How fast is your Tercel?

takza · Post by **takza** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 4:25 pm

The rules: 

* manual trans only

* level ground only

* no wind

* 5th gear only

* make a note of your altitude

* no NOS allowed <_<

* no towing or pushing allowed

TIME is measured in SECONDS from 25 MPH to 60 MPH. 

NOTE: This should probably be changed to 30 to 60 MPH...25 MPH is too close to lugging the engine....still allows enough time for a sample....

This might give a basic speed comparison...like a real S L O W drag race.

Somewhere in the real world...it might allow a comparison of different engine, tire, & wheel mods and so forth.

Probably best to make about 3 runs in different places and at different times and average the results???

+ This might seem like a BOTHER to do this, but it is to everyones advantage to respond in that if there are enough votes anyone whose car is slower than the average will know it and can do something to correct that.

+ Anyone whose car is faster than the average will know that they are doing something right at the least.

WARNING: If drag racing is illegal in your area...you might want to reconsider trying this! :rolleyes:

takza · Post by **takza** » Sat Jun 05, 2004 4:29 pm

I managed 35 seconds at around 650 feet altitude...70F day.

Yes...the Tibetan plateau has sunk due to the rising oceans.

Juando · Post by **Juando** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 1:01 am

so, this is cruising holding steady at 25 mph in 5th and then tromping on the gas and timing 25 mph to 60? just clearing it up (I wanna see how mine does on all 3 heads it's runing on right now)

takza · Post by **takza** » Sun Jun 06, 2004 4:31 am

Yep. 5th gear. Steady at 25 MPH...time it up to 60 MPH. If you hear any pinging...stop.

Wind and any slope at all makes a BIG difference. Altitude will too. Even the outside temps might make a difference.

sacwac · Post by **sacwac** » Tue Jun 08, 2004 2:01 pm

I had 45 seconds, at about 500ft, 75deg F.

Once I fix my mileage problems, I will try again.

takza · Post by **takza** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:17 am

Wondering what kind of mileage problems you have? :unsure:

Hope some more people will take the time to do this test.........it's to everyone's advantage......isn't it?

I'm going to use this a test out various mods as far as expected power gains.

Will test EGR vs no EGR over the same road, place, & time....as an example.

The road I used follows along a creek and actually has a slight upslope..but since there are trees along it....it makes a good windbreak.

sacwac · Post by **sacwac** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 9:30 am

I'm currently getting about 20MPG. I have adjusted the valves, and adjusted the idle speed, fast idle, and TP on the carb... I have not run it long enough to see if that made a difference. One thing, I sure could not get the TP idle speed below 2,000 rpm. It's supposed to be 1,400.

Well the car has about 200,000 miles on it.... It could be lots of things. I just have to slowly go through and check it all.

takza · Post by **takza** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:36 am

My TP (front of carb) wouldn't adjust right at first...after getting the EGR to work...but last time it adjusted just about right. 1400 RPM vac off...dropped down to around 900 RPM vac to it. My fast idle is too low though...only 1K RPM with AC on. I do have modded settings, so my results probably aren't typical....

Takes a good bit of time to get enough MPG info to figure out what helps and what doesn't.

takza · Post by **takza** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:58 am

Real world testing using the 5th gear 25 to 60 MPH test:

On an 85-86F day and using the exact same stretch of road....I tested several variables as far as engine adjustments and so forth....ALL tests run with hot fuel setup being used.

TIMING > EGR/water injection/air filter = YES

Advanced at 15 degrees BTDC > 43 secs

Set at spec of 5 degrees BTDC > 55 secs

EGR > Timing advanced/water injection/air filter = YES

EGR working = 43 secs

EGR not working = 41 secs

WATER INJECTION at 2%* > Timing advanced/EGR/air filter = YES

WI working = 43 secs

WI not working = 38 secs

*2% = 1.6 pints water to every 10 G gas used.

AIR FILTER > Timing advanced/EGR = YES

AF in = 38 secs

AF out = 39 secs

Conclusions:

Obviously ALL variations were not tested...I was lucky to do 5 tests without being messed around by my secret friends.

Advanced timing probably results in around a 28% increase in power under the conditions tested...noticable for sure.

EGR probably results in around a 5% loss in power under the conditions tested....probably will keep EGR going due to new cat converter.

Water Injection probably results in around a 13% loss in power under the conditions tested....water injection isn't looking so good...especially if there is no gain in MPG.

Air Filter probably results in around a 2.5% gain in power under the conditions tested....probably due to the extra air turbulence from the lack of a filter.

Best power combination? When using heated fuel at least...advanced timing with no EGR and a free flow air filter & exhaust. Cool air intake. Forget the water injection.

To some extent...power and MPG are inversely related...if one goes up...the other goes down. But not in all cases...might be possible that fixing my EGR has REDUCED my MPG...need to check thru a few tanks.

Keeping the intake air cooler would result in more power...MAYBE an 8% increase for each 10F reduction (extrapolating from previous test at 35 secs on 75F vs current 85F day)??? This is probably hard to believe......and might not be true.

Good idea might be to insulate the metal air cleaner housing with thin foam/alum insulation with adhesive backing so that it doesn't pick up so much heat from the engine and engine compartment. I've measured the air behind the air cleaner and in the engine compartment at around 112F on a warmer day.

Using a remote thermometer...I found that, with my car at least, the air temps inside the air cleaner average around 110F after the car is warmed up...taking about 15-20 minutes to reach this temp on a 50F day...& on warmer days just a few minutes.

Since there are other factors involved...such as burning up one's cat converter and harming an engine due to having too advanced timing...it's best not to try and duplicate these results at home without careful setup & testing as you go...not to mention the emissions issues. <_<

Since this is limited testing...results might be off some. I'm assuming that a 10% reduction in the time taken to reach 60 MPH from 25 MPH = a 10% increase in power...I think it's a reasonable assumption...at least...it's close enough.

Use this info at your own risk.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:31 pm

takza wrote: To some extent...power and MPG are inversely related...if one goes up...the other goes down. But not in all cases...might be possible that fixing my EGR has REDUCED my MPG...need to check thru a few tanks.

EGR is supposed to increase MPG by diluting the mixture with the inert exhaust gas. I'm very interested in your MPG results, I do hate clogged EGR passages and valves. If they hurt both mileage and power, I'd make a block-off plate for the valve. I've disabled them before, but I wonder if they have any non-emission advantages. They do reduce combustion temps too, but a colder spark plug should have the same effect (and still keep NOx emissions down).

takza · Post by **takza** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 5:21 am

I said that because my MPG for the last tank...after getting the EGR working was down from the usual...but I also had an idle that was stuck at 1500-2000 RPM and drove kind of hard due to that for part of the tank till I got it adjusted.

You'd THINK people would be interested in MPG. :blink:

At the "typical" 15K per year....and at $2 per G...& 20 MPG....you pay $1400 for gas. At 30 MPG you pay $1000...bad enough...but you get a prize of $400.

Almost enough for a new set of wheels & tires from tirerack.

I am seeing some runon problems with my current setup....so it is running hot to some extent. The power of the car when set at 5 BTDC was really poor compared to what I'm used to. Best conditions are around 50F....very good power...saying something about cold air.

sacwac · Post by **sacwac** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 9:41 am

Yep, bingo... The gas savings makes it worth the while. And just having the car in tip top condition is always good.

But then, my tercel is my secondary vehicle, for weekends and hauling stuff. And to keep as a cheap hobby. All those hours spent working on it are hours that I didn't spend doing something else much more expensive, like diamond swallowing.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:39 pm

takza wrote: ...had an idle that was stuck at 1500-2000 RPM...I am seeing some runon problems with my current setup....so it is running hot to some extent.

Run-on can also be caused (or at least partially caused) by a high idle speed.

Gasoline Fumes · Post by **Gasoline Fumes** » Thu Jun 10, 2004 10:42 pm

sacwac wrote: ...diamond swallowing.

Is that what the "cool" people are doing now?

It's so hard to keep track of these fads.

Retroloc1 · Post by **Retroloc1** » Wed Dec 22, 2004 11:18 am

How fast is it ?

The best I drove was in a nice downing (about 7%)

5200rpm in 6th

so about 195 kph / 121mph according to tacho'

I write "about" because it's far after the last mark...