The general lack of power on my FC is starting to wear thin on me. I still love the car for the handling which is why I wasn't too concerned when I was originally looking for one, and expected it to be a little sluggish, but now driving my Mazda3 everyday has opened my eyes; is the same output but feels like it has so much more pull. I know the disconnect is torque between the two cars, but even up in the revs my FC seems like it's making a lot of nice mechanical noises, but there's nothing happening. Outside of second gear the car has very little to offer.

At the same time I'm very disheartened that I feel this way about it. I feel like I'm dishonouring my car with my thoughts and it knows somehow. It knows when I try to get it wound up I'm asking it in my head, "Hey what the frig is with this strange behaviour?", and it sadly replies to me "I'm doing my best master." Very sad.

I'm really going to press to get a new exhaust fitted up, maybe that'll breathe new life into it. Come to think of it, all the noise and not much movement, it actually seems like it's trying to suck in but can't get it back out. I'm going to have to search to find out what else can significantly benefit an NA.

It doesn't help that I had access to a Mazdaspeed6 for a day. That is really what started this conundrum. The dark side really is an evil empire, and I'm worse off for experiencing it.

 

All I can say is make sure your 6ports are working correctly. It gave new life into my NA a few years back. It was siezed closed and I very dissapointed in the performance, but still liked the rotary aspect and power delivery. After they were unstuck and rigged to work with the airpump (thanks Max!).....it was night and day with the full exhaust and intake. It was a fun car and loved to drive it hard and throw it around corners......something I have a hard time doing with the TurboII.

 

I feel the same way about the FD. Then boost kicks in and it all goes away. LOL

No seriously, the 3 surpised me too when I drove it. New cars are just getting more powerful and faster these days.

 

Ya i think the 6 ports are probably one of the more important things to look after. My ports open inconsistently so i'll be rigging them up to the air pump soon...but when they work the car feels frigin great. I just hope i can get them to work all the time...

 

What mods do you have on your car now...
I've tried pretty much all the mods that stirs up the NA...maybe I can shine some light on you.

 

I've tried:

Pineapple Sleeves
2.5 inch exhaust
3 inch exhaust
header
cats
no cats
light flywheel
LSD
CDI
Various plugs
Modded 6 port activation
Stock airbox
Cone
Timing
Air / Fuel Ratio
Shorter gear ratio

Currently working on boost project

Let me know what you want to know about and I'll try to give you some insight.

What kind of speed are you looking for?
I did not have all these mods at any one time. It was always, one off, one on kind of thing.
To give you an idea, my car would be on par or pull slightly on the hwy on an ITR with intake.
Haven't tried one with full exhaust yet.

 

Sounds like you need a little 13BT in your life. Odd that a Mazda3 feels substantially faster than your FC, it makes me think there might be something wrong with it.

 

Yeah, you poor guys and your No Accelerations...

 

Who needs acceleration when my average velocity is higher then you

 

Clog Cat perhaps?

Evil: 240hp all NA is plenty for me thx! :P

 

Your probably going through the "big" phallic stage that I went through before going TII conversion. Have you thought about doing a compression test on your Engine? It sounds to me that your Engine Is tired or your Auxilliary Ports aren't up to par.

 

Thanks for the responses guys.

I think my engine is in decent shape, I've only got 65k on the original engine. Agreed though the only way to properly tell is obviously a compression test. I don't believe performance has dropped off since I got the car, it's just I've realized that I want a little more now.

I've been suspicious that my ports aren't opening because I feel absolutely no bump at 3800, but I feel the VDI kick in (S5) at 5100 or whatever it is exactly.

My cat(s) are definitely a suspect.

The 3 feels faster sometimes, but then again the 7 feels faster than normal some days. The cars gain speed in very different ways, so it's not really apples to apples. Hard to tell.

PD Day:
My mods to add power are minimal at this point. Simply an Apexi intake. Like I said, I'll be doing the exhaust very shortly. Plugs and wires are new. Don't get me wrong, my expectations from an NA aren't 300 horse like every new member to the forum thinks they can magically squeeze out with a little magic dust... I just want it so that the power at the wheels is acceptable. I'm going to search some dyno sheets from stock S5's and see what the consensus is on a baseline (I'm thinking it should be around 130 to the wheels). Realistically just doesn't cut it for the chassis. I like NA, the simplicity, the tractability, but I want a little more out of it.

The biggest information I can impart on NA owners is to stay away from larger wheels. I've got 17's and regretted it since day one. I wanted 16's and was going to spend the difference on getting the stance right but the style of wheel wasn't made in that size so I compromised. My stamped steel 15's make the car much quicker. The lack of torque compounds the unsprung weight I think. Also agility would be better with something smaller. Stupid.

Silverrotor:
If my phallic is directly related to the potency of my car. I'm in trouble. At this point I have an "inny."

 

Do you have emissions testing? I noticed a nice kick when I went with a header and no cats. Also do you require the car to be comfortable? Depending on your model of car you could stand to loose a lot of weight with some reduction of luxuries. I've also driven a car with a lightweight flywheel and that made a big "feel" difference if thats what your after.
Grant

 

15 inch wheels are a must for the NA.
That's why I have 11lbs BBS rims on my car wrapped in 225/50R15. I have all the traction I need.

 

-TB MOD!!! Cost under 10 bucks or free if you got everything in a junk drawer.
-air pump the 6-ports
-msd (cheap on ebay)
-electric fan
-header to meet that new exhaust
-LIGHTEN YOUR CAR all unnessary junk out! (BIGGEST IMPROVEMENT)
-change/clean all filters including fuel filter
-flywheel
-port intake manifolds

later on get your motor ported.....

 

I like NA's a lot....I would just hate to own one everyday. Really fun in short bursts. I feel like a God in short spurts. WAy too much fun in a well sorted NA setup.

 

Those aren't really going to give him any extra power. Poor bang for the buck.

 

I agree with snrub especially with the MSD, as I recall the stock FC coils are more powerful than the MSD, also I really don't think the TB mod is worth the time at all.

 

do you hear that whispering in the wind?

...
...

it says "turrrrbooooooooo"

 

screw turbo, i have an s5 na too and all i have, for power, is an RB exhaust. i took everything that i dont need out of the car for weigh reasons, a full RB suspension and sure its not a rocket ship but its freakin fun too drive... thats all that matter

 

Lets just say in all of the Niagara meets, Ottawa meets, cars leading the pack are always a white 1st gen, a green and a red FD then ankle bitten by a black and a white FC NA. THEN you have your Turbo FCs with standalones, big turbo, ported engines....LOL..... I wonder why?

Nuf said.

 

so very true

 

TB mod re-routes your coolant line away from the intake..... Colder air helps...
Also with the extra butterflies removed you get a better trottle response.

MSD is added to your ignition it doesn't replace any coils...... It changes the firing pattern. MSD= Multiple Spark Discharge


I have done all the mods I posted and the car is a major improvement from stock.

Electric fans do free up hp, less stress on the motor=more hp

The current drain on the alternator will still be alot less than keeping the weight of the stock fan rotating...... which in physics weight multiplys by 4 when in rotation.

A stereo draws more power than an electric fan!!

 

my NA is not a fast car by most measures, but it is fun to drive and doesn't let me down, that's what matters.

 

Well, the White and Black FCs moved up in ranks this year and became the first 2 cars....haha

NA PoWAh