Method and apparatus for obtaining a consistent pedal position for a vehicle having an engine with displacment on demand

A method of varying throttle position in a variable displacement internal combustion engine to produce a consistent relationship between the generated torque of the variable displacement internal combustion engine and the position of an accelerator pedal, comprising:

• providing an electronic control module;
• providing an electronic throttle;
• providing an accelerator pedal having a position sensor;
• varying the displacement of the engine;
• converting the position of the accelerator pedal to a throttle position command;
• and
• adjusting said electronic throttle in response to said throttle position command and the displacement of the variable displacement internal combustion engine to maintain substantially the same torque for different displacements of the variable displacement internal combustion engine and an accelerator pedal position, whereby the position of said accelerator pedal will remain consistent for substantially the same variable displacement internal combustion engine output torque for different displacements of the variable displacement internal combustion engine.

A method of providing a consistent feel in an accelerator pedal for a variable displacement internal combustion engine comprising the steps of:

• providing an electronic throttle;
• providing a position sensor for the accelerator pedal;
• providing a reference torque model for the variable displacement internal combustion engine;
• providing a reference air flow model for the variable displacement internal combustion engine;
• providing a reference throttle model for the electronic throttle;
• generating a desired torque using said reference torque model;
• generating a desired air flow using said reference air model;
• and
• adjusting said electronic throttle based on said desired torque, said desired air flow, and said reference throttle model to provide a consistent accelerator pedal position to produce a corresponding torque that is independent of the number of cylinders running in the variable displacement internal combustion engine.