Improving Acceleration Question

[surfninjas]

do i need to necessarily increase horsepower to improve acceleration?

*talk to me like a baby, because im not a car guy...although im interested in learning now.

*my car is automatic. dont race and have no interest; more convenient for my typical driving.

fwiw, i dont want a constantly loud car.

just wondering how to make it a little more fun. not concerned with top speed, but the car feels a little slow accelerating.

would i notice an improvement in acceleration with a cold air intake?

 

[thejash]

1.) Swap the autotragic for a manual
2.) While doing number 1, add in a lightweight flywheel
3.) AC Delete
4.) Gut the hatch, all the plastic, spare tire etc

I have done 1-4 and my car accelerates much faster then it did before. The gain from deleting the AC felt roughly the same as adding the 6.8 pound flywheel and it only cost $20 for a short belt compared to a $300+ flywheel.

Adding low end torque on these cars is not easy, your best weapon is the ability to remove weight.

-Josh

 

[Cleverfrog]

If you want to make it fun just do number 1 on that list.

 

[ijbrekke]

Let's start here: acceleration is determined greatly by your power-to-weight ratio. That is, it is a mixture of how much power your engine has and how much your car weighs. So the two ways to change this are either to add power or get rid of weight.

One of the weakest points on our cars is the engine: we simply don't have a lot of power to work with. Unfortunately, the engine also doesn't respond very well to modification. You can get some extra power out of it, but not as much as similar engines for the same amount of money. There are lots of threads on modifications, but you may have slight success with a new intake, a freer-flowing exhaust, and a modified intake manifold (getting rid of certain emissions pieces). And if you haven't yet done it, sometimes a good tune-up will do wonders (spark plugs, spark plug wires, seafoam in the gas tank, etc). Look for the sticky thread on tune-ups.

Someone mentioned a lightened flywheel. This will make the engine rev up more quickly, but will be much more "jumpy" in stop-and-go traffic. It is also less durable.

Your car is definitely held back by its automatic transmission. It transforms the P5 from an economy box to a fun-to-drive car. The manual is only slightly faster, but improves driving pleasure immensely.

Anything that adds power will cost money. Taking out interior pieces to lighten the car, however, will not. So if you're truly interested in acceleration on the cheap that is the way to go. But if you want power without sacrificing your interior I suggest doing research on this site about tune-ups and basic engine modification. It will give you a slight boost.

Hope it helps!

 

[yangsui]

Um, how about you start with better tires. A million horsepowers and torques are useless if you just spin crappy all-season tires and can't put power down to the ground.

Start with better tires, and you improve handling at the same time. Pick from the "maximum," "ultra," "extreme" summer performance tires category.

 

[surfninjas]

Um, how about you start with better tires. A million horsepowers and torques are useless if you just spin crappy all-season tires and can't put power down to the ground.

Start with better tires, and you improve handling at the same time. Pick from the "maximum," "ultra," "extreme" summer performance tires category.

certain brands significantly better than others?

best sites to order from?

sorry guise, but im staying autoMANtic. i know, i know...=pussy.(upbum)(upbum)(upbum)

 

[Cleverfrog]

Well if you're staying autotragic just slap a mazdaspeed badge on it and say its fun

 

[DarkAngel]

It's not a pussy move. I sometimes prefer an auto to a manual. Just depends on where you live and the type of driving you do like stop and go. When it comes to our cars though, you do feel a difference in Auto and Manual unfortunately. Just maintain it and drive it and it should last you a long while.

 

[zoom zoom sp20]

A Header would help too

 

[OregonOrganics]

Are you sure? He mentions an acceleration issue and most of the reviews I have read about available headers (OBX, ebay, etc) have been that they remove a bulk of low end power. Since this person is using ATX, they will be driving in the lower rpm range and therefore not take advantage of the increased peak power. I could be wrong.

 

[yangsui]

certain brands significantly better than others?

best sites to order from?

In the extreme performance category, all the brands are pretty close. Only the seasoned autocrossers and racers can truly appreciate the difference.

Tirerack.com is a good place to start.

 

[MP5stephen]

Are you sure? He mentions an acceleration issue and most of the reviews I have read about available headers (OBX, ebay, etc) have been that they remove a bulk of low end power. Since this person is using ATX, they will be driving in the lower rpm range and therefore not take advantage of the increased peak power. I could be wrong.

I also thought this was true. Although I'm going to be getting the 626 intake without the VTCS.

 

[zoom zoom sp20]

I mean for moderate to high speed, no p5 n/a auto is going to get fast accleration

 

[BRIAN_MP5T]

Mainly, no matter what you do, that auto trans will greatly rob you of many more HP than a MTX.

If you need proof, do a side by side with a similarly modded protege that has a MTX.

Weight savings add up and offer improvements to braking cornering and acceleration.

If all you want is to go faster off the line in a line, you are at a disadvantage with the Auto.