Hey,

I just bought an 88 Gxl, na.

I got the car to idle good, but when I drive it, keeping shifts in lower rpms the car just sucks. It seems to have no power to go, and it seems to want to stall. But if I get going and keep her in the higher rpms, she runs just fine... any ideas?

oh and it has an exhaust leak, and i'm on my way to get a new fuel filter to put on.

 

welcome to owning an n/a rotary.

 

You should have 35% of your power at 2500 rpms 85% @ 5000, & 100% from 5000-8000rpms. Torque maxes ~3500 rpms I believe, so you should have enough torque to drive normally from 2000-3500 rpms.

You should have power in 4th (1:1 ratio) from 2000-8000 rpms and be able to decel to 1500rpms without the car stalling, bucking, hesitating, etc...

I shift to 5th gear @ 55mph and it's driveable. I shift 1st-2nd @ 4000 rpms normally.

If the car is not acting as above, time to do a tuneup, check for a clogged exhaust / cats, verify your VDI (variable duct intake) is working correctly, ignition, dirty fuel injectors (send them off for professional cleaning), grounding issues, vacuum leaks, BAC (bypass air control valve), ACV (air control vavle), etc... are all within spec.

 

I bought an Rx-8 as my first rotary... started to hang out with slctoary crew and found this car cheap. And already ready to bash it with a hammer! lol

 

In those lower rpms, it will not move. I have to pull over sometimes, i think the term boggy will work for it in the lower rpm range.

 

vdi = variable duct/dynamic intake? Always thought it was dynamic, since it changes

 

Sounds like a clogged cat. Normal on cars with this age, especially with a rotary since they run so rich (increases chances of clogging the cat).

David