I’ve always had a stupid pipe dream of building an “analog” car if you will, where there are absolutely zero electronics in the car and it’s just pure road feel. Sounds really stupid and impractical in a modern context but was wondering when was the last time we had truly mechanical cars before electronic assistance became the norm?
I built an “analog” car, an LS-swapped NA Miata. OK, sort of, it had two ECUs - the airbag controller and the PCM for the LS1. Guess what? My Y has better throttle response than that car because er… there are fewer mechanical components in the foot->torque path, it’s purely electrical and instant. It also had little steering feel due to the GM pump running more pressure than the Miata rack expects, haha - hydraulic steering doesn’t magically feel good and unassisted got old real fast (I tried it for a while).
Not disagreeing that analog cars are cool, just pointing out that you gotta be sure what you are after. Road feel means lots of things to different people, but usually it’s killed by things other than electronics. Specifically - tuning for emissions and smoothness, setting the chassis up for easy steering and low feedback, adding lots of sound insulation for less NVH, etc. IMHO, the problem isn’t electronics or EPS or any other single thing killing the feel of modern cars, it’s how they are designed overall. But many modern cars are quite good to drive - try a manual C7 for example. Do you just want a car that feels great to drive, or do you truly want a throwback analog car?
If you really do want no electronics, find an old diesel or carb’ed car. Thing is, you are also gonna have old suspension, and an old chassis, and old steering… That might not be the feel you are looking for.