You know, I'm totally going to sound "newbish" on this one...

I've only been driving stick since I got this car, so only a few months. That said, the last two weeks or so I've noticed that *only in first gear, when starting from a stop* that the car kind of lags for a second or so before it takes off if i really give it some gas. I've tried changing the amount of gas I give it, the pressure released on the clutch, and the timings of the two... I didn't personally see any consistency that would explain this lag. Any ideas fellas? Is it something stupid I'm doing when accelerating or is it possibly weird with the clutch? I can rev it up and then release and chirp the tires, just not a nice smooth quick accelI have no ideas. Help a newb out.

 

It's probably caused by a combination of the notorious throttle nanny and the ECM's adaptive learning algorithm.
See if the following helps:
-Disconnect the battery's negative cable for 15 minutes.
-After reconnecting the cable, recalibrate the gas pedal and throttle plate by turning the ignition to the ON position(do not start the engine), wait until the dashboard lights stop flashing and the chiming stops, smoothly press the gas pedal to the floor while counting 1001-1002-1003, release it quickly when it's floored, wait 6 seconds, turn the ignition to the OFF position, wait 6 seconds, and repeat the procedure 2 more times.

If it still lags, then suggest installing a tune and CAI.

 

Yeah, that thought certainly crossed my mind... and I’m hoping you can tell me where I went wrong (which arguably could have been right at the start):&lt\\;br&gt\\;&lt\\;br&gt\\;I dismissed that solution because I figured that the adaptive learning thing was to help automatics shift at more appropriate times to improve gas mileage dependent on the drivers style. I didn’t see much use for this in a manual transmission so I figured it wouldnt be there.... guess I was wrong eh?&lt\\;br&gt\\;&lt\\;br&gt\\;Anyway, I’ll try doin that tonight or so and see what it does.

 

I apologize for the tags in the posts. I tried to edit them but it did not seem to get rid of them.

 

Sounds like a great excuse to pull the trigger on a CAI &amp\\;amp\\; tune! That’ll get rid of the lag at the very least...

 

So I was staring at the battery yesterday... how in the heck do i disconnect the black/negative cable? I ended up just disconnecting what looked like some sort of ground that ran near the strut towers(?) though I couldn't quite tell as it was wrapped up in the black plastic covering. The electronics still worked.. and after ~25 minutes I put it back on, did the little dance, and didnt seem to change anything.

 

There is a 8mm nut (IIRC on the size) on the inside of the connector.

 

Yeah, all that seemed to do was loosen some sort of clamp type thing. Of course, I couldn't lift or pull whatever i needed to out. Unless I was pulling the wrong thing, not pulling hard enough, or both.

 

Loosen more and pull harder.

IMO, the best solution is a CAI and tune.

 

Haha, yeah first thing I did when I got home yesterday was pop the hood, loosen it, lift up with a little pressure and mutter "dammit...". It seemed to help quite a bit. I'm not sure though if $500+ is worth not having to do that every few months especially when I don't race or anything. I'd likely get it just to shut this guy I know up who just got an '08 bullitt and likes to brag how much quicker it is even though he spent several grand more for a marginal increase in HP/handling. I was looking at a CAI/tune or a touchscreen head unit. Decisions, decisions.