2G 2g low power, and not much boost

[mavaveric]

I have a 97 talon that is really down on power.

It spools the turbo slowly up to probably 4 psi. I need advise as to what could be wrong. I checked the exhaust by disconnecting the downpipe and it ran the same. The intake appears to be clear and flowing, (though, the car does feel faster at 3/4 throttle than at full throttle). I checked for boost leaks, and I didn't find anything major. I regapped the plugs, which solved a separate issue with the car stuttering due to spark blowout. I checked the wastegate of the turbo, and it feels like its closing all the way, though i could not visually confirm this. The turbo itself seems to be in decent health. (No major shaft play or cracks.)

The car has 112,000 miles, so I'm sure the turbo is at the end of its life, if all else fails, I'll throw a big t28 in it and see what happens. I inspected the exhaust manifold for cracks, and it seems fine.
I'll be starting down the fuel route next week, starting with the fuel filter. After that, I'll probably put a gauge on the fuel line to take a look at the pressure.

If anyone has any clues as to what could be wrong with it, please do advise.
PS. The car is stock. Bone stock.

 

[mavaveric]

Is the boost solenoid hooked up too the waste gate.

The vacuum line from the turbo should to to the frame rail, to the boost solenoid with a T in it to go to the wastegatr

It is hooked up. I noticed the car was running pretty good today, still slow as shit, but it was pushing 11 PSI of boost. I ordered new plugs and wires to try, since it seems like those could have an effect on it. I found a wideband O2 sensor laying around, so whenever i get time to install that, ill see where the mixture is at

 

[chrysler kid]

It is hooked up. I noticed the car was running pretty good today, still slow as shit, but it was pushing 11 PSI of boost. I ordered new plugs and wires to try, since it seems like those could have an effect on it. I found a wideband O2 sensor laying around, so whenever i get time to install that, ill see where the mixture is at

The factory fuel settings are really rich, 9.8 to 11.2 when I had a 14b setup. 90% of the time the aem wideband would just peg below 10 rich all the way to redline. So im not sure you will actually learn anything from afr readings besides the factory tune dumps fuel in boost to protect from heat soak and pre ignition

 

[mavaveric]

The factory fuel settings are really rich, 9.8 to 11.2 when I had a 14b setup. 90% of the time the aem wideband would just peg below 10 rich all the way to redline. So im not sure you will actually learn anything from afr readings besides the factory tune dumps fuel in boost to protect from heat soak and pre ignition

Well, idk what to do next then. Since I don't have DSM link, and its gonna cost me my left nut to get it (non EPROM ECU), if the plugs and wires doesn't fix the issue, I'm just gonna sell the car. I have checked every little niche issue it could be having. There shouldn't be anything wrong, yet there is. I have no way of even checking most of the sensor readings since shitzubishi decided that those shouldn't be readable by a typical OBD2 reader. Even doing basic diag is getting expensive, and I don't think I want to spend more than 1k just trying to figure out what's wrong and get the dam car up to stock performance.

 

[chrysler kid]

Your still havent even verified that there is a problem besides "doesnt feel fast". The car is 25 years old dammit

 

[mavaveric]

Your still havent even verified that there is a problem besides "doesnt feel fast". The car is 25 years old dammit

The car is about as fast as my old NA solstice. Its slow.

 

[pauleyman]

Well, idk what to do next then. Since I don't have DSM link, and its gonna cost me my left nut to get it (non EPROM ECU), if the plugs and wires doesn't fix the issue, I'm just gonna sell the car. I have checked every little niche issue it could be having. There shouldn't be anything wrong, yet there is. I have no way of even checking most of the sensor readings since shitzubishi decided that those shouldn't be readable by a typical OBD2 reader.

says who? 2g is obd2 and reads fine.

Even doing basic diag is getting expensive, and I don't think I want to spend more than 1k just trying to figure out what's wrong and get the dam car up to stock performance.

You've said a lot of " seems fine".
Did you actually test anything? How did you check for boost leaks? 4psi is wrong. Can't be without something physically wrong.
Tell us exactly what and how you did testing.
Spark blowout on a stock car? Nope. Misfire maybe. don't regap. Replace the plugs. Under 10$. Wires are a good idea also if their condition is unknown.

 

[mavaveric]

says who? 2g is obd2 and reads fine.

You've said a lot of " seems fine".
Did you actually test anything? How did you check for boost leaks? 4psi is wrong. Can't be without something physically wrong.
Tell us exactly what and how you did testing.
Spark blowout on a stock car? Nope. Misfire maybe. don't regap. Replace the plugs. Under 10$. Wires are a good idea also if their condition is unknown.

I got plugs and wires coming tomorrow. I had an issue where the car would cut sparatically over about 3/4 throttle, (probably 5 psi of boost or so), and it turned out to be the plugs were gapped at .05. I gapped them to .03, and it stopped for a bit, but still happens from time to time. When i say "seems fine," iv tested it to the best of my ability using methods i read off this site. some stuff I don't have the tools to test rn, like the fuel pressure.
My assumption that the car was low on boost was incorrect. The gauge I have only goes up to 10 psi, and it maxes it out. As for the BLT, there are a few minor leaks, but nothing major.
As for the OBD2 thing. My reader can tell all sorts of shit with my other cars, but doesn't with the talon. It will tell me the spark timing advance on the CRV, but wont on the talon.

apologies if I sound mad... I am. Iv had alot of people tell me to check the same things over and over again, and then tell me that real issue that I have encountered with the car simply could never happen, even though they literally did.

 

[Vegas Smith]

Back in the day, when I was a kid, I just got my laser and put a bunch of mods on it, and it was slow as hell. Got beat by a NA 2g slow. It wound up being the fuel pump. Relaced the pump and started smoking everything in sight. So, it's possible it's a bad fuel pump etc and your fueling can't keep up. It'd be nice to test that fuel pressure...

 

[mavaveric]

Alright. I got my new plugs and wires installed, no significant change in performance as expected. I hooked up a fuel pressure gauge, and it sits around 30-35 psi at idle, and when full throttle at high rpm and 10+ psi of boost, it reached about 55-60 PSI. I discovered I was using my OBD2 reader incorrectly, pauleyman was correct. The only reading I can get from the OBD2 reader hat would indicate that there is anything wrong with the car is the calculated engine load, which never exceeded 65%, even at full throttle at 4000 RPM under 10+ psi of boost in 2nd gear. Im not sure if that's normal or not...

 

[pauleyman]

There is other software you can use. I use torque pro and it does a reasonable job.