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Cold Car.

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Old 08-29-2011, 09:19 PM
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Default Cold Car.

Just wondering if anyone else notices that the car runs like dog **** untill it warms up. by **** i mean **** poor acceleration, turbo spools slower, low speeds feel like your ridding a mechanical bull.
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Old 08-29-2011, 09:22 PM
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Uh, I never had that. Might be the fact that you have 270cc injectors, a vortech fmu, and a stock ecu.

Go MS or go home.
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Old 08-29-2011, 09:23 PM
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Pretty much every 1.6 I've driven that had the stock ECU exhibits this behavior. It seems to be unique to the '90-'93 models, and doesn't affect the others. It's like there's a flat spot in the throttle covering everything from 10% to 90%, with lots of bucking and hesitation.

I never have actually bothered to figure out what causes it. Removing the AFM doesn't help, you need to just toss the stock ECU and replace it with a Megasquirt. Nothing fancy, a plain ole' MS1 does the job just fine.
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Old 08-29-2011, 09:24 PM
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Ah I see 1.6L... Def MS, depending on boost you can leave the injectors, but I'd save up for some 460s or 550s.
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Old 08-29-2011, 09:34 PM
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ms is not in the cards right now dont have that kind of money to drop right now.
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Old 08-30-2011, 02:54 PM
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its just the on/off switch that is the TPS on 1.6 cars.

if you had VTPS (needs programmable ECU) it would work 100% better.
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Old 08-30-2011, 03:12 PM
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The TPS (or lack thereof) is not a primary causal factor. You can run a Megasquirt with no TPS and it does not exhibit this problem. The 1.6 cars didn't do this when they were new, and they didn't have analog TPSs then, either. I'm about 80% certain that this is fueling-related (not sure if too much or too little), I just wonder what's actually causing it.

I really ought to do some datalogging and see what's actually going on, as I happen to have a '90 with a stock ECU in the garage at the moment. Gotta figure out where I stuck the ole' AEM UEGO- I know it's in a box somewhere...
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Old 08-30-2011, 03:27 PM
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yea that would be good to know whats going on.
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Old 08-31-2011, 08:31 AM
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Why are you trying to beat on a cold car anyway? Cold start settings in the ECU run it rich as **** to light the cat off faster to reduce emissions...everyone knows that. Running rich will cause all of those problems. Be worried if it does that after warming up. You should drive (not idle) the car lightly for 7-10 minutes before even thinking it's properly up to temperature.....and don't rely on the shitty coolant gauge to tell you when it's actually warmed up.
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Old 08-31-2011, 10:53 AM
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Lol @ stock ECU. Like everyone said, only an MS will fix it.
I drove a stock Miata yesterday and the complete lack of any power made me depressed.
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Old 08-31-2011, 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Doppelgänger
Why are you trying to beat on a cold car anyway?
In fairness, if you haven't driven a cold 1.6 lately, the problem is in fact pretty bad. This isn't a matter of "thrashing" the car, it's simply a matter of being able to drive up the gradual half-mile incline outside my apartment in the morning.
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Old 08-31-2011, 01:20 PM
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im not thrashing on it, just trying to get on the freeway to go to school is work when its cold. and i let it idle for about 4-5 min before i leave.
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Old 09-01-2011, 08:18 AM
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Well, I can't honestly say I've ever driven a cold 1.6L
(opinion based on stock ECU 1.8L cars and how the Hydra cold start enrichment- sorry)



But to continue with my assumption....let your car warm up longer with the a/c running to put extra load on the engine. Maybe put a small heater under the car overnight and keep it warm so it will warm up faster.
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Old 09-01-2011, 10:22 AM
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dont have ac anymore. and she sits outside at night.
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Old 09-01-2011, 10:35 AM
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Used to live in Idaho and DD my 1990 when it was stock. I don't remember this being an issue. Are you sure everything is up to snuff with your MAF? It has a temperature sensor as part of its electronics.
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Old 09-01-2011, 10:37 AM
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Afm?
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Old 09-01-2011, 11:02 AM
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Yes. Sorry. Should know that since it's in my friggin' sig.
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Old 09-08-2011, 11:03 AM
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some food for thought here, i finished installing new injectors yesterday. i did not start it, i used the afm flaps to trigger the fp. took it out on the road 60 degrees and raining. the car did not seem to act funny. that makes me think that the injectors that were on the car are toast.
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