No pickup, poor acceleration, etc.

[Mar10]

So i've had this car for about a year. (my 97 Talon Esi) and it has never had any go. i mean it runs and it drives alright. but no where close to where it should. we compared it to my buddy's 99 eclipse Gs and with the exact same motor with no mods, he smoked me. not close and it wasent driver error. we even switched for a turn. mechanic took quick peek at it and couldnt find anything. compression is good, exhaust is fine. whats the deal? any suggestions or help would be very much appreciated. I've avoided this for too long. want it fixed.

Oh, and what i mean by no balls is acceleration is sluggish. My RPM is so slow. i've had sunfires and crx's on the freeway, and yeah it was pedal to the floor. any help would be great

 

[armandovivoni]

does it have chek engine light on? if it does go someplace, get it scanned.



a problem like you describe will definitly trigger the checkengine. theres to many variables U need the scanner to point you in the right direction

 

[Matrixhunter]

Hey it could be as simple as poor ignition. Change your plugs and wires then go from there.

 

[Pauseflash]

Is it an auto? Cause I think I read something about auto's shifting into granny mode or something like that. Where it allows you to drive, but nothing that would be to harsh on the tranny.

But yes, best bet is take it to get scanned. And even if the CEL is off, it stores them, and you can see if it was there before.

 

[Locke]

You should definitely get it scanned, but I myself have encountered many more problems than the ECU ever noticed.

What about your basic tune-up items? They can hugely effect performance if some of them are bad enough. How old are your NKG copper plugs (that you are running, right?), wires, upstream o2, and fuel filter?

Test your coil pack, and check your cam timing. Does your exhaust smell normal at idle? Also, what are your plugs gapped at?

Are there any other performance problems with the car? (no matter how little) Does it ever backfire, hiccup, hard to start, etc..

So many questions, so little actual help, right? Bring us more information and we can give more targeted diagnoses and suggestions.

 

[Mar10]

k sorry guys, i did forget to say some stuff. It is a 5-speed and i did give it an oil change last week. still runs shitty though. if i can recall i thought i did have it scanned about this time last year and he found nothing. my check engine light is on, but i think thats due to the oz sensor as i have a straight pipe and no cat. has 165*** kms if that means anything. also i did another compression test yesterday. first 3 cylinders were 210 and then the 4th was 160. that cylinder was also loaded with oil. i am in the midst of getting a valve cover gasket ### it is leaking a bit. hope this gives you some idea. and the car does smoke a bit, not bad, but noticeable.

haha and yes the next one will be a 4G63T

 

[Rob10_99]

160 is low for a non turbo,
I drove my AWD 1g around for about a week without a turbo,
that thing was gutless.

 

[Locke]

Oil in cylinder and low compression points to a headgasket leak.

Could also be a valve seal leak and another cause of low compression. Do a vacuum test to make sure that the valves are seating properly.

 

[Mar10]

sorry i didnt mean the 4th cylinder was 160, it was 260. 3 cylinders were 210 and the 4th 260