Expert: Mike Evans - 8/31/2009

Question
Does my 2006 nissan maxima have a wide open throttle governor?
if so, can it be removed/disabled?
I have read that some nissan titans do, and that is why they do not have much acceleration until they reach about 40 mph.


Answer
    I wouldn't call it a governor, although it can function as one under some conditions.  You have what is called a fly-by-wire or drive-by-wire throttle.  There is no connection between the accelerator pedal and the throttle body except through the commands issued by the ECM.  When you snap the throttle open it takes a while for the throttle itself to open, as it is opened by a stepping motor.  This is not completely unlike the old idle air motors but much faster-acting and sophisticated in execution.  If it feels like you are playing a video game rather than operating a motor vehicle get used to it; almost all cars have this feature by now.  And soon they will steer by wire as well.  Brakes too I'm afraid.  You can get around this and many of the other big-brother features of the car's programming by having someone in the high-performance business retune your computer to do what you want.  But the equipment is expensive (in case you were thinking of doing it yourself) and they charge a good price for the service (at least $500, and I've heard much higher prices depending on the make of the car).  Reprogramming the computer is really the only way around this.  The reason the Titan limits throttle at low speeds is to keep that monster V8 from setting the tires on fire.  I sincerely doubt that the system in the Maxima restricts power much, especially if the traction control is off.