I have a 99 tl I/H/E. The car from a roll always moves out really good, but I was never happy with it from a dead stop. I would always have to throttle it 3/4 of the way from a dead stop to even make my tires chirp, and most of the time in this hot weather it would just grunt like its sucking in too much air with a delay before it would take off from a dead stop. I noticed on the throttle body where the throttle cable(s) are had about an 1/8 of an inch play when I throttled them by hand. Assuming thats how they are from the factory since no one has ever adjusted them. So what I did was loosen the two nuts on each of the cables and pulled them tight where there was no play at all and tightened them back down. Starting the car up it was still idling the same so i thought what the hell let me take it for a ride and see if anythings changed........BIG difference. I highly recommend it. The car responds 10 times better. From a stop just quickly tapping on the pedal a 1/4 inch down the tires squeel more than ever before. A HUGE torque difference. Just normal driving the pedal never goes down further than a 1/4 inch. I ALWAYS leave traffic behind me just barely touching the pedal when taking off. And yeah, of course , romping it from a stop just lights up the tires now. This is how my car shouldve been like from day one. I am much happier with it now. I wonder if my gas milage will be better since i barely have to touch the pedal at all times now.

 

:ibmileagesuffers:

 

If it's that much different it seems like your pedal would have felt strange with all that play.

 

hmmm. I suppose things like that could come loose over time.

 

DIY with pics please!

 

x2 and ty in advance

 

All I did was lossen the left nuts, lift the throttle up until the cable(s) had no slack in them then i tightened up the nuts again.

 

There's not really much of a DIY. You just adjust the nuts on the cable that is the top of the two pictured above. You want to move them (relative from where it will be) to the left. I adjusted mine a little and the throttle is very responsive as the OP stated.

 

Be carefrul doing that!~!!- there is SUPPOSED to be slack in the cable- its called freeplay and teh repair book has a spec amount
What you want to do- is remove the cables from the bracket- raise it up and spray a lube like wd or silicone or deep creep. into the cable housing and work back and forth
That will return smooth responsive throttle

Your gas mileage will suffer when the cable is too tight- it will hold the air plate open slightly (look inside the TB opening and see whats there- then spray clean the crud off it with deep creep or carb cleaner spray) That plate is supposed to be closed or nearly so at idle- too much cable tension raises the idle speed just enough to now require more fuel
So you will not be on the idle system, it will be trying to go rich to assist in acceleration
A slight depresssion of the cable when pushed with 1 finger is correct setting
Also lube the throttle springs at the TB, and the one at the pedal in the car

Get 1 can of Seafoam and put in 1/2 tank gas
Get 1 can Deep Creep (aerosol seafoam) and clean the TB plate ands intake manifold-thru the main vac port at the TB-that gets the intake valves and piston tops and manifold runners clean of carbon residue
You wont believe how much crud is there and ruining performace
THATS what gets you better mileage!!!

Im sure chirping the tires does wonders to decrease the mileage~

 

whoa could you post some pics please??

 

Do you not see the pic?

 

Let me ask you this, the second throttle cable goes to a black box on the passenger side................what is it? And what does it do?

 

Cruise control

 

I mean the stuff that 01tl4tl said...lol..

 

bump.. really want more feedback on this on both sides of the argument whether to do this or not

 

I am a mechanic with decades of experience and with this cable issue in particular.

There is a specified amount of slack in the cable to prevent the issues I described before

End of Story

 

That looks a lil too tight.

 

I f'd with that before and sure it felt more responsive at first, but after a while it started to idle weird.

I did exactly what Tom just stated and that is what you are actually suppose to do.

 

adjust that bitch when you're at the track. loosen it on the way home

 

as long as you are playing around in there-
remove the cables from the adjuster rail- hold cable end Up and spray Deep Creep
WD40- silicone lube or similar type product, into the cable housing- next to the cable.
Slide cable back and forth as you spray more lube into the housing
Use Deep Creep or carb spray cleaner on the throttle return springs and mechanism- thats the control of the air inlet plate inside the TB housing!!
Clean the TB air plate!!!
Then lube spring mechanism with deep creep-or white lithium grease, something thats going to stay on there till next time you decide to clean it
Replace plastic engine cover
Enjoy

 

You really want to feel a difference... set it so your idle is at 1k rpm, you'll really bolt off the line!

 

I am assuming everyone here realizes that this is strictly a "feel" thing rather than an actual increase in hp or torque. As long as the throttle plate is wide open when your foot is on the floor, you can't gain anything by tightening the throttle cable. Yeah, it feels more responsive with no slack, but you really only raised the position of your foot. In addition to that, when you are at wide open throttle, you are putting more strain on the throttle body, cable cam, cable etc.