lack of power rebuilt KLZE 1995 MX-3

[RX8SE3P]

EDIT: 22-11-10 - Read last post in thread for where I'm at, engine has been rebuilt but still feels lacking in high rpms and overall KL smoothness is not there when I'm in high rpms, feels very similar to before rebuilding but does have more power after rebuild.... Lack of overall high end power and smoothness.

Compression is good - 210 on all cylinders (one cylinder actually got 215).

- Cat delete (test pipe) 2.25 exhaust
- Full straight neck ZE
- Headers (Ebay)
- Fuel filter replaced
- Fuel injectors cleaned and tested (came up good)
- Physcial timing is right and has not skipped a tooth, cams also look timed perfectly
- Disty timed properly too
- 3 ECUs trialed, from KL31 to stock MX6
- 3 VAFs have been tested
- EGR deleted
- 2 disty's tried
- 2 sets of plug wires used and plugs changed
- 2 tps' tried and tuned
- Fuel pressure tested, tested with unit. Also let it flow out into a bottle, seemed ok
- MX-3 Flywheel used
- HD clutch
- Spark plugs all look clean, no oil, no odd colours
- No error codes apart from EGR ones
- New intake used to stock airbox, no holes/leaks
- AWR mounts
- New fluids, using 10W30 oil
- Not blowing smoke or fouling spark plugs as it was prior to rebuild
- Good fuel economy




Plenty more done, thanks for responses. I'm still not sure why it's slow, thinking heads maybe not done right.

Soon to come:

Headers not fully connected - will connect and see if power is any good up high - Now complete - still same kind of issue exists
Fuel pump will be replaced (done 23 Oct 2010)
Dyno to test actual power output
Leak down test (should reveal bad heads right?)
HEI mod + external coil will be done next but running very thin on ideas apart from the engine is cursed.

[SuperK]

I am not sure what kind of "metal sound" you're talking about... but it could be your clutch/fork rubbing...

... or it could be something as simple as a stuck caliper/warped rotor/bent dust shield.


My brother's eclipse he replaced the clutch and on the fork, he didn't set right and it just went squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak all down the road.

is it prevalent when the car's clutch is engaged?


You can open up your ECU to see if it can be modded with the Probinator chip. there is a EEPROM that should be labeld with the numbers starting with 20XX. IF it starts with 16XX, then it's unchippable.
You will notice immense differences with the correct ecu.

[RX8SE3P]

Ahhh bent dust shield etc.... yeah could be something like that, we did accidentally bend some of the metal dust shield things on the strut assembly. I will take a look at that. It's not very loud anyways. Will check the calipers etc.

The noise seems to happen regardless of whether I am engaging the clutch or not. Seems like a rotational noise if you know what I mean. Like something going round and round is rubbing etc.

Btw, I opened up my ECU and sent some guys who do the chips some pics. My number does not start with 20XX or 16XX it's 35XX lol. 1995 Eunos 30x (Australian MX3) OBDI.

Thanks for reassuring the difference between proper ECU and K8 ECU! I am looking forward to how it goes with the right stuff!

[Mad Cow]

In that case I would get a cheap KL01 ECU and ship it with a probinator chip. KL01's go for a lot less than K801s.

[Nd4SpdSe]

Why would you swap to a K8 ECU and a JE50 VAF? That's a horrible combination in my opinion. Running you're stock ECU and VAF would of worked just fine, I know people that like that combination and run that on an Mx-3.

Sorry, i thought you swapped the ZE into your Mx-6, I misread that, but ya, change the ECU and or VAF. A good test would be to try the ones from your Mx-6, see how it feels for you.

[RX8SE3P]

Cool thanks for the replies.

I took the car to work today. Probably a bad idea. I can hear my brakes squeeling plenty when I come to a stop, and they aren't even applied so I think something is wrong there. Also set my clutch too high, need to adjust it lower, it feels retarded when you have to press it down so far.

Letting the clutch go slowly doesn't seem to work. Car hesitates and feels like it will stall. Feels like the hand brake is kind of on and car is being held back. I have a few things to look at it seems.

Am not going to bother swapping in parts from my MX6 as it's my back up car and I will be using it until the 30x (MX3) is 100%.

[RX8SE3P]

Found the metal noise. Part of the metal shielding on the strut assembly was rubbing. No noise now.

Got wheel alignment. Now just need an ECU. I got a local guy who can chip ECU's. Am going to get mine done for only about $60. Pretty good value considering how much they want for standard ECUs. I get custom rev limit and VRIS points too if I want!

[RX8SE3P]

Update: Am now running a chipped eprom in the ECU so it should be acting like a ZE ECU.

JE50 VAF
MX6 Gearbox
Have changed oil to semi synthetic and ran engine for about 500kms - now done about 800-900kms

Power problem. Not a massive difference unfortunately over the K8 ECU. Power is smoother, idle is perfect now but still not what I am hoping for. I revved the car up with the throttle lever and I saw both VRIS opened up, one after the other. I think they are functioning correctly.

Another problem - When I let go of my clutch slowly, without any accelerator, the car does not feel smooth and feels like it will almost stall. In comparison, my MX6 is very very smooth, I can let off the clutch slowly with no gas and it will move smoothly with zero signs of stalling.

This happens both in reverse and going forward. Once I am going it seems ok. Still feels like the car is being held back at higher RPMS. There is no kick in the butt after 4,000 rpms, it feels the same all the way to 6,000. I'm not sure why it is doing this.

Any ideas?

I am running all the right things. I don't think I have a vacuum leak, wouldn't my idle be a bit funny? My idle seems absolutely perfect, 550-600rpms, never flutters even after hard acceleration and going to neutral it just sits back to it's correct idle position, no stalling or anything. Have also adjusted TPS to where the fans just turn on/off - seems to be a happy point for idle.

Compared to my K8, this has way more power down low but up high, it feels like the K8 would give this ZE a decent run, which is not what I want lol!

[onlytrueromeo]

You're idle is too low if its 550-600, which is why your car stalls w/o gas...it should be closer to 700.

You have the curve neck intake or straight neck on it right now? What was on it to begin with? If its the curve neck to begin with it has the kl03 cams that will make more power down low, rather than up high...but this should be considerably more than the k8.

[RX8SE3P]

You're idle is too low if its 550-600, which is why your car stalls w/o gas...it should be closer to 700.

You have the curve neck intake or straight neck on it right now? What was on it to begin with? If its the curve neck to begin with it has the kl03 cams that will make more power down low, rather than up high...but this should be considerably more than the k8.

Straight neck, that's how it came, that's how it went in. No fitment problems I have a right hand drive MX-3.

Everywhere I have read says 550-650 is about right for idle. My MX6 idles at the same level. It is smooth and does not stall/shudder at all when slowly releasing the clutch.

I have changed all spark plugs when engine was installed,
- The leads are only about 15,000kms old.
- New fuel filter.
- New HD clutch.
- New gear oil (redline).
- New drive shafts
- New suspension on front
- Replaced coolant
- Replaced clutch fluid and bled clutch
- 2.25 inch exhaust, straight through cat (no cat)
- Semi Synthetic engine oil now being used (10W-50)

I revved it up to about 6,000 today in 1st and it took off nice and fast but it's not throwing me back in my seat. I expect the ZE would set me back in my seat in second gear too but it doesn't.

I still have stock exhaust headers. Not sure if they are super restrictive.

[RX8SE3P]

Any ideas? My disty wires (from the 6 pin plug and 3 pin plug) look raped. I am considering replacing my wires on the harness in those spots and changing the disty. Then I will set the timing

I am going to replace the throttle body gasket as the old one is screwed (doesn't seem to leak but still...)

Going to replace the intake piping from throttle body as the old one is looking... old.

Dunno what else to try.

I am also worried because my dad drove the car the other day and as he took off it puffed out white-ish smoke and the engine was fully warm. Dunno why the hell it's doing that. I have not lost any coolant. Oil level seems ok.

[nightfire]

Are you sure your throttle cable is under enough tension that it fully opens the butterfly valve?

Have someone press the throttle to WOT while you watch the valve in the throttle body.

Puffing white-ish smoke could have meant it was running mega rich. This could indicate a million different problems, so if you can afford it, I'd recommend buying a wideband O2 system. It'll tell you exactly what your AFR ratio is in realtime.

It's a big investment ($200-300usd on ebay) but it's totally worth it. I've heard good things about the AEM UEGO.

[projectzemx3]

the whiteish smoke could possibly be because you do not have a catalytic converter. jwmx3 has a fully rebuilt klde that runs absolutely perfect, with no cat and at operating temp it puffs out white smoke.

[RX8SE3P]

Throttle cable is good. I got my sister to press the pedal down fully and the butterfly opens all the way nicely.

I don't have a cat but would that actually make it smoke white? It didn't do that in with the K8 (from what I remember). I saw a nice cloud of smoke today when I took a corner near my house. I hope it's nothing serious.

Throttle body gasket will be replaced soon and I will also change my intake piping to a nice new stainless steel one to ensure there's zero leakage.

Might also have to check my spark plugs to see if they have been soaked in oil or anything. I did replace the VC gaskets but with aftermarket stuff. Doesn't seem to leak on the outside. I also should make sure there's no leaks in the exhaust system... and the EGR which is not hooked up but still there.

Damn too many things to check lol

[Daninski]

Holy sh*t, if you had kids you'd be screwed. You must of already spent tons of time here. If I've read you right and your problem is sluggish acceleration check your idle screw first by removing it. Look for crap on it or damage then reset it. I'd try fooling with your idle first. Try setting it anywhere from 600 -700 rpm in increments of 25 (in Diag mode), can't hurt. Cheers

PS Engines run better at cooler temps.