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Why does my car run like crap ?

7K views 52 replies 10 participants last post by  04srt4black 
#1 ·
Like the title states . With all the mods in my signature i would think this car would pull better than it does . I got beat by a 04 nsrt with full exhaust , wga and a cai . And when i say beat it was by like 4 cars and from a 60mph roll !

My a/f's are 10.2-10.4 in 3rd and 4th WOT , in 1st and 2nd they are 10.0 flat . My throttle according to my scan gauge is at 88% ? Is that about right ?

Im pushing 14psi through the agp wga and holding it , but the wga only has about 5 threads left showing .

Is there something im missing with this car ? IE would spark plug gap cause that ? Stage 1 pulling timing ?

I know for sure i dont have any boost leaks as i just tightened every bolt up , changed the throttle body , intake manifold gasket , new fmic ,etc.

Any suggestions/ help is VERY much appreciated . :stickpoke:
 
#2 · (Edited)
hhhm somthing is not right. i got my WGA in and i have about 3/4 of the threaded part of the rod left. i am holding 15 psi all the way to redlind. the throttle wont open past 87-88% like the srt guys said. its a misleading number. thats full open have no fear. you arent the first to have problems like this. make sure you have everything right with your vaccum setup. the green and black line are both disconnected and the WGA goes back to the Y off the turbo. when looking at the car push the gate on the turbo to the drivers side. adjust the rod arm about 1/8th inch short of the peg. pull the arm over the peg to have some "preload" i guess you would call it. that gave me an instant 12psi. install the clip and you are good. it sounds like you goofed your WGA rodarm install. pull he heat shield off and start the rod arm over just like i said and you should see great results. i have ran my friends CSRT4 a few times and yes i have gotten faster way faster. so you should in theory beat that neon. but keep in mind too that these things arent the best off a launch they love to bog then spin like hell.. traction is a big issue. race that neon from 40-100 and see who wins. if you lose something is wrong. BTW my a/f ratios are in the 11s too at redlind WOT.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
btw dubs dont help in the acceleration department. slow you down a little actually. more rolling mass. and bigger rims also changes gear ratios. oh yeah if the neon just has a WGA it wasnt stock. it would have to have a different pcm than the stock one or he wouldnt be able to boost very high. good chance he was lying to you man. wga says he wasnt running the stock 10-12 lbs of a stock neon. a stage three or equivilant neon we still cant beat thats life with our mods. you want to beat him talk to realtune:)
 
#4 ·
^Yea the neon has a wga , hardpipes , 3" o2 housing , 3" turboback MPX exhaust and a agp cai . I installed it all so i know he isnt lying , but he is pushing 18psi to redline in 3rd and holding . His car was always like a factory freak tho .

You said to "T" intot he black line off the turbo ? I just unhooked the blackline from the turbo and put a line from the turbo to the wga directly i did NOT "T" into anything . Maybe thats my problem , hmmmmm . Not reading instructions may have ownd me .

It just dont feel fast at all tho , lol . Altho i have never rode in a stock csrt so idk .

Thanks for the help man !

edit The rims only weigh an extra 4 pounds a peice compared to the stock srt wheels (which i wish i had the money to buy some) , But yes i hate the 20's .
 
#5 ·
yeah take the green line off the old WGA. follow the black line from the same solenoid the green one was on. it will run to a Y connector on the turbo inlet. the bottom line on the Y goes back to the other solenoid. leave that hooked up. disconnect the top one that runs to the same solenoid as the green line. run the new WGA off the empty port on the y thats what i did and she works fine:)
 
#8 ·
yeah i dont see how you only 4 threads left and are only at 14. its cranked on there tight verify your vaccum lines and then adjust preload like i said and i hope things turn out. my car runs hard man way faster than stock
 
#9 ·
my car definitely feels alot faster with stage 1, however i am not agp wastegated so maybe its just your setup. follow what tom zeek is telling u im sure it will help. Im sure the pcm is ****ing with your timing n stuff with the wastegate.

report back when u mess with it hope it helps u out.
 
#11 ·
Yea, the thread count does not sound right. Set it up per instructions.
Also note the "hole" size on the WG Actuator fits loosely on the turbo pivit so it needs to be pressed down onto the steped up area of it. I also used a washer to hold it tightly due to the space created before the granade pin.
 
#12 ·
I thought my car felt faster with stage 1 also.....boosting up to 17 psi and all. That was until I dynoed it and found I'm making 18 less hp and 9 less tq with stage 1 versus stock ecu??? Mopar and Cory is working on it.................
 
#14 · (Edited)
had the same problem with the vac lines(agp instructions suck), and had to crank it all the way to get 14 psi with the 12lb spring. here is how you fix it....you have to have the black and green from selinoid # 2 dissconected and capped(so basically the sel. #2 is useless now) you take the black line from sel. #1 connected it to the y part along with the line going to the turbo nipple. after i did that, i was boosting 15-16psi with barely adjusting the agp wga, with plenty of threads left. my car made a big difference in power. for some reason you need that black (t.i.p. i think) line from sel.#1 hooked up!!!! here is how it is suppost to look.
then race him!!!!!!




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#16 ·
sorry to hear that!!!:mecry:
 
#18 ·
bro...take that wga off there, put the stocker back on, vac lines back to stock and then test it.

I am not saying the actuator is shiit either, all I am saying is that so far, very few people seem to have them working properly with stage 1 and they are inconsistent at best with instructions that are no better. Proper adjustment for it is sketchy at best and I think most of the good results are a chance occurrence.

I have a stock car and it IS WAY FASTER with stage 1.
I am in doubt that the ecu is the culprit, and the stock pcm cannot be making the engine run fine if you have the WGA set to boost more than the stock ecu will tolerate.

My vote goes for taking off the WGA, putting stage 1 back in and giving that a try.
 
#19 ·
hey 08caliber did u gap or change ur plugs? u said ur car is stumbling can u expand on that? if it feels like its bucking and or backfiring it could be your plugs. just making sure.
 
#21 ·
The cutting out stumbling your describing sounds like spark plugs . My car also does that on 14psi in 2nd around 5500rpms and up and im on the stock plugs , i havent changed to the recommended yet .

Im going to try what Gregester said and see if it solves my problem . Guess i will hope for the best , i will let you all know tonight sometime if it worked or not .
 
#22 ·
I've run the plugs at .025, .030, and .035 and all the same. The stock ecu runs great with everything else being equal. I've even tried capping and switching vacuum lines and no help.

I've have even tried running low boost 12-13 psi up to 16 to 17 psi. No changes in throttle closing (stuttering/hicupping) etc.

Although, since I was in to get my MS1 throttle voltages setup they reflashed my stock ecu. It now will spike to 14 and hold 11-12 psi and runs better than ever. Pulls really hard on the top end?

I will try reinstalling the stock wg and see what happens.
 
#24 · (Edited)
don't know...i have the ms1, with the ngk colder plugs gapped at .025, with the agp wga set at 16-17psi....and it runs perfect, and has a scary pull in all gears!!! 50mph tire spin!!!:notallthere:
 
#25 ·
what, do i have the only car that runs good on the ms1 agp wga setup????
 
#26 ·
This is why I was citing the varied results.
It seems to work for you, but a lot of people are having problems either because of the WGA, or they arent clear on how to adjust it. I don't have one, so I don't know.

But to eliminate it as a variable and everything working right would be a good thing and from there he can find out why.
 
#28 ·
Update:

Just reinstalled the stock wg back on the car with MS1. Took it out and it did not seem to help....... The wg arm needed to be shorten more as I was only getting 10-11 psi. No big jump in performance by any means. I will up the boost to 15 tomorrow and see if it helps??
 
#29 ·
maybe some bad gas, or around some station got busted for selled 87 for 93 octane!!!!
 
#31 ·
is it hooked up like mine???
 
#32 ·
glad to see its fixed!!!!!!
 
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