New to Mazdaspeed.. Engine trouble/tuning question??

[SpeedKAF]

I picked up a 2008 mazdaspeed 3 a couple months ago and have been having problems with the car running pretty much like shit. When its colder outside the car cuts out/jerks at high rpms, and when its warmer outside, the car runs better but still just doesnt sound right and still has hesitation under WOT. The car has a mazdaspeed CAI, turboXS DP and race pipe, and vibrant cat back exhaust. My question is pretty much is this normal for a speed 3 with these mods to act this way without a tune? or does it sound like something else is wrong?

[BigJimMs3]

You dont have anything to monitor your car with? thats like having sex with a hooker with out a condom. fuel pump?

[PunjabiPlaya]

welcome, donate, search, enjoy, post noodz

monitor stuff, might be pump w/ dp

[FORZDA 1]

Originally Posted by SpeedKAF I picked up a 2008 mazdaspeed 3 a couple months ago and have been having problems with the car running pretty much like shit. When its colder outside the car cuts out/jerks at high rpms, and when its warmer outside, the car runs better but still just doesnt sound right and still has hesitation under WOT. The car has a mazdaspeed CAI, turboXS DP and race pipe, and vibrant cat back exhaust. My question is pretty much is this normal for a speed 3 with these mods to act this way without a tune? or does it sound like something else is wrong?

Yes.....

[MizzyMS3]

Mostly always with a downpipe, a fuel pump and tune are needed.. hence your 3 running shitty.

[SpeedKAF]

ive been reading about the fuel pump problems with the eraly ms3's, im a college student and have been away from home so i just havent had a chance to dyno or spend money on the car, will be within the next month and a half tho which is why im trying to figure this out now.. what are opinions on the cobb AP? would this thing do the trick, aside from possibly needing an upgraded fuel pump

[FORZDA 1]

Originally Posted by SpeedKAF ive been reading about the fuel pump problems with the eraly ms3's, im a college student and have been away from home so i just havent had a chance to dyno or spend money on the car, will be within the next month and a half tho which is why im trying to figure this out now.. what are opinions on the cobb AP? would this thing do the trick, aside from possibly needing an upgraded fuel pump

Well, there is no "bolt-on" tuning trick, but with the AP/ATR the ECU can be tuned to do anything you want. No other tuning solution currently available is as simple, capable, and cost-effective.

[MizzyMS3]

The AP is a great tuning device and is what most guys on here use. The hypertech is decent from what I've read, but the AP is the way to go. The AP will be part of your solution, but a fuel pump, or even upgraded internals should also be on your list of things to get. KMD internals are pretty popular and seem to work great.

[Matx]

WHat gas are you using?

[Nitr0EngiE]

Dont rule out a possible dirty sensor, like the Maf, or bad spark plugs or ign coil causing misfires, your totally guessing without having a log device or getting a CEL to check. also he could be over boosting and the ECu WILL cut car fuel if it over boost i had huge problems with that on big turbo and standback was nto stopping fuel cuts, hence why i know has a AP

[SSinstaller]

Originally Posted by SpeedKAF ive been reading about the fuel pump problems with the eraly ms3's, im a college student and have been away from home so i just havent had a chance to dyno or spend money on the car, will be within the next month and a half tho which is why im trying to figure this out now.. what are opinions on the cobb AP? would this thing do the trick, aside from possibly needing an upgraded fuel pump

Yes. An AP will fix the cuts... But the fuel pump is not a maybe, you NEED to upgrade it as well.

[FORZDA 1]

Originally Posted by Nitr0EngiE your really shooting blind blaming a dp for this issue, i dont agree at all if thats the only mod, i would look more into a dirty maf sensor, over boosting boost cut, if he dont got a tune and only running stock boost i doubt hes having fp issues .... he said he only has a CAI i would look more into MAF or over boost

The car has a mazdaspeed CAI, turboXS DP and race pipe, and vibrant cat back exhaust.

......

[PunjabiPlaya]

beat me to it Stig

I'll even ignore all his broken ass grammar and misspellings.

[BigJimMs3]

Ya i wouldnt go the hypertech tune route. Ap is where you can actually tune the car....

[MSMS3]

OP needs to monitor. Without data he and all of us are just guessing, no matter how educated our experience may be. His cut could be any one of several things.

For what it is worth, guys, I'm running stock fuel pump with pretty much the same mods as OP and have had no fuel pressure issues. Maybe I'm just lucky. But when I was having some symptoms similar to his, I found out that my plug gaps had opened up. When I gapped them back the symptoms went away. This was before I added the Hypertech tune.

It is cheap (free) for OP to check plug gap. With that catless dp/rp and a good intake, his stock ECU will allow him to hit 18 psi. In fact, I was getting some spikes when going WOT that were in the 20-21 psi range. They were quick and immediately settled to target which was 18 psi with taper on stock tune. What I was getting was boost "spark blow out" from the gap being too wide due to electrode wear, and the increased boost literally blowing the spark out temporarily. It acted just like load cut.

I'm not saying that is his problem. Without monitoring, we really don't know.

I'm also here to say that the HT tune appears to be very safe and mod friendly. One thing it did for me (besides the lifting of the power limitations in first and second gear, the MAF calibration for specific intakes, the raised load tables, the access to an extra 1000 rpm on the high end of the power band, the elimination of cold weather load cut etc.) is that it eliminated the boost spikes I was seeing on stock tune.

OP needs to buy or borrow a DH or at least a real time scan gauge/tool and get data under load if he is going to run a catless dp/rp. That's just about the only way he can tell if his fp is taking a dump, or if the engine is pulling time or if he is getting load cut, etc.

While I offer only the same type of educated guess (i.e. get a fuel pump without knowing what his pressures actually are), I'd say to OP to pull your plugs and check them. Gap them back to about .028. Make sure they are iridium tipped, which means Denso's, NGK's or OEM, for the most part. If in doubt, replace them and check gap on the new ones.

[SpeedKAF]

I guess I'm going to go with the Cobb AP in a few months and just take it easy til then.

[PunjabiPlaya]

or get something to monitor so you don't blow a hole in your engine

[Nitr0EngiE]

Originally Posted by FORZDA 1 ......

yah so i mis read it at first then fixed it before you said anything so HAH! fuck yo couch

[PunjabiPlaya]

Originally Posted by Nitr0EngiE yah so i mis read it at first then fixed it before you said anything so HAH! fuck yo couch

you don't fuck Forzda's couch. Forzda's couch fucks you.

[Whiteboy]

Originally Posted by PunjabiPlaya you don't fuck Forzda's couch. Forzda's couch fucks you.

Punjabi, you always crack me up! Forzda FTMFW!

[turd burglar]

cold weather bucking with catless dp and race pipe you are gonna boost cut period. get a tune, get a dash hawk, get a prostitute

[SpeedKAF]

also, i ordred some NGK plugs, going to regap them and see if anything changes for the better

[SpeedKAF]

Originally Posted by Nitr0EngiE Dont rule out a possible dirty sensor, like the Maf, or bad spark plugs or ign coil causing misfires, your totally guessing without having a log device or getting a CEL to check. also he could be over boosting and the ECu WILL cut car fuel if it over boost i had huge problems with that on big turbo and standback was nto stopping fuel cuts, hence why i know has a AP

Well, i guess i shouldve checked the plugs to begin with. I just figured that since the car ran better in the warm weather compared to cold that plugs wouldnt really have much to do with that. I pulled the plugs today after finally getting my NGK's in the mail, the plugs in it were gapped to .6 for some reason, but swapped in the NGK's gapped at .30 and the car runs great now.

[MSMS3]

I'm sure you ^ meant .060" and .030". Huge difference compared to .6 inches, which is greater than a half an inch, you understand?

But it's good to know you got it sorted out and it was just the plugs. Plugs wear quickly on this engine, especially with the higher boost you get from the downpipe. Consider going down to .028 and PLEASE get a boost gauge at least.

[SpeedKAF]

Originally Posted by MSMS3 I'm sure you ^ meant .060" and .030". Huge difference compared to .6 inches, which is greater than a half an inch, you understand? But it's good to know you got it sorted out and it was just the plugs. Plugs wear quickly on this engine, especially with the higher boost you get from the downpipe. Consider going down to .028 and PLEASE get a boost gauge at least.

Ive had a boost guage, although im not totally sure of its accuracy, ive read 15 psi is what the car boosts stock, im only hitting about 13 with a few spikes to 15, nothing more tho, i meant .03 and .06, i was bored stuck on a bus and used my POS cell phone so wasnt paying much attention when typing