# Can a choke cable be legally used to set engine throttle to a certain position? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [May 18, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494 "2012-05-18T05:59:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/1 "2012-05-18T05:59:06Z")
On long drives I’d like to use cruise control. Attempting to maintain set speed, it tooften advances the throttle too much, causing the transmission to down-shift and making the.ngine rev . I’d rather have just one throttle position. When the vehicle slows up a hill, fine. I’d remember to push in the throttle if a braking situation. Or is the throttlelectronically coupled to the accelerator? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:28am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/2 "2012-05-18T06:28:50Z")
1st what car are we talking about? Some have cables to work the throttle and others have “drive by wire” which is an electrical connection. 2nd on most cars a steady throttle setting won’t work well. Too fast downhill and dangerously slow uphill. It does work on some motorcycles but the power to weight ratio on the bikes mean a lot more power to weight and that means the slowing on hills isn’t nearly as dramatic. ---
**Author:** ![euryale1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@euryale1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/euryale1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:29am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/3 "2012-05-18T06:29:45Z")
No and why would this seem a good idea? I either really misunderstand the question or you don’t understand cars well. The cruise control understands the torque required for speed control and will down shift rather than push the throttle if the program sees this as more efficient on fuel. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/4 "2012-05-18T06:30:09Z")
I think driving without cruise control, the old fashioned way is your best bet. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/5 "2012-05-18T06:39:18Z")
2008 Expedition. Why? To save fuel and pollution. My legets tired with foot on the throttle too long. Rather than significantly more throttle up hill, I’d rather lethe vehicle slow, but not enough to be a hazard to others. Always I am in the right lane. Often on gentle grades I’ll be the same speed as truckers. ---
**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/6 "2012-05-18T06:39:54Z")
> I'd remember to push in the throttle if a braking situation. Yes you would. Until the one time you don’t, and crash. ---
**Author:** ![Barkydog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/barkydog/32/2470_2.png) [@Barkydog](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Barkydog)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/7 "2012-05-18T07:06:45Z")
Perfect compromise, use cruise when it works to your desire, tap the brake and go to manual control of your car as needed. ---
**Author:** ![f848](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@f848](https://community.cartalk.com/u/f848)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 7:37am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/8 "2012-05-18T07:37:30Z")
Cruise control annoys me when it lets the car slow down at the bottom of a hill, and then aggressively accelerates and downshifts going uphill, which is very inefficient, and much less smooth than my preferred driving style. I’ve found that if I use the accelerator at the bottom of the valley to keep up the car’s speed, and let the car slow gently until the cruise takes over, the car doesn’t accelerate aggressively and just holds its speed. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 8:52am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/9 "2012-05-18T08:52:42Z")
It seems to me this would be begging for an accident. If cruise is a must then you really should check into an aftermarket cruise control kit which I’m pretty sure is available for this model. They may run about 250-300 dollars but would be well worth it compared to the cost of any accident. I used to install a lot of those cruise units and the job is really not that difficult. ---
**Author:** ![mark9207](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@mark9207](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mark9207)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 8:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/10 "2012-05-18T08:54:25Z")
Your '08 Expedition uses drive by wire throttle, so it’s a moot point. Good thing, too, because if you installed an auxiliary cable to lock the throttle plate open in lieu of cruise control and ended up in an accident, and the folks investigating the accident found out about it (which they would, unless you were well enough and fast enough after the accident to make all that stuff disappear before any witnesses or police got there, then if you got caught doing that there would be additional charges against you), you could end up spending the rest of your life dealing with jail time and lawsuits because you modified your vehicle in a way that made it unsafe to drive and operated it on public streets, causing death, injuries, property damage, whatever. This is a very bad, very dangerous idea. Just use the cruise control and shut it off for the hills so you can modulate the throttle the way you want it modulated. It is much, much safer than adding an extra, unnatural step to the procedure for getting your 5,000 pound truck to slow down. Besides, it would be incredibly frustrating to share the road with someone who has manually governed the throttle on their vehicle. The truck might, for example, go 55 on a flat road, hit 100 going downhill, and slow to 35 going uphill. This would be both frustrating and dangerous for other drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/11 "2012-05-18T14:15:00Z")
ThExpedition has cruise control. Brakes would overpower engine and transmission output if the throttle was stuck. My biggest concern is if a dear or elk jumped out in front of me and I suddenly had to slam on the brakes. Otherwise, not use the cable to set engine rpm in traffic. Would be great if the cruise control could set only engine rpm. Better: **Can the cruise control be adjusted to slowly respond and very slowly accelerate to maintain set vehicle speed?** ---
**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 2:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/12 "2012-05-18T14:36:31Z")
**“Brakes would overpower engine and transmission output if the throttle was stuck.”** If you believe stuff like above - go ahead and install your cable and enjoy driving off a cliff someday. ---
**Author:** ![oblivion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ab097/32.png) [@oblivion](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oblivion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 2:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/13 "2012-05-18T14:43:35Z")
Brakes can overpower the engine output, but only if used correctly–that being when you notice the throttle is stuck, you press down hard on the brakes and don’t let off until the car is stopped. Anything else and the brakes can fade until you lose the ability to brake. During the Toyota ‘unintended acceleration’ debacle, an automotive magazine tested the ability for a car’s brakes to stop a car at full throttle. Every car they tested, including a high horsepower performance car, (albeit also with high performance brakes) was able to safely stop at full throttle. Of course the stopping distances were a lot longer for some of them. Geez, why not just live with your existing cruise control? You can just cancel it when approaching a hill and flick your finger to ‘resume’ when the hill is past. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 2:46pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/14 "2012-05-18T14:46:38Z")
> If you believe stuff like above - go ahead and install your cable and enjoy driving off a cliff someday. If I start heading for a cliff, I'd push the cable knob in. _Oh wait! Do I pull it out?_ ---
**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/15 "2012-05-18T15:33:41Z")
Like most things we give up in modern cars, it becomes moot when it comes to engine control. It’s no longer your job as it’s no longer your job to decide how hard to push on the brakes in slippery conditions with most cars. Just show intent and get to heck out of the way. What the heck, as evidenced by a lot of questions we get and some of the answers we give, it’s apparent that a cars computer is often brighter and quicker reacting then some of us think we are. This is one case we should just " let go" and don’t mess around with it. ---
**Author:** ![Ikaris](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/ikaris/32/2490_2.png) [@Ikaris](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Ikaris)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 5:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/16 "2012-05-18T17:05:52Z")
If your vehicle has a manual choke, and I doubt it does, it only serves one purpose: to feed the engine a rich mixture of air and fuel to help warm up the engine before you drive. I think what you are looking for is a throttle lock, not a choke, but you would be crazy to install one. It would have to be a custom job. Here is a better idea: if you don’t like how cruise control handles your vehicle certain conditions, don’t use cruise control in those conditions. Simply turn it off and manually operate the throttle when you are in hilly terrain, and use the cruise control on flat terrain. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/17 "2012-05-18T18:09:37Z")
The problem is that even in flat Colorado eastern plains, the Cruise Control is applying too much throttle, often causing the vehicle to downshift with engine rev trying to maintain **perfect, exact speed** up the many slight inclines. I keep my foot in ONE PLACE and if the vehicle slows a little, fine. I’m not wasting a lot of fuel accelerating up inclines. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/18 "2012-05-18T18:20:30Z")
Throttles were quite common through the mid 60s. I have owned several cars and trucks with throttles from the factory. They never seemed to be a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Robert-Gift](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/robert-gift/32/356_2.png) [@Robert-Gift](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Robert-Gift)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/19 "2012-05-18T18:27:55Z")
> "Throttles were quite common through the mid 60s. I have owned several cars and trucks with throttles from the factory. They never seemed to be a problem." What were they for? What happened if one needed to emergency brake? Or were they not meant to be used while moving? ---
**Author:** ![MTraveler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@MTraveler](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MTraveler)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2012, 6:32pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494/20 "2012-05-18T18:32:18Z")
I agree with everyone else. This is not a good idea and doing it yourself is a disaster waiting to happen. If you are determined to have a hand throttle control go with something designed and installed by people who know what they are doing. Hand controls are available for drivers with disabilities. [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/can-a-choke-cable-be-legally-used-to-set-engine-throttle-to-a-certain-position/72494.md?page=2)