Can't redline in 4th and stop gaining speed at 129!!!! HELP!!!!
 

Tonight when my friend and I were on the way to town we decided we wanted to see how fast my car would go because I hadnt topped it out yet and we both wanted to see what it would do. It was really nice all the way up through the most part of 4th gear and I just stopped gaining speed. I was at ~128 or 129 and my RPM's were at about 7000 i think..... anyway, I've heard people saying that stock they go like 157.... did i mis-read something or is my car just not performing like it should? Sucks pretty bad if I have a car that i use the entire powerband up before i even get into 5th gear.... any info and help is appreciated. Thanks ahead of time.

Your having fuel cut. Get a real ecu.

Stock ECU does not have a speed limiter in it.

Mods??

bone stock...... any suggestions, with details.....

First, I would say that driving your car to see how fast it will go, is a bad idea. Second, taking someone with you is also a bad idea.

If your car is stock, that may be all it will do in 4th gear. How about this ........... shift!! :)

I was thinking the same thing....If you shift I bet you can hit 129 minimum!

maybe even 130

seriously though, what did your boost look like up there? That may be all she's got stock. I remember my car didn't impress me much at 120+ when it was stock

i figured that it would redline in 4th... maybe not, i'll see another time when there's no traffic on the highway and i'll shift to 5th to see if i gain any.... if not, i'll come back to you guys

so ur tellin me u didnt even try to shift into 5th during this run

Car should pull to near 140 in 4th stock.

Something is not right.

no i didnt

thank you for letting me know that, i thought that something wasnt right.... any clues?

what does your power curve look like? perhaps you just dont have enuf power/low boost/popped engine or something. i would check about the fuel cut though, what boost psi are you running?

The car should redline in 4th stock, and go up to the high 150s in fifth.

Do you have a boost gauge? I bet you have boost problems.

-Max

My car was doing the same thing, first few times i topped it out (2x) was a hair past 150 (redline 140 in 4th, and a little more out of her in 5th)
Now (4 months later) she wont redline in 4th like she used to (runs out of breath at 130) similar to what you described. I'm blaming it on a clogged cat ( my boost now drops to 6-7psi at redline in the 2 highest gears)

If you dont have a boost guage, I'd suggest you get one asap, if you dont have a downpipe, order both from someone and save on shipping.
-Ben

Wow, when my car was bone stock I could only get up to 150, now granted once I got a boost gauge and realized I had no secondary boost I felt alot better. Just a hose popped off one of the solenoids under the UIM, then I could really get into it, that was great. So I say check your hoses, and like ijneb said it could also result from a clogged pore or main cat. Definetly get the boost gauge though!

Get a boost gauge, you're not making full boost.

Does it not scare the hell out of everyone that a 17 year old kid is trying to top out the car on a public road?

Shouldnt it equally scare the hell out of you that 40yr old kids are trying to top out the car on a public road?

Well, it's not smart in either case, but are you going to argue that a 17 year old (with a passenger egging him on, no less) is going to handle the car as well as a more experienced driver? Let's not turn this into yet another "I'm 17 and I'm a better driver than Schumacher" thread....

Regardless of what gear you're in at red-line, that all the speed you're gonna get!. If you want additional acceleration/velocity, try shifting to 5th next time. BTW, do this at a race track, PLEASE!!!! :)

Also, hesitation may be a sign that the Plugs need to be changed.

That comment made no sense whatsoever. Even a stock car should pull just fine to 140 in 4th gear.

Further to my 17-year old comment, since there's a problem with the car, that brings into question how well the car is being maintained -- going triple digits in a poorly maintained car is a dumb idea, at best.

filter....and by that i mean the thread, get the good ideas then check into them, I think we are all in agreance though that somethin aint right (with the car).

As I stated in my post,....if the car is hesitating (not able to pull up to red-line), he may need to change the plugs.

Next time you may want to try to finish reading the entire post(s) before posting thoughts that contain insipid remarks.

I was refering to the first part of your post. The guy wasn't at redline in 4th, he was only at 129 mph. Therefore, your comment didn't make any sense in relation to the thread. I wasn't really insulting you so don't get your panties in a twist....:)

Also, he didn't experience hesitation, his car just stopped accelerating at 129 mph. I doubt that plugs could kill 30 mph off the top speed, but I suppose anything's possible. The most likely culprit is a boost leak though, as that is going to kill power more than anything else.