So my car has been running very strange for quite some time now. I have checked every single hose clamp etc. over and over again. I was getting to the point to where I just assumed it was normal.
It's very hard to explain it but I will give it a try. What would happen is that between shifts it felt like every ounce of boost was lost. When I let off the clutch it would be very jerky, like take off jet jerky usually like an On, Off, On again torque/power wise (if that makes sense). Also at cruise it just didn't feel right at times. In 6th I would drop down to 5th to pass and I would still get some hesitation and an overall feeling of just not right.
I ran log after log on my DH and started seeing my FP dropping down to 700PSI. I'm like OMG now all of a sudden I need FP Internals. Before I was just fine, now not...hmmm. Also, I noticed my boost dropping off quicker than before. It would spike 20PSI then drop to 16.1 or high 15's by 5500 and I was like WTF. Basically my car just didn't feel right, my FP was dropping to 700PSI and taking off from a light shifting from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd was always a chore to keep the weird jerks away. My gas millage sucked as well. It was not running bad enough to make you think something major was wrong, it was more of a feeling somethng was just not quite right. If that makes sense?
Again I checked all my connections and all was fine. I knew on my HKS that the Recirc Fitting was crushed (from tightening it too much) and ordered a replacement. When I went to take off the HKS cap I noticed a couple of the Hex Screws were missing! I replaced the Recirc Fitting and drove my car for a few more hundred miles with the same feeling as before.
So on a whim I asked my pals in my local chapter if they had any extra HKS BPV laying around that I could steal a couple screws from. I didn't think this would fix my issue, but at this point I was out of options, something was wrong and I might as well replace 2 screws. Kyle said he had an old one running around that I could have and I stole 2 screws from it and replaced the missing ones and I also cranked down the remaining ones on the HKS to where they were all really tight.
OMG - MY car is FIXED! Seriously. I'm not sure if it was the 2 screws or the overall tightening of the cap, but I really don't care. My car has never driven so smooth. I can be in 6th and simply mash the gas to pass without downshifting (thought I don't recommend it and I still downshift, I don't have too is all). My FP now drops only to 1500PSI at max, my AFR's are steady as a brick and I get ZERO hesitation! My boost now holds 17.1 PSI at 6300RPMs and at 5500 I'm still in the 18's close to 19PSI.
It is really strange what a boost leak can do and how it can feel. I would have never saw those missing screws or loose screws on my HKS if I didn't replace the Recirc Fitting. It's simply something that you would not check normally.
So those with HKS, be sure to check your cap screws if you're having any issues like I was having. I have no idea how I lost 2 screws or the fact that most of the others where loose (even after I replaced the fitting). My HKS screws will now be part of my regular Clamp checks. I hope this experience helps others and sorry for the long winded post.
It's very hard to explain it but I will give it a try. What would happen is that between shifts it felt like every ounce of boost was lost. When I let off the clutch it would be very jerky, like take off jet jerky usually like an On, Off, On again torque/power wise (if that makes sense). Also at cruise it just didn't feel right at times. In 6th I would drop down to 5th to pass and I would still get some hesitation and an overall feeling of just not right.
I ran log after log on my DH and started seeing my FP dropping down to 700PSI. I'm like OMG now all of a sudden I need FP Internals. Before I was just fine, now not...hmmm. Also, I noticed my boost dropping off quicker than before. It would spike 20PSI then drop to 16.1 or high 15's by 5500 and I was like WTF. Basically my car just didn't feel right, my FP was dropping to 700PSI and taking off from a light shifting from 1st to 2nd and then to 3rd was always a chore to keep the weird jerks away. My gas millage sucked as well. It was not running bad enough to make you think something major was wrong, it was more of a feeling somethng was just not quite right. If that makes sense?
Again I checked all my connections and all was fine. I knew on my HKS that the Recirc Fitting was crushed (from tightening it too much) and ordered a replacement. When I went to take off the HKS cap I noticed a couple of the Hex Screws were missing! I replaced the Recirc Fitting and drove my car for a few more hundred miles with the same feeling as before.
So on a whim I asked my pals in my local chapter if they had any extra HKS BPV laying around that I could steal a couple screws from. I didn't think this would fix my issue, but at this point I was out of options, something was wrong and I might as well replace 2 screws. Kyle said he had an old one running around that I could have and I stole 2 screws from it and replaced the missing ones and I also cranked down the remaining ones on the HKS to where they were all really tight.
OMG - MY car is FIXED! Seriously. I'm not sure if it was the 2 screws or the overall tightening of the cap, but I really don't care. My car has never driven so smooth. I can be in 6th and simply mash the gas to pass without downshifting (thought I don't recommend it and I still downshift, I don't have too is all). My FP now drops only to 1500PSI at max, my AFR's are steady as a brick and I get ZERO hesitation! My boost now holds 17.1 PSI at 6300RPMs and at 5500 I'm still in the 18's close to 19PSI.
It is really strange what a boost leak can do and how it can feel. I would have never saw those missing screws or loose screws on my HKS if I didn't replace the Recirc Fitting. It's simply something that you would not check normally.
So those with HKS, be sure to check your cap screws if you're having any issues like I was having. I have no idea how I lost 2 screws or the fact that most of the others where loose (even after I replaced the fitting). My HKS screws will now be part of my regular Clamp checks. I hope this experience helps others and sorry for the long winded post.
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