Lacking Performance

[Guest Grez]

Any idea's what could be causing my 1.9 gti to be lacking in straight line performance. The clutch is really heavy but that doesnt worry me, what does is a standard 106 q/s managing to out accelerate it and the timed 11seconds to 60. The engine doesnt show any real problems, just slight tappin and what seems to be the clutch slipping. The engines standard. the dial above the fuel dial which i assume is oil pressure always goes towards red when stood but sits around 3quarters when moving, the dial oppersite hardly moves and the temperature is fine.

 

Any suggestions or pointers please

 

Cheers

[Richie-Van-GTi 71 2 Cars]

tapping could be a blown manifold gasket which may lose a little bit on performance, a heavy clutch is usually down to worn cable and you may need to tinker with ignition timing to get it running at its fastest.

[welshpug 1,657]

It could be something as daft as a throttle cable needing adjustment, it amuses me greatly that every car i've bought has needed this

 

When was the cambelt changed last? plugs leads oil filter ETC, has the air filter been cleaned if its a K&N

 

even something pretty easy like ignition timing can affect power output greatly, even more so if the advance capsule is caput.

[Grim.Badger 15]

1.9s seem to be grumpy sods and get quite slow unless everything is in good working order.

Has the timing been adjusted to run on 95ron standard unleaded? What plugs have you got and how old are they?

[Guest Grez]

I have been filling it up with 97 and 98 ron since ive bought it, ill be changing the oil and the filter this weekend. The sparkplugs are the ones the car came with (will look and post) The air filters standard. Which spark plugs would be best? Also how do i adjust the ignition timing? Would the throttle cable need to be tighter?

[Rob_the_Sparky 9]

A long list of possibilities....

 

Ignition timing - do a search

 

Throttle cable - if you don't achieve full throttle before pedal hits the floor then you could loose power (not checked mine but I'd be surprised if this is the case).

 

Injector cleaning - top end can benefit from this ~£12 per injector to get it done on return of post mail order.

 

Dirty air filters are good at loosing power but have to be pretty bad.

 

Exhaust pipe - OEM pipes have a split in the down pipe (it is two D shaped pipes welded back to back) but cheap replacements can be a single pipe.

 

Exhaust pipe (again) - the split can rust and partially block the down pipe.

 

Worn cam - Valves won't open properly

 

Cam timing out - cam belt replaced with cam a tooth out

 

Worn rings and valves - Older 1.9s tend to not make factory power even when in a good state of tune.

 

 

Not an exhaustive list mind...

[brianthemagical 1]

bosch parts

check all you injection and ignition parts are for the correct engine. find the numbers on the parts and do a search on the link.

get it RR'd.

and a new clutch and cable.

Edited July 3, 2007 by brianthemagical

[petesy71 0]

It could be something as daft as a throttle cable needing adjustment, it amuses me greatly that every car i've bought has needed this laugh.gif

 

Throttle cable - if you don't achieve full throttle before pedal hits the floor then you could loose power (not checked mine but I'd be surprised if this is the case).

 

i recently got the timing belt, tensioner and water pump done and have been suffering this same problem. after much reading on here i've been worrying about the timing belt being a tooth out, and have replaced ht leads, dizzy cap and coil.

the throttle seemed to be opening fully, but i found about an inch of slack on the inner; after snipping this out the car seems nice and responsive again. hope your solutions this simple.

[Daxed 7]

You have said the clutch seems to be slipping - If it is, you won't be transferring what grunt you do have to the wheels.