What happened?!

[projectalero]

I went to the track last night and was greatly disappointed with my car. I made four passes and did terrible. It didnt help that i was sleeping at the tree most of the night, not to mention got frustrated with the times i was running.
1st pass--- against 01 Trans am 17.4 with .577 R/T
2nd pass--- against skyline R32 17.3 with .368 R/T
3rd pass--- against 92 Lightning 17.6 with .451 R/T
4th pass--- against 00 Accord 17.7 with .666 R/T

Can somebody tell me whats going on? Has anyone else been that slow with a V6 Alero?

[ptrudel]

somethin's not right for sure if thats for a v6...even a 2.4 auto runs quicker then that...

what were the temps? what elevation are you?(location) what was in the car?(jack, spare, seats etc) how much fuel in the tank?

thats alot of variables...

[BlackJack]

you do realize that the gas pedal is the one on the RIGHT side, yes? :p

[doubleN0alero]

you do realize that the gas pedal is the one on the RIGHT side, yes? :p

lol, i bet you that was the problem

[projectalero]

Yes, blackjack, i have always realized the gas pedal is the one on the right side...the long skinny one? I dont know about the elvevation, but im in orlando. The temp was in the mid to high 80's. The reason i am so concerned is that cars i used to beat or be close to are now beating me. Not only that i ran the car a little over a year ago when it was 93F outside and it ran 15.8.

[Naich]

was it really humid? do you have new rims or anything?

[projectalero]

Is is normal for a V6 alero to only make it to the end of 2nd in the 1/4 mile? I went through the traps at 80.26mph@ 5700 rpm in 2nd

[projectalero]

All i have is aftermarket 15 inch wheels(came with the car when i bought it) and a cold air intake. It was humid, but i dont know about relative humidity and things like that.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

that is pretty bad. you SHOULD be 1.5 to 2 seconds faster. I don't know how the transmission is geared up on a V6, but I'm hitting the end of second on my 2.4 at the end of the 1/8 mile track with times in the high 10's @ 65mph. (Eric has a V6 and he was hitting 70mph in the low 10's, don't know which auto-gear he was in though.)

my guess, if it's not humidity or something making your car heavy (like all the extra stuff in the trunk), is that you either:
-didn't punch the gas as hard as possible, thus causing slower shifting
-have a dirty engine and could use a change in some fluids
-combination of all the above factors (humidity, heavy, dirty, and light on the gas)

[projectalero]

i hit the gas as hard as i could. It was humid but not really that bad. The car was empty except for a case of water in the trunk. Sure the car is dirty and needs to be washed and waxed but thats not gonna slow it down that bad. I just changed the oil wednesday(mobil 10w30) I dont know about the transmission fluid. It has no dipstick. I do have a check engine light on with a DTC P1403. I didnt get an exact definition of the code but a shop foreman at the local chevy dealership said it was a emissions code(either O2 or EGR were most likely problems). Will that slow the car down that much from its previous time of 15.8?

I will post the 1/8 mile time and MPH later today

[burg03]

probally if it were me I would even run at the track with a check engine light on

[Frostbite545]

I have a V6 with a CAI, and I make it to about 88 mph at around 15.65 seconds every run, with the temps at about 60-70 degrees. You should def. be coming over the finish in 3rd gear. My suggestion, get that engine light checked out, theres probably something wrong with ur car.

[projectalero]

good point burg, but i just wanted to see if i got any gain timewise out of my new intake. I guess it was a bad idea.

[projectalero]

frostbite, I have looked into getting the car checked out. I only run into one problem. Well, lets call it two problems: Im a broke college kid with no money and Im a stupid kid that wont keep the foot off the floor. But i will be looking into fixing my car, whatever the problem may be.

[SweetNLow]

I do have a check engine light on with a DTC P1403. I didnt get an exact definition of the code but a shop foreman at the local chevy dealership said it was a emissions code(either O2 or EGR were most likely problems). Will that slow the car down that much from its previous time of 15.8?

YES........ and this fuckin minimum charachture bullshit is annoying

[projectalero]

sorry sweet....i just dont care to type out Diagnostic Trouble Code or Exhasust Gas Recirculation, but sorry for the inconvenience. I was just trying to keep from lookin like a bigger idiot than i already have by misspelling everything. Hooked on phonix didnt work for me.

[AlbinoMonkeyRat]

BTW: i didn't mean dirty car, I mean dirty engine, as in "the insides". changing oil and other typical routine maintenace shit.

BUT you didn't say you had dummy lights on. they light up for a reason. get em checked out.

[projectalero]

Oh i almost forgot the mention the Oxygen Sensor, but everyone here knows what O2 is. Once again sorry sweet

[SweetNLow]

projectalero......... i wasnt refering to your post about minimum characters...... i was refering to the website. cause i just wanted to simply reply to your post with "YES" but you can make a post that short

[projectalero]

sorry sweet. I didnt know thats what was goin on. Please forgive me :(

[acold7dusta]

geez why dont you grab ur ankles even harder?

[brim]

sorry sweet. I didnt know thats what was goin on. Please forgive me :(

forgiveness comes in the form of a iced buttcheek

[Orion]

Id get a full tune up of your car and ask them to look over a few things. Honestly you could have a bad sparkplug or you could be running on like 5 cylinders or something.

[projectalero]

gee...seems some guys are mad cuz i was being a wiseass. I was just jokin around guys, dont be mad. Its just a misunderstanding on my part

[Oldsman]

how many miles on your car?

many factor could be the problem
for one the temp was hot
being orlando it was probably humid
did you add any extra weight to the car like system or did you put on weight?
maybe engine is getting weak or needs a tune up

[Orion]

I agree with Oldsman

[number1alero]

if i remember right, code p1403 is your catalytic converter, i had mine go bad but it was like 2 or 3 years ago

[projectalero]

my car has 75k miles on it. I am thinking about changing the converter and both O2 sensors, maybe even the EGR valve if i dont just clean it. Number1alero, I have heard about the catalytic converter causing similar problems.

[Redog]

how much gas did you have? Did you dump out the jack and spare? Case of water in the trunk, bad idea.

Best r/t being .368, your sleeping on the tree.

EGR vavle problem is a big problem, shouldn't race with that not functioning right

[projectalero]

yes redog, i learned that the hard way. The EGR was my first thought. Im not really sure. No i didnt take out the spare and jack etc. I didnt even know i was going to the track until i left school at about 4:30. I went straight from school to the apartment to change and hauled it to the track so i didnt have time to drop everything out the car. The car had just under half a tank in it.
I know i was sleeping at the tree, after that second run i was just frustrated with the car and it showed in my driving. I didnt concentrate on the tree as much, which cost me.

[projectalero]

Is it very effective to just clean the EGR valve and put it back on, or should I go ahead and replace it? Like i said before, im a broke college kid and need to save any money i can.

[Redog]

If you do it yourself, just change it out, they shouldn't be too expensive

[projectalero]

its not too bad, depending on part number. I went around checking prices yesterday and Advanced quoted me $167 so i went to Pepboys and they said it depends on which part number i have. It can be as low as $64 all the way to $95, but i was thinking about replacing it anyway just to be sure it gets fixed

[kwhauck]

just get a little metal plate and block it off then get it programmed out, you don't need it......

[projectalero]

kwhawk, i like your thinking. I was just on MMS earlier and saw that plate you are talking about. I was thinking about doing that and getting their basic PCM then replace the O2 sensors and catalytic converter.

[alerocar01]

i guess this is a little late to add in but i have a v6 and the day i went to the track i had a half a tank of gas and a 60 pound sub box in the back and i still ran 15.9s.

[jackal2000]

i think your MAF is on backwards.

[projectalero]

come to find out you are right jackal. My dumbass didnt pay attention when i was installing the intake and put the MAF on backwards. Its fixed now and runs alot better. I was finally reminded of what it sounded like when a tire spins!! Im so happy now. Soon i will be going to the track and ill post up times.

[battistoni21]

hhahaha im sorry, i just thought that it was funny that you put it on backwards.....

[BlackJack]

??!!?? ouch.....that must have sucked.....more on times though, when I ran 16.3, I had the jack, spare, a toolbox, all the interior installed, plus some extra shit in the car, and was at around 4,000 feet. But, then again, I was out to find out what it would run baseline in full street trim before adding the goodies on.

MAF on backwards....heh...simple things can always ruin your day :)