disappointed owner

[danwins224]

Well I've had the leggy for 2 weeks now and must admit I'm a bit disappointed with it.
I've been waiting over a year for a vr4, so I dont know wether it's too many you tube videos or reading too much into the standard power figures, but I was expecting a pretty quick car, but in reallity I've got something that looks good, sounds awsome but goes like my brothers tractor, ok thats a slight Exaggeration! /lol .

Now I dont know if I've got a bad car or wether it's my driving ability (or lack of). But I seem to be unable to pull away from most turbo diesles, mondeos, A4's even bloody peugeot's. I've had all the pipes checked and they're fine, she had a service in march and all the fluids are ok although the engine oil is starting to look a bit tired, so I give up.

Will change all her fluids next week and see if she's any better, if not she'll be going in the for sale section, :sad3:

[ianturbo]

that don't sound to good mate , hope you get it sorted soon , were abouts are you ??
ian

[HPRULZ]

/JawDroppi sounds a bit sick then

Kev

[danwins224]

cheers mate, but I think I've bought a lemon.
Although the leggy is quicker away from the lights, by 25-30mph, the MG is up its chuff and will accelerate through the gears faster!
oh, and I'm just outside Sheffield.

[Dom B]

you want to get along to a meet and have a ride in a few other legnums to be able to compare and figure out if yours has a problem at all. Mine is fairly quick but i think the cars have no top end but thats just my opinion.

I think a lot of modern cars are quick just by technology moving on etc. 5th gear did a race betwwwn a delta integralle and some proton town car thing or something and the modern town car was faster!!! All these modern variable valve timing and variable intake plenums etc all add up to a much fuller power curve low down when compared to old cars so an equivalent horse power figure would be quicker on a new car that an older one, even though the newer car probably weighs more.

One saving grace is that the vr4 is very tunable shame it uses so much fuel as compared to a modern faster car.

[bradc]

I'd take it ti Eurospec and get them to Dyno it. They will be able to tell you what is wrong (if anything) and tell you how much power you made.

[Turbo_Steve]

Of course, you may be suffering from the same problem mine is. It's just a bit slow. Not hugely so...it just seems to be a bit of a donkey.
Worse still, it's not ALWAYS like this. Some days it definitely seems to have 20bhp more than others.

The first thing I found on it was that the electrics were all breaking down. New plugs, leads and a replacement coil pack later, it's smoother and very good in the low-mid range, but pants from 80mph - 120mph.

The second thing is temperature. Nice cold nights make mine run brilliantly. Sustained runs seem to get something (no idea what, but I am looking hard at the drivetrain) hot and leach power. The engine seems to be working hard, but the car doesn't rocket forwards.

The third thing is the cat. I'm due a new exhaust as soon as I get paid, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I am suffering from "cat collapse", which I've had on a highly tuned car with a sports cat previously. It would cruise around nicely (a bit thirsty) and would accelerate pretty quickly from the line (though perhaps not as well as a 400bhp 4wd car should have done). But for high power, high speed, the gas flow was too much, and it'd feel woolly and utterly fail to deliver.

As brad has suggested, if you're so dis-enamoured you're thinking of selling, you may as well invest in a trip to someone who really knows these cars (as brad says, Eurospec are held in high regard, I believe AP Motors may also be able to help) and get them to do a diagnostics session. It may be something emminently simple and stupid like a blocked filter or faulty spark plug.

[Nick VR4]

You are using 98+ RON Fuel aren't you ???

[andydckent]

This thread just does not sound right at all... unable to pull away from most turbo diesles, mondeos, A4's even bloody peugeot's... Somethings definitely not right.

[rees]

theres obviously a problem because every owner of these cars is impressed with the pull , so i would say you obviously have a problem

it always puts a smile on my face when i floor it from 0-60 in less than 5 secs

find a deserted road and have your self a mini drag race , if its not getting to 60 in rougthly 5 seconds then you can at least feel relieved that the car has a problem and one that can probably be remedied then its just a case of prepping your self for some bills and some stress :)

with regards to what the problem could actually be , well ill leave that to the clerics of this site , what mileage is your car?

turbos may be due?
maf sensor faulty ?
misfire - ignition etc?
exhuast / cat (as mentioned )

it could be lots of things , but needles to say i think everyone he would agree that you wouldnt describe these cars as 'disappointing ' so somethings definatley wrong i would say

[ANTHONY]

hand brake off?.................ok ok:coat

[mesobitchy]

i pulled away while garry was trying to pick something off the floor, he was flung back up right and could not for the life of him resist the power of the pull /lol

as for your problem.... i dunno, when was the last time the gear box had a fluid change?
i know you siad its had a service, but worth checking/asking.
hope you get this sortted.

[Mrs B]

cheers mate, but I think I've bought a lemon.
Although the leggy is quicker away from the lights, by 25-30mph, the MG is up its chuff and will accelerate through the gears faster!
oh, and I'm just outside Sheffield.


We live in Chesterfield, if you PM elnevio (my other half), i'm sure he'd be happy to have a look over it with you. He gets back from Germany tomorrow. I'm sure he could spare you some time over the week. Don't lose faith in the car just yet.

[danwins224]

Thanks for all the advice/input, and to answer a few questions,

yes the handbrake is off! /lol ,
only used tesco 99ron fuel,
cat has been removed,
as for the ATF oil, its a nice cherry red as it should be, but it does 'slip' ocassionally between gears, and reading other threads it could be the wrong ATF?

and Mrs B, thanks for the offer, will send a PM tomorrow and let him have a look when he gets chance.

Dan

[bradc]

Have you changed the oil yourself or do you know what the oil is in there?

[Dom B]

Yep, full service.
get new plugs in there,
get a new air filter in and throw away the old one which is probably full of hedgehogs
Change the oil and filter
Disconnect the battery and leave for at least an hour. Your gearbox will have to learn but this won't take long.
Fill her with 99ron tesco it has loads of detergent in and is a great fuel (just my opinion but some dyno testing agrees)
I would also add a full dose of redex injector cleaner, It really does work it halved my emissions on just 2 tanks.
Give her a full tank of varied running to let the ecu learn.
Then take her for an 'Italian Tune up' (read a bloody good thrashing) get that cat really hot and clean.

get a boost gauge hooked up. You might have one of the turbos seized or shaft snapped and therefore blocking the exhaust and not supplying any boost.

Then see how she feels. If no joy then a dyno is in order. Someone with evoscan might be able to do a simple approximate dyno run from your ecu if you are lucky.

I know the cars are not the quickest but they should be quick. I have accidentally hurt my friends neck twice, once launching and another overtaking someone. They were turned talking to me when i floored the throttle, so there should be good poke there if she is running right.

[Davezj]

theres obviously a problem because every owner of these cars is impressed with the pull , so i would say you obviously have a problem

it always puts a smile on my face when i floor it from 0-60 in less than 5 secs

find a deserted road and have your self a mini drag race , if its not getting to 60 in rougthly 5 seconds then you can at least feel relieved that the car has a problem and one that can probably be remedied then its just a case of prepping your self for some bills and some stress :)

with regards to what the problem could actually be , well ill leave that to the clerics of this site , what mileage is your car?

turbos may be due?
maf sensor faulty ?
misfire - ignition etc?
exhuast / cat (as mentioned )

it could be lots of things , but needles to say i think everyone he would agree that you wouldnt describe these cars as 'disappointing ' so somethings definatley wrong i would say

in reality i think 0 - 60 in 5 seconds is a bit over optimistics on a standard car with no mods. it sounds like he has a PFL auto and 0-60 in 7 second is more like it. but if you launch it 6 seconds is doable. Launch consists of foot on brake get revs to 2k-3k, take foot off brake and plant right foot

hope this helps.

[AlanDITD]

Not just a case of expecting to much? You tube vids can do that to you, i agree that it should be pulling away from diesels but then remember alot of these with remaps on a 40mph roll or 60mph roll with all that torque will be epping nippy.

The MG up its chuff at 30mph is a bit odd though, most cars on the road i have gone that far ahead by 80 there was not much chance of them catching the car, but then i did have a few mods.

Do as the others have said, then fit a boost gauge and an MBC/EBC and see what happens, obviously providing the car isnt goosed, may be worth doing a compression/leakdown test also.

Good luck anyway.

[danwins224]

No Brad, the service was done before I got the car, but have took everyones advice and just placed an order with camskill for some oil, OUCH!!!! so we'll see if that improves things. the air filter and plugs still look like new so dont think that's really a problem.

[steelie600]

have u checked the back bank of plugs to see if theyve been changed??? They are an arse to get at so could have been left

[orionn2o]

Perhaps you are just expecting too much?? The VR4 is reasonably quick standard but nothing particularly special..

fit a boost controller and you have a different story. But I turned mine to standard boost the other day and was appalled at how sluggish it felt

[HPRULZ]

when I first got mine it was fairly slow 15.8 quarter but have since discovered 2 damaged misfiring coilpacks and a duff plug lead (thanks to Gowf for the input) is a lot smoother now and pulls better, am looking forward to running the quarter again to see what the differance is.
Funny thing is it had a full Mitsubishi dealer service couple of weeks before I went to Gareths and they didnt flag any problems so dont lose heart in it may be something simple.

Kev

[Beastlee]

I got Wayne (White Lightening) to drive mine on the roads around the Nurburgring this weekend. It was supposed ot be a brake test but I asked him to try giving it some right foot and give me his honest opinion. His answer whilst disappointing was not particularly surprising to me. Look at the list of mods I have so far and you would like to think my car should be a fair bit quicker than standard but Wayne felt it was not much different to his standard car.
Sometimes I really think the car is fast but other times I get the distinct feeling there's an issue. I know it's faster than a brand new Corsa VXR Artic Edition(0-60mph = 6.8s) which should help give an idea how it's running, which confirms stock performance. On the road though I too get the impression that I'm not pulling away from the Passat TDi and 207s that sit on your back bumper and I worry that I've wasted my money....then we reach the twisities and it's clear what the difference is.
Don't lose faith, get it looked at by someone who knows VR4s and find out if it's losing power from stock then look at how to fix it. If it wern't for my brakes I'd be buying new plugs, coil packs and leads right now.

[Turbo_Steve]

Lee...that sounds exactly like mine! LOL

[Beastlee]

TBH The thing that keeps me going is that everyone that gets in it says how dammn fast it is! That and the looks of confusion and awe when I'm playing in it...:)

[RussBird82]

My basic V6 has plenty of pull. 1st gear is pretty redundant but floored in 2nd with a quick change from 2nd to 3rd will see off most things.

[Dom B]

The best bit is blasting off of a roundabout, you can get the power on earlier than anything. I had a blast with a zx6r bike giving it some real thrashing across the bottom of leighton buzzard where you have 1/2 mile then roundabout for about 4 roundabouts. he went past me while i was behind a car, i got past the car and out of every roundabout i made enough time distance on him that his top end didn't have time to pull away before the next roundabout. I managed to get alongside him out of the last but one then outbraked him into the last (very safe as wide road) but i didn't pass him as it would have put him off line. I just wanted him to know that i could lol

[Dom B]

Then my rubbish brakes fried lol

[steelie600]

to be fair Dom he must have been a jessie tho, the leggies are quick but not bike quick. Although im yet to pitch mine against a bike.

[Confused]

They are not super-fast.


Not by today's standards, anyway.


13 years ago when they were released, yes they were fairly impressive beasts, but with the advancement of technology in that time, and the proliferation of modern common rail turbo diesels for example, the VR-4 is now an "above average" performer.


However - would I want a different car? Would I hell as like! I've wanted one for years, and now finally have my chance to have one - when it's an above-average, fairly cheap second hand "budget performance" car, rather than when it was a highly advanced performance car.


Of course - they are still very rapid, and it's possible yours is broken or is in need of a good service... or just simply requires the boost turning up - at standard boost, it's a bit... "yeah, and?" but punt it towards ~0.8-0.9 bar, and it gets a very healthy dose of mid-range grunt that was previously a bit lacking!


But - as all others have said - get it to someone who knows them, and knows how they should perform and feel - and get their expert opinion/advice :)

[Dom B]

to be fair Dom he must have been a jessie tho, the leggies are quick but not bike quick. Although im yet to pitch mine against a bike.

To be fair he was wringing it's neck on the straights and i know the guy and he races motorcross so i know he is a bike nut. Remember it was only a 600 not a 1000.

It takes an exceptional rider with a set of sticky tyres to make a good line start on a m#bike 1 in every 4 or 5 times. It takes any old idiot like me to make a cracking start on normal road tyres everytime with a vr4. And the same goes for corners.

[AlanDITD]

Cars are generally faster than bikes around certain twisties, round abouts being a good example. And also the top gear track iirc

And alot of bikes out there arent that fast either, i have had some fun times with a few bikes on the road in the starights and in the twisties.

Normally you will loose, but just to give them a good run is half the fun. Generally if you get a thumbs up from a biker your doing ok i would say.

[Dom B]

I was genuinely surprised how well the car stood up to the bike. The clever bit was racing him on that road with the roundabouts lol, the car really does well out of the bends in the dry. Lots of grinning. There are very few people that can ride a bike quick and i wouldn't do it on the road, just one patch of diesel or gravel and you have ditched it.

[steelie600]

some very valid points dom and alan, but im still not convinced that 1500kg of car with 280bhp would keep with a 180kg bike with 100bhp+. For sure the leggie should be able to fire out of the corner better, and it does have the advantage of electrical wizardry and more rubber on the road, but a 1/2 decent 600 will go 0-60 in under 3.5 secs and on to 160mph+.

I used to race roadbikes and im convinced that i could have easily beat a vr4 before i broke my back. You are right tho dom in that anyone can drive a car fast but it takes a special kind of loonatic to do it on a bike.

Oh and alan when that car beat a bike it was a gallardo super leggera on angleseys old circuit against the basic spec duke 999 a fair test would have been against the 999 r and the car would have been slaughtered. And kev smith isnt that fast a rider, but tiff who was driving the lambo is an ex f1 driver

[Turbo_Steve]

Kev : they also put a BTCC driver in a Porsche turbo up against some championship rider on his circuit bike and it was pretty much neck & neck. ON a handling circuit, the car will always win. On a power circuit, the bike has it.

That said, I out dragged my mates 600 a couple of times with a 220bhp, 1800Kg 4Wd car when he had a pillion. So stick another 100bhp on the car, remove the pillion and add plenty of roundabouts (so the bike has to reign himself in until he's straight) and the car will be in it's powerband more than the bike is.
Then we're back to the old "area under the curve" conversation, where on-the-road tractability is more about where the power lies and how you can get it down than power-to-weight ratio.

I must confess, I am dissapointed with the VR4, not because of the performance, which is adequate as standard, but because our cheap Volvo T4, whilst slower, is still "adequate". The difference is that when it's NOT going fast (which the VR4 definitely does better) the Volvo routinely returns 42mpg on a cruise at 85mph. The Leggy is struggling to top 21mpg (on mine it's as low as 17mpg!). I've had a history of performance cars, and not one of them has been this calamatously bad on fuel.

For me, a 300bhp VR4 is a perfect performer: IF the fuel economy can be dragged back into the realms of reality!

[bradc]

I still maintain that you should be able to get 30mpg, I've done this myself multiple times in all 3 of my VR-4's plus Ryan's VR-4.

[Beastlee]

I got 20mpg going to The Ring on Saturday, mostly 100mph+ on the autobahns than some 60mph back twisties. With a lot of hilly drives and a lap of the ring i still got 19.09 which I'm happy with TBH, considering what I'd done. I think my old o2 sensor was buggered actually as the car seems to fuel a little better now.

[Ryan]

Any reasonably standard non-cruiser bike which is >600cc should whip a standard VR-4 in a straight line.

It's a simple matter of power to weight and in that respect, the bike will always win if the driver/rider know what they are doing.

[AlanDITD]

yup in a staright line it will, but in the twisties like a roundabout a car is faster, where a biker has to do a quick or toght left to right the VR4 will keep up or beat it. I found anyway.

And every thread is turning into a MPG thread LOL, pack it in.

[steelie600]

my car is good on fuel if i drive sensibly, drive like a knob and it drinks, nuff sed

[Ryan]

yup in a staright line it will, but in the twisties like a roundabout a car is faster, where a biker has to do a quick or toght left to right the VR4 will keep up or beat it. I found anyway.


Yes, that may be - but that's only for a brief of period of time. In capable hands, a motorcycle*, will always out-accelerate and out-brake a VR-4 in a straight line.

Ultimately what I'm saying is that the VR-4's superior cornering ability will always be negated by the motorcycle* in pretty much any given track, unless it is a track of continual bends!




*which subscribes to the parameters I've listed in my original post of being a non-cruiser design and 600cc or more

[Turbo_Steve]

I still maintain that you should be able to get 30mpg, I've done this myself multiple times in all 3 of my VR-4's plus Ryan's VR-4.

Brad, the average speed in NZ is 65mph. No wonder you don't think it's bad on fuel.
Try cruising at 85mph for a couple of hours (which is a fairly normal speed on a UK motorway) and you'll find it gets silly very quickly.

TBH I am convinced it's setup for Japanese Roads. It's not too bad on fuel flat out. It's very good on fuel if it's driving "in the city" (for a 4wd auto, anyway).

It's just fast cruise: it's dreadful!

[adzgti]

I had this exact same problem. I've always wanted one of these cars for years and when I had the chance to buy one from a club member I did! I wasn't particularly impressed with its speed at all, however I thought that it was maybe's just me bigging the car up too much. I bought it anyway.

With the car I had a handful of useful goodies not fitted to it yet. electronic boost controller, fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator.

I fitted the boost controller and my god, it was a different car. I was over the moon with it but it was cutting constantly - which was annoying. Totally overhalled the car, serviced, new timing belt, fluids, grade 7 plugs in total i spent over 2K trying to solve the problem! I felt that the car was not performing to near 300bhp nor the 280bhp as standard.

I gave up faith and got annoyed with running costs so put her up for sale. Before she was sold though, I fitted the new fuel pump.I could have slapped myself! having this part all the time and not fitting it sooner! This solved all the problems the car previously had. It ran so much smoother, pulled like a train and pretty much felt twice as quick as before.

From my experience, I would suggest replacing the fuel pump if all else has failed. Save yourself a fortune and give this a go. I managed to get two weeks of very happy motoring before the new owner picked her up. I've always regretted selling her but hey.

[swinks]

Not really, Steve.
I got 29 - 30mpg whilst cruising on German motorways with average 90mph. I think Lee can agree with me. Depends on your driving style.
But, in Czech and Poland I got 12 to 16mpg driving like a mad.

And generally, don't think that VR4s are quick. In today's standards not at all. Some turbo diesels are quite similar in Nm in low revs range.
Fun begins not on stright distances, but where cornering, accelerating and stopping is involved.

Sh^^t, we went off topic...:uhoh2:

[Dom B]

Not really, Steve.
I got 29 - 30mpg whilst cruising on German motorways with average 90mph. I think Lee can agree with me. Depends on your driving style.
But, in Czech and Poland I got 12 to 16mpg driving like a mad.

And generally, don't think that VR4s are quick. In today's standards not at all. Some turbo diesels are quite similar in Nm in low revs range.
Fun begins not on stright distances, but where cornering, accelerating and stopping is involved.

Sh^^t, we went off topic...:uhoh2:

I just cant break that 24mpg wall cruising from anything between 70 and 85. I try a different speed every time i drive to see my misses which is virtually m25 and dual carriageway all the way. I try and be really smooth with the throttle and keep as constant a speed as possible but that's the best my vr4 will do. I don't expect to be able to get to 30-35mpg with our compression ratio but surely near 30 is possible.

[Davezj]

yes 30+ is possible i can do it mine but it is so boring and i get tired of it after 100 miles or so.
i once got 32mpg out of mine. over 140mile range at 70. but that was a case of.
Get on to motorway fill up at services.
Drive 140mile without positive boost (less than 0).
Fill up at services. check mpg.
Drive like a nutter for a few mile to get it out of my system.

[Davezj]

i do find my VR4 is more economical at 90-95 then 80-85. but not as economical as 60. but 60 i just can't do for any length of time.

[Dom B]

next time something is happening and there is a vr4 convoy, we should all fill up at the same services then drive how we like in convoy to the point of food but brim up again just before and have an mpg competition. winner gets free lunch lol. would be interesting though.

[Beastlee]

...
From my experience, I would suggest replacing the fuel pump if all else has failed. Save yourself a fortune and give this a go. I managed to get two weeks of very happy motoring before the new owner picked her up. I've always regretted selling her but hey.


I have one of the TRE pumps in the garage, I think I might find some time to fit it and see if things improve. At least it's a mod I can do now without spending any more cash!

Swinks, Actually I am luck to see 18-20mpg on the Autobahns as I tend to drive at 100+ unless the limits are in place.

[miller]

i think i saw 8mpg on the ring

[Ralliart1]

I had same experience with my second VR4,and was very dissapointed too,the S60 D5 Volvo almost beat me on sprint.The uprated fuelpump ( I use Wallbro 255l/h) helps a lot,the engine works smoother and the car was much faster.An EBC was the second think what I want to fit,but that project never been done.

[Ralliart1]

Sorry to hijack this thread,but the 29-30 mpg with 90 mh think is exageratted.Just came back from holiday,used the Autobahn as well to cross Germany.The average consumption was 19mpg with 95 mh,using cruise control.
I have to add that this consumption was on LPG but if I use on petrol is not remarcable difference in consumption(1-2 litres/100km).The car is over 340Bhp and peaking on 1,3bar.(Ex Caveman's car)

[Turbo_Steve]

Mine seems to use the same amount of fuel cruising at 95 as it does at 85mpg.
It's around the 17mpg mark, though I am not driving especially sensibly (why buy a VR4 and drive slowly? ).

Mitsi make a quick car: it's called the Evo. And at the moment, I am starting to see why the VR4 was dropped: the Evo can be tuned to more power, retain better economy, is generally quieter and handles better.
But I love the VR4 because it seems a bit more comfortable and a lot more grown up. And it's a nice practical wagon. But I expected better motorway manners, and much better economy. I started costing out ECU, fuelling and bits to go to TD04s, and when I got to £3500 I started thinking that it's probably easier to stick in a tuned 4G63T, and follow a well trodden path. It's not like they're short of torque!

This is a really interesting thread.

[adzgti]

Beastlee, I fitted the TRE pump to mine; excellent piece of kit. Quick word of advice though, fit the original filter part because if you fit the new filter, the car suffers fuel cut under harsh cornering.

[Beastlee]

Beastlee, I fitted the TRE pump to mine; excellent piece of kit. Quick word of advice though, fit the original filter part because if you fit the new filter, the car suffers fuel cut under harsh cornering.

Thaks for the info will do as you say. Did you have to make the modification Glenn did to make it all fit together properly? Somethign about filing the hole slightly or similar.

[adzgti]

The pump was of a different size to the standard and a little bit of tinkering was required. However my mechanics cant remember exactly what they did to make it fit the mitsi cartridge. Sorry mate :( this is the novalty of working in sales lol

[Turbo_Steve]

It'll be the collar of the filter being a differnet size to that of the pump, and it's usually fairly easy to remedy.

And that isn't fuel cut, that's fuel starvation! And it's flippin dangerous if it happens hard!

Wonder if I should be looking at my fuel pump performance. I have a fuel pressure gauge, so maybe investing on an inline pipe-mount for it is a good idea. Hmm....

[adzgti]

I'd definately look into it, could be a common fault by all accounts.

[andydckent]

This thread is starting to really depress me. Please stop it.

I thought I had a bought a very nice car that will far out perform the average car and out handle almost anything, but obviously not./hammer :thumbsdow

[Turbo_Steve]

Look at a Golf R32. VR4 should be roughly comparable in performance, not even close on fuel consumption, and definitely better on cornering. And if it's an estate, it's got a huge boot!

If you'd bought an Evo5, you'd have spent roughly twice as much. The fuel economy would be better, it would be faster than the golf and corner better than a VR4. It would have a fairly useless boot, and generally be less comfortable.
Plus you'd have all the issues of parking/leaving an Evo.

The evo is generally a much better platform for modifying in terms of parts vs price, though it depends how far you wish to go. If you're chasing 400bhp, the Evo is much easier / cheaper. If you're after 500bhp it starts to pull level, and the VR4 starts to be a better road car at 500bhp.

[adzgti]

LOL honestly mate, dont loose faith like I did, you'll only regret it. Simply because once you sort whatever problem it has, these cars are awesome machines that never fail to put a smile on your face. you'll also miss how practical they are.

Its a good job you have the support of a site like this tbh. I must admit, putting the fueling issue asside, this car is the best built car I have ever owned. I just jumped into ownership knowing nothing about them; that's what my problem was.

Just a silly question, whats your temp gauge like? is it running hot? could be a collapsed cat????

[danwins224]

wow, something relevant again.......lol

temp gauge is sitting nicely in the middle, doubt very much it's a problem with the cat as it doesn't have one. hehe

[g35]

I've just bought a VR4 after selling my Nissan Skyline 350GT and although it is slower - I expected it to be so I am not disappointed! Also the Legnum is a good 130kg heavier which must be a factor (power/weight ratio) and I would have thought the 4wd and auto/tip gearbox adds more things to get in the way of accelerating compared to rwd/manual Skyline. Anyways - it is what it is - big enough to get my family in! :)

[psbarham]

the problem with the VR4 is that people think because its a mitsu with turbo's, 4wd & ayc its gonna be comparable with the evo, ITS NOT!!!!!
Now if you think of it as a fast capable cruiser which can hold its own on a twisty road then you'll be ok.

[Beastlee]

wow, something relevant again.......lol

temp gauge is sitting nicely in the middle, doubt very much it's a problem with the cat as it doesn't have one. hehe

Does it sit right in the middle or below middle. Mine is totally flat and stayed so all the way round the Ring but Wayne mentioned that nearly all the ones he's seen sit slightly below.

Paul, that's exactly how I see mine. It's a family wagon that goes well and doesn't need to slow as much for bends. My only frustration is spending £2k+ on upgrades for it to perform like standard. Hopefully that will be resolved by chucking more money at it.

[danwins224]

temp needle sits perfectly horizontal,

As far as performance goes, I think its a little under powered, but a good service should bring it back to something like standard.

[Beastlee]

Good, thought it seemed normal.

[Axeboy]

i find they do vary a fair bit performance wise and boost can be different from car to car.

Taking boost even from 0.55bar to 0.7bar can make a huge difference yet can be the variance on some cars

[bradc]

Just to reword what Axeboy has said there, some cars run at 0.55bar, and other cars run at 0.7bar stock. If you are running at 0.55bar and increase it to 0.7bar, you will notice a huge difference.

[Beastlee]

Mine runs 7psi with the Profec disabled, 12psi with it on. The difference is definitely noticable and the overall feel of the car is that mid-range it pulls much harder but with little gain further up the range.

[g35]

Just had my leggy serviced, spark plugs changed (all 6), replaced rocker gasket (slight oil leak), cleaned out the HKS filter and fitted a manual boost controller & boost gauge - its seems to be trying hard to achieve a reasonable speed. I'm also seeing 0.4ish bar at full acceleration which seems to be a bit lower than I would have expected - seeing that this thread talks about 0.55-0.7 bar as std. The car has just passed 90k km (60k miles?) and there is no blue smoke/strange noises from the engine etc.
a) should I increase the boost to 0.55-0.7 bar manually to get it to approx std performance? how much does this strain the turbos? (what can they take?)
or b) any ideas on what may be causing this low boost? Note - the garage have not touched the mbc at all, nor have I - yet!
Any advice appreciated!
Thanks,
Greg

[bradc]

Is the HKS filter a pod filter or a replacement panel filter?

[g35]

panel filter.

[eyeballprawn]

Mine runs 7psi with the Profec disabled, 12psi with it on. The difference is definitely noticable and the overall feel of the car is that mid-range it pulls much harder but with little gain further up the range.

Same here, the car feels really eager and effortless with the extra boost.. like something is sucking it forwards :)

With the Profec off it feels very reserved and held back now.

[Davezj]

Just thought i would let you know i had my VR4 (auto) dynoed along with others at a rolling road day and with stock boost, the following was seen:-
max boost was at 5500rpm 0.6Bar
after 5500 to 7200 boost started to reduce linearly all the way down to 0.4 Bar.
and the same was said for a number of other VR4 (auto) running stock boost.

The standard setup can't hold max boost to the red line. after 5500 it just starts to drop off.
not sure why maybe the wastgate can't close down after it has opened due to the exhaust gas which is now flowing through the valve. i was thinking mabe the wastegate spring has lost some of it power and is just not beefy enough to close the valve down which would effectivly maintain the boost over the 5500rpm point.

If the turbos and less efficient about 5500 and create less boost the surley the wastegate valve closing down as the generated boost drops would be enough to maintain the max boost.
It seems that with an EBC the boost can be maintained past the 5500 point. so why not with the stack setup.

[HPRULZ]

The standard setup can't hold max boost to the red line. after 5500 it just starts to drop off.


Yep I would agree with that mine pulls really well at Santapod up to 5-5.5k then kinda just drops off and thats running standard with no boost control.

Kev

[eyeballprawn]

It seems that with an EBC the boost can be maintained past the 5500 point. so why not with the stack setup.

I would suggest the problem lies with the factory plastic BOV. I had a problem with that on extra boost until I upgraded to a metal Evo unit.

[eyeballprawn]

For reference, here is a datalogging 0 to 100kmh run I did with the EBC off. When off it passes all boost pressure direct through to the wastegate actuators without any interference, as if the aftermarket solenoid was not there.

Boost should be slightly lower than the factory setup with factory operating solenoid, as the wastegates in the below case would begin to open earlier.

Spikes are due to the automatic tranny's up changes and nothing can be done about them. No spiking on initial spool though.

[Davezj]

i am going to try some experimants with springs to try and get the wastegate to close better at higher revs as i don't think they can close properly when they are pushing against the exhaust gases. lets face it they are 12-13 years old, you would expect any spring to lose some of its expansive force over time.. so iam going to put some of thet back and see what happens.

[Jesus-Ninja]

temp needle sits perfectly horizontal


Just a note on this. I'm currently hunting down my running hot and losing coolant issue, and having fitted an after market temperature sensor and gauge, my stock needle remains horizontal from under 70 deg C up to about 110 deg C (which is the hotest it's run, so maybe the needle would stay level beyond this), so it doesn't really tell you much. Presumably when the stock needle does get to the red line, it's merely a reminder to get the heads skimmed and new HGs :p

[sonicsoundzdj]

Wouldnt mind getting a new fuel pump now actually seen as a few people say they work wonders! Weres a good place to get one from?

[Jesus-Ninja]

Wouldnt mind getting a new fuel pump now actually seen as a few people say they work wonders! Weres a good place to get one from?

I went to ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270459883577&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Actually came packaged as a Sytec FSE, but open the packaging and there's a branded Walbro inside :)

[Ralliart1]

Wouldnt mind getting a new fuel pump now actually seen as a few people say they work wonders! Weres a good place to get one from?
Try there: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WALBRO-255-FUEL-PUMP-FIT-Mitsubishi-Galant-VR4-TT-1996_W0QQitemZ370260252322QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Ca rsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item56353b16a2

[Beastlee]

I have a TRE still waiting to be fitted but nobody answered my q regarding the o-ring on it so it's going to wait a while longer.

With regard to your coolant issue check for tiny splits in the hoses when the pressure is up in the system. I had this happen to a number of different pipes and it was very difficult to locate. Now I've done 4 hoses and swapped the pressure cap mine seems to be happy now. At level on the guauge Evoscan logs the temp at 99degrees.

[swinks]

I have a TRE still waiting to be fitted but nobody answered my q regarding the o-ring on it so it's going to wait a while longer.

I fitted mine TRE few months ago. That's right, o-ring is not matching, but, using Glenn's (WODJNO) guideline pump is working perfectly OK. You just need to move screw mounting point.
PM Glenn, he can explain this better.
Actually job for 5 minutes.

[Beastlee]

I fitted mine TRE few months ago. That's right, o-ring is not matching, but, using Glenn's (WODJNO) guideline pump is working perfectly OK. You just need to move screw mounting point.
PM Glenn, he can explain this better.
Actually job for 5 minutes.

My issue is that there's no o-ring in the box so i need to know if I can use the one of the standard pump. If not I need the dimensions so I can order one from somewhere.

[swinks]

IIRC I've used stock one, sits deeper, but bear in mind you're moving screw mounting point.