My v6 seems sluggish

jayloo · **My v6 seems sluggish -** 03-30-05, 10:09 PM

It just seems like it should have a little more punch when flooring it from a dead stop. Its like is pauses for a second or two then decides to accelerate. I drove another v6 and it was the same thing.

Philstang · 03-30-05, 10:22 PM

I believe it is due to the throttle by wire system, an sct flash/programmer shoud get rid of it...

kevins05v-6 · 03-30-05, 10:50 PM

how many miles are on it?
mine was like that at first but now that it is broken in 2500 miles no such problem

Aipaloovik · 03-31-05, 08:04 AM

My understanding is that they truncate the power in first gear. It's even worse if you try to gun to car to about 4500 rpm in N, then throw it in first gear while WOT. The throttle will cut out, drop to about 1500 rmp and take off normally. It drives me nuts. The car has plenty of power. You can see this by simply gunning it from a dead stop in Reverse. They don't cut off the throttle there.

From what I hear, a good tuner will fix the problem. I have an STC X-Calibrator in transit and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I'll let you know how things go after I reprogram my stang.

echo7 · 03-31-05, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aipaloovik

My understanding is that they truncate the power in first gear. It's even worse if you try to gun to car to about 4500 rpm in N, then throw it in first gear while WOT. The throttle will cut out, drop to about 1500 rmp and take off normally. It drives me nuts. The car has plenty of power. You can see this by simply gunning it from a dead stop in Reverse. They don't cut off the throttle there.

From what I hear, a good tuner will fix the problem. I have an STC X-Calibrator in transit and it is supposed to arrive tomorrow. I'll let you know how things go after I reprogram my stang.

Yeah i would really like to see if it helps too, drives me nuts when i have to floor it just to pull out in fast traffic, and then letting half way off when i get close to 20mph...

deepinsleep · 04-01-05, 09:04 AM

I dont understand some of the GT owners either

. A Mustang is a Mustang, v6 or GT, its still a sweet ride.
I love her.

Philstang · 04-01-05, 11:27 PM

Most people that I see driving V6 Stangs are not realy Stang enthusiasts...
they just came across a cheap sporty car that just happens to be a stang and don't have the slightest knowledge of them...
the other V6 owners are bent on making their car look like a GT, others try to rice it out...
Basically GT owners are more likely to be true Stang fans...
but hats off to those on here that are rocking the V6...

Hazmat1 · 04-02-05, 12:00 AM

Is it truely worth the $$ to purchase a tuner for the V6? How much of a difference does it make? I ordered my ride this week and am now looking into what I can do for upgrades.

Meat496 · 12:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deepinsleep

I dont understand some of the GT owners either

. A Mustang is a Mustang, v6 or GT, its still a sweet ride.
I love her.

Not slammin the V6 my first stang ever was a 67' 200c.i. inline SIX. Your new 4.0 sohc six or 3.8 for thatr matter would have handed me my arse back in the day, to make things worse this was when the lt1's were just coming out it seemed like at every stop light I'd run into one

and of course they would rev at me and I would calmly show them five fingers on one hand and the middle finger on the other and shout its a six cylinder... so beleive me Im in no way putting you or your stang down. just some friendly ball busting.

IMO a stang is a stang as long as you enjoy it thats all that matters.

But after all that I just had to get a GT.

Meat

Aipaloovik · 04-02-05, 01:13 PM

Well, I got my X-Calibrator yesterday. I ran with the new tune last night and today. I have to say I'm pleased with the results. The two things that bothered me about my V6 Auto Convertible were the take offs and the shifts that reminded more of my grandmothers town car than what I thought a mustang should feel like.

After tuning my mustang, I was 100% satisfied with the new take off. I don't have the power to spin the wheels at will for any length of time, but if I needed that, I would have bought a V8. The power at launch from a dead stop is greatly improved and it is possible to get the stock tires to chirp a bit. The car also feels more powerful now, especially running up a freeway onramp at WOT.

The shifting is another story. I notice no difference at all after the tune. The shifting of the auto trans is still silky smooth at all throttle levels. I'm going to speak to the person who provided my tune to make sure the X-Cal was setup correctly to adjust the shifting to make it more firm. I may disconnect the battery cable and see if that helps too.

To me the purchase was worth it regardless of the shifts. The take off is greatly improved and the car drives much more like I think a mustang should. Whether it will be worth the price to you depends on how much you expect out of it. If the sluggish take off of the V6 bothers you enough to spend $300+ to fix it, then I would say go for it. The re-tune will absolutely do that if you have it done by the right person. If you want to run with the GT's, well, then as other people in this thread said, maybe that is what you should have bought. I have no desire to race the GT or anyone else for that matter. (OK so I did punch off against an Infiniti G35 today, but he's been begging me to race him since I got my stang.) Therefore, the V6 was the perfect car for me. I wasn't looking for more power, just a sportier "feel" from launch. The X-Cal certainly delivered on that point.

I don’t regret the fact that I bought a V6 or the purchase of the X-Cal.

jayloo · 03:10 PM

I currently have 400 miles on it ... just got it last week.

So this is something that the X-Calibrator could take care of?

It runs about $350 or so?

ITs just the initial 2 seconds from a dead stop that seems sluggish. After that it takes off like I would expect it to.

Aipaloovik · 04-02-05, 03:36 PM

Yes, that first 2 seconds of sluggishness will vanish with the X-Calibrator. Mine ran $350 with 2 custom tunes.

I got mine from Justin Starkey at Velocity Mustang Performance. I'm sure if you wanted to contact him he would be happy to answer any questions. I know he answered all of mine.

http://www.velocitymustangperformance.com/

echo7 · 04-02-05, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aipaloovik

Yes, that first 2 seconds of sluggishness will vanish with the X-Calibrator. Mine ran $350 with 2 custom tunes.

I got mine from Justin Starkey at Velocity Mustang Performance. I'm sure if you wanted to contact him he would be happy to answer any questions. I know he answered all of mine.

http://www.velocitymustangperformance.com/

Are there any warranty issues with a retune, or do you have reload the stock program when ever you have to take it to ford...

jayloo · 04-02-05, 08:14 PM

My neighbor owns his own shop so I went and asked him. I'm a computer guy not a mechanic so dont flame if I mis-speak.

He said something about a possible flat spot on the trottle something or that a reprogramming may do the trick. He will give me an answer tomorrow (sunday).

Also about the X-Calibrator .... seems that it has to be connected to the car at all times. If you disconnect it the car will start with the factory settings. Is it true that you have to leave the X-Calibrator plugged into the car at all times?

Aipaloovik · 04-02-05, 08:34 PM

No, the X-Calibrator does not have to be kept connected to the car at all times. You connect the X-Calibrator to the car with the ignition off. Select which of the 3 programs you wish to use then turn the ignition on and begin the reprogramming. The unit will download and store the stock settings, then overwrite them permanently with new settings. Once the reprogramming is done, you turn the ignition off and remove the X-Cal. The car will have the new tune until you reconnect the X-Cal and reinstal the factory default settings.

As far as warranty issues, I believe it's kind of a gray area. Some service departments don't seem to care while others will argue it voids your warranty. Of course if you set it back to the factory tune before you take it in to be serviced, well, what they don't know won't void your warranty.

cobra232 · 04-03-05, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stangscuba98a

why don't you give the V6 owners a thumbs up cause without them stang sales would have been in the gutter and the stang would have been discontinued along time ago

2/3's of all SN-95's sold were v6's that kept the stang alive

jayloo · 04-03-05, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aipaloovik

No, the X-Calibrator does not have to be kept connected to the car at all times. You connect the X-Calibrator to the car with the ignition off. Select which of the 3 programs you wish to use then turn the ignition on and begin the reprogramming. The unit will download and store the stock settings, then overwrite them permanently with new settings. Once the reprogramming is done, you turn the ignition off and remove the X-Cal. The car will have the new tune until you reconnect the X-Cal and reinstal the factory default settings.

As far as warranty issues, I believe it's kind of a gray area. Some service departments don't seem to care while others will argue it voids your warranty. Of course if you set it back to the factory tune before you take it in to be serviced, well, what they don't know won't void your warranty.

Thanks for the info. So when you order one you have to tell them all your mods on your car and they make some cusomized programs for you to upload to your car? If so, what if I make even more changes? Do I have to sent the X-Calibrator back to them and have them make some new programs.

Aipaloovik · 04-03-05, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayloo

Thanks for the info. So when you order one you have to tell them all your mods on your car and they make some cusomized programs for you to upload to your car? If so, what if I make even more changes? Do I have to sent the X-Calibrator back to them and have them make some new programs.

Yes, you need to let them know any modifications you have made to the car. If you modify your car further after using the X-Cal, you may need to have it re-tuned, depending on the nature of the modification. This requires putting new data into the X-Cal. There is a cable which will connect to your PC that you can purchase separately. It will allow you to upload new tunes to the X-Cal. I have not done it yet, but from what I understand, the files are small and can be emailed to you. If you don't purchase the computer cable, then yes, the X-Cal would have to go back to a shop to be reprogrammed with a new tune. I think what I read in the manual stated that to put a new tune in the X-Cal you would have to return your vehicle to the default factory tune first. So that is something to keep in mind if you need to send the unit across the country to be reprogrammed.

Also, please note... This is based off of my experience purchasing and using an STC X-Calibrator. I am an end user and don't begin to truly understand the intricacies of the unit. To the best of my knowledge, I am not misstating anything, but you would be well advised to verify the information provided with someone who knows far more than I.

kevins05v-6 · 04-03-05, 05:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philstang

Most people that I see driving V6 Stangs are not realy Stang enthusiasts...
they just came across a cheap sporty car that just happens to be a stang and don't have the slightest knowledge of them...
the other V6 owners are bent on making their car look like a GT, others try to rice it out...
Basically GT owners are more likely to be true Stang fans...
but hats off to those on here that are rocking the V6...

I think you are right and that can be seen here and at other Mustang forums, where most of the users are GT owners.
That being said there are also plenty of GT owners who also fall into the same non-Mustang enthusiasts.
I am in love with my V-6 and all Mustangs, just do not have the need for all that speed and power that the GTs have.

Ford Tech · **Throttle Control -** 04-03-05, 07:45 AM

Everybodys right about the sluggishness being from the throttle control in the PCM. On takeoff the computer will only allow about 1/2 throttle opening to prevent wheel spin and excessive driveline "shock". Ford did this to help reduce damage to the driveline from aggressive driving and to give a smoother feel when taking off. As said in other posts, the X-calibrator will cure this concern. As for warranty concerns, Ford will void your warranty if it can be proven that your mods damaged the part in question. A cold air intake or aftermarket exhaust will not void you warranty. I do a lot of warranty work at my dealer for friends with 'stangs and Lightnings and know what to "let slide" and what Ford will flag.

mustang50v8 · 04-04-05, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aipaloovik

My understanding is that they truncate the power in first gear. It's even worse if you try to gun to car to about 4500 rpm in N, then throw it in first gear while WOT. The throttle will cut out, drop to about 1500 rmp and take off normally. It drives me nuts. The car has plenty of power. You can see this by simply gunning it from a dead stop in Reverse. They don't cut off the throttle there.

damn dude...neutral drops are one of the first things you can do to your transmission. the reason the new stang does this is to save the transmisson from people such as yourself who dont know that it is bad and try to do such things. go to any shop and ask them how good for your car neutral drops are if you dont believe me.