Hey guys, i have a problem with my 2001 v6 3.8 series 3. I always thought that fuel injected engines where faster than a carbuerated engines in terms of when u press the gas how long it takes to GO! well when i had my old 79 camaro if i pressed the gas no matter how lightly it would instantly accelerate. But my 2001 if i hammer the gas it takes at least a noticeable 1 full second before it engages. now im thinking its the computer. ECU or whatever its called. Do i need to get the computer raced tuned or something?

 

Your 3800 is drive by wire meaning there is no actual throttle cable. When you press the accelerator a signal is sent to the computer than the computer sends a signal to the throttle blade servo. This all takes time so in order for the signal to get from the petal to the throttle body takes somewhere in the .75 second range vs your 79 where you hit the accelerator and it instantly opens the carb.

 

The first thing to do is figure out if your car working right. When was the car converted to Series III? did you do the convertion? Maybe you should test drive a stock 3800 SII 2000-2002 and see if there is a differents.

Your 2001 is DBW. IMO the DBW feels mushy. If that is what your feeling there is not fix for it.

 

what about if its idling, and you have someone press the pedal down while you watch the throttle plate?

 

You can do that but do it with the car off but the key in the acc position. Another thing to remember is don't move the blade with your hand, I've read this can mess up the tps which can't be replaced without replacing the whole throttle body somewhere in the couple hundred dollar range.

 

You were also feeling a huge difference in torque.
Your 3.8 makes 200 h.p. waaaaaay up at a useless 5200 rpm, and torque is 225 ft lbs @ 4,000 rpm.
Whereas a 79 Z28 (don't know what model you had) in stock form is a lame 175 h.p. @ 4,000 rpm, BUT has 270 ft lbs of torque way down at a very usable 2,400 rpm.
The "off the line" difference between the two would be very noticeable.

 

ya i had the berlinetta. 350 4 barrel, true dual exhaust. u would think they would make theyre new cars faster and more efficient not the other way around

 

When it comes to torque (how it performs out of the hole), comparing V6's to V8's is like comparing apples to oranges.