I noticed recently that my engine was producing less power at low RPM than that to which I've become accustomed. Sometimes it would even misfire/hesitate on WOT from stop or low speed (5-10 MPH). At first I reasoned that it may just be the "nannies" (TC) kicking in to keep me from spinning the tires. So I turned TPM completely off by holding down the SC button for more than 5 secs. Although I didn't experience additional misfires, it did still appear to be underpowered. Previously, mashing the gas at 5-10 MPH in 1st gear would immediately spin the tires on pavement if drive mode was "Track" and TPM mode was "Race".
Has anyone else experienced this?
I remember when this used to happen on my 5th Gen SS 1LE it was an indication that the ECM had "slipped" into the low-octane tables. At that time the consensus was that some gasoline suppliers had less than 93 octane at their "93" pumps. Some members reported that their dealers were putting low octane fuel in before delivery. Also, some owners were putting 89-91 octane fuel in their tanks either out of ignorance or mandated by their state. If octane rating is low enough, this would trigger the ECM to change air-fuel ratio for a lower octane fuel. Someone came up with a "fuse pull" to reset the ECM to use the high-octane tables. Apparently, the ECM would not reset on its own even if the owner repeatedly filled the tank with 93 octane gas.
I wonder if the 6th Gen Camaros suffer from the same issue. I don't have any tuning tools so I can't read which tables my ECM is using. So, I decided to go ahead and pull all the ECM fuses to see if it makes a difference. I pulled the fuses indicated below yesterday morning and haven't driven it since. After I post this I'll put the fuses back and take it for a drive to see if there's a difference. Then I'll report back.
On the 5th Gen SS 1LE it was fuses 5 and 20.
Fuse 5: Engine Control Module Main
Fuse 20: Engine Control Module/Ignition
On the 6th Gen ZL1, the following are corresponding fuses. I only saw 3 related to ECM.
F57: 15A ECM IGN
F66: 25A ECM 1
F67: 10A ECM 2
[Update]
The fuse block containing these fuses is on the right side of the engine bay (on left if standing in front of car).
Note: I'm just guessing on this for the ZL1, based on my experience with the 5th Gen SS 1LE. This may or may not help but I don't see how it can hurt as long as the fuses get put back in the right place before starting again.
--Cal