how do you tellif ytou have a vacuum leak in a fd need help please

 

I just spray starter fluid in the areas that might have a leak and find them that way. If your motor is stock this method might not work as well since you have many more hoses.

 

What makes you think you have a vacuum leak? What are your symptoms?

 

my car run fine until i gas it pretty good and then it cuts out like the ecu is in limp mode ut i reset the ecu and it does the same thing at least i thinki reset the ecu the trip odometer went back to 0.0 thats the only way i can tell its been reset please help

 

uh oh....you better list your mods....you don't happen to have a midpipe with the stock ECU do you?

There seems to have been an epidemic of new owners putting midpipes without supporting mods on these cars

 

Where in Va are you?

 

You need a boost gauge to know if you have an overboost problem. Too much boost can engage the fuel cut on this car, or if fuel cut doesn't engage you can blow your motor.

Dave

 

Ok, I gotta question: should I buy a Power FC before I intsall a downpipe and midpipe or can I go ahead and install them and add the Power FC later. I've read all the stuff on boost creep and I'm just wandering, if you're not redlining the car everytime you drive it are you still at a high risk of blowing your motor without the Power FC? Does it just not matter because the stock ECU just can't handle a midpipe with any type driving? Thanks - Brad

 

Boost creep is not solved by a power FC. Creep is a restriction problem, not a controller or ECU problem. It's caused by having an exhaust that flows better than the wastegate - so that even when the stock ECU/PFC/Boost Controller opens the wastegate completely, it still won't limit the boost. Then the boost just gets higher and higher until you lift off the throttle or the ECU hits fuel cut.

Bottom line: if you install a midpipe on a car with other exhaust mods, your boost will probably creep. To be safe, never install a midpipe without porting the wastegate, or adding other restriction to the exhaust.

The ECU doesn't matter as long as you keep your boost at 10psi. However, I've heard the stock ECU can have trouble handling the boost if you're running a very free-flowing exhaust - tunable options like a PFC, MBC, or EBC are a better option for a car without cats.

Dave

 

True, Dave, but you missed one point. The stock ECU's boost control is too agressive if you start opening the exhaust up. I had boost spikes with just a downpipe and catback - the factory boost control has a fixed duty cycle, and doesn't respond to changes in the flow or boost of the car.

This can be remedied by installing a boost controller, or going PFC. The PFC's built-in boost control can bring it back into control.

IMHO, a lot of people having creep problems with full exhaust moreso have boost control problems. If you use the factory pills, you'll have creep and spike problems - you need full boost control once things are really opened up. Since the PowerFC uses the factory system, if you use it's boost control you have to play with pill size or a manual boost controller, which IMHO is lame. The PFC's boost control is really only good for minor mods - intake/downpipe/highflow cat or midpipe/catback, and you need a better boost controller.

Dale

 

That's what I meant in the statement "The ECU doesn't matter as long as you keep your boost at 10psi. However, I've heard the stock ECU can have trouble handling the boost if you're running a very free-flowing exhaust - tunable options like a PFC, MBC, or EBC are a better option for a car without cats."

I should have clarified that the word 'tunable' in that statement meant adjusting the boost settings, not tuning afrs.

But as usual you said it much better and more specifically.

Dave

 

Thanks guys. I guess for now I'll just do the PFC, downpipe and maybe a highflow-cat and leave the midpipe alone for a while.

Brad