Took my bone stock FD to the track tonight. My launches weren't that bad. 60' times weren't great though(2.2ish). But, on every pass, the car would not pull hard from 5-7K on the tach. My car could not break 15 ... and I couldn't trap any better than 89mph ... WTF?

Is this an actuator not opening up for the second turbo? I don't have a boost gauge hooked up yet, so I'm a little hampered by this. Could it be the pre-cat is clogged up? (I know, I know ... I need to remove it ... just low on cash funds lately.)

Smelled like it was burning oil afterwards. Funny thing is that it's got 15K on reman engine, and it doesn't really consume oil from tank to tank. I surfed through the search and the only remotely similar topic was turbos going bad. I will jack the car up tomorrow and look, but, while I'm here, does this sound like bad turbos? They're the originals with 92K miles on them.

My buds watching me said the car just wasn't pulling. There's no stumbling, no hesitations, everything operates smoothly ... just slow. Sound familiar to anyone?

 

You really need to get a boost gauge to evaluate the problem. Without knowing what your boost pattern is, it will be a guessing game. Could be turbos going, or a problem with the vac lines, or a plugged precat or ???

 

sounds like clogged cats!

 

quick to jump to a conclusion...

 

blow off valve could be leaking boost.. happened to me

 

That sucks man. First thing is to get a boost gauge and go from there. Sounds like low boost to me but you never know. You can pick up a cheap vacuum gauge for like $20 at a parts store.

I had crappy tires on a very crappy track (with potholes in the 60') and still managed a 2.0 60'. Couldn't hook, almost side swiped the wall with the rear end going into 2nd. I trap almost 90 in the 1/8th.

 

Hey,

I have an autometer boost gauge you can have if you'd like. It was in my R1 for about 3 years, but still works fine. You'd need to get the wiring harness for it though; I only have the gauge.

I'm located about 45 mins north of you, in Harker Heights (near Fort Hood). I always like to meet new 7 guys in the area, so let me know--maybe we can meet up sometime

take it easy--

 

Could it be bad shifting perhaps? What do you shift at?

 

did you warm up the car first??? if the temp is not at 180degrees or higher, your car will still be in warm up mode there for you will be running different maps and the double throttle thing is still closed, you know stuff like that. do a search for it.


oh yeah, what kinda tires are you running? what was the weather like such as the temp and altitude?
were you spinning your wheels?

 

Checking your intercooler hoses would be a good suggestion. A friend of mine had a torn intercooler hose and was only running at 1 psi.
-r0gu3

 

The most important thing is boost gauge as earlier stated. I drove my FD for 2 years without a boost gauge and realized (after 2 years!!) that I had a torn lower ic hose (you can barely see the crack - you have to pull it off and look closely for a crack) I was only boosting maybe 1-2 psi and running about 170-180 flywheel hp. I was losing to Volvos on the highway. Other things like proper warmup and other things mentioned could be but I'd bet it's a boost leak. I could take you with my Saturn LS-200!! Heeehee - I hope you find that problem!!!

 

No, the car was definitely warmed up. In fact, I thought that it might be heat-soaked and that was why I was running so slow. But, I don't think so now.

On the highway, I can feel the second turbo kicking in, just not that hard. When I first got the car, it would plaster me to my seat when the second turbo boosted ... not so anymore. I don't know whether to attribute that to getting used to the car or whether the car is not boosting the same. I did the silicone hoses job done since then.

I'm running 245/45-16 BFG KDW's right now. Mostly for auto-x .... but, I took it to the strip just to see what it would do. I'm in Texas, so I'm close to sea level and it was hot outside. But, I don't think that warranted the SLOW times that I ran.

Maybe that's why those Z06's are putting up such better times that me ...

 

Ok ... slapped a $15 boost gauge on and taped it to the windshield. I have good engine vacuum (16 in Hg), but no boost?

At 3000 rpm, the needle hits 3 psi and not a bit higher. At 4000 rpm, the needle drops into the vacuum zone.
At 5000 rpm and above, the needle again sits at 3 psi.

I checked under the car and I don't think the turbos are leaking oil and they don't smoke or anything like that.

I tried the 40-70mph test; it's taking over 6 seconds. During the test, the boost again never broke 3 psi.

So, does this sound like a clogged pre-cat? Or do I have some solenoids not working/actuators not turning over?

 

I'd say you have a cracked IC hose. Might be a clogged cat but I would check your IC hoses first.

 

I looked around the hose and I couldn't visually see any cracks or leaks ... but, it was getting around sundown so I may not have had enough light. Getting too late to be pulling the parts off ...

I guess that makes sense. Since the car is not overheating and the turbos aren't acting funny, it would make the IC hose the primary suspect. Anyone find fault with my logic? Or is there something else I should check before I start throwing away money?

Any help will be much appreciated ....

 

Check intake hoses something may have popped of or a hose could be leaking.

 

stick your head under your hood and listen for a hissing noise. That'll be your boost pissing away into the atmoshpere. well actually tht'll let you find the spot where your boost leaks when your turbos are actually making boost. Pull on the throttle cable a little and the hissing will get louder...like the others said listen real close to all your hoses and make sure you check your bov. Mine was pissing away 10 lbs of boost for a few days.

 

I guarantee you that it is one of the 100 hoses under your UIM. I had the same problem and it turned out to be a hose under the UIM that popped off. Just take it off and look around.

 

A little deductive reasoning will rule the IC hose out. An IC hose that is cracked will leak boost all the time, that means you'd get very little boost on the first turbo and slightly MORE on the second.

You ought to check the Turbo control actuator and solenoid. Do a search for those two things and you'll fine a write-up detailing diagnosis procedures.

Jeff

 

Thanks for the all the hints everyone. I kept hearing the hissing noise and finally pulled all the hoses. Turns out Barry was right .... crack in the intercooler hose. It was very tricky. The crack was invisible until you squeeze the hose from the opposite ends of the crack.

Although, this did allow to see something else. The secondary turbo shaft is loose/wearing down. Grooves in the compressor housing .... looks like I'm gonna need new turbos. Dammit ...

 

how hard did you squeeze the sucker? it maybe that you made that crack due to bending the crap out of the hose but, regardless, if it does do that, then that would mean the interior of your hose is shot anyways.

 

Not very hard at all. Plus, the hose has all those rubber o-ring reinforcements; I doubt you could crack it with just your bare hands. It was tricky because if you just looked at the hose or bent it in its normal position, you would not see the crack. To the untrained eye, you wouldn't see anything wrong with it. I didn't notice until I started wiping all the soot off the hose ... unintentionally 'squeezing' the hose and then I saw the crack. Like I said ... tricky.

 

Don't get discouraged. Just know what you're gonna do after...don't rebuild, and don't get the stock ones again.