Low power
- Thread starter Newtosn95
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ttocs
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is this a car you have owned for a while and suddenly noticed the drop, or is this a car that is new to you and it just feels like it should be faster? Checked for any trouble codes?
Yea it’s new to me and I feel like it should be faster. It normally doesn’t have a check engine light but at higher rpm’s one will come on then leave
ttocs
Forum's #1 poster
well I would start pulling codes, if you do a search on youtube it shows how you can do this with a paperclip, or you can get an obd1 computer to read the codes. Be aware that while there is an OBD2 harness on the console that it is not active. The v6's used obd2 and they knew the change was coming so rather than redesign the harness they just made the 94 version ready to upgrade when the time came(96).
The reason I asked if it was new to you is that if you compare these cars to many modern sedans(not sports cars), while it is in stock form it only makes 215 hp at the crank and many of the new v6s have that or more. So it might very well not have any issues and you just were expecting more. My only idea to find out if/how much slower it is than when new would be to get a dragy or take it to the track and see what kind of times it can run, but if it is having engine issues this isn't a great idea.
Check the codes, maybe pull a plug or two(it is not hard on these assuming it doesn't have some aftermarket headers) and that can tell you a lot of what is or is not happening.
The reason I asked if it was new to you is that if you compare these cars to many modern sedans(not sports cars), while it is in stock form it only makes 215 hp at the crank and many of the new v6s have that or more. So it might very well not have any issues and you just were expecting more. My only idea to find out if/how much slower it is than when new would be to get a dragy or take it to the track and see what kind of times it can run, but if it is having engine issues this isn't a great idea.
Check the codes, maybe pull a plug or two(it is not hard on these assuming it doesn't have some aftermarket headers) and that can tell you a lot of what is or is not happening.
shovel
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I have a 94 GT with a manual and 3.08 gears and my wife has a 02 v6/auto with 3.55 gears and from 40-80mph hers pulls decisively harder than my GT did when stock. At those speeds with the GT I'm either in too high a gear and the engine's not making power at the wheels or I'm in too low a gear and the engine's out of its power band while her V6 has its power band basically from 2000-5500. That doesn't mean anything was wrong with the 5.0 it just doesn't have variable cam timing like a modern car or variable intake geometry like the split port V6 so it's got one skinny torque peak and falls off above that.
Anyway before you spend any money trying to work with the stock ECU if it's within your budget and local regulations start off with the best aftermarket engine controller you can afford. Then when you inevitably perform physical modifications you can just directly address them in tuning without having to guess and pray.
Anyway before you spend any money trying to work with the stock ECU if it's within your budget and local regulations start off with the best aftermarket engine controller you can afford. Then when you inevitably perform physical modifications you can just directly address them in tuning without having to guess and pray.
Do you know of any ways to get a new ecu without breaking emissions regulations
shovel
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I don't think there is any legislative structure in place to allow any kind of aftermarket ECU to be approved for use on any vehicle driven on public streets in emissions-controlled locations. Some places just don't test, some places only do sniff/visual on pre-obd2 cars, some places offer collector registration (permanent, nobody will ever lift your hood).. but I think regardless of those situations technically an aftermarket ECU is "off road only" to the letter of the law.
ttocs
Forum's #1 poster
what state are you in? Right now I am not aware that there are places outlawing ECU's but I am afraid they will start to crack down on them since it does allow for us to adjust/tune them to our liking.
I am currently in co
ttocs
Forum's #1 poster
you might check into it as I thought I remembered reading a story about a shop that sold a simple ecu mod and ended up being fined to heck and back because of them. I am pretty sure it was a federal thing, not state but better safe than sorry.
Methodical
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Did the low power feel come after you changed the plugs and wires?
The one time my Cobra did this I had put too much oil on the K&N filter and the oil got onto the MAF sensor. Also, it could be a misfire from one of the plugs when the check engine light comes on/off). Another thing, you don't need fancy spark plugs for these cars. Keep it simple and just use the Ford plugs.
Check codes (see post #24 in the link below for a couple videos on how this is done without scanner). The flashing on and off means there are some hard codes in there.
You have some work to do but it's not difficult if you have some mechanical skills; just may take some time with the process of illimination.
Low power and awful idle
Just bought this car so I know little to nothing about it. Everything is stock except for catless xpipe but still has mufflers and resinator. First thing I did was new iridium spark plugs gapped to .054 I believe. But car will jump up and down at idle between 500-1000 and then just die. But has...
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