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Why is my car so slow

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Old 05-21-2003, 09:31 PM
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Why is my car so slow

Well, I just got my car together about a month or so ago. I havent really gotten a chance to race anything accept my brothers 91 RS which is 305 tbi 5 spd and 3.08 gears. It is pretty much stock, but has an open element and no muffler. I totaly killed it(about to far behind to count in car lengths). Anyway, I raced a friends 89 Iroc 5.7 tpi auto w/ 2.77 gears in it and also no muffler and maybe the baffles removed from the filters and a air foil. Anyway, I beat him but just barely. With my mods, I would have thought I would have saughtered him. I know my intake and heads are a bottle neck, but still. I know I lost some off of the line that I shouldnt have because I just mashed the gas instead of easing into it. I spun to about 4 or 5000. he got the jump on me and I pulled ahead in second. I Never got much ahead of him. His car didnt shift out of second so he let off around 6000 which should have been just a bit above 100. His nose was about at my rear quarter at that point.

Anyway, I thought it seemed like my car had been running slower today(felt almost like secondaries werent opening) but I figured it was in my head. My mods are in my sig, and I am using the cc quadrajet carb with dr rods and b hanger. I have a gasket matched alum lg4 intake, and ported 416 heads. They still have the 1.84 and 1.5 valves though. I should be getting a set of world sportsman II's soon that have been slightly ported and flow 265 intake and 179 exhaust, and I will be getting a performer rpm intake also. This should get rid of my restriction on the intake and heads, but I still think that the car was running faster(and should be) than it is now with the current setup. I figure I may try racing my brother again and see if I still beat him as bad.

I still was able to lite them up off of the line, but it just seemed dead up high today. Any ideas. I am just kind of frustrated because of all the time and money I have put into it that shouldnt be that close of a race. The only things that I can think of is that I raised the timing up from 6 base to 10. I ran the car with a snap on scanner on it with it at 6 and know I wasnt getting any knock retard, but havent got a chance since I raised it up to 10, and also the plugs may be fouled because I didnt have the carb adjusted the first few days I had them in. Could either of these problems cause me to be this much slower.

Ben
Old 05-21-2003, 11:57 PM
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Oh, and I am only getting about 11 mpg in town. I would think that with that kind of mileage especially on a quadrajet I could be making more power.

Ben
Old 05-22-2003, 11:00 AM
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Car: 83 Z-28
Engine: 406
Transmission: TH350
Axle/Gears: 3.70
Have you checked the cap and rotor? Mine started doing this and it turned out my cap was burnt. Also, check the plug wires with a multimeter to see if there is excessive resistance.
Old 05-22-2003, 02:14 PM
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Could a head gasket cause this? I dont know that mine is bad and it still runs fine, just seems slow. The car got real hot the other day because my fan stopped working and I didnt notice till it was in the red on the temp gauge. The overflow was boiling and the cap was leaking from excessive pressure. I heard a hissing noise for a second that almost sounded like it came from the back of the head(while the car was off but hot). I plan on checking out my oil and antifreeze to see if they look like the gasket is blown. The cap and rotor are fairly recent. Also, when hooked up to the scan tool it doesnt indicate wot when I have the pedal clear down. Could this throw off my timing curve?

Ben
Old 05-22-2003, 03:00 PM
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Car: 85 IROC-Z / 88 GTA
Engine: 403 LSx (Pending) / 355 Tuned Port
Transmission: T56 Magnum (Pending) / T5
Axle/Gears: 3.42 / ?
My *** that car sounds good.
Old 05-22-2003, 03:44 PM
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Car: 91' RS
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Yep....

Originally posted by Jim85IROC
My *** that car sounds good.
Heh, no Kiddin'.
Old 05-22-2003, 04:40 PM
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And hopefully it will be able to get out of its own way soon. Actually its not that bad. I did beat a 5.7 iroc, just not by near as much as I wanted. I think that I would have eased into the gas instead of just roasting them off the line I could have had a car length on him. But instead I just layed it to the floor. He got about to where his rear quarter was lined up with my front fender when we launched because I just spun, but when I let up and got traction I began to gain. I pulled up to where my nose was in front fairly easy, but after that I was just barely pulling on him. I think once I get these heads and intake the car will be much faster. I've already made a deal witht he guy on the heads, but he wants to take pics for me to see before I pay him. Hopefully I will have the heads and intake on in about a month. After that I am going to save up for a paint job.

Ben
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