Engine why do i have to hit the gas lightly?

why do i have to hit the gas lightly?

if anyone has had this problem i appriciate all suggestions, i drive a 01 corolla and it seems that whenever i try and floor the gas my acceleration sucks but if i press it gently it gets better... is this normal or is this caused by something being wrong?


also my engine seems to make knocking sounds at very low rpms around 700 or so..

Same here-- if I hit it about a 1/4 of the way down and then gradually press harder as I accelerate, it goes more quickly than if I just mash the pedal to the floor. It's probably something with engine vacuum and the O2 sensor and whatnot.

You know how they say "well, Car X is faster than Car Y, but with the right driver, Car Y can win"-- it's based not just on shifting and such, but learning particular aspects of how an engine will perform.

It has to do with the timing and how your ecu controls it. On the first vvti 00-01-02 corollas and such their is a science to getting the power out of the motor. Flooring the pedle will advance the timing about 26 degrees then retard it 10 degrees at peak torque then 15 degrees at redline. But if you gently roll the throttle up as the rpms increase you can actually advance the timing +36 degrees all the way up to redline. this is about 20 hp difference than just flooring it. If you combine that throttle technicque which is way more apparent in the auto trannys, some high octane gas, intake, header, muffler, new plugs, good grounds all around. You can make a very health run in the quarter compared to stock for not much money at all.

Remember rolling the throttle smoothly increases timing, punching the throttle retards the timing.

thanks, i really appriciate the input, i hear that the celica headers fit this year corolla, do you know if this is true or if thats something worth going after? also what year/model celica if it is?

celica header might bolt up , but i do not belive they fit, the down pipe doesnt line up

a header bolt on upgrade should be the last bolt on upgrade for a n/a car, the only benefit would be to push more exhaust with smooth flow of the pulse, and the ability to run more fuel and lean out the mixture since you can pump out more exhuast. The real benefit from a good header upgrade is getting an a/f like safc or emanage and leaning out the mixture and opening up the redline. A header and tuned a/f ratio can net you about 15 horse power or more at the crank on a 1.8 4 banger

but say goodbye to having a quiet car

The ratio of fuel and air is bad on both extremes, too rich and it bogs, fouls the plugs, ruins o2 sensors or the cat

too lean and it pings, detonates but this takes a massive amount of heat and air, this also isnt from running lean persay but from having the compression chamber so hot that the fuel explodes before the spark ignites and explodes before the pistons is at the peak of the compression stroke, ie broken rods

on the vvti motor its pretty much impossible to cause detonation or pings by using the technique like rolling the throttle up to increase timing, the ecu and knock sensor will retard timing before it even gets close to that stage. The vvti ecus are pretty tricked out when it comes to engine management from the factory.

didnt vamp do it in his corolla(the celica headers)? well... nice input... i like the explanation very well put... it happens to me too...

Isn't leaning the mixture a bad idea? Lean = hot = possible detonation, right?? I know that a lean mix will yield more power than a rich mix, however you're gaining power either way, just more with leaning the mixture. More fuel = more protection against heat and detonation.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Trav

oh... i thought he did... coz he had this page on his diy page...
http://vamp.darkravers.net/TipsCelicaIntakeManifold.cfm

that is for the intake manifold not for the celica header swap...