I have had my car for a week and here is what I noticed. There is more torque at 2kRPM in 3d gear than at 2kRPM in 2nd. Does anyone else notice this? I am not sure whether if it supposed to be like this but it did cross my mind that I may need a new air filter.

 

That's not normal. Your gears multiply your torque. Individual gear ratio X Final Drive ratio. 2nd gear is 1.85 and 3rd gear is 1.27. Final drive is 3.82.

So 2nd gear has a torque multiplying ratio of 7.07 and 3rd gear has a ratio of 4.85. That should be directly proportional to the acceleration you're feeling.

There definately is more torque at low rpms in 2nd than 3rd for me. Flooring it while cruising at 3000 in 2nd gives a healthy chirp. Not so in 3rd (but I'd love to be able to do that in 3rd ).

 

Thats what I was thinking. Im thinking that the air filter I have now is dirty and restricting air flow, and as a result hurts acceleration at lower speeds, where air intake is limited. I think there is more pulling power at 3k in 2nd for my car too, but im talking b/w 2 and 3kRPM.

You can chirp your tires in 3d too, just find a nice snow patch and watch out for poles

A nice K&N filter should do the trick, right?

 

Does a K&N help with anything or should I just get a new OEM filter?

The owner who had the car before me put some expensive all year tires on the car and the damn things dont peel out at all. Its not that I care or anything, its just that instead of hearing rubber burning and not moving, the car shakes violently as the wheels bounce, not getting traction but not losing it either. Its pretty hilarious!

 

Before you replace your air filter, just undo the 4 clips and check and see if it needs to be replaced. No reason to replace if it is still good.

I think JClaw is talking about chirping on dry pavement, not snow though. But he is putting down considerably more power than you.

 

What are some signs that the filter needs to be replaced?

But yeah, I know he was talking about dry pavement, I was just being a wise ***

 

Never drove it in the snow (I'm not suicidal) but in the rain it spins in 3rd.

 

hey guys dont want to sound like an *** but my max got 203k miles and my car pulls hard 1,2,3 and i cut spin the tires on 1,second and 3 only mods is n&n pannel and a bugget Y-pipe ...o and usually some alcohol..70% good..

 

Take it out, look at it if it is considerably dirtier than a new one, replace it. I'd recommend K&N or Fram Airhog re-usables, but it doesn't really matter.

 

its all in your head. Next..

 

Sometimes that happenes with my car along with burning the tire, but becareful because that wheel bouncing WILL mess up pretty much your whole front end (suspension, links, motor mounts, and specially your tranny!!)

 

When my knock sensor went bad it seemed to be much worse in 1st & 2nd, have you checked your ECU for trouble codes?? It's very easy to do and you could have a trouble code that isn't turning the MIL on. Also, are you serious about the air filter? Take the thing out and look at the underside, it takes 2 seconds and no tools are needed. Also, because of that question, I'm wondering how many miles are on your car and when the last time it had a compression test, fuel filter, plugs, pcv valve, and spark plugs, aka a Tune-Up! (compression test first so you don't spend $150 on a blown motor, been there done that!!)

 

The K&N is around $45 and the OEM is like only $7. But, you can reuse the K&N for the rest of the car's life. You don't really get any more horsepower like they claim.

 

Funny thing you bring this up because literally today, as I was driving home from work, the service engine light came on! I bought the car a week ago and it has 87,000 miles on the ODE. I dont think the plugs have been siwtched for like 40k miles. Probably needs a tuneup Oh, and he told me he ran it on 87 octane all its life, I switched to 93 when I got it.

Can an exhaust leak cause the service engine light to go off or is it something else?

How much does an ECU test cost? I really dont feel like dabbling with the ECU myself and leave it to the pros.