power loss/gain depending on temp

shucky

Member
:
Mazdaspeed 3
Hi all, just thought I'd ask this here. I thought I read others saying same as me, but just wanted to see how many of you experience this. Basically, anything under 50 degree's my car feels sluggish, less eager to rev, sounds different, and overall feels slower. However, at 50 degree's or over the car revs easy, sounds different, and hauls ass. I only had MS intake and recently installed the CS RP and it does the same. This can change in a matter of moments also, like leaving for work its maybe in the 30's outside. Car is sluggish. At lunch I head out and its been about 50-55 outside and the car is instantly different than how it drove in the morning just a few hours previously. Its not in my head either, there is a big different in how it feels and responds depending on outside temp. Anyone else?? Comments appreciated w/thanks ~ Mike (screwy)
 
i noticed that also, when it's colder out the car feels slow, but when it's hot, it hauls. by cold i mean upper 30s in the morning when i goto work. when im off work its around 88 degrees and the car pulls hard.
 
Last edited:
Yep I noticed it too just pinned it down to 50 degrees today! Man what a coincidence!
 
This is not news, guys. It happens on bone stock cars, not just modded ones. It seems to go away if it gets really cold (according to our friends in the great white north) so it might be an issue with bad maps for certain temperature ranges, or maybe some component that has a problem with certain temperatures, although the first is more likely.
 
Does it improve once the engine warms up? It certainly should. All of my cars (FI or not) were "sluggish" when cold, but after they warmed up, they ran better (just as my MS3 does) when it was colder out. Colder air is more dense, contains more oxygen (at a similar altitude), and generally increases power (slightly). Hot air is less dense, has less oxygen, and robs you of a small amount of power.
 
Never said it was NEW news, nor did I say it happened only with modded cars. Just wanted to see what everyone else thought, BECUZ there was someone who said their car felt quicker/faster/better when it was 45 and below and SLOWER when it was warmer, which is opposite than what I experience. It also DOES NOT go away or improve the colder it gets, it in fact gets worse. I've seen down to -25F this winter and all the way back up, so I would know if it improved or not. Drive it everyday. No, it doesn't go away when the car is warm either. Who gets on their car when its not at operating temp anyways?

Thanks for "some" of the input.
 
I know Camry, been around cars for a really long time, just "this" car does some weird s***. ha ha ha ... MLC and I have had a debate or two before, so when I seen him chime in here it rubbed me the wrong way. Sorry. No worries, and nothing personal against MLC, heck its just the internet. Thanks guys!
 
I am in the great white north and I see have the same issue. When its cold the car is not as performing as when the weather is cool. This car is a monster when the weather is cool. But when you hit cold or hot weather its not at its best.

There was some explanation I beleive from CPE on what might be going on a while back with cold weather and the MS3.

Its starting to warm up here which is good. Looking forward to summer :)

enjoy!
 
It's really strange when I see anything bellow 0 degrees C my car is slower but when at lets say 5 degrees C it ok again until you hit about 27 degrees C then it starts to get sluggish again.

Its the oddest thing. I can see the warm weather affecting things since there is a scientific reason that I can explain for it but at colder weather bellow zero even with a warm engine its not as performing. Since you have more oxygen at colder temps I would expect it to be screaming at cold temps but there is something else kicking in that I cannot explain that makes things worst bellow zero.

Oh well I still really like my MS3 and looking forward to warmer weather.
 
Well for me, my baby loves the cool weather..i've had turbo cars before and they always run better when its between 20-45*..cant wait till it warms up here in NY to see how she's gonna run..where do you guys live with 0* temps??loll
 
I am in the great white north and I see have the same issue. When its cold the car is not as performing as when the weather is cool. This car is a monster when the weather is cool. But when you hit cold or hot weather its not at its best.

There was some explanation I beleive from CPE on what might be going on a while back with cold weather and the MS3.

Its starting to warm up here which is good. Looking forward to summer :)

enjoy!

where do you live spark? i reside in MA.
 
Illinois for me. And I agree, my previous turbo cars loved cool weather too. Just not this one ... lol
 
The comment about this not being news was me trying to nicely let people know there is already information on this out there instead of saying "there are already threads about this, use the Search feature before you start redundant threads you moron" like some others do. Try not to be a complete ass and what do you get? I wasn't trying to fight with anybody, just passing along additional information and letting you know there is more out there.

It was theorized that the problem might be due to an intake, but people with no mods have experienced this as well, so that probably isn't the reason.

I have seen a couple of posts from people who drive in sub zero (fahrenheit, not centigrade) temperatures who have stated that the car comes back to life when the temps get really cold. When I said the "Great White North", I meant Canada, not IL or MA, both places I have lived also. Cold as they can get, I don't think they compare to Canadian winters. Is it possible that Canadian market cars have a different set of maps than US market?
 
I'm from Canada and my ride has been running like crap since last November when the temps started hitting sub 0 Celsius. The extreme cold was even worse, I couldn't hit anything higher than 10psi on my boost gauge so I don't think we have a different map. Needless to say that I'm quite anxious to see the warmer weather.. still a couple of weeks to go (canada)
 
when its below 30F the car pull around 14 psi for me. def not as hard. around 40F the car riiiiips like crazy. even up to about the 90F mark the car pulls hard, unless i sit and allow heat soak. then it takes a minute to regain power. its fine none the less. if you know the temp you know what to expect.
 
There are certain temperature ranges where the stock ecu mapping goes haywire. It can only be resolved through the aftermarket.
 

New Threads and Articles

Back