I have a Fender Strat that I took off the whammy bar because using it would cause it to go in and out of tune. I have a cheap guitar with a Floyd Rose on it and I can bend the hell out of it and it always returns to perfect tune, but not the strat.

Is this the best I can hope for in a factory stock setup?

What causes this? Too much resistance preventing it from returning to the same location every time?

What tweaks or mods can I do? I enjoy working on my guitars and have purchased some tools, so don't worry about suggesting something too hard for me to do.

Thanks!