My Honest Review of the Vitesse Throttle Controller (2014 Camaro 1LS 6spd)

[RavenLFX]

So about a week ago I purchased the Vitesse Throttle Controller for my 2014 Camaro 1LS with the 6 speed manual. First of all, the price is around $180 shipped. Shipping was fast considering I believe they ship in batches and that they need GM harnesses to make the throttle controller. No big deal. The only complaint I have with the shipping is that you do not receive a tracking number nor do you know when yours actually ships. The only way to find out is to either call or email Ahmed or someone else at the company and request for the info. All you will receive will be a confirmation from PayPal for your payment. I finally got confirmation they shipped Saturday the 4th after ordering that Tuesday and I received my product today Wednesday the 8th. Product was well packaged and covered to prevent scratching and damage. Now. Onto the product.

Installation:
Install was EXTREMELY simple. A lot of people say the connector is hard to get off, but the hardest part is finding a good way to get up to it. If you just kinda lay on your back and scoot under the steering column it'll be a breeze. Unplug gray tab, unplug connector, and replug into the female connector on the controller harness. Then take the male connector and plug into where you removed the original connector from. Extremely simple. Then just tuck the actual Controller under the plastic by the footwell, hide the wires, resnap plastic back and then just find a place to mount the screen. I placed mine where the factory HUD controls would be on the higher trim levels. Just stick with the 3M Double Sided Tape provided and hide the wires and boom! Only thing left is to program which takes all of about a minute. Total time I spent is probably 5 minutes, if that.

First impressions:
Here's where the honesty part comes in. Let me get right to it. In my opinion, this is definitely something that feels better suited for the automatic. I'm not saying it's a bad product, because it DEFINITELY works. However, with a manual and the fact you still have control over where the rpms are, when you give it gas you can definitely tell the throttle is opening sooner as if you were pressing harder on the gas pedal. But it doesn't open faster. The best way to describe it is imagine you're in 2nd gear at 30mph. Stock, you press the gas about 20% and you start moving. With the Controller, at 20% pedal the computer reads you're at 60% and so will jump accordingly. I started in SP3, and worked my way up. And the car definitely increased in responsiveness as the levels went up. So it's definitely well worth the $180. It's a fun mod. But like I said, I feel those with the automatics will be more surprised than those with the manual. Both will be happy, but autos will definitely see the difference more in my opinion. As far as the whole 1st gear spinning like crazy, in my experience it's nowhere near that level even on SP9. Right after taking off and flooring it in 1st gear no traction control lit up. Nothing crazy like that. Again, just can tell a big difference in responsiveness. Don't buy this thinking your v6 will suddenly feel like it has 500lb-ft of torque and you'll burn out everywhere on "accident". Again, with autos this may be different due to the different natures. I have the stock 18s with the T/As and so it may also change with tires. In my view, the best way this Controller shines is in turns. Say you shift to 2nd and go through a turn, then gas it. This definitely helps you out of the turn faster by applying more throttle sooner. As far as 0-60 differences go. Again, don't expect crazy gains with the manual. I tested on the same road, same temperature, best of 3 average, same rpm and same launch technique. On stock, my times were an average of 5.7 seconds. With the Controller on, my average was 5.6 and even hit 5.5 once. However, I live in Arkansas and of course your times may vary depending on a lot of factors. As far as eco goes, again it works perfectly and i definitely see where it could help a lot. On putting the car back to SP0 after SP9 the car feels like a snail. So I say this definitely worth the $180, ESPECIALLY with the automatic. My gas mileage stayed about the same while using the Sport selectors as well.

There ya go. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

[Kenny Camaro]

Good review. Lots of details. Thanks!

[Arnie]

Awesome read RavenLFX. I also have a six speed and this is on my list of mods. Would you please post the link to the site where you ordered yours from. Thanks in advance.

[1Coopgt]

Op just wondering how old you are? When I installed mine I was 54 . At 54 years old I wasn't as flexible as I was in my 20's and 30's. So ya it was a pain installing it .

[dankv6]

Originally Posted by Arnie

Awesome read RavenLFX. I also have a six speed and this is on my list of mods. Would you please post the link to the site where you ordered yours from. Thanks in advance.

I would appreciate a link as well

[Jazzzed]

Originally Posted by Arnie

Awesome read RavenLFX. I also have a six speed and this is on my list of mods. Would you please post the link to the site where you ordered yours from. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by dankv6

I would appreciate a link as well

http://www.vitesse-motorsports.com/t...010-camaro.htm

[sixtyseven]

Originally Posted by 1Coopgt

Op just wondering how old you are? When I installed mine I was 54 . At 54 years old I wasn't as flexible as I was in my 20's and 30's. So ya it was a pain installing it .

LOL
So true! I'm the same age. Put mine in at 54yrs old also.. Need to check the connections and re route mine. Been putting it off for nearly a year now.

[1Coopgt]

Originally Posted by sixtyseven

LOL
So true! I'm the same age. Put mine in at 54yrs old also.. Need to check the connections and re route mine. Been putting it off for nearly a year now.

You can do it . Hopefully you're not to tall. I'm 5'7" so I think it may have helped me a little but not much.

[Aug]

Hi all, good write up OP. I am posting my experience, which may be a different perspective than many. I had a 2014 LFX Automatic and installed the VTC. In gerneral I didn't particularly like it, mainly because it effectively changed the shift points - I suppose the ECU/TCU adjusted based on what it thought the throttle position was at.

So a year after I bought the LFX I traded for a 2SS manual. I drove the SS for about a year and generally REALLY like the car, expcept one annyoing thing - the clutch is more difficult than any other manual car I have driven (I am 51 yo) and have driven many manual cars. To smoothly take off and shift, particularly the start from a stop, has always been more effort (mental effort) than it should be. I have noticed that there seems to be what I would call a Flat Spot just at throttle tip-in. I don't really think it is an engine performance issue, but just the way GM designedt the throttle. I started thinking more about this recently and tried giving it more throttle as I let out the clutch when starting and shifting, and it seemed to help, but giving it this much throttle didn't seem natural. One day recently I remembered that I still had the Vitesse throttle controller I bought for my V6 camaro so decided to install it. I was skeptical but have to say it solves that "flat spot" issue I mentioned, resulting in a much smoother start and smoother shifts. No longer do I have to give it MORE throttle than feels natural to get past that spot. I initially tried the setting on 3, then gradually moved up to 7 which seems good for me. The car feels livelier/more responsive too. Just my experience and thought I would share.