Essential Skills Manual - Automotive Service Technician

ESSENTIAL SKILLS
INVENTORY TECHNICAL READING
S-3

AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE

TECHNICIAN

NOC 7321

Page 45

Automotive Service Technician

NOC 7321

NAME:

DATE:

From the article below, answer the following questions.

1. List two advantages of a “drive-by wire” steering system for cars.

1. ____

2. ____

2. In what way is the new steering system similar to a computer?

____

The Future of Power Steering

Since the power-steering pump on most cars today runs constantly, pumping
fluid all the time, it wastes horsepower. This wasted power translates into
wasted fuel.

You can expect to see several innovations that will improve fuel economy.
One of the coolest ideas on the drawing board is the “steer-by-wire” or
“drive-by-wire” system. These systems would completely eliminate the
mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the steering,
replacing it with a purely electronic control system. Essentially, the steering
wheel would work like the one you can buy for your home computer to play
games. It would contain sensors that tell the car what the driver is doing
with the wheel, and have some motors in it to provide the driver with
feedback on what the car is doing. The output of these sensors would be
used to control a motorized steering system. This would free up space in the
engine compartment by eliminating the steering shaft. It would also reduce
vibration inside the car.

General Motors has introduced a concept car, the Hy-wire, that features this
type of driving system. One of the most exciting things about the drive-by-
wire system in the GM Hy-wire is that you fine-tune vehicle handling without
changing anything in the car’s mechanical components - all it takes to adjust
the steering is some new computer software.