Re: Whoa!

[raf40@oes.amdahl.com (Richard Funnell)]

Brett,

I once had that experience during a very cold day in Toronto while I was
driving my 5KT.  I had to feather the pedal to keep the boost below 1 bar,
and the car felt absolutely fantastic.  Too bad it didn't last, and didn't
repeat.  I assumed that the wastegate froze shut, but that was just a
guess.

>Wow it's cold up here! (-13 deg. F!)
>
>So cold that when I put the stick in neutral and let the clutch out I could
>drive the car :-)  Talk about viscous!
>
>I managed to get the car in gear, and was happily on my way to school.  I
>got stuck waiting for someone to let me across the road halfway to school,
>and when I was given the chance, I pulled out, and gave the car some
>serious gas.  I was slammed into my seat by the acceleration(In THIRD gear
>no less, tires slipped on dry pavement), and the computer's gauge read for
>a second 2.2 bar, with a more sustained reading of 1.7-1.8 bar!  Why didn't
>the ECU shut down the engine?  I _thought_ that the ECU shut down over 1.3
>bar!  Several times during the drive I could get above 1.3 bar for a very
>short time(roads here are like sphagetti - not much straight stuff), and
>once I hit 1.5 bar.  What's going on?  I've had the ECU shut down once on
>me(another cold day) a while ago.  Usually I can never get above 1.2 bar,
>unless I'm trailering something on a highway going uphill, in which case it
>tops at 1.3 bar.
>I'm used to getting excellent response in the colder weather-but this was
>ridiculous.  I could get almost full boost in 1/2-3/4 of a sec.  I felt
>like I was driving with a 162hp normally asp. engine!
>
>My only guesses are that -13 deg. F is below the ECU's operating specs, or
>the hose to the ECU had some water or something that froze in it(Does it
>get boost from that vacuum hose plugged into the pass. side unit?  Also,
>where does the dash comp. display get the boost from?  The ECU?  If yes-I
>guess that means something's wrong with the ECU...)
>
>I don't think it was a instrument problem-I noticed an incredible increase
>in power, and while maintaining speeds the reading was as usual.  However,
>the reading did fluctuate-it followed the normal ->->-->--->------>
>pattern, but when it should have maxed out at 1.2, it began to jump up and
>down between varying degrees of boost.
>
>I will see what it does tommorow-I believe it is supposed to get colder or
>stay the same as today, so I'll be able to tell if it was a freak
>malfuntion, or a reproduceable phenomenon.... if anybody has any comments
>on this, please let me know.  I will post what happens tommorow...
>
>
>Call me easy to entertain/impress, but isn't it nifty when you pull out of
>an intersection and watch the guy who was behind you try to see through the
>huge cloud of vapor you left around his car?  I bet he wasn't expecting fog
>that day!  *-<:)
>
>Ah, the joy of turbos! Eh eh eh!
>
>Brett
>
>    '87 5kCST

Richard Funnell,
San Jose, California
'83 urQ
'87 560 SL