Engine Gets Sluggish @ 3000 rpm's

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bassjas12

Member
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2003 Mazdaspeed Protege #704
PLEASE HELP A LAYMAN!!

Seen other posts similar to this, but don't understand what people are talking about. I am not super technical with car stuff, but I want to learn to be. I can do basic maintenance, and small repairs. Layman's terms would be great. Thanks.

I have a 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege, just got it a few months ago.

Since I got it, anytime I approach 3000 RPM's the engine gets real sluggish. It seems like when the turbo kicks in I loose power. I can downshift and get the RPM's up around 4-5000 and its better. Also, I notice that if i push in the clutch a bit as I gas it the sluggishness goes away as well.

A month or so after I got the protege the clutch went dead on me, and I replaced the Master and Slave Cylinder and it fixed the problem, but still having issues with the sluggish engine when i drive.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A better attempt to explain then above taken from one of my posts below:

Now that I have more time and not using my phone to respond I will try to explain my problem better. Sometimes (not all the time, but more often then not) when I am shifting I get into 3rd (or higher) gear and as the RPM's reach ~3000, I hear the turbo spin up, but I do not feel any boost at all. The engine is sluggish, and sometimes car will shake a bit until I shift up or down. If I shift down, I do get good power from the car and it accelerates as it should (this would be in the 4-5000 and up on RPM's). It just seems that as I drive and the Turbo kicks in, I am not seeing and real power from it. As I said in an earlier post its like i am going up a steep hill in too high of a gear and the car is struggling to keep power up.
Any info would be great!!
 
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That may be a rich spot for you as in at that point as it tries to build boost it is running super rich like a normal stock msp will. But not certain on your problem. And i wouldnt slip the clutch like your describing, especially if you have been having problems with your clutch to begin with.
 
powderider87 said:
That may be a rich spot for you as in at that point as it tries to build boost it is running super rich like a normal stock msp will. But not certain on your problem. And i wouldnt slip the clutch like your describing, especially if you have been having problems with your clutch to begin with.
Click to expand...

I have a stock msp. Not sure what you mean by running rich. Is there a fix for it on stock msp to keep it from running rich? Car shakes and loses power like going up a hill in to high of a gear.
 
hmmm now the shaking part i never experianced, The fix for the running rich part would be to tune the car with a common tuning software (split second air fuel controller) but i am not sure now if that is your problem... what have you done in the way of maintence? any Check engine lights by chace?
 
Haven't had car long. Regular oil changes. Replaced master and slave cylinder after lost clutch pedal. Replaced spark plugs and wiring after a check engine caused by a cylinder misfiring. But had this issue(with the sluggishness ) since I bought car. No check engine lights now.
 
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It's hard to say for certain as many things are possible but I bet you are driving an unflashed MSP. Some people choose not to get flashed. It will happen in any gear and if that is what it is there is nothing that you can do to fix it outside of getting flashed or installing an engine management system and tuning it.
 
BOOSTR said:
It's hard to say for certain as many things are possible but I bet you are driving an unflashed MSP. Some people choose not to get flashed. It will happen in any gear and if that is what it is there is nothing that you can do to fix it outside of getting flashed or installing an engine management system and tuning it.
Click to expand...

**UPDATE: I did not realize that the injen Cold-Air intake was not stock. Thought it was part of a normal mazdaspeed. So I do have that installed in my MSP. Not sure if that changes things or not. **

How would I go About getting it flashed? And do you know approx. cost involved?
 
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Well if the dealer still offers it, they will charge you 1 hour shop rate or $100 or less. It was free when within the warranty period. Only a certified Mazdaspeed dealer can do it, not a regular Mazda dealer.
 
**UPDATE: I did not realize that the injen Cold-Air intake was not stock. Thought it was part of a normal mazdaspeed. So I do have that installed in my MSP. Not sure if that changes things or not. **

Hmm... alright. Ill call around and see what I can dig up on this. Only one Mazda Dealer anywhere around me, so would imagine they also do mazdaspeed.

ALSO.... Now that I have more time and not using my phone to respond I will try to explain my problem better. Sometimes (not all the time, but more often then not) when I am shifting I get into 3rd (or higher) gear and as the RPM's reach ~3000, I hear the turbo spin up, but I do not feel any boost at all. The engine is sluggish, and sometimes car will shake a bit until I shift up or down. If I shift down, I do get good power from the car and it accelerates as it should (this would be in the 4-5000 and up on RPM's). It just seems that as I drive and the Turbo kicks in, I am not seeing and real power from it. As I said in an earlier post its like i am going up a steep hill in too high of a gear and the car is struggling to keep power up.
 
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You should get a boost gauge to see whats going on, your gonna need/want one sooner or later. And look inside your drivers side door jam, if you see a blue and white Mazda sticker that says "authorized modification" then you have a flashed msp. if you have a place near you that lets you use a scan tool to plug into your car and look for codes do it. Orielly auto parts and places like that have it, even tho you have no Check Engine Lights (CEL's) there may still be a code. So, when you get to 3000 rpm and the car shakes and s*** do you hear any weird noises? It just sounds like you have a common super rich problem, but this whole shaking thing shouldn't happen because of it....
 
I don't get any weird sounds, just the sound of the turbo spinning, sounds like a vacuum. If i let off the gas, shaking will stop, turbo gets quiet.

I will looking into a boost gauge, like you said I will probably be wanting one eventually anyways. Any suggestions on a good place to get one? Quality, but inexpensive? Im a broke college student! :)

Will also swing by an advance, orielly's, or autozone later to have them run a diag for codes.

Will run out to my car and look for sticker in just a bit, and report back.
 
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If the sticker isn't there it may have been removed or just not flashed period... But if its there then you'll just know FOR SURE that it was done. As far as boost gauges i and others have had good results with the Autometer boost gauge that can be found at oriellys. Just becareful when running the vac line they supply you from your vac source to the gauge as it is like a slinky and can crimp easily. What i did to make it easier was heat up the line then stretch it out and put weights on each end and let it stay stretched out so its not in a slinky form and routes easier thru the car.
 
Did not see a sticker there. :-( oh well. I did call the closest Mazda dealer, and they said they can diagnose and verify that is what the issue is, and if it is flash it for $98.00. May do that. Will have to save up some $ first tho... may get a gauge first and see if I can see anything there, and if looks normal, then take it in.
 
not having the flash would not result in the car shaking like it does. And also, you should be able to give them your vin and they should be able to tell you if the vehicle has been flashed.
 
BOOSTR said:
It's hard to say for certain as many things are possible but I bet you are driving an unflashed MSP. Some people choose not to get flashed. It will happen in any gear and if that is what it is there is nothing that you can do to fix it outside of getting flashed or installing an engine management system and tuning it.
Click to expand...

^
 
Jspeed17 said:
lol i read the thread over again and deleted it....lol sorry!
Click to expand...

Deleted?? Did I do something wrong... or you deleted what you post because it was same as something posted previously?

I looked into the <B>Engine Management Systems</B> but...... I just don't have $600+ to spend on the car right now.. (sadbanana). Unless i've been looking at the wrong stuff from what you are suggesting. Also most EMS's I saw required you already have a Cold Air intake, Catback system, and other things first. I am making a long list of minor things I need to fix on the car right now (belts, "trunk clunking sound", etc.)
 
I believe there are a couple of SSAFC's for sale right now on the forum. It's better to be tuned than untuned, even if you don't have a lot of mods and you won't pay 600 bucks for that..lol
 
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