A few mods and still getting beaten :(

[Brent79]

Hi boys and girls, Im gonna hava winge about my car. Here goes.
I have a 3.9L EB1 wagon with the following specs:
MPI, 5 speed, 3.08SS, pacemakers, redback sports zorst, reco ED XR head,
wade1004/110 cam, chiptorque HP4 chip, XH snork and filter.
Ud expect with these mods i would beat any old ordinary late model Magna or commodore, but alas i am not :( (and yes, i know how to drive)
Lastnight, a 2000and something magna actually beat me and today i
could just keep up with a VS! Whats going on here?
Something MUST be bad with my engine. Only problem i can find is that i
get a code 41, low o2 signal from the ecu. Any ideas?

Brent

[ilsautomotive]

Late model Magnas are not to be underestimated, particularly the 3.5 litre models. The best thing would be to get a quarter mile time so you know where you stand.

[EFFalcon]

ur car should be movin along though with the mods.
main thing i can think of is the bottom end, perhaps just a bit tired?

[Brent79]

EFFalcon, yes i reckon that might be something to do with it? Do u think diff ratio
effects it much? Also, what does a engine off code 15 mean?

Thanks
Brent

[rag top]

What about a diff upgrade to something livlier, like 3.7s or 3.9s?
What condition is everything in? Injectors, and what EFFalcon said about the bottom end.

Have you had a dyno reading??

[Brent79]

well i am upgrading to a 3.45LSD soon but that doesnt account for the fact i couldnt catch em in 2nd, 3rd gears? The engine doesnt blow smoke so the internals cant be in that bad of a condition. Maybe its just coz its a wagon and a 3.9L? If the dizzy or TFI were faulty, surely it would spit some codes? Injectors, plugs, leads were all replaced not long ago.

Brent

[EFFalcon]

with a 5 speed, the diff shoulnd't be that bad.
factory EA's had 2.92's with a 5 speed, EF/EL's had 3.23's with the 5 speed so it should handle it ok.

[tommo74]

no no no...your car isnt going to beat a late model magna with those mods...or maybe a vs.its a wagon right?they weigh heaps for a start...its only a 3.9...the xh snorkle and filter dont do squat and the pacies and exhaust may even be sapping power until a few more mods are done.look for an after market cold air intake system,change your gears and whack on a powerdyne s/charger...then youll kill them big mitsus.

[Brent79]

ok, thats all good to whack on a s/charger. But the magna and VS didnt have one (assuming) so, how come a 3.8/3.5L stock car beat a 3.9L with mods? IS the I6 technology that old? Whats these new magnas boast to get such power ratings?

Brent

[EFFalcon]

do you know anything about the I6 tommo?

or eseries for that matter, Wagon's don't weigh that much, certainly not enough for them to be slugs.
Neb's wagon managed a 14.8 with relatively minor mods (cam, exhaust, extractors, diff, 5 speed)

last i checked VS's didnt run anywhere near 14's, as it stands, Brents car should be a low 15 second car, which is enough to beat a stock magna.

only a 3.9? the 3.9 isnt that far behind the 4.0, especially once u start swapping parts around, exhaust and extractors sapping power? not with that cam in it.

[neb]

has it been on a dyno... would be interesting to see what power its making and the power curve and what the air fuel ratios are like... that would give some idea at least

[Brent79]

so john ud say there could be a problem with the car? I think its kinda weird coz im getting excellent fuel economy ~1L/10kms mixed driving. If there was a problem ud expect economy to go bad yes? Anyhow, im gonna work on the process of elimination. Ive got a new dizzy/TFI comming and after that i will check fuel pressure. Got to be one of the two.

Cheers for the responses.

Brent

[Brent79]

neb, yes it will be going back to chiptorque for a dyno tune. I guess that will show up any problems. Just waiting for my diff.

Brent

[Brent79]

Oh, btw...meant to ask. Matt at chiptorque said base timing must be set at 10deg. No advance, but i think i heard someone say they have advanced with the chip with good results? anyone varify?

Brent

[BABOSS]

Are you sure that the Commodore didn't have any mods? I have a 4.0L EF Wagon LPG and smoke the VR's and VX's V6's even without a performance cam or chip, but then again i do look after the bottom end etc. Maybe get a dyno or a run down the 1/4 as mentioned earlier and find out if youre loosing power somwhere and look at upgrading the diff. BTW wagons are not that much heavier than sedans but they are much worse with handling.

[neb]

I don't think I would touch the timing when you're running a chip... I would think you would have to get the chip retuned to suit it? My car was running quite sluggish on standard timing though, advancing it really helped alot

[Windsor220]

those late model magnas are relatively quick for a stock family car because they're so light. the commodores arent anything special.

[OED666]

Brent, i originally had 18 degrees advanced timing and a chiptorque chip. when i got it tuned after i put in an AU motor, they set the base timing to 10 and did all the advancing of the timing in the chip.

What sort of cat converter do you have? do you also have the EA airbox to throttle body pipe? i know its only minor, but i just thought i would ask.

why not look at going 3.7's... definitely would be worth it.

[PULLY6]

Originally Posted by Brent79

im getting excellent fuel economy ~1L/10kms mixed driving.

O2 sensor.

[EBFalcs]

what type of EB is it, a Gli, S pack, fairmont etc

Originally Posted by EBFalcs

what type of EB is it, a Gli, S pack, fairmont etc

whats that got to do with anything??

i know your pain my car should be running quicker aswell with similar mods to you and although the manual helped it off the line etc its still dont feel like it has the power it should have!

i do know my A/F is up the ИИИИ so im hoping when i figure out why that is then hopefully i get more power and better economy.

[BABOSS]

EB1 Falcon Wagon


3.9L Multipoint with 5 speed manual


Pacemaker extractors & 2.5" Redback exhaust


Tickford Head and Wade 1004 cam


HP4 Chiptorque chip and XH intake

Correct me if i am wrong, but shouldnt that setup be running a HP3 not a HP4 program?

[EBFalcs]

[QUOTE=John_xr6]whats that got to do with anything??

higher ranked car = more options = more weight

[QUOTE=EBFalcs]

Originally Posted by John_xr6

whats that got to do with anything??

higher ranked car = more options = more weight

cool, now i know my problem...its a Ghia so its always going to be slow :P

[EBFalcs]

Originally Posted by John_xr6

cool, now i know my problem...its a Ghia so its always going to be slow :P

a ghia is quite a bit heavier than a gli

[efgiar]

i have a ef2 ghia, obviously ticky, 3.45 diff, and i havnt got a problem beating vs's. the only thing a vs has over my car is that they do better burnouts, only because they run cheese cutter tyres (mine are 235's) and hav a 1 wheel spin, too easy to do a burnout, put 205's on mine and ill rip awesome ones :P

[Brent79]

FlasherEF, originally i thought it was supposed to be a HP3 but the invoice from them says HP4. Paul, yes i run the original EA airbox and tubing and no anything shorter than 3.45 is not practical for me. Not on the wagon anyhow. I actually have 3.27 gears which i might put on with the LSD centre. And to the other fellow, it is a GL converted to ghia specs so would most likely weigh close to a ghia wagons weight..

Brent

[Clarke AV]

put it on a dyno an see

[KEV EB XR8]

You reakon you got troubles, i got flogged around wakefield park by 4 cyl as well, and mines a v8.
"wipes tears from eyes" goes to another thread!!!!!!!!!

[mr_efxr]

Doing a full dyno tune will get this thing right for sure.

I know I had no problems outdoing VS's or Magna back when my wagon was stock.