1st Generation Specific (1979-1985) 1979-1985 Discussion including performance modifications and technical support sections

12a Idol

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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 07:12 PM
  #1  
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12a Idol

could someone tell me what the idol is suposed to be in a 12a motor. mine just feels too low for the car
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 07:17 PM
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i think its 750 manual, idk automatic, but if im wrong about manual just wait for another opinion.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 08:39 PM
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It is 750, but I don't think anyone on this forum has a car that idles right at 750rpm lol.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 09:42 PM
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If it is low drop to your knees and thank God, mine idles anywhere from 1000 to 2000 depending on the weather and the mood the cars in that day.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 09:52 PM
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this thread brings up a good idea to check what rpms im idoling at when i get it runnin, thanks haha
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 09:55 PM
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bridgeport,streetport,and peripheral ported engines get a different idle naturally right??
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:02 PM
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I dunno about streetport, but bridge and PP are horrible idleing from what I have heard.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:05 PM
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o thats good to know,does it idle surge up and down or its just high?
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:07 PM
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im at like 500 or a little under and when i start it cold it stalls like 3 or 4 times and has a problem to get the rev up, when it FINALLY gets warm it is fine but still idols at 500 or below
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:09 PM
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do u pull the choke when u start it?
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:11 PM
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Does it idle like **** at 500 or does it idle good. These cars just always run like crap untill they are warm.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:17 PM
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I've got mine set at ~800 right now. It's rock solid once it's warmed up. It'll idle at 700 but it misfires now and again at that RPM.
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:20 PM
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yes i pull the choke when i start it. and it kinda sounds like it may bog out. i will get a video in the mornin of it for ya
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:23 PM
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cool, that will help a lot, for all of us
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Old Aug 14, 2006 | 10:23 PM
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Hell the only time mine ever idles that low is when i am about to run out of gas.
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 12:37 AM
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lol nope i have gas for sure lol.
but ya the video is on its way either in the mornin or the next day
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 12:23 PM
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I know Sterling idles his at about 650, I'm gonna tweak my carb soon and try to get down there, I'm at about 950 right now.
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 12:40 PM
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Check for vacuum leaks. Mine idles at 950 normally, but it'll die down to about 500 or 600 when the choke first pops back in or when I turn the headlights on (alt drag pulls it down). I believe it has a leak in one of the 1000000 lines in the engine bay.

Kev
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 02:06 PM
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Was I the only one that thought this was going to be a competition on who has the best looking FB engine bay? 12A Idol instead of American Idol?

hmmm, I think I'm going to go check my idle late on today, we just got it running last night.
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 02:21 PM
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Tranquil you bugger I was just about to make that comment your 15 minutes ahead!
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 11:22 PM
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hahahahaha! go me!

Well today I tuned my carb, since I had only gotten my car running beautifully for the first time ever.

The lowest I was able to get it to idle was 1000RPM, no less. At least its a steady RPM and doesn't bounce around. I was merely playing with Idle Mixture and Idle Adjust screws. One of these days I'm going to get a vacuum gauge and wideband.
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 11:25 PM
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What I would do for a smooth Idle.

I have a street port 12a, and for some reason I can never get that thing to idle smooth.
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Old Aug 16, 2006 | 01:47 AM
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I don't think ported engines are ever going to idle right. Mines unported and its between 750-900rpms. Its steady when idling.
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Old Aug 16, 2006 | 02:08 AM
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500rpm is far too low when warm. Between 650 and 750rpm is best for a stock engine.

As you modify and port, then the idle revs need to be increased. A Bridgeport needs around 1200-1500rpm to be happy, but then you are not really interested in idle anyway. I have seen a hot PP which needed a minimum of 2,000rpm.

One of the few problems with a light flywheel is lack of smoothness at low revs which is traded of for high rpm performance. The reason Mazda went for such a heavy stock flywheel was to keep the engine turning over smoothly at low rpm so 650-750rpm was possibly sitting in traffic.
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Old Aug 22, 2006 | 07:06 PM
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I used to be able to idle my sp 12A at 750 rpm when everything was the way it should be, i.e. mixture, timing, no vac leaks.
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