random questions - '01 R/T

tamadrumr88 · Post by **tamadrumr88** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:18 pm

ive got a few things/problems that id like addressed with my '01 R/T so any input is greatly appreciated...

1) when i installed my motor mount inserts, the intake growled and was much louder. though when i installed the af/x udp, the intake sound got quieter and "weaker" - is this because of the reduced weight/drag on the engine?

2) since i replaced my prothane race motor mount insert with a JLM billet mount (upper only, still have prothane race insert in lower mount), i can not, for the life of me, get the correct position of the motor mount in its own mount to the car itself... it should measure 4.7" or 119mm (according to the FSM and my Chilton manual) but i can not spin the engine to achieve that 4.7" measurement. ive tried jacking the front of the engine with a 2"x6" along the bottom of the oil pan but i refuse to try and push any harder on that area to get the engine to rotate backwards. since i cant seem to "fix" it, can it really be doing any harm by having the engine rotated forward slightly? any stress on any other components or mounts? i will be installing my fastfabs longtube over xmas vacation and id rather fix this now than have the header rubbing the underbody/exhaust tunnel and have to deal with it then..... any thoughts?

3) my throw-out bearing makes a rediculous amount of noise right now... if i let it neutral long enough at a light, it starts to make noise even when the clutch isnt depressed at all. its not THAT big of a deal to me (though its very loud and embarassing) however i wanted to ensure that i wasnt harming any other engine/trans components... if worse comes to worse how much work is involved in switching out the t/o bearing? should i consider replacing the clutch at the same time?

4) i have been getting absolute shit for gas milege even prior to the harsh cold weather of the northeast. even prior to this winter blast i was only pulling 22mpg at best. i dont do any highway driving but i still think thats rediculously low considering i dont jump on it at all. i usually shift at 2500-3000rpm but i started curbing my anxious right foot and i also shift lower (2000-2500) and i even drive slower but im still getting horrible mpg. im sure i could use new plugs/wires/coil (48k miles) but i have a udp, intake, and solid motor mounts which should help with mpg (though i know the 60mm t/b doesnt help mileage)..... any ideas? could it be the upper motor mount (mentioned above)?

kirktalife · Post by **kirktalife** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:58 pm

sorry i cant help you out on more of your questions, but the one that i can help on is the gas mileage one, i am and have always got shit for gas mileage but now its much much worse, and since i put new plugs in it seems to have gotten even worse, i get bout 350-400kms(220-250miles) to a full tank, and thats with 91 octane, so is this normal or what?

rice_eater · Post by **rice_eater** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 9:58 pm

3- the only time i got noise from it was when i installed my spec3 clutch on my first gen...i guess i haddnt tightened the clutch hard enough to the flexplate or whatever it's called and it started getting looser and looser to the point where i'd always have to have the clutch pedal slightly in so it wouldnt rub. of course, the rattling got progressivley worse and worse and like it or not i had to rip the whole thing appart again.

the only way your motormounts will affect performance is if the vibration is setting off your knock sensor and causing it to retard timing... you could try to unscrew it a couple turns and see if its less sensitive, otherwise again, your mounts shouldnt make any difference. if you are trying to push the engine forward then you should jack it from the back. there isnt much to worry about (though i'm not sure for aluminum pans) when you jack it with a 2x6. my old pan caved in a bit on my first gen, but that's after numerous engine lifts and lots of times when the whole engine was pretty much supported just by the jack.

kirktalife wrote:sorry i cant help you out on more of your questions, but the one that i can help on is the gas mileage one, i am and have always got shit for gas mileage but now its much much worse, and since i put new plugs in it seems to have gotten even worse, i get bout 350-400kms(220-250miles) to a full tank, and thats with 91 octane, so is this normal or what?

hmm, i was thinking about posting about the AMAZING gas mileage i've been getting since the cold snap set in ...i got 580km out of the last tank, where i usually get the blinking gas light around 460-470km.... i can only atribute that to cold cold DRY weather, and my lighter rims with properly inflated tires. i had these rims on with stock tires and my milleage was only marginally better than with my summer rims, but with the winter tires fully inflated it seems to make a lot bigger difference...so i'd say make sure the basics like tire inflation and clean airfilter are ok first, before running out and spending craploads of cash on wires and plugs

Post by **racer12306** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:43 pm

just a quick little thing you cant measure fuel economy by miles per tank. how many gallons did it take to fill the tank?

mpg = miles driven/gallons put into tank

kirktalife · Post by **kirktalife** » Fri Dec 16, 2005 11:53 pm

haha crazy americans, i dont know gallons per miles, we do it litres per kms haha, i get 400-450kms/37L, i dont know the conversion to gallons, i think its 4 litres to a gallon or somethin like that, if i wasnt so lazy i would do the conversion but its late and i am tired haha, maybe tomm, all i know is that its shit

Knoxville_R/T · Post by **Knoxville_R/T** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 12:02 am

I know that i was getting shitty mpg and i changed the plugs and it went back up. Could just be something simple like that or maybe your fuel filter is cloged?
-Brian

tamadrumr88 · Post by **tamadrumr88** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 7:13 am

for winter i switched to sxt 15" and tires and im running them at 37psi all around.

i should be getting the af/x-r soon so if the knock sensor is acting up with this ecu, it really shouldnt be a problem at all with the new one... itll be interesting to see whether gas mileage goes up or down.

ive always been running 93 in my car since the day i bought it over a year ago.

the engine needs to rotate backwards towards the cabin, not away, so thats why i said to jack of the front of the engine... which still hasnt gotten me anywhere.

Post by **Diablo0** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 9:55 am

1) Never noticed it on my car... it was louder when I put my mounts in but stayed the same with the UDP.

2) I've never worried with the mount position and I've pulled my mounts several times... car is still running great here.

3) Dunno

4) Gas mileage... try running some Chevron Injector Cleaner through it and see what it does. It's not the motormounts or anything of that nature. For a day drive a tank full of gas around the interstates... pick a destination 2 hours away and drive there and back then check your mileage. Also could check your thermostat... if your t-stat is staying open and not shutting then the computer will continue to add fuel to the mix to get the motor to operating tempature. Are you letting the car idle in the morning to get the car warm before you take off?

01rtgurl · Post by **01rtgurl** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 2:03 pm

Diablo0 wrote:1) Never noticed it on my car... it was louder when I put my mounts in but stayed the same with the UDP?

same here.

Diablo0 wrote:2) I've never worried with the mount position and I've pulled my mounts several times... car is still running great here.?

I've done it once, and everything lined up?

Diablo0 wrote:4) Gas mileage... try running some Chevron Injector Cleaner through it and see what it does. Are you letting the car idle in the morning to get the car warm before you take off?

I'd suggest the Lucas brand, it is the best. (Autozone carries it in a tall skinny bottle for $3 something)
I think this is what makes my gas mileage drop in the wintertime... excess idling

dinetuner · Post by **dinetuner** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 3:59 pm

new plugs, wires, and use MCCC

daver · Post by **daver** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:55 pm

Don't know on the UDP intake noise, however if you're having mount/engine position issue you might want to take a look at the intake tube and see how it's routed and whether it's rubbing on anything. (inner fender hole, or plastic liner)

As for the fuel economy that's probably normal for this time of year.
Don't know about everywhere, but most places switch to a different gas formulation for the cold weather which causes a significant drop in fuel economy. In normal everyday driving I've been averaging around 25mpg. Pretty crappy for a 2.0l 4 cylinder.

Post by **racer12306** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:50 pm

the other thing that doesnt help fuel economy is the cold air. cold air tells the computer to add more fuel.

tamadrumr88 · Post by **tamadrumr88** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 6:01 pm

now heres the thing. i start the car, turn on the radio, and coast backwards out of the driveway for a total of about 10secs before driving. recently i also took about NOT turning on heat and defroster in the morning because it significantly increases the time at which it takes to car to fully warm up. now that i actually got my e-brake fixed, should i let it sit longer in the morning... perhaps a minute but not more than that?

Post by **Diablo0** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:50 pm

You can but 1min isn't going to to much to get the car warmed up at idle. You can turn the heater on and all but yeah it will take slightly longer since thats an extra core and fan cooling the coolant... it wont' affect warm up a huge amount. My car warms up in 1-2 miles... the SRT motor seems like ti warms up in 1/4 mile lol The really only thing you need to make sure of when you start the car is give it enough time to build oil pressure and the oil to be pushed up to the head... but thats only a few seconds.

03sxt · Post by **03sxt** » Sat Dec 17, 2005 11:54 pm

Diablo0 wrote:My car warms up in 1-2 miles... the SRT motor seems like ti warms up in 1/4 mile lol The really only thing you need to make sure of when you start the car is give it enough time to build oil pressure and the oil to be pushed up to the head... but thats only a few seconds.

Wow. My car takes about 2.5 miles at 55mph to get above the freezing cold line on the gauge.

By the time it gets warm, I'm pulling into my work parking lot.

kirktalife · Post by **kirktalife** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:51 am

i let my car warm up for bout 10-15mins in the mornin and before i leave to go home from work, i hate leavin when the car is cold, plus its like -30 here now so its always good to have it warm

rice_eater · Post by **rice_eater** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:21 am

we're into the -20s too and i leave the car run for a good 5 minutes before starting to drive, and even then i shift around 2k until the temp gauge starts inching off coldest. at these temps your oil is complete mush so you can imagine how well it lubricates. having synthetic helps, but i still let it warm up decently well before heading anywhere...its at startup that most of your engine wear takes place

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 8:14 am

remote starters help

I start my car and let it run for around 10min before I go anywhere after it sat for 8hrs. Even then the needle is just barely touching the cold point on the gauge.

rice_eater · Post by **rice_eater** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:32 am

BlackRoseRacing wrote:remote starters help
I start my car and let it run for around 10min before I go anywhere after it sat for 8hrs. Even then the needle is just barely touching the cold point on the gauge.

how long till you can use it again

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:42 am

**off topic**
I personally dont have a remote starter.....
And the car is still down in the shop waiting for money for paint and materials...

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 10:48 am

Is it really necessary to warm a car in freezing temperature? I myself warm it up for a good 5-10 minutes so I am not putting strain on the engine when its cold out. I am running synthetic 5w-30 and I seem to be getting great gas mileage. Do I really need to warm it up that long in cold weather like that?

BlackRoseRacing · Post by **BlackRoseRacing** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:04 am

some people have mixed responses to that. But the best way to explain it is like others have mentioned. Are you going to just start your car and go? 60deg weather...-20below...are you still just going to start and go?
If your not sure about that, then you need to to some research on how an engine works. I will never just start my car and go, thermal tolerances and dynamics come into play. Yeah you make the most power when the engine is cold, but you also generate the most wear. Things have to expand internally, and on a cold motor if you force it to warm up, or just start and go..things are not going to expand or wear properly causing severe if not pre-mature wear.
1-15min warm up, it all depends. Not everyone lives in 60deg weather let alone -20deg weather. If you think that warming it up for 1min is fine, well whatever. No one has proven the long term effects on properly warming up a motor to prove that there is a nominal wait time before actually going.
I tell my wife all the time to let her 3.0v6 mini van warm up atleast 5minutes before she actually goes anywhere. The min v has over 100,000miles on it and it ticks like a bitch unless she lets it warm up. Thats the lifters making all the noise and unless she lets it warm up, cold lifters are going to tick and cause problems if you dont let it warm up because the hydraulic lifters are working as solids until the oil actually runs through the system to get the hydraulic action going.
Long story short...let the car warm up atleast 1minute before going anywhere. I dont care if your motor has 15miles on it or 100,000miles, proper warm up will prolong life of any motor....

scneonchic · Post by **scneonchic** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:12 pm

remote starters are nice

I start mine up while im getting ready for work in the mornings, it will automatically cut off after 10 minutes, so i usually start it so its been running about 5-6 minutes when I get in the car. I dont leave the heat or anything on, so its just the car running. I live about 2 miles away from my work, but with construction going on, it takes an extra mile or so to get there. By then, I dont even want to get out of the car lol

But, I dont own an r/t...

2GN.ORG

random questions - '01 R/T

random questions - '01 R/T

fuel economy is normal