I’ve noticed that the fs-de is not great on gas. Especially for an n/a 2.0. Why does it run so rich on gas? It seems like it could push out a lot more power with the same fuel consumption.
Why do our cars run so pig rich?
- Thread starter MuffinMan06
- Start date
The air fuel ratio is very rich
No it’s not an issue. The car stock just runs really rich. I’ve seen multiple people talking about it on the forum. I just want to know why.
Ok. I’m sure I saw it somewhere. Sorry for the trouble
BenjiHoggi
OEM+
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- Oregon, USA
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- 22v Protege5
No, NO....you're definitely right. You're not imagining it. I've seen the same posts.
Mostly in regards to tuning differences between the stock and MP3 ECU. I can try to dig up some specific posts if I have time. The main thing people referenced was the poor fuel economy and the constant build up of soot on the exhaust pipe (of which I have noticed myself).
As for your question, I think it's valid and I would be similarly curious to find an answer. With that said, is it likely going to happen? No, I don't believe so. I don't think it's a big enough issue or that the car is relevant enough these days for anyone but the biggest of enthusiasts to dig into, and most of them have already probably ditched the stock ECU anyway.
With that said, if you have a desire to learn more about this and to try and find some kind of "solution", I'm with ya. Of course, given that lovely thing we all lack...time.
It’s such a niche car that I have had to dig through 10+ year old forum posts to find info on it. Thank you for the reply. I’m sure with enough research, it could be a beast in autoX. I have a hunch that the rich air fuel ratio may be due to the switch over to OBDII for the North American market. It seems to me that the ford partnership with Mazda caused some rushed imports to the states and a lack of budget to improve, causing outsourcing to become necessary for performance models like Calloway for the MSP
BenjiHoggi
OEM+
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- Oregon, USA
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- 22v Protege5
That's the general consensus I think, alas. Not that it can't be appreciated for how awesome it is though.
I haven't personally done autocross with my P5, but I think it would be great for that even stock, with a good set of high performance tires. I run BFG g-Force Comp2 A/Ss in the warm months and they're super sticky. It's a real challenge to lose traction unless I start lifting a wheel where an LSD or swaybar would help. And trust me, I've tried. The thing rips on backroads.
I haven't personally done autocross with my P5, but I think it would be great for that even stock, with a good set of high performance tires. I run BFG g-Force Comp2 A/Ss in the warm months and they're super sticky. It's a real challenge to lose traction unless I start lifting a wheel where an LSD or swaybar would help. And trust me, I've tried. The thing rips on backroads.
I have the tiptronic holding the car back a bit, but even with that, I have a ton of fun driving it on the mountain roads near my house. Planning on putting the FSH9 intake cam and a cai to increase power a bit and adjust the powerband to my liking. The auto in the p5 is pretty good all things considered, it’s just a shame I can’t use the mp3 ecu or a turbo without major spending on custom parts. The auto was never researched enough for making power
I know that the car REALLY sucks gas.
My brother-in-laws 2019 Dodge pickup truck gets almost as much MPG with its 5.7 liter V8 engine.
It is 20 years newer, but still...
Just wait until your car goes into limp mode from engine misfiring.
Then it gets even worse.
One thing I remember is that when the car gets an engine misfire code, the CEL flashes and ECU does everything it can to stop the misfiring, like reducing the ignition timing advance and it FLOODS the engine with gas to protect the engine (the gas works as a coolant).
An engine misfire is the ONLY code that flashes the CEL on our car.
Once the ECU has stopped the misfiring the CEL goes solid, and you are stuck in limp mode, then you need to stop for gas every few miles or so.
My guess is that the car is always fed excess amounts of gas to help keep it from burning up.
It is a sports car, and people tend to drive the shyte of it.
I remember thinking that the manual transmission could make more power than the automatic, but apparently the automatic can make more power.
I remember an upgraded forged gear set for the manual transmission that cost $7,000 US just for the set of gears.
BenjiHoggi
OEM+
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- Oregon, USA
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- 22v Protege5
Yeah, it's not great compared to Hondas and Toyotas of the same era. But to be fair, it's not too bad.
I get 23-27 MPG in town and consistently average 28 MPG with 70/30 highway/city driving. With 98% highway driving, it's 31-33 MPG which isn't too bad.
One thing I've noticed is that even driving pretty aggressively, I still achieve basically the same numbers as stated above. My parents have a 5-spd Honda Fit and it gets close to 40 on a good day but if you beat on it the mileage drops quickly.
I may experiment with an MP3 ECU and premium fuel in the future. I've heard it can increase fuel economy and help the car run better. MuffinMan06, if you're not familiar with that mod, you should definitely do some reading on it.
He'd have to get a manual transmission to use an MP3 ECU or a flashed ECU.
The MP3 was only available as a 5 speed manual transmission.
BenjiHoggi
OEM+
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- Oregon, USA
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- 22v Protege5
I got an auto so the mp3 ecu would be a very difficult retrofit. Maybe I can steal the transmission module from the auto ecu and put it in the mp3’s
Here is my son auto-x my yellow P5, completely stock and on street tires. He is a novice...
Back in the day they used to be competitive. Not so much now. But still fun to dodge some cones.
Back in the day they used to be competitive. Not so much now. But still fun to dodge some cones.
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- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
the answer is.........because Mazda tuned them that way.................
