Placebo Effect?

Was in recently for 65k service. Battery tested bad and swung by Advanced on the way home to confirm since I swapped off the OEM to meet winch specs. They confirmed and since it was still within warranty, got a new one for free. Battery wasn't disconnected for long but reset a few settings.

Now, since then I feel as if it shifts better and isn't as sluggish. I've added quite a bit of weight, larger tires, and lift since it was originally disconnected for the original swap. Always felt a bit sluggish after the mods but thought it was because of the changes listed above. Was surprised to feel as if some power came back. Any chance a short disconnect like that reset the ECU "learning" of my driving style and made it feel less sluggish or is it just a placebo effect?

Also done at service was a MAF cleaning - thought this may be the culprit but drove maybe 30 miles of mixed driving city/highway before the battery swap and didn't notice any difference. That's why I'm thinking maybe placebo.

If ECU did reset, I'd recommend to anyone adding weight or changing tire size/weight to make a quick disconnect to let it "relearn". Feels like there was a positive outcome

 

Most probably placebo but what matters is you feel it runs better.
If my car runs better, I would attribute it to random things I did and don't care if there is no connect between the two, because my car runs better.
Like right now, I feel I am hearing excessive wind noises because I changed the corner windshield cowls on my car. It's pissing me off. It works both ways you see.

 

Cleaning the MAF will make a huge difference if it is very dirty. Also, it is possible that the ECU was reset and is relearning your throttle position and transmission shift points. The dealer recommends a 30-minute disconnect but it doesn't necessarily mean that it takes that long.

 

I had the same experience. I disconnected the battery, put 4.88s in the differentials and then it felt zippy off the line. Oh, then I put my 35s on and it went back to normal

 

My 4Runner always drives/runs better after I wash it. FACT.

 

Yeah, I've read here that battery disconnect should be 30 minutes which is why I wasn't sure the 5 min or so that it was disconnected would be enough. Could also be the warmer temperatures and maybe a switch off of "winter gas" that I've read about here as well.

Even if it is just in my mind, I like it. It's not like I gained 30 hp (like you get by adding stickers) but it feels closer to stock responses than it has since the lift. It will never feel completely like stock again unless I dump the freshman 300 or however much added weight I'm at by now