458 Throttle jerkiness - is there a fix?

Hi - I need some advice. I'me looking at buying a 458 spider. I intend to drive the car regularly, not just for sunny days. I've heard from several sources that at slow speeds, around time, or even cruising trying to maintain a constant speed, the throttle is overly sensitive, which when your nailing it isn't an issue. I have been advised to find a car with cruise control, which I will, but have there been any software updates to resolve this issue. I am told it is a fly by wire throttle. Is there a cut off model year when the issue has been resolved? Thanks in advance....

 

Seriously not much of an issue. No fix to my knowledge.

 

I drive in automatic 95% of the time (ducks and runs). The trans shifts up into high gears very quickly, will hit 7th gear at 37 mph or so. When driving this way, throttle is very smooth. If manual shifting and in low gears at higher RPMs, it is a little jerky/sensitive. Mine is a 2015 model. No 'fix' that I am aware of, but no problem either as far as I am concerned. If it is a huge issue for you, I would suggest a custom tune. Surge/sensitive throttle is often caused by lean mixtures. Have the tuner fatten up the fuel delivery a bit and see what happens.

 

I guess I'm lucky. Mine is really smooth. Now, it was super annoying on the highway going a constant speed because of the valves, but that goes away if you put in a valve controller or just plug the suckers.

 

Hahahaha - drive the car, don't let the car drive you. Seriously.

It's a prancing horse, not a VW.........

 

Oh, one other thought, I've experienced this behavior in multiple cars that aren't' driven often and/or hard. If I don't drive the car for three weeks, it is a little jerky and unhappy until I put some miles on it and the engine smooths out again.

 

I'll guess this was directed at me with the auto mode. When I start using the paddles I start driving like a hooligan. Fun, yes! Likely to keep me out of jail in the long term, NO! I pick my spots and play accordingly.

On that 'play' note I will likely rent the 1.6 mile road course at the Gainesville dragway sometime this spring. I'll post up to see if you/others want to come play.

http://www.gainesvilleraceway.com/apcm/templates/trackinfo.asp?articleid=2546&zoneid=69&navsource=History Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Absolutely!!! I’ll be your best buddy ever! We can trade cars.

 

Try alternating your foot position/ contact point on the pedal. For example, if your contact point is close to the base of the pedal near the floor board, you should feel less jerkiness. At least that’s what I do and I feel like I can blip the throttle at will and control the response to meet my needs.

Also, thin soled driving type shoes will help you as well versus clunky Air Jordans


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This is not an issue. I read about it prior to buying mine but found the claim an exaggeration. It is more of an on/off feeling compared to my 812 but don't let it deter you. The 458 Spider is a fantastic car.

 

cheers, looks like an over exagerrated issue....

 

totally exaggerated! i think throttle is normal like any car.

 

Dear Terek,
this is not my experience at all.
May I respectfully ask you to make examples of the cars you drove and consider the same as a 458 in terms of throttle response?
Thanks

 

Mostly i drive Porsche 911's . Driving the 458 without hearing about "jerky pedal" i would have never even thought that..seems normal to me

 

It is an issue, and there are tuners like openflash that can fix it. I am going to be talking to Shiv about getting mine to feel more linear. I cannot vouch for every 458 but everyone I've ever driven (which is a few) has it. I am more sensitive to things (comes with my condition) than normal so I tend to feel things that others don't (like a pebble in my front tire), but it is there and it is not an exaggeration, I wish it was.

 

Yep annoying as it is its a normal trait. 458 and 488 both have a jerky pedal when in manual mode. It's not a deal breaker but it is a PITA. Pista is not nearly as jerky thank god so they've clearly been working on it. Ferrari will eventually fix it up one day. Bit like their crap media.....makes you wonder how on earth they've managed to get away with it in this day and age. Amazing really! I wouldn't use the jerky pedal as a reason not to buy a Ferrari but yes it is a problem. And for some to not feel it or even see it as a problem is equally astonishing.

 

This is an over-exaggerated issue, and can be controlled once you get used to the car. In the 458 series, the throttle on the coupe is more twitchy than the throttle on the spider. This is far less of an issue in the 488 series. (Yes, I've owned them all).

 

drive the car in sport mode, no throttle issue at all. In race, yes it can get a bit touchy. Other then that I have no problem at all with mine,
and have driven it all most 30k miles, Just a great car, you will love it.

 

That's interesting: I have owned myself a 964 (not a good comparison) and extensively driven many times a 997 GT3, a 991 GTS and a 992 Carrera (I am lucky with my friends' cars!) and found all of them like apples to oranges vs my 458, in terms of throttle response.
Thanks for having replied to me: the fact that you, and possibly many others, find Porsche's and the 458 the same throttle wise, and the 458 in particular "normal", is surprising to me and, as said, interesting.

 

hi Justin - try reaching out to Shiv at https://www.openflashtablet.com/ ...he can definitely help you with that. I did it on my 458 and no jerkiness..good luck!!

James

 

I don't find the throttle to be twitchy -- either in the 488 or Pista.

But damn, the brakes are way too grabby.

 

I have driven and had many 458's from 10-15. I would say a good 30% chance of them were jerky and touchy on the throttle. They did get better after I drove it or completely gone. Not right away tho.

 

Mine is a 2013 and definitely has that jerkiness. It's more noticeable in Race mode.

 

5000 miles on my 2010 458, all in the last 5 months. At first I this gas pedal is so sensitive, after 1000 miles I got used to it. Now I can play with the pedal to get the pop and crackel on downshifts .

drive the car , become one with the car can not due just driving on weekends . Once you do there is nothing better. You slip into the drivers seat and say ok let’s go this, the prancing pony with fo what you ask!!!!!It takes time to understand this car

 

Agree Porsche's and Ferrari's throttle characteristics are indeed like comparing apples to oranges. Why certain others are unable to differentiate between these two is quite interesting indeed! Porsche's throttle being sharp, smooth, with precision modulation vs Ferrari which is basically the exact opposite in many ways. Thankfully Pista only has seen work in that area and now has only faint remains of this annoying trait. I found in 488 the jerkiness could never be overcome no matter how familiar or how much time was spent driving it. The throttle in that car was always a super fine balancing act between on and off in a bid to escape the kicking and bucking. It also had a negative effect by unbalancing the chassis in the corners particularly during fast on off throttle to brake applications. It would be nice to say one can work around it but I never could rid it properly and i sure tried.