I really believe that my car isn't making the power that it should be making. I have over 45 passes in my max with intake and ypipe and my trap speeds were all between 92-94mph, my highest best 93.8mph. I acheived this trap speed from BANGING 2nd, 3rd, and 4rth so I really doubt it possible to trap any higher. Also my 60' times were mostly low 2.2s, not that 60' times really affect trap speeds but anyway.

What should I be trapping with my mods?

Do you think 93mph with an intake and ypipe is low?
-Paul

---------------
96 SE 5speed i/y
14.762
93.8

 

What track and what sort of weather conditions, and also have you weighed your car and what wheels are you rolling on (are they really heavy). I've trapped as high as almost 97 with i/y but my car is pretty light and the weather conditions were good. Average for me was between 95 and 96 so yeah your speeds seem a little low but if you are rolling on 50lb wheels and running when its 90 degrees out then you are doing just fine.

 

With a I Y E underdrive pulley i trap 94-95

 

With a Y-pipe, intake, and B-pipe, I typically got 14.6-14.7@95-96mph with 2.2X 60 foots. My best trap was 96.5mph.

 

wow! I wish man.

I ran my best time in 48 degrees and 50% humidity.

The elevation of etown is about 350 above sea level.

I always raced on my stock sawblades upfront and my 42 lb 17" rims/tires in the back.

I always up to date on maintainence: oil changes, sparg plugs, clean tb. I also have changed my knock sensor and rear o2 sensor.

Question: I never changed my pcv valve. Would changing it be that big of a difference? I doubt it but I'm just asking.
-Paul


edit - my car wighed in at 2,933 pounds without me. I weigh 150 lbs. I removed my spare tire, jack, tools, passenger seat, and rear seat asy. I had 1/4 tank of gas.
---------------
96 SE 5speed
14.762
93.8

 

Sounds like your car is a little bit down on power then. I don't think the PCV valve would affect power but I don't know for sure.

 

yea I really don't know what it is. It really hit me that I'm not making the power I should be when I lost to my friend who has a 96 se 5speed like me, but all he has done is stillen intake and stillen catback. He has on the STOCK ypipe.

We did a 3rd gear pull from 40mph all the way till redline. He had 1 car length on me at the end. There was no shifting involved so it wasn't the driver. Just a 3rd gear pull. I have a budget ypipe(which adds a good amount of power over stock) and he has stock ypipe and he still beats me from a roll every time.

I'm stumped

Any ideas guys. Cmon Neal, you're good with this stuff. what could it be? you too Dave B. lol
-Paul

---------------
96 SE 5speed
14.762
93.8

 

I got on your homepage and noticed the baro pressure during your run was pretty low (29.57). You'll definitely when you're running faster in 30+ pressure. Also, pump your tires up to 30psi or so. Your 76mph in the 1/8th is good, but you're only gaining 17-18mph in the final 1/8th. What are your shift points? Was there a head wind? You're almost at 94mph which is pretty normal. On a good track day I'm sure you could be running 95mph+ with no other changes.

 

I'm not really that good at troubleshooting because I've never had to do it for a power problem so I am kindof going over the things that are very typical. Have you taken a look at the flex section in your Ypipe (the inside) to see if it has collapsed at all? Also the next thing I would do after checking your flex section is do a compression test if my car weren't making the power it should.

 

Finding a power loss can be really hard to do. For example, I had a coil pack with frayed wires that was costing me 10lbs of torque through my whole power band. I just found the problem by accident. I was at the track before I found the problem and ran a 14.5-14.6 and a week later I was running 14.2-14.3. Not that I think it is your coil packs, but just to show that it could some little thing like that which I just found by chance.

 

Thanks a lot for all your helpful advise guys.

Dave B - I spin like crazy off the line if I set my front tires at 30psi. I get much better 60' times with 22-24psi in the front tires. I have also noticed that I only gain 17-18 mph in the last 1/8 mile. This typically means that I have a lock of topend power. I look at many others timeslips and they are gaining at LEAST 19mph, up to 21mph. I would be happy to trap 95mph.

Neal - I checked the flex section on my ypipe the other day and it is in good shape. The ypipe itself is pretty rusted but thats normal. I'm going to bring my car to my bro's shop and let him do a compression test. Hopefully all goes well, I'll keep you updated.

I30MikeD - wow, nice difference from changing a bad coil pack! How can I check if my coil packs are shot? Is it a diy'er?
-Paul

---------------
96 SE 5speed
14.762
93.8

 

Launching takes practice. Both Neal and Mike will probably agree with me that you should be able to get lower 2.2s even on crappy tires. I've pulled 2.20s on bald 6 year old 215/60R15 RSAs. The trick is how you come off the clutch. I suggest launching at 3000-4000rpms and release the clutch to the point where it's just below it's grabbing point. On the last amber, release the clutch a little to get rolling 1-2mph and then release the clutch as you're feeding the car gas. Don't go full throttle until you feel the tires are completely hooked up. You can practice this on the street. The tires will spin, but usually it will be chirp chirp chirp instead of all out spin. I too use to think launching above 2000rpms was impossible because the tires went up in a blaze of glory at anything over 1500rpms. Then I learned that clutch and throttle modulation is key. You can't get terribly greedy off the line.

The first step is to pull your plugs and see if they're uniform. If they are uniform then don't worry about it, if they aren't then focus on the ones that look different. A plug with a bad coil will most likely exhibit more carbon buildup and fouling. To check the coils, get a Haynes/Chiltons manual (best $18 you'll ever spend) and a voltmeter. It's easy to test the plugs, but there is a procedure to doing it. Also check the wiring to the coil to see if the wire covers have been peirced or are frayed, etc. I'd imagine Mike's problem was one of his coil wires that was used in connection with his MEVI RPM switch wiring.

Another good check would be to confirm all your vacuum hoses are secured, especially any that go directly to the intake. A small vacuum leak won't hurt driveability, but it will hurt performance. A simple vacuum check could reveal if you have a leak. Normal vacuum at or near sea level should a steady 20-21 Hg with a warm VQ at idle. Anything less then you've got a problem. I've vacuum checked 8 4th gens and they're all in this range.

As for gains in the 1/8th mile, 18-19mph without the MEVI/JWT ECU setup is normal. With the MEVI/JWT ECU, 20-21mph is normal.

Shifting, you should be doing:

1-2 ~6500
2-3 ~6200
3-4 ~5900

Good luck.

 

I am shifting exactly as you said execpt I shift from 3-4 @ 6k not 5900rpm. I'm sure it doesn't make that big of a difference anyway. I mean, I am banging the gear pretty damn fast. I have extremely fast reflexes (think Bruce Lee to get a better picture) lol j/k.

Ok then my coils are fine because I just changed my spark plugs and when I did, they all seemed equally used. My brother, who is a mechanic, checked them closely so it's not that.

hmmm.. I dunno then guys. I guess I can understand the track times. But....

how can you explain my friends max beating me from a 3rd gear roll WITHOUT a ypipe?? It kills me thinking about it. I can see him 2 cars or more ahead if he gets a ypipe.
-Paul

---------------
96 SE 5speed
14.762
93.8

 

With intake, ypipe, and exhaust, I trapped 94.5 as my best trap speed. Maybe u have a clogged cat or the dreaded knock sensor partial failure?

 

I changed the ks 20k miles ago and noticed a big difference. I went from 88mph to 92mph!
-Paul

---------------
96 SE 5speed
14.762
93.8