Hand Activated Throttle Control

[krousdb]

I mentioned some time ago that I was looking for something like cruise control that would hold the throttle steady instead of increasing and descreasing the throttle position to maintain a certain speed.

Well I whipped something up today to give it a try. I used a hand brake lever and cable from an old bike that was laying around. I suspect that it would be easier to hold a constant throttle position with your hand than with your foot. Or at least you could switch between each hand and and your foot during a long highway drive.

The cable is about 12" too short to use comfortably, but if it works well, I will get a longer cable and post some pics. If it doesn't work well, then I am out 0$ and I will move on to my next idea.

[MetroMPG]

i have heard some old-timers talk about using manual chokes as crude cruise control devices (except from a FE perspective, that's doing it the wrong way - by changing the AFR instead of just the throttle position).

maybe a choke kit connected to the throttle cam would work. there's likely more resistance on the cam return spring than it's designed for, so it may not hold. just a thought.

[SVOboy]

I still need to think about using an automatic throttle wheel to accomplish this same thing, I have the wheel kicking around in my garage,

But I spose since that is pulled by the wheel rather than pulling it the best it could do it resist greater throttle, so mehbe it could be used to create a max throttle...

Good luck though.

[JanGeo]

I have been thinking about a knob connected to a threaded rod to make a gas pedal stop to support the pedal with a much stiffer spring at a position that you can finely adjust. That way when you need more throttle you just put your foot into it but you can make really fine adjustments to keep from hitting too much gas with your foot while shifting or on bumpy roads. Also you could have it set to a small opening so that you can control acceleration more precisely and you can still just take your foot off the pedal to release the gas at any time. This has been a problem with the cars I have been driving that the gas pedal takes very little effort to press down and I have to constantly hold my foot off the gas to maintain low speeds and keep from accelerating all the time. Makes driving with your left foot easy also - once you set the speed you just hold the pedal down with your left foot to give your right foot a rest. Of course the next thing would be a smart throttle control that allows you to shift and accelerate under computer control matching engine speed to the gear you are going into next and all you have to do is work the clutch - and even that could be controlled by a vacuum servo.

[philmcneal]

that would rock if i can pick where i want my MAP to be rather than just trying to "Feel it" with my right foot. My right leg is going to numb one day!

Man another list of mods i would WANT FOR

[hawkgt647]

Years ago the folks at InsightCentral came up with the same subject and this http://www.awdirect.com/awdirect/fin...fm?itemid=7401 was one solution.

As usual, use at your own risk, it's not my fault if you install this and crash, over-rev your engine and leave expensive pieces on the road.

If my commute was longer, I would consider installing it.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by hawkgt647

Years ago the folks at InsightCentral came up with the same subject and this http://www.awdirect.com/awdirect/fin...fm?itemid=7401 was one solution.

As usual, use at your own risk, it's not my fault if you install this and crash, over-rev your engine and leave expensive pieces on the road.

If my commute was longer, I would consider installing it.

Interesting concept. I will keep it in mind.

Well I had a chance to try it and it worked OK. But I fell that I hav e better control with my foot. I will remove it now. If I have a reason to do lots of highway driving, I might check out that link again.

[krousdb]

Originally Posted by hawkgt647

Years ago the folks at InsightCentral came up with the same subject and this http://www.awdirect.com/awdirect/fin...fm?itemid=7401 was one solution.

As usual, use at your own risk, it's not my fault if you install this and crash, over-rev your engine and leave expensive pieces on the road.

If my commute was longer, I would consider installing it.

One of these arrived a few days ago but I have been too b usy to install it.

[JanGeo]

I pulled the aftermarket cruise control from my Geo last week and was thinking that making it hold the throttle in a position by disconnecting the signals to the vacuum servo would work great and still release with the use of the brake and clutch pedals for safety. I could also manually activate the servo also. Be nice if a Scangauge could interface to it to operate the engine at selected LOD values for efficient acceleration etc.

[omgwtfbyobbq]

That is a great Idea! I was thinking of getting an extra throttle cable (or three) and a pickup truck ebrake handle/set thingy(?). Run cable through the firewall to the ebrake thingy at the appropriate length, and pull it out/let it in just like an ebrake for ghettofied cruise control.