Hesitation and lack of power

[Spooler]

Hello,

It feels like the hesitation under boost has increased in the past two weeks. The intake and vaccum lines seem to be fine, 23 mmHg at vaccum and 6 psi under boost (reached before 3k rpm, so normal there too). I used to get the hesitation mainly the first boost of the day (weird....) and some hesitation after being stuck in traffic, probablt heat soak. But now it happes as soon as the car warms up. I feel it more WOT 3rd gear up, not to mention when the A/C is on. The car is not flashed, planning on having it done this Friday. Also, my boost gauge seems to hesitatate (bounce, jerk,.....) between 20 and 10 mmHg under partial throttle after the car warms up, especially under a boost condition. I had posed this issue in the past but nobody responded. I wonder if this gauge bouncing is an indication of a problem......Car also developed a rattle at 4k, like a heat shield, I checked them all and they seem to be in good shape. Anyway, no blue smoke, solid 6psi, vaccum is solid too. Flash going to happen Friday, I would appreciate all your thoughts on this before, it might be something else covered by the engine/tranny warranty.

Thanks and keep it spoolin'!

 

[satyr36]

no real answer here, but my car does the same symptoms..

19 mmHG, boosts to 6 then drops down in the 5's area on full load.

I feel like there is major leak in the piping for me, as my turbo is pretty loud. I just got the car, so not sure how its suppose to sound, really...

 

[Spooler]

Car is at the dealeship, I will post the outcome of their inspection to see if it helps others

 

[satyr36]

cool, kinda sounds like your plastic IC pipes may be the cause... i changed my hotpipe and it went away mostly. Just have to get rid of those turkeys in the motor now. and a upper IC (cold pipe)

 

[Spooler]

Just got a call from the dealership, my car did not need the flash....no problems found....amazing how the dealership sometimes is completly useless.....I'll inspect the IC pipes probably next week.....

 

[kamon8404]

I would definitely say that this problem has something to do with your fuel map. Do you a WB? I would consider getting one and see what your AFs actually are. The stock tune is so rich it isn't even funny. What are your MPGs?

 

[Spooler]

23-33 mpg, average 26.5mpg. It has been this way since day one. Don't have a WB. I will put together and run a pressure test. The issue seems to appear when the car is warm, I'm afraid a gasket or crack on a plastic pipe expands with the heat

 

[kamon8404]

33 mpg on a stock map seems like the best i have heard ever. NA proteges dont even get above that. I average a little over 32mpg on mixed driving, and thats with an ecu piggy back.

 

[Spooler]

Yeah, I'm sure I can improve a lot with a ecu piggy back. But the car runs fine, except this hesitation that is not pleasant, especially trying to pass another car. I tend to think there is a crack or something along those lines that appears under boost conditions. I need to perform a leak test, but it takes time

 

[Jspeed17]

Could be the hot pipe starting to break at the BOV connection, but it usually doesn't hold boost that well.....also with most 4cyl's with the a/c on you will get a hesitation....

 

[Spooler]

Yeah, I though about that too. But my boost gauge reads a 5.5 - 6psi, small hesitation. I guess a leak test will clear my mind on this

 

[TX Speed Demon]

Did you guys ever fix this? If not try removing your front O2 sensor and removing the heat shield from your exhaust manifold. I had a very similar issue and found a hairline crack down the front of my manifold. Dealer didn't take the time to remove the heat shield to see it that was the issue. But I could smell a little more exhaust than usual when at stop lights with the windows down. Took it into the shop with the heat shield removed and the dealer fixed it under warranty.

 

[MX5RACER]

I have had this problem, but I was able to fix it. It turns out that when your exhaust manifold is cracked, you boost correctly, but your cfm's will be way down. You can pressurize 1 cubic feet of air to 6 pounds, just as can with 10 cubic feet of air, the only difference being the amount of air that you pressurize. The crack allows the exhaust gas to bypass the turbo. The turbo will take up some of the slack, but your car will feel like the 4,000 rpm hesitation, only worse. Some things to check for would be a whistle noise while boosting, also remove the heat shield and check for cracks. Most times, the manifolds crack between the runners, but my manifold was not cracked, it had a pin-hole. Not sure how that happened, but you could see the little tiny hole and black exhaust stain on the inside of the heat shield. I hope this helps some.

I replaced the manifold and all has been great ever since, until the replacement (used) cracked as well. Oh well, guess I am going to look into a Thunder or Steedspeed manifold.

 

[udrive2slow]

heyy i had this problem in my car before and it was the beginning of my MAF going bad... about 3weeks after it started my car ran super rich... had trouble making boost and under full throttle wouldn't go any where it would bog out... so that could be your issue

 

[Ricktalife]

my car bogs down if i go to WOT at any given time. it's in the shop right now and they've already replaced 1 pipe, installed a cai, and now found another pipe that is busted >.> i'm beginning to hate this car.

 

[slomsprotege]

ive had this issue since day on of owning this car, so far i have done the reflash, replaced the manifold, installed a frontmount, replaced the fuel pump...list goes on. all in all, i hit 10 psi and it still feels like it falling down. i took it to a performance shop and they did their voodo and found that my ignition timing retards almost 30 degrees as soon as i hit 2psi, even with the reflash. the reason being is our "fuzzy logic" learning ecu's. the only way to truly combat this and keep from resetting every3 days is to get a piggy back. ill post back after mine is installed