98V70 throttle Vs 06V70 both "T's"

[obayha]

The 98 is pretty much my daily drive, but when I'm allowed to drive the 06 I notice a quick response in the pedal. I guess it is because it has the ETM? When my wife drives my 98 she talks down about how hard it is to press the pedal. I drive it all the time, so I don't notice.
Question, Is there anyway to improve or lessen the pressure needed to get going?
I haven't look at the linkage. It works fine, but now I am noticing it more, because of the complaint department.
Any thoughts?
Shane

[jblackburn]

Any slack in the line can be tightened up by adjusting the little plastic screw at the top of the throttle linkage. The cables do stretch over the years, so that's why the screw is there.

Old cables rust or gum up - a new one's about $30 and made a HUGE difference to me. You can spray all the pivot points in the linkage as well. Pull the air hose off the throttle body and see how dirty it is in there.

I also broke the boot thing with the kickdown switch in it at the passthrough to the firewall, and there was a lot of empty slack in the cable that meant pressing on the gas pedal quite a bit before anything really happened. That made my cruise control totally unable to maintain a constant speed as well.

Does the 98 "lag" a lot more before the turbo picks up? You can do 1-2 turns of the wastegate rod to shorten it and increase the turbo response a bit at lower RPMs as well. Makes it much more driveable around town - the 98 turbo lag is terrible.

I hate electronic throttles - most of them are REALLY touchy. They've improved a lot in recent years - at least on 4-cylinder cars I've been test-driving, but for my big clumsy feet, the slightest prod of the pedal in anything with a V6 leaves you screeching tires or accelerating like a madman with no intention to at all.

[obayha]

Thanks for the information. Once I have digested all that you wrote I will look at it this weekend.
I'm not sure if I ever kick in my turbo or not. I am slow off the line and don't push my car a lot. Mind you, I catch myself over 80 on the way to work every morning. That's the sweet spot on the highway. It does run, I just don't punch it.
Need to find/look at wastegate rod. Will check throttle body. What/can you spray anything in it to clean?
The throttles on the two are so different. I feel like I'm pushing mine and hers is pulling me.

[jblackburn]

I usually drive around town to where it shifts at 2500-3000 RPM. You don't really feel the turbo coming on strong there yet, but it does start to help out the small engine over 2000 RPM.

Just above the turbo in the back of the engine is a heat shield, with 3 stubborn bolts holding it in. Once you get that off, you'll see the wastegate rod.

You'll loosen that nut on the rod and from the PASSENGER side of the car, turn it clockwise a full rotation - rotation and a half. Then secure the nut back down and take it for a drive. The throttle should be a bit more touchy.

You can clean the throttle body with carburetor cleaner spray and a rag. If it looks really, really bad, you might want to take the whole thing off, which means ordering a new gasket for it ($1).

[jblackburn]

Another thing to keep in mind is the 2006 has a 5-speed transmission with a much shorter first gear and a low-pressure turbo, which means more "pep" and less working the engine hard from a start. The old 4-speed Turbos have a very tall first gear ill-suited to stop and go/in-town driving and the high-pressure turbo doesn't really help the engine out til higher RPMs.

[obayha]

Thanks for the picture. Weather permitting, I am working on front wobble this weekend and will check out the throttle as well. Just minor little things that keep it interesting.