https://www.caranddriver.com/news/br...e-a-thing-soon

Interesting and relevant quote from the article:

Can you imagine being able to adjust a brake pedal to your own liking? That'd be awesome to transition from street driving to performance/track driving.

As with all remote/electrical systems, the trick will be to give feedback like a mechanical system. I have heard that the new NSX has an amazing "brake by wire" system that give excellent feedback so it's definitely doable (they discuss this as well). The only question is, at what cost?

 

The more things change, the more I want an old Miata.

 

I strongly dislike the electronic parking brake on my GT4...

 

I like the electronic ebrakes on the cars I have had them on. Never had one on a manual though. GT4 has the hill assist, right?

 

A lot of the Subaru folks disable the electronic hill assist.

It doesn't bother me much either way.

IMO, brake feel should just be good all the time, regardless or street or track use.

 

Yes. It has hill assist.

 

I'm with you, 100%. I want a pedal where stopping power is proportion to pedal force, and linear with pedal travel. I can't imagine why anyone would want to adjust away from this ideal.

I had the misfortune of driving a friend's ~10 yr old Camry recently. I don't know how Toyota managed to engineer such an awful feeling brake system on that car. Probably the same guys that developed the power steering in that car...

 

I am skeptical as hell about it. Manufacturers wish to go this way because once the initial technology is in place and it becomes universal it will be at a cost reduction to older systems, but more expensive to repair. It definitely helped with fuel economy in terms of replacing power steering.

Going from my Mazdaspeed 3 to the Golf R with electric steering the change is not 100% welcome. The benefit is that you can tune it, 3 different settings for firmness, so the issue is not the weight of the steering. Weight and feedback are two different things that people often conflate with one another. At 9/10ths or more the electric steering is just downright vague and disappointing. I am not wholly against these new technologies, just playing devils advocate that there is of course a negative trade off.

You can tune brake bias in hydraulic systems with $70 proportioning valves too, but the idea of OEM clean electronic line locks and perhaps individual driver tuned bias is pretty awesome.

 

Our cars also have electric power steering; you can't try one variation of it and decide it is all terrible. There are cars that are completely separated, but most EPS cars (including the GTI) still have a steering shaft connected to the rack, they've just decided to no longer pump fluid.
Additionally, steering feedback will vary based on suspension geometry, type (double wishbone, mcpherson) of suspension linkage, tires, etc.

I am 100% positive that electronically controlled braking with reduce accidents and decrease emergency stopping distances for the average driver.
For enthusiasts it will allow us to emulate different pad compounds, in a way. All of us have different preferences in brake pad initial bite, an ideal pedal pressure-to-friction ratio and curve, and front-rear preference bias -- this will allow some level of control over that via electronics, and allow on the fly adjustment.

I am an analog car person, but time marches on and the sky is not falling.
​​​​​​Brakes are already not 100% linear or proportional as the friction level changes with the temperature of the pads and vary based on pad compound. Some pads have high initial bite, some low, some feel like a block of wood when you get into them, some feel soft.
As far as the Camry, it is an econobox and likely neglected in terms of maintenance.

 

apparently the new Alfa Stelvio has electric brakes. Road and Track said they were "maddeningly inconsistent- The technology still feels foreign to anyone accustomed to conventional, hydraulic brakes. Right now, that's nearly everybody."

based on that review, not ready for prime time.

darcy