What steering wheel would you like to see?

[Gvardaman]

I really like the yoke style steering wheel on the Cybertruck prototype, but I realize that it is not entirely practical for everyday driving.
I like the new Audi steering wheel, it has some style to it, but still looks practical.

I don’t know what else is out there that might be a contender...

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[Cyber_Dav]

I really like the yoke style steering wheel on the Cybertruck prototype, but I realize that it is not entirely practical for everyday driving.
I like the new Audi steering wheel, it has some style to it, but still looks practical.

Have you seen the Mercedes steering wheel for the EQx cars?

 

[FutureBoy]

Personally, I'm not much of a yoke steering aficionado. They seem to work well for airplanes but in an auto when I have to turn the wheel 1.5 to 2.5 full rotations for a tight corner, the yoke setup doesn't seem practical. Perhaps if there was a suicide knob or something.

Now as for looks, sure the yoke setup has some nice looks. No argument from me on that point. The regular steering wheel is pretty boring. But when I am driving, the boring wheel is just exactly what I want. I'm not going to be watching or looking at the wheel. I don't want to have to look down to see where to put my hands. I want the steering to be so ingrained and automatic that there is absolutely no conscious thought involved. For day to day driving, this is just a convenience thing. But the real reason for the subconscious ingrain is so that in an emergency or accident scenario my body will react much faster if I don't have to be consciously looking for a grip point while also trying to figure out the best move.

Basically, I will always trade out sexy for safety. But in time with FSD, I hope to hire out the safety to FSD and then be able to add back in the sexy. When that happens though sexy will be something without a steering wheel at all. So the yoke still won't be part of the picture. But that is just me.

 

[Gvardaman]

Well, seems we can go back to what was on the prototype! Apparently they have worked out some kind of proportional setup which makes this practical.

 

[Adamtbest]

Personally I want a regular steering wheel.

 

[Diehard]

I like Yoke as long as there is a good fixed variable ratio. What I mean is that if position 90-100 degree moves the wheel twice as much as 0-10 degree, I want it to always work like that and not change by what FSD thinks the circumstances are.

 

[Dids]

I like Yoke as long as there is a good fixed variable ratio. What I mean is that if position 90-100 degree moves the wheel twice as much as 0-10 degree, I want it to always work like that and not change by what FSD thinks the circumstances are.

Setting fsd aside... what about speed sensitivity. Can the ratio change via speed or do you think its better to just have a fix variable?
It seems unlikely that I would every turn the wheel further than 45 degrees at 80 miles an hour even on an aggressively banked roadway... or that I would want rear wheel steering at that speed...
And if it's a fly by wire possibility set up different styles for different drivers? Say you hate speed sensitive steering so can just turn it off?

 

[TheLastStarfighter]

I think the Yoke is frigging cool, and perfectly fits the futuristic vibe of the car.

 

[Idaho_7]

No steering wheel, rather a simple Joystick.

 

[rr6013]

IF anybody can grok ”yoke” UX, AI augmentation and modulated steering control let it be TSLA. Technology transfer from and between SpaceX plus the contribution Tesla terra firm innovation can provide downstream next generation patentable products.

Except tank turn donut burnouts that just tweaks a male machismo gene, TSLA has my vote of confidence. Variable rate steering has existed since Chrysler introduced it in the sixties. Don’t you think its about time to be open to new possibilities?

I’d accept it as an option, upgrade bundle or beta program that can evolve.

 

[drscot]

Have you seen the Mercedes steering wheel for the EQx cars?

Y'all are gonna think this weird, but I'd like to see a side stick like they had on the BD-5 aircraft. Left side preferable but a right option might work too. Jim Bede started them. I had a BD5D ordered and "flew" the mockup. The side stick was a dream! I think it could be made to work instead of a big clunky steering wheel. Use some imagination and engineering know-how!

 

[Diehard]

Setting fsd aside... what about speed sensitivity. Can the ratio change via speed or do you think its better to just have a fix variable?
It seems unlikely that I would every turn the wheel further than 45 degrees at 80 miles an hour even on an aggressively banked roadway... or that I would want rear wheel steering at that speed...
And if it's a fly by wire possibility set up different styles for different drivers? Say you hate speed sensitive steering so can just turn it off?

By FSD, I meant controlled by software. If the car is doing the driving, it can do whatever it wants but if I am driving, I want as little software between the steering and the wheels. If speed sensitivity is mostly mechanical I am OK with it. I think the same level of safety can be achieved by variable ratio so turning the steering wheel at any speed including 80 mph from 0-20 degrees have smaller impact on wheel turning and the it can be exponentially increased to 90 degrees for tight parking. This could all be mechanical. If speed sensitive means removing part of the steering operation at higher speed, although it may make normal driving safer, it may not be a good thing at extreme circumstances when driver has lost control and need steering full operation to get it back.

My problem with software changing steering behavior is two folds:

1 - you can’t get to know your car if it has multiple personality disorder and steering response keep changing.

2 - This is not based on any safety study. I personally feel more comfortable with critical systems like steering to have software as a redundant parallel system which can fall back to a simplified mechanical operation. This is due to enormous amount of booboos I have seen in software development projects over many years. It is a personal issue I have that in combination with my old age adds to the freak out factor.

Regardless of how it is done. With yoke, I think it has to be variable. I just feel like that variable behavior should stay consistant. If it is speed sensitive, it should alway behave the same at 80mph.

 

[Diehard]

Y'all are gonna think this weird, but I'd like to see a side stick like they had on the BD-5 aircraft. Left side preferable but a right option might work too. Jim Bede started them. I had a BD5D ordered and "flew" the mockup. The side stick was a dream! I think it could be made to work instead of a big clunky steering wheel. Use some imagination and engineering know-how!

It would definitely be more comfortable and less messy with the dash. If I remember correctly SAAB 9000 did that. How would you deal with the question of what do I do with my left hand?

 

[Luke42]

Setting fsd aside... what about speed sensitivity. Can the ratio change via speed or do you think its better to just have a fix variable?
It seems unlikely that I would every turn the wheel further than 45 degrees at 80 miles an hour even on an aggressively banked roadway... or that I would want rear wheel steering at that speed...
And if it's a fly by wire possibility set up different styles for different drivers? Say you hate speed sensitive steering so can just turn it off?

If I recall correctly, the FMVSS requires a mechanical connection between the steering-control and the steerable-wheels.

Changing the steering ratio dynamically goes against the simple mechanical failsafe that most cars use.

Speed-sensitive power-steering doesn't change the ratio, it just changes the amount of power-steering-boost based on the speed.

What I can imagine is a set of matched gears where the effective steering ratio varies depending on how close you are to the center of the steering range. It would be tricky to design, and would make doing an alignment on the car trickier than normal. However, I can imagine that working.

As a private pilot, though, the yoke is going to make me want to steer with my feet.

 

[Jhodgesatmb]

If I recall correctly, the FMVSS requires a mechanical connection between the steering-control and the steerable-wheels.

Changing the steering ratio dynamically goes against the simple mechanical failsafe that most cars use.

Speed-sensitive power-steering doesn't change the ratio, it just changes the amount of power-steering-boost based on the speed.

What I can imagine is a set of matched gears where the effective steering ratio varies depending on how close you are to the center of the steering range. It would be tricky to design, and would make doing an alignment on the car trickier than normal. However, I can imagine that working.

As a private pilot, though, the yoke is going to make me want to steer with my feet.

But didn't Tesla file a patent application for a steering system that is still mechanical but more 'programmable' just last year?