cwreese

I just bought a 2006 GT, automatic (I know, I know...). The throttle is a little sluggish. Not the engine, but like there is hesitation between when I push the throttle pedal and the engine responds. I bought I Bama programmer because they told me it would help. Actually made my problem worse.
Sitting still at idle in park, I depress the throttle a little and nothing happens. A little more and BAM!, 3000rpm. With the Bama tune installed I cannot hit anything in between. Makes for a very rough ride. With the stock program it jumps to 1800rpm. Can't I program this car so the engine responds 1:1 to throttle input?
I have a 1995 Cobra that I road race, and it functions perfectly. Of course it's a steel cable directly from the pedal to the MAF...
Help! I'm ready to sell this car

ucinn

TPS has a dead spot possibly or a cable adjustment is what it sounds like to me. I'm not near a mechanic, but that's where I would start at.

Derf00

There are no cable adjustments on 05+ mustangs, they use throttle by wire which is all electronics.

Throttle tip-in is the term used to describe the steepness of the ratio between how far your foot travels in comparison to how far the throttle plate opens and the car accelerates. In Throttle by wire cars, there is usually a bit of a lag.

There is a variable resistor attached to the gas pedal between it and the PCM. This resistor sends a signal to the PCM which then interprets that signal and sends a signal to the throttle body motor to move the throttle plate. The Throttle position sensor sends feedback to the PCM to make sure the ratio is correct.

The lag you are feeling could be you're just not used to the throttle lag inherent in the design or there could be an actual problem.

What tune are you using for bama? the S, P, or R? R is for race and for my tastes is overly aggressive in it's throttle tip-in. It's hard to accelerate without spinning the tires unless you barely move your foot. It does hardly anything for the lag though.

There is a 'calibration' feature you can try. Some people swear by it, some can't tell the difference.

Start by putting the key in the ignition and turning the key to the 'On' position (don't start it though). Wait for the dash lights to go off. As soon as they go off, slowly press the gas pedal all the way to the floor (take no longer than 5 seconds) then release it. Turn the car to the off position, then start the car like normal.

Beyond that you would get into the electronics and testing the distance the pedal travels and the resistance value output by the gas pedal sensor. I don't have the info on that.

cwreese

I pulled the intake tube off, cleaned the gunk that had built up on the butterflys, disconnected the battery for a couple minutes, then hooked everything back up and tried the depress-the-throttle trick. What a difference! Unfortunately did three things at once and not sure which worked. Still not a fan of drive-by-wire.
Also, regarding my Bama programmer. They responded very quickly to my emails when I was a prospective customer. Now that I have paid for it and have some questions, haven't heard from them in a couple days. Just an FYI...

bl817

there is also a thread on here about tweaking the fingers in the pedal itself. search pedal mod or pedal lag or something like that. you can also loosen the case of the pedal and clock it a bit to get rid of the lag. welcome to the forum

AMWill

Hey cw,

This is definitely on the odd side and not what I like to hear.

The fact that the Bama tune made a pre-existing problem worse is perplexing.

Did you happen to do any data-logs with the Bama team?

If not, I would definitely love for them to check it out.

Shoot me over a PM and I'll get you all setup.

We'll get you smiling again ASAP!

-Will

bl817

a quick test to see if the butterflies in the TB are opening when you push the gas pedal is to remove your intake and set up a mirror so you can see the blades from the drivers seat. then turn key on-don't start car, wait for lights to go out, then slowly press the gas pedal and watch the blades in the mirror. you should be able to hear the TB motor as well. if they don't open then suddenly slap open then you either have a dead spot in the pedal, the TB blade motor isn't getting a signal, or the blades are still hard to open and need cleaned again. having a friend help really doesn't help, you need your foot on the pedal and your eyes on the plates to tell whats going on. good luck

ThaiCobra

is it just the gap in the gas pedal?

The mustang has a natural gap in the gas pedal where the first inch of movement doesn't do anything. So the popular mod (which I did myself) was to bend the wires in the pedal to make it more responsive to the first millimeters of movement.

beyond that, IDK.