hey everyone.... well i wanted to find out if my car is performing normally or if there is something wrong. i have been doing a bunch of little stuff to the car over the last year and its finally running properly and passing CA smog (i did the vacuum lines, intake gasket, and threw on a DP). so basically the car is stock (94 touring w/ 83K on hte stock motor/turbos) except for a K&N filter, efini y-pipe, and a DP, and 4 new s02's @ 30psi.

ok here are my questions and concerns.... with the mods listed above i used a gtech to get a rough estimate of my 1/4 mile time.... best i got was 14.5 sec @102 mph.... does this sound about right for the mods listed above? i have some pretty horrible wheel hop which needs to be dealt with so that may help out a bit w/ the 1/4 mile time.

other thing is my turbo manifold and DP glow red after a hard run or 2.... people have said this is normal but it gets so hot the the wrapping on my DP (which used to be black a week ago when i put it on, is now white from the heat....) and the whole thing glows intensly..... i took some pics that i will post but the flash went off so it doesnt look like its glowing as much as it really is. anyway, im worried that possible i have some back pressure from a bad cat, or clogged stock exhaust (which has some good rust holes in it right now).... or that the car is running to lean.

and comments are much appreciated... thanks, heath

 

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Wow, that is hot! Maybe you should drop your cat and check for a clog.

 

yeah im thinking there is some problem..... this is with the flash on.... i couldnt get it to focus w/ the flash off but the ENTIRE thing is red-freakin-hot, as well as half of the DP!!!!!

 

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I dont know how accurate the gtec is, but the car is a mid-high 13 second car stock.
I've never run my car at the track, but my friend has ran his z28 (dyno'd 297rwhp forgot tq #'s) consistant low 13's (13.1 being average) and on a cold (60f) night I can put 4 cars on him from 0-140. on warm florida nights (80-90f) he puts a few cars on me, unless we do a roll.

 

well i think the gtech is "reasonably" accurate... basically it gives you a very rough estimate..... but i wonder whats going on to get a 14.5 sec quarter mile.... the power seems to drop off signifigantly w/ higher rpms like 6K+ ...

 

any thoughts on the 1/4mi. times or the glowing?

 

im gonna have to agree with Chameleon... you should probably check you cat for a clog. that would help explain the extra heat, and the power drop-off in high rpm's is also a symtom of a clogged cat. even if that isnt it, it wouldnt hurt to take it off and have a look. doesnt take to long either.

-John

 

I also have power loss at higher rpm...

 

My downpipe doesn't glow like that even after 20 minutes of tracking the car....your cat is likely toast.

 

83k .......that's a fast clog.

that wrap retains heat also...........

did u forget that nut That one is always a pain to put on.

 

that wrap actually glows red as well so its not really retaining any heat.... i want to put another layer... but maybe i should find the source of the problem.

how do i check for a clogged cat? pull it and then what?? also if it is clogged is it better to find a used one, get a new one, or just get a pettit HF cat?

also about that nut... it is IMPOSSIBLE to get on! literally impossible the way the pipe is bent... there is no room to get a bolt in there, and its too close to the side wall of the car to slide it on to a stud..... i dont know what to do about that one??? any one have the same prob?

by the way... it took me at least a minute or 2 to park the car and get some pictures snapped... the pipe must be much hotter when its running

 

well on most pipes u have to put the nut on when the pipe is barely on the bolt then thread it and move the pipe down farther.

if you put the pipe on and then the bolt it def will not work.

The wrap may be hot but it is still retaining heat.

when i took my dp out i just pounded it on they pavement once and a bunch of **** came out. If just figured it was cloged enought for me not to want to put it on.

Put a HF cat on.

 

yea, it is your cat for sure. thats the reason why you have low power at high rpm's. be careful that pipe doesnt burst into flames. mine did.

 

^really?? engine fire??? what happend? ok im not driving till i get this taken care of... so this is kind of a daily driver.... would you recomend a stock cat or a HF? im not interested in the fastest speed w/ this car, im interested in reliability... im building another FD for speed

 

PS how would one tell if a cat is clogged?? i dont hear anything floating around in there..... is there a way to "test" a cat

 

change it anyways , if its not clogged, it will clog somewhere in the future ,, best have it changed now ,those symptoms sound a lot like the cat,
do you have ant "timing altering" devices on the car , if the timing is too retarded it could heat the exhaust

 

1/4 time is really bad, its either your driving or you have an auto. Also theres no reason to have the cat on there if you already passed emissions...right? So just take it off, buy the pettit ecu and mp and come back to us, this isnt rocket scince guys

 

felix_is_alive: nope... only mods are efifi y pipe, k&N filter in the stck box, downpipe.... besides that the car is 100% stock and the stock stuff is all original.

rx7raca:its probably my driving hehehe!! i dont have much expierience running quarter miles (as it seems relativly unimportant to me except as a gauge of performance). basically i just rev it up and drop the clutch, then shift @ around 7.5K.... ive tryed dropping it at a few different RPM's and ive come up with a range of 14.5-14.95sec. for a quarter mile.

as far as the cat-> i need/want a cat! i WILL NOT drive around without a cat.... i dont care if it costs an extra 20 HP... its really bad for the environment...i know the 7 is not a prius, but why make it worse? im not trying to make this car the fastest 7 out there... its just a fun weekend car that my dad and i share. i am also in the process of building a 20b FD to satisfy my need to go faster (i still need a clutch and a few other small things before i can get started building... i also will be running a HF cat on that car) but that is not where im trying to go with this car. i (and most importantly my dad ) just want the car to perform/sound/look similar to when it was new. -heath

 

Well then if you can afford a damn 20b just get a brand new cat! Your wasting time, hurry!

 

14.5 at 102, that is pretty damn high speed for a such a bad time...

probably means bad 60'

and yeah why are you putting a HF cat on a race car?

 

there are lots of reasons to put a HF on

smell
noise
boost creep
emissions

and these are not "race cars"

they are sport cars. They can be made to walk a thin line but he has not crossed that and does not wish to. He might like his A/C