Machine: Mazda 2001 VVT Tiptronic Familia (Protege)

Problem: Very poor performance in low end..car moves off quite slow and cant seem to decide whether it wants to go or stay, then it gradually picks up seemingly ok...if I stamp the accelerator, it takes a long while to pull, then picks up...in other words, you wont wanna risk overtaking anything in it at the moment...having it checked tomorrow, my mechanic suggests it could be a stretched timing belt...? Keeping my fingers crossed that it isn't my tranny...thoughts anyone? What about a faulty computer? Grasping at straws here...

 

There isnt much torque there to begin with, you running stock?

what the vitals on your car?

always been this way or a more recent power loss.

I recently cleaned my CAI filter and i find the pull has improved, i was doubtful that cleaning would do anything, but I was really suprised, but then again its already 25,000km on from the first application.

once the car reaches 2500 the CAI really pulls the car over, when i was running stock, the only power point on the car was at 3500RPM.

And when you go back to stock, it feels like your driving with your AC on, sapping the power from under you feet.

 

Well, I'd say more recently its been happening moreso than before...I'm not familiar with some of the terminology, but what do you mean by if I'm running stock...also, what's the CAI filter...lol, sorry, a bit of a newbie when it comes to some of this stuff...

 

stock just refers to the car as is with no modifcations,

CAI stands for COLD AIR INDUCTION/INTAKE,

On every CAI, or a SRI (SHORT RAM INTAKE) there is a filter on the end of it, same way a stock car has a filter, its just of a different shape and configuration,

anyway this filter over time gets dirty just the same, but with what i have noticed is that cleaning your filter makes a big difference.

but with your car if your running pretty much stock, a dirty filter wouldnt really hurt your car performance, its very minimal the difference, a stock filter by design is quite restrictive because of its full filter effect. (materials)

Anyways back to your car, how many kilometers do you have on your car, and have you been conducting regular maintanence?

 

Well, I'm doing about 45000kms, and the car gets regular maintenance most of the time...its treated quite well as a matter of fact, no issues whatsoever up to this point...

 

how many miles are on it? are they highway or city?

im just guessing it might be "sludge" build up
it'l really fk up a cars performance

i aint quoting or taking ideas from commercials, ive first hand experienced this and got to see it


it sucks a$$

 

I am doubtful its Sludge build up, i am no expert on that though, i have 150,000 km on my car and it still runs like day one,

but the build up is there, but if it was that i am sure you would get that performance hit thruout the power band , not just in the low end.

It might sound like a foolish question, but is your A/C full off when you driving i have heard reports that is the switch is in the on position and the switch set to 0 that the A/C is actually on.

If you have ever driven with your A/C on you know what a low end power robber it is.

Other then that i am not sure what to suggest.


If you want to bring up so horse power you could go with a SRI or a CAI,
I highly recommend either as a quick way to boost overall performance. that and it sounds straight.

its a modest priced upgrade, if your lucky maybe 50 or 60 bucks on ebay.


If you really think there is a problem with that feeling, go out and get a dyno pull done, if there is something wrong in your lower power band, it will show up on there, other then that it could be in your head.

trust me i have that happen to me with new sounds i think i hear with my car.

but you get that way over time.

 

Well, with AC on its obviously worse...again, sorry to sound so clueless, but what is an SRI or CAI Upgrade? Also, my mechanic ran through it as he says my cam and crank angle sensors need changing, that one of them seems faulty...thoughts anyone?

 

Look here at the CAI upgrade and read up my friend

http://www.ptuning.com/html/specialt...sc=Prot%E9g%E9

 

Interesting, but my machine is 1500cc, and that CAI upgrade specifies 2000cc engines...does an extra 5bhp make a real difference though? And I would still like to hear some other opinions on the cam and crank angle sensors needing to be changed...?

 

Make sure you don't have a clogged catylitic converter. We've been getting crap for gas lately and I thought I smelled my cat a couple of times lately. That'll bog the crap out of it. I was thinking of gutting my cats so they are just straight through.
As for the stretched timing belt, well they usually either work or don't, but if a cam pulley slipped a notch that sure as hell would do it too.

 

Has your temperature guage been any higher than usual? That could point to the cat.

 

Look here. I have the same problem.. http://mazdaforum.com/m_4465/tm.htm

 

Well, my temperature gauge is fine, and the gas we get here in Barbados is fine as well, so I assume my Cat. is fine too.
Thanks for the link capernicus...good to see that I'm not on my own...however, I'm not convinced that this is a "normal" occurance in these vehicles....why would Mazda produce a Tiptronic VVT machine, disc brakes all round, sporty interior etc., all with an engine that's sluggish off the line? Doesn't make sense...I'm still investigating...will keep u guys posted.

 

Well...I'm glad to see yet another West Indian on the forums...so that makes me (Jamaican), Azir (Trinidad) & you (Barbados)...well, I'm not sure about the problem, but keep us posted star.