Modifying your vehicle, it is the hit thing to do. There are so many companies out there now days changing the way the vehicle is from factory to a bigger, meaner, better rig. Engine tunes, big tyres, mad lifts, lets chop the back off and make this wagon a ute! There are a lot of companies getting these things right, but there are also some missing the mark completely.

One of these mods that miss the mark, more often than not, are throttle controllers. A lot of the time it comes back to misuse or failure to fully understand the chain reaction that it may cause. Modern transmissions are so electronically controlled they look to a number of other aspects to determine what gear to change to, when to change and how much pressure is required to do it smoothly. So if you modify or change one of these aspects, you can throw out the whole system and cause premature wear and tear. Fitting a throttle chip, your vehicle is going from thinking you have your foot 50% on the throttle to 100%, ‘Master wants to overtake. I need to drop back a gear or jump out of lock up to get maximum acceleration.’

What else might you be compromising?

We often get complaints from people that have had throttle controllers fitted, that they now get their A/T OVER TEMPERATURE light coming on. This is due to the Torque converter coming out of lock up more commonly or not going in at all. This is again because the transmission is calculating that you are using up to 50% more throttle than normal and therefore is a touchier in the process.
 
 

Torque converter lock up, this is when you get direct drive from the engine to the transmission. When the torque converter is locked the transmission is at its most efficient and temperatures come down because you have fewer moving parts. When the vehicle is unsure on the throttle position or getting the incorrect information, then the torque converter is likely to jump in and out quicker or not lock in at all. 

So if you are considering fitting your vehicle with a throttle controller:

1.         Do your research

2.        Consider what benefits you are actually trying to achieve

3.        Take into account that you are moving away from factory parameters (not always       for the better)

4.        Consider what other components you are putting more pressure on