My car is SLOW!

[Ottoman]

i have a 96 GS-T
euro spec

2.25 DP
2.5 straight exhaust (no cats no nothing)
cone filter
custom 2" hardpipes allaround
MKIII BOV
BCS MOD
no Emissions crap
MSD 8.5mm wires


I checked for boost leaks first off.. no leaks except for the O-rings in the TB

i have lifter tick... comes and goes.. i'm using Mobile 1 super synthetic... oem filter
sometimes i give it the car phantom knocks and hesitates, i take my foot of the gas and floor it again.. car pulls like normal again.

i launch from first... i can smoke the front tires (235/40R17's) if i want to
squeaks sometimes even wheel hops...in 2nd keeps on pulling

but then i shift to third.. and the car suddenly runs out of breathe..
it's like i fell out of the power band... as if the gear ratio gotten really long allova sudden... the rpm really slows down as it rises...

I hit fuel cut ~14-15 psi in higher gears... and i boost spike on fast shift to ~17... but with throttle regulation i can keep it from fuel cutting and stuff...

at idle i pull 18-19 vaccume... and if i'm rollin in gear 22 vac.
Turbo spools very fast as it should responding to the slightest throttle variation, and there's very little shaft play...

I have an autometer A/F gauge, it sweeps back and forth regularly like it shoulbd between red to yellow (but doesn't touch green) during regular cruising... at WOT runs.. the A/F gauge shows the last between the last bar of Stoich and first bar of Rich usually.. but it's never pegged at full rich...


i live on the other end of the globe... so just ordering a Pocket logger is not that simple... so i'm lookin for other ways to daignose...

I'm gonna change my oil to something a little thicker (castrol magnatec) to see if that helps but i doubt it will my oil has only 2,000 miles on it

i'll probably have to do a compression test when i get around to it.. but why would it pull hard in first two gears (i can litterly see the nose come up, and the rear squats and rubs the rear tires on quick shifts)

I dunno if this is a byproduct of a straight Exhaust... but when i Rev my car in neutral... i get a lot of gurgling and popping as the revs drop back to idle (i'm assuming richness)... so i backed out the MAF screw all the way... didn't seem to make a difference...

i race 2 mustang GT's with bolt ons now... both times same thing... 1st and 2nd together.. third they start pulling away on me not inching.. walking...


this is rediculous!


some insight will be great

 

[98spydert]

Well you need a logger. Sucks to hear it and I understand it's probably expensive as hell to get one shipped there but when you're messing with your MAF blindly and adding and removing things you're just asking for either a damaged engine or a crap running car.

You're a/f gauge is near useless. The only thing it can tell you that's even partly useful is you're O2v are alternating at idle like they're supposed to... not much past that. Stick with 10w-30 unless you live in really cold weather (-0).

If you're just noticing the power drop above about 6K rpms, that's just the T-25 running out of breath. a 14b or larger will fix that annoying problem. The exhaust wouldn't be the problem. A good sized boost leak could do it, the leaky shaft seals sure aren't helping and I'd check out the vfaq so you can change those as soon as possible. they're just cheap little o rings.

Good luck.

BTW have you considered just purchasing a logger from a member through the classifieds or something? Shipping can't be THAT much... I've mailed small packages to the UK and Japan and they were both kinda pricey as far as shipping goes but not outragious. I guess it just depends on where it's going... just a though.

 

[Ottoman]

thanx for the input..

sure i could purchase from the member's classfieds.. only problem is when i send the money, how will i know he's gonna send me the stuff? it would have to be a trusted member with good rating or a moderator :S

i realize the T-25 will fall back (which it does to about 12psi)... so i generally shift at aroun 5.800-6 and don't bother taking it to redline...

what i "feel" is as tho the "push" is becoming less strong in 3rd... and not being continuous.. as if the power curve was climbing in 1st and 2nd and then just dipping off the rest of the gears...



I was under the impression Loggers are more beneficial for the 1G cars...

2G being OBD-II and the fact i can't read knock... and the O2 sensor is Narrow band.. how is it gonna benefit me very much? what inputs will it provide that i would be able to tune my car with. and how "accurate" and improvement will i see from using a logger??

 

[98spydert]

You won't be able to see an actual knock count, but what you can read is the timing advance. You're timing advance natually climbs steadaly under WOT and when the ECU senses knock, it pulls that timing back. So you log a 3rd gear WOT run to redline and you look at the timing "curve". If it's climbing steadily like it should, it's safe to say you aren't getting any knock. If there are flat spots where it doesn't climb or spots were it actually goes back down, that's the ECU pulling timing to get rid of knock.

You can also read your narrow band O2 to give you a rough idea of where you are in the air/fuel spectrum. It's not any good for fine tuning but, for example, if you're running rich and aren't sure if you are or not, you can look at that O2v number and a number like .98 means you're running pretty rich and you've got some run to lean things out. So it's still useful...

Bad thing is, the logger will let you know what's going on but you can't make any changes unless you've got an air/fuel piggy back computer like the Apexi SAFC or a MAF translator or something similar.

 

[Ottoman]

thanks man,

i can get AFC-II here if need be.. but i didn't till now cuz i didn't wanna tune "by the seat of your pants" styles

u think the AFC is adequate? or having an ignition timing changin good

I was considering the ECU+, Greddy E-manage, or DSMlink (tho i'd have to source a 95 ecu and have it socketed somewhere around here)

i'm planning on a T3/T04B setup with supporting mods eventually..

but i don't want to waste money 2x on a management system...

there's no Dyno in my neck of the woods either..

so i'm thinking Logger soon then EGT,and perhaps an LM wideband in the distant future...



what's ur input?

 

[9t1TSi]

I just got my car completed yesterday.
heres my mods
255lph fuel pump
550cc injectors
Evo 3 16g
2.5" downpipe with 3" back (just running the down)
SAFC-2
SBR Manifold (bigger than evo 3)
new tps
Boost controller

After these mods i took it out on the road. running stock boost w/o the controller (11psi) to break the turbo in. Its an automatic and around 5k 5.5k it hits like a fuel cut or something because it just stutters and finally kicks back in after a sec. or 2. My friend has a honda civic with a cold air. :thumbdown So takin our cars down the road i thought he would be nothing on me, but he pulled away and from first and bottom of second then i caught up and passed him. Whats wrong with my car he should of been nothing on me. where my car acts up around 5k the knock reads from 150-230...what does this mean Please help me out

 

[doug]

u think the AFC is adequate? or having an ignition timing changin good

I was considering the ECU+, Greddy E-manage, or DSMlink (tho i'd have to source a 95 ecu and have it socketed somewhere around here)

AFC is adequate. No real need for an ITC or whatever it's called. I have DSMLink and always leave the timing alone anyway. Also, if you do decide on DSMLink eventually, the DSMLink people will socket the ECU for you; you don't need to do that yourself.

 

[doug]

Whats wrong with my car he should of been nothing on me. where my car acts up around 5k the knock reads from 150-230...what does this mean

Part of it is that it's an A/T, and as such needs a while to get going good (no low end torque).

You could be knocking, even at 11PSI-- what are your AFC settings?

Also, way to hijack the dude's thread!

 

[Ottoman]

a few weeks ago a posted this thread for help:
check here

I got spanked by a stock fwd audi TT the other night..and i went loopy
my car is retarded..

anyways, i went out and splashed out the cash, and bought a Timing light gun, and a Compression tester...

my compression was:

200 195 200 205

i was worried about low compression.. but now it's pretty high factory says 178psi :S

i checked my timing.. it was floating around 10 to 11* BDTC

I thought it was supposed to be 8* with ECU and 5* without...

i wanted to re-adjust it.. but unfortunately.. i have no CAS i don't get how the ecu can always just know what to adjust the timing to all the time. and not allow human interference.. so I just have to leave it at that or get something like an ITC?

i checked the compressor blades they seems ok... there's little shaft play.. i didn't wanna drop the turbo off the manifold cuz i have no new gasket's to change them out after taking it off..


here's what i'm thinking...

knock sensor is showing funky stuff and retarding timing (how can i check it? where is it located? can i just unplug it for a few test runs to see if it makes a diff?)

02 sensor is shot and messing up the A/F (how can i check if my O2 sensor is malfunctioning? or will there always be a CEL for it?)

is it possible the turbo is dead and not pushing even tho boost gauge says 15psi?(but i still fuel cut at higher boost so i figure the turbo is pushing enough that the MAS is triggering fuel cut)

and my NEW theory...

because all the pistons are at 200psi.. there's so much carbon and crap deposited on the cylinders, the carbon is absorbing all the "heat" energy of the combustion? I live abroad and they don't sell mopar combustion chamber cleaner here.. only the gas tank additive type of stuff for injectors and what not...

what u guys think?

 

[Ottoman]

some input would be great guys..

i think i'll start with the Mopar Comb. cleaner first... and hope that helps a little...

I have a 2g... if i use the BOV line will it not reach all 4 cyl? should i use a diff line instead?

 

[Sean485]

The O2 sensor wont affect WOT so for lack of power problems thats not a factor. Carbon deposits, ehh... if they are there and causing problems it would be from the carbon causing hot spots and thus knock. The MCCC cant hurt I suppose but i doubt thats really it.

As for the knock sensor you can see if its leaking its "goo" by reaching around just under where the block meets the head inbetween #2 and #3 cylinders. If its leaking out, its bad. You might try getting ahold of someone with a scan tool and/or logger and doing a few WOT runs to see what your timing advance is doing. Do you have an upgraded fuel pump or fpr? whats your base fuel pressure? Check for boost leaks? Pre-turbo exhaust leaks can cause problems too.

 

[Ottoman]

well i did the MCCC

engine runs smoother and quieter now... the valvetrain is quieter..the lifter noises are gone.. hell even the exhaust seems quieter

changed the oil, filter, new NGKS gapped to .028

car seems SLIGHTLY better... but no way near what i think it should be...

none of the plumes of smoke came out of the engine pay, only the exhaust.. so i know the gasket's are all good.. no leaks..

when i do a boost leak test, after around 15psi the TB shaft seals begin to leak, but i don't this smal leak would be causing all my headaches...

couple things i noticed..

sometimes.. when i'm driving, i give it gas enough to raise the boost... if i slowly ease of the throttle to 0% it will sometimes just slow down like it should.. other times just as the plate closes the car "bucks" almost like a mini fuel cut...



when the car sits at idle.. it will sometimes missfire.. the car will "burp" slightly like a small pop, and a small shudder will go through the car...this was up until today.. i'll see if the new plugs re-gapped will help that, it didn't last time prior to the MCCC.


I live on the other end of the globe.. so no loggers are readily available here.. I plan on buying one... just gotta find a vendor...

i think i'll try hooking up a FP gauge to see if i'm getting 43psi or not..

this problem is killing me
as a daily drive the car is fine.. partial throttle driving is ok, Idle is solid 750, turbo pulls solid vacuume, and spools quick...everything seems ok.. except it just doesn't go fast...



some more ideas would be great... the car's been like this since i've owned it.. i'd really like to know what a DSM can really do... so far it's been dissapointing

 

[iiiwildfireiii]

You know, I'm having the same problem. Pulls like mad in 1st and 2nd, but it falls off fast after that. And I'm not shooting over 5-6k rpm. I started feeling it after I stuck my 2.5 inch cat-back on it...so that's got me wondering. I also think I've got a boost leak around the BOV seal. But still...the car used to be a LOT faster than this. Its stupid. :thumbdown

MODS: 1st gen BOV, K&N FIPK, 2.5" catback, free mods.

 

[Myke Coxlong]

you put a 2.5 exhaust now your 3rd gear is off??? check your timeing


for the guy with the 1g and a evo an exhaust gettin walked by a civic with a CAI....what in the #### is wrong with your car? you should be walking him by cornfield's you have SERIOUS problem's

 

[iiiwildfireiii]

Well, since I'm sitting at 55,000 miles right now and never had the timing belt serviced, that's what I've got getting replaced next. Apointment thursday. If it isn't the timing that's causing the trouble, what else might cause powerloss like that? I swear, after turning the boost up (before the catback) it'd put me in my seat and hold me there well over 100. After the catback...well...it'll barely start climing after 75-80 or so with my foot all the way to the floor. This sux.