheel is no longer mechanically connected to the wheels? That's a frightening thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ.Lintern Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I think for the main braking system and steering it's a legal requirement for there to by a physical mechanical linkage between you and it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webermaniac Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 And in a few years mechanical brakes and steering will be outlawed like it happened to carburettors (hammer)(gunman) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark spit Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 My old mans car was hit in Ikeas car park by an AUdi (or possVW) that rolled out of its parking space when the electric handbrake went wrong. The owner when he turned up said, "oh, that's the second time it's done that!" What would happen if it'd beem on ahill rather than a slightly sloping car park? Crap idea. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicky Blighter Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 .. and how long before the steering wheel is no longer mechanically connected to the wheels? Not as far away as you may think - some high end farm machinery such as harvesters already have this as do various specialists off highway vehicles (airport plane handling vehicles for instance). It allows the cab to be rotated to drive the vehicle in the other direction in some cases and in others the cab is just so far from the wheels or at an odd angle it's not practical to have a physical link. As far as road going cars are concerned I supplied some equipment a couple of years ago for test rigs to a company called TRW Steering Systems who are developing 'fly by wire' systems for road going vehicles. It's a scary thought that a major electical failure at speed such as a battery lead breaking could result in a total loss of control. Mind you when you think practically every passenger aircraft in the sky has no physical links to it's control surfaces and they don't fall out of the sky on a regular basis. (although the engineers working on such systems do tend to be slightly better trained than your average Kwik Fit Fitter) Practically everything on my new car is 'fly by wire', computer controlled or electrically assisted (it has electric power steering with no conventional hydraulics) - does have a handbrake though which is entirely supferluous as I always use 'P' instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrgserv Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 regarding electronics in cars there hasn't been a computer invented yet that cant crash in an unexpected way, i think its bloody dangerous, in the wrong circumstances, most high mileage drivers will say their car does something unexpected occasionally (including putting one brake on!) this is why aircraft have multiple redundant systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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