R33 Gtst Power Issues

[XeKayeM]

Hi guys, i always thought there was a bit of a problem with my r33 s1 gtst but i confirmed it tonight. Ive had it for a few months now and its been this way since ive had it. It seems no where near as responsive as it should be, the power is there... eventually but most of the time it feels like im driving a 1.6L pulsar until the boost comes on.

The car is stock and tonight i took my mates 180sx out for a drive which is also stock.

WOW... His car feels so much faster then mine, when i put my foot down it actually goes somewhere, i feel so ripped off. I was in 3rd and the wheels started spinning, thats never happened to me in 2nd gear.

At first i thought my clutch was slipping but a mechanic mate told me how to test that and it seems fine.

Also the car seems like its going off its head, like its working way too hard at higher rev's, ive watched vids of stock r33's and they sound good at high rev's where mine sounds like the pistons are about to punch right through. The oil gauge never drops below 4kg per inch or watever it is either.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys

[Jezza-gtR]

Check your spark plugs and ignition timing.

[XeKayeM]

wouldnt that effect the idle aswell though? because it idles smooth

[WHITER33GTS-T]

How much boost is it running...? Maybe the turbo has shit the exhaust wheel...?

[XeKayeM]

7psi, just stock boost. The problem seems to be when there is no boost though , not when the turbo kicks in

[WHITER33GTS-T]

But if some of the blades on the exhaust wheel are missing it will take longer to make power/boost

[XeKayeM]

hmm if this is the case how can i confirm it?

[WHITER33GTS-T]

The only way to know for sure would be to remove the turbo and have a look. Or possibly check the cat convertor and see if its damaged inside or has any extra bits in there. Im sure some of the guys on here that started with stock 33s would know more.

Ive never driven a stock 33 so dont know what they are like with stock boost and response. Mine had a TD06 with 245rwkw when I bought it.

[XeKayeM]

how accurate is a digital Tacho? Ive got one in my turbo timer which is showing waaaay different to what the dash tacho is showing , could explain why at 4k in dash tacho it sounds nuts.

Firstly my understanding is the car is meant to idle at 650rpm? indash its showing idle of about 1000 rpm and the turbo timer is showing it as 1650rpm when i rev is a bit to 2k indash , its shown as 3k in the turbo timer tacho.

Mayve the car is lacking torque. What would cause this?

Edited September 6, 2010 by XeKayeM

[Jezza-gtR]

wouldnt that effect the idle aswell though? because it idles smooth

Not necessarily.

You don't need to pull the turbo off to check the blades, just pull off the dump / front pipes.

Stick with the factory tacho, if it is reading 1,000rpm then something is wrong bringing up the idle (air leak) or you need it adjusted.

[mad082]

if the turbo timer is setup wrong then it will show your rpm being different to the dash.

as for the idle at 650rpm, that all depends on whether the air con is on or not, as well as the temp of the car. it will idle higher when it's cold.

for the power bit, your mates 180sx spinning the wheels in 3rd doesn't mean it's much more powerful, just has crappier tyres, especially if the car is stock. they also do feel a bit faster than a 33.

there are a few things you can do to find some possible causes of your issue. first, what rpm are you making full boost? with the stock turbo at 7psi it should be making full boost by well under 3000rpm. if it is higher than that then you either have an issue with the wastegate or it could also be caused by timing or fuel issues. secondly get a timing light and check the timing. if this is too retarded then you will have poor performance and advancing it a bit can make a world of difference. thirdly, if you still can't find any issues, take it to a workshop and put it on a dyno. this will tell you what power it's making and what the air/fuel mixtures are like. if the timing is fine and the AFR's are fine and it's making low power then more than likely it's just your engine that's stuffed. getting a compression test done would tell you whether it is or not.

it could be a few other things though. the cat converter could be blocked, the air filter could be crappy, the afm could be stuffed, the timing belt could've jumped a tooth, and many others. might not even be engine related. might be that you have brakes that are sticking on, or tight wheel bearings.