Unexplained Mysteries. Of your car?

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boombexus

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Are there times when you feel that your car performs better, or worse, in certain situations? May it be that the planets are all aligned or it's just a fresh coat of wax. When there seems to be no solid explanation for why your car is feeling a bit faster.

Over the past 3 years of owning my IS3, I've come to know it's in's and outs and subtle idiosyncrocies.

For example, one might feel that the car is a bit faster after having it washed and waxed.

For me, I've come to find some of these oddities become a consistent thing, but logic fails me as I try to find an explanation. Maybe you all can help explain them, and also share in some of your own.

For starters, when it's 13 degrees F outside, the car seems to pull like a bat outa hell. Well, as fast as a bat can fly at 8150 feet above sea level anyway.
But it only happens at 13 degrees and seems to accelerate normally when it's any other temp. whether it be 11 degrees or 17. But when the thermometer reads 13, I'm flyin.

I find that braking power is increased when it's damp outside. This goes against logic does it not? Wouldn't wet brakes increase stopping distance and alter brake feel?

When the gas guage reads less than a quarter of a tank, the car seems sluggish. This seems a bit odd as the car should be about 100 lbs. lighter without all the fuel in the tank.

I'm sure that I'm forgetting one or two others, but my memory fails me now. I'll post them up as I remember or experience them.

Maybe you can offer an explanation to these. Maybe it's something simple that I just overlooked or just have no knowledge of. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe, it's the supernatural! :trouble:

Share your thoughts and oddities about your car.
 
My gearbox has an annoying oddity.

When I am at standstill and pull off gently, the shifter moves smoothly from 1st to 2nd, no matter if I caress it through the gate or do a rush job of changing gears.

When I really accelerate hard from standstill the shifter makes a terrible 'Clunk' when it moves through the game. It will 'Clunk' no matter if I shift aggressively or if I ease the shifter through the gate. Surely the accelerator has nothing to do with the gear shifter, especially if the clutch is fully depressed?

And it only happens when I pull off smartly. Lousy Murphy.
 
My truck is slow 24/7. Not really an oddity when you consider it has 125 HP and 195 ft/lbs of tourque pulling a 5000 lb truck. It still makes me sad though. 360 Magnum here I come!
 
Originally posted by Mike Rotch
My gearbox has an annoying oddity.

When I am at standstill and pull off gently, the shifter moves smoothly from 1st to 2nd, no matter if I caress it through the gate or do a rush job of changing gears.

When I really accelerate hard from standstill the shifter makes a terrible 'Clunk' when it moves through the game. It will 'Clunk' no matter if I shift aggressively or if I ease the shifter through the gate. Surely the accelerator has nothing to do with the gear shifter, especially if the clutch is fully depressed?

And it only happens when I pull off smartly. Lousy Murphy.
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If your car's RWD it could be your U-joints. They might have too much play and that could cause the clunk. Just a guess though.
 
The cooler air makes everything more dense... But you probably know about that. I can tell that the WRX pulls a lot harder in cold air.

Uhhh... Your doing such c0r3 breaking, the water helps dissipate the heat much faster and increases breaking. Shut up. I don't know.

Maybe the car is trying to conserve more gas? Shut up. I don't know.
 
Originally posted by StevieMo
If your car's RWD it could be your U-joints. They might have too much play and that could cause the clunk. Just a guess though.
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FWD. 👍
 
The Sube definitely has more grunt on cool, humid mornings - quite noticeable. Revs a lot more freely.

It does have some mornings where it just has no front grip - might be just a cold diff or something.
 
Originally posted by Mike Rotch
My gearbox has an annoying oddity.
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When you pull away quickly, I would imagine you let the revs go most of the way up to the redline no? where as if you pull a way normally I'm guessing you would change gear at a lower rpm. I'm still not sure what the cause of the clunk, is but that might be why it happens when you accelerate hard.
 
Boom, it sounds like your MAS likes a particular temperature. Either that or the guys that mapped your ECU drops back to a more conservative set of parameters when it gets really cold.

But in general, I find the butt dyno (and butt g-meter) is very hit-or-miss. It is very good a noticing a drop in acceleration when I have a passenger or a boost in one when it is cold and dry, but I can fool myself easily sometimes.

For example, if I tool around like a grandma for 2-3 days straight and then go balls to the wall for a few minutes, the car feels damn fast. But drive like that a couple more times and the car just feels perky and not the Viper slaying beast you thought it was 5 minutes ago. :shrug: Well, that's the way it is for me anyway.

The M3 and the Kumho MX tires are very, very consistant as far as handling goes, so that never surprises me.


M
 
I seem to get better gas mileage in my car when the tank is more than half full. I'll fill the tank and drive for like 5 days before reaching the half way mark on the fuel gauge (I love Honda's), then from there I drive for like 2 days and it's on 'E.' I drive the same distance every day so this doesn't really make much sense.

More gas in tank=get better gas mileage? :odd:



-Mark
 
Originally posted by boombexus
Are there times when you feel that your car performs better, or worse, in certain situations? May it be that the planets are all aligned or it's just a fresh coat of wax. When there seems to be no solid explanation for why your car is feeling a bit faster.

Over the past 3 years of owning my IS3, I've come to know it's in's and outs and subtle idiosyncrocies.

For example, one might feel that the car is a bit faster after having it washed and waxed.
Click to expand...
that is just your ego actually :lol:

For me, I've come to find some of these oddities become a consistent thing, but logic fails me as I try to find an explanation. Maybe you all can help explain them, and also share in some of your own.

For starters, when it's 13 degrees F outside, the car seems to pull like a bat outa hell. Well, as fast as a bat can fly at 8150 feet above sea level anyway.
But it only happens at 13 degrees and seems to accelerate normally when it's any other temp. whether it be 11 degrees or 17. But when the thermometer reads 13, I'm flyin.
Click to expand...
I think ///M hit this one on the head

I find that braking power is increased when it's damp outside. This goes against logic does it not? Wouldn't wet brakes increase stopping distance and alter brake feel?
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Ah where is the brake geek when you need him? :lol: What type of tires do you have on your IS??? snow tires by any chance? I would think that you would gain a little grip in the wet weather using snow tires, correct me if I am wrong, not too many miles of snow driving under my belt. If it does the tires are probably helping out with the braking a lot compared to dry surfaces. . . you might wanna test it out in a parking lot. . . Plus what type of bitters do you have?

When the gas guage reads less than a quarter of a tank, the car seems sluggish. This seems a bit odd as the car should be about 100 lbs. lighter without all the fuel in the tank.
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This sounds like a fuel pump is working much much harder under a quarter of a tank. . . The RSX accelerates best under half over a quarter from what I have done. . .

I'm sure that I'm forgetting one or two others, but my memory fails me now. I'll post them up as I remember or experience them.

Maybe you can offer an explanation to these. Maybe it's something simple that I just overlooked or just have no knowledge of. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe, it's the supernatural! :trouble:

Share your thoughts and oddities about your car.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by Ethix101
I seem to get better gas mileage in my car when the tank is more than half full. I'll fill the tank and drive for like 5 days before reaching the half way mark on the fuel gauge (I love Honda's), then from there I drive for like 2 days and it's on 'E.' I drive the same distance every day so this doesn't really make much sense.

More gas in tank=get better gas mileage? :odd:



-Mark
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The exact same thing happends with my honda!
 
well I have an auto tranny, and sometimes when I floor it it doesnt go all that fast but sime times it really goes....but I figured it out, sometimes (when you floor it hard) is shifts down (or into overdrive I think?) resulting in much better acceleration.
 
Whenever it rains mine doesnt start - If I wait till the sun shines on it for half hour it fires up no problem !!!

Its got to be an issue with electrics getting damp I feel
 
Originally posted by boombexus
Are there times when you feel that your car performs better, or worse, in certain situations? May it be that the planets are all aligned or it's just a fresh coat of wax. When there seems to be no solid explanation for why your car is feeling a bit faster.

Over the past 3 years of owning my IS3, I've come to know it's in's and outs and subtle idiosyncrocies.

For example, one might feel that the car is a bit faster after having it washed and waxed.

For me, I've come to find some of these oddities become a consistent thing, but logic fails me as I try to find an explanation. Maybe you all can help explain them, and also share in some of your own.
Click to expand...

Well, let's see what you've got *reads on*

For starters, when it's 13 degrees F outside, the car seems to pull like a bat outa hell. Well, as fast as a bat can fly at 8150 feet above sea level anyway.
But it only happens at 13 degrees and seems to accelerate normally when it's any other temp. whether it be 11 degrees or 17. But when the thermometer reads 13, I'm flyin.
Click to expand...

This might have to do with the fact that the metal in the engine expands and contracts with the heat variations. Maybe, at 13 degrees, the parts have less friction on each other because they fit perfectly with the oil and the chambers, but that's just a guess (and one degree farenheit (sp?) can make a diference)...

I find that braking power is increased when it's damp outside. This goes against logic does it not? Wouldn't wet brakes increase stopping distance and alter brake feel?
Click to expand...

I'm clueless as to why this might be; maybe the moisture is absorbed by the rubber in the brake pads, and they have more braking power because they are squishier (doubt it though). Maybe your car has a moisture sensor that knows to apply more pressure when it's wet out...

When the gas guage reads less than a quarter of a tank, the car seems sluggish. This seems a bit odd as the car should be about 100 lbs. lighter without all the fuel in the tank.
Click to expand...

That makes sense; at 1/4 gallon your car might try to be smart and become more fuel efficient by limiting the amount it takes in; saving gas, but also seriously hampering the power output. I wouldn't be surprised at all if my guess here turns out right...

I'm sure that I'm forgetting one or two others, but my memory fails me now. I'll post them up as I remember or experience them.

Maybe you can offer an explanation to these. Maybe it's something simple that I just overlooked or just have no knowledge of. Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me. Or maybe, it's the supernatural! :trouble:

Share your thoughts and oddities about your car.
Click to expand...

I don't have one yet, but I will share once I do...














Originally posted by powripper
well I have an auto tranny, and sometimes when I floor it it doesnt go all that fast but sime times it really goes....but I figured it out, sometimes (when you floor it hard) is shifts down (or into overdrive I think?) resulting in much better acceleration.
Click to expand...

That is because the car wants to take advantage of the torque you're providing it with to supply power to the high end of the lower gear, providing stronger acceleration and a strong headstart on the next gear's strength...
 
My car has a remote boot release on the key. It always takes two presses to release the boot.

Other than that, it's pretty much oddity-free.
 
I find that braking power is increased when it's damp outside. This goes against logic does it not? Wouldn't wet brakes increase stopping distance and alter brake feel?
Click to expand...

Because the brakes absorbs heat, So when it is raining or colder out you will stop faster because the pads will have more room to absorb heat because it will be cooler quicker... hard to explain but my driver ed teacher did it good.

On my quad it screams in cold weather and seems like it flys but thats just because of the cooling on the 4 wheeler.
 
Mine (a stinkin Auto) does not like my using the gearstick at all, I use it I get a heavy vibration and cluncking going on, sounds like the tailshaft and Uni joints but it aint them :confused:

I just leave the thin in "D" now and I get no noise whatsoever

My car is definately faster when Ive got some loud music playing :D
 
for what boombexus said about 13 degrees outside. i learned that colder air ignites better for a car. well just saying this for what i know so far.

wouldnt a good example be a intercooler it boosts power?( and keeps the air from the turbo cool.)
 
Originally posted by lethalAE86typeR
for what boombexus said about 13 degrees outside. i learned that colder air ignites better for a car. well just saying this for what i know so far.

wouldnt a good example be a intercooler it boosts power?( and keeps the air from the turbo cool.)
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err. if you dont mind me asking,
whats an intercooler got anytthing to do with his is300?
 
Originally posted by boombexus
For starters, when it's 13 degrees F outside, the car seems to pull like a bat outa hell. Well, as fast as a bat can fly at 8150 feet above sea level anyway.
But it only happens at 13 degrees and seems to accelerate normally when it's any other temp. whether it be 11 degrees or 17. But when the thermometer reads 13, I'm flyin.
Click to expand...

This may be very not right but it's imagination:

Maybe it's a chip in your car when your thermometor reads 13 degrees it boosts the horsepower where it is noticeable.
 
Originally posted by kikkoman
err. if you dont mind me asking,
whats an intercooler got anytthing to do with his is300?
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it was an example. like how cold air into the turbo adds power. so if its 13 degrees ouside the air would be somewhat cold and add power?
 
I was just thinking about one such mystery today. Sometimes when I press the gas in my jeep it seems like I get more power per inch pressed down. Other times it seems like I have to press it further to get the same power. It's never a problem. I just notice it. Maybe it's all in my head.
 
Originally posted by SS2
Does boombexus even have a intercooler on his IS300?
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What he was saying was that an intercooler keeps the air for the turbo cold which makes it faster because its colder, So colder air just goin through the intake or whatever should also make the car a little bit faster.
 

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