Loss of power

I just got my new car 4 weeks ago, I already put 3k miles on it. Until two days ago the weather was warm. My car was running like a "Raped Ape". Two days ago the weather got colder (below 40 or so). Now the car seems to have lost some of it's edge, it seems to have lost a good chunk of power. The engine still idles smooth as silk and the car still has good power, just not great power like it had a few days ago.

Any ideas?

P.S. at first I thought it was bad gas, but I since have put some different gas and it is doing the same thing.
 
Interesting. Most cars (including my MS3) run better when the air is colder (at least to a point) because the air is denser. Maybe you have a bad temp sensor somewhere; if you can hook up a real-time readout to you OBDII like a dashhawk, auterra, or scangauge you can see if the sensors match your expectations. Or maybe you are just getting used to it. :)
 
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Mine is running WAAAYYYY better in the cold weather, as most Turbo cars do...I think your just getting used to it...

Have you modded it at all yet?
 
Is it in the delivery of power from the engine or to the road, it could it be the stock tires. They dont perform well when its cold and arent recommended for use under 36 degrees. My car runs better with the colder temps but with cold roads and all season tires now I dont have the same grip so the car seems slower.
 
in florida its nice as f&*% during the day. then at night the temp just DROPS. the car to me seems like its just runs a lot better in the cold. weird tho...
 
I really noticed it pulling through the 2nd gear, and then through 3rd. It doesn't try to rip the wheel from my hand anymore and it doesn't seem to have the same "umph". I am doubtful that it is the tires as they never lose grip on the pavement, though on some level it being the tires makes sense. It is almost as if the turbo isn't working well, though that can't be it because if the turbo wasn't spinning well the engine would not be running so smoothly.

Maybe I have just gotten used to it, like stated above.
 
The same thing sort of happened to my car after driving it for only four months. It wasn't that I was getting used to it...it was just one day, the car started feeling slower and it had lost that eagerness (it was mainly noticeable in low RPMs). No longer was the car really responding to just a slight tap on the gas...I don't think the cold weather had anything to do with my problem though. Anyway, I just installed the TurboXS hybrid bov and the ms3 is much smoother and faster now at all speeds than when it was stock! I never found out what the problem was but it doesn't exist anymore. The car is alive again at low RPM (where I do most of my driving) and feels like a monster when I floor it!
 
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in florida its nice as f&*% during the day. then at night the temp just DROPS. the car to me seems like its just runs a lot better in the cold. weird tho...

fact. during the day its a cool 70-75 degrees without a cloud in the sky, but come night time it'll drop to the low 40's and the car seems to respond well.
 
Hey Kelvin,
Do you get much extra noise from that BOV? I am on the fence if I WANT the PSSSSTTTT sound or not. I am 40 and not some ricer kid, but a small imature part of me really thinks it is cool.
 
Hey Kelvin,
Do you get much extra noise from that BOV? I am on the fence if I WANT the PSSSSTTTT sound or not. I am 40 and not some ricer kid, but a small imature part of me really thinks it is cool.

With the stock airbox you wont hear your BPV but upgrade to any intake and you will hear the stock unit. I upgraded to the Forge myself and it has a distinctive sound thats for sure and holds boost better.
 
Hey Kelvin,
Do you get much extra noise from that BOV? I am on the fence if I WANT the PSSSSTTTT sound or not. I am 40 and not some ricer kid, but a small imature part of me really thinks it is cool.

LOL... I hear ya. I am 38 and have felt the same. however, I have no fear and am not holding back from modding. I got the INjen intake first, boy you can hear everything right away. To the original thread, maybe your BPV is leaking now with miles on it? I now to have the Forge BPV and love the sound of both intake and BPV. Not to loud but enough that when I get on it I can appreciate it but when normal driving it is quiet enough not to irritate me.
 
Hey Kelvin,
Do you get much extra noise from that BOV? I am on the fence if I WANT the PSSSSTTTT sound or not. I am 40 and not some ricer kid, but a small imature part of me really thinks it is cool.

Nope, there's not much extra noise from the unit. I still have the stock airbox on and you don't hear anything at all unless you really push on the gas and go past 4000 rpm. When the sound does go off, it's just a quick "PSSSH" and it's not even that loud. With the windows closed and the stereo on, I barely hear it when it does go off.

I chose the TurboXS hybrid bov over the bpv because it was actually cheaper (weird huh?). I was originally going to buy it from http://www.turbowholesale.com/product.php?productid=13141&cat=1390&page=1 but then I found a better deal at jscspeed.com. Contact Aaron and tell him you're on this forum and he can do it for $180 shipped.
 
Here is a little more info for ya...

Right before I noticed this issue I heard a brief noise coming form the front of my car. It sounded like a cross between if a break pad had frozen closed then popped open again and the whine of a turbo. Kinda a real high pitched metal on metal whine sound. It did it only once and was pretty brief, I figured it came from the car next to me, I was at a stop light at the time so it wasnt breaks.
 
I really noticed it pulling through the 2nd gear, and then through 3rd. It doesn't try to rip the wheel from my hand anymore and it doesn't seem to have the same "umph". I am doubtful that it is the tires as they never lose grip on the pavement, though on some level it being the tires makes sense. It is almost as if the turbo isn't working well, though that can't be it because if the turbo wasn't spinning well the engine would not be running so smoothly.

Maybe I have just gotten used to it, like stated above.

Mine definitely losses power in cold weather. I have CAI installed and it pulls great anywhere from 50-100 degrees. As soon as temperature is around or below freezing, the power drops significantly.

The previous Mazda 3 was pulling way better in cold weather than warm or hot weather. With the Speed 3 is just the opposite. I kind of got used to it since the power comes back with higher temperatures.

It is not the tires, the engine does not pull very strong and it even sounds different under hard acceleration, does not have the "full" sound I am used to.
 
I wonder if the cold weather with the CAI is causing the car to run too rich and making it run poorly. Dont know if that would have anything to do with it or not, anyone else have a thought?
 
Part of the temperature thing is direct injection. By nature of design, it likes heat... so when things start getting cold....
 
I haven't run a vehicle without forced undiction since about 1994, and every single one of them has run better during the brief period each year when the weather here in FL dropped into the 40's at night.

I'm not familiar with the idiosyncracies of direct injection, but if most of us MS3 owners are running stronger in the cold, I have to think that those in the minority might be having some sort of sensor issue- maybe the air flow sensor isn't handling the cold, etc., and is causing the car to run rich. And if that's the case, a CAI/SRI could exacerbate the problem.

Might be worthwhile for those running weak in the cold to list their mods, if any.
 
Mine definitely losses power in cold weather. I have CAI installed and it pulls great anywhere from 50-100 degrees. As soon as temperature is around or below freezing, the power drops significantly.

The previous Mazda 3 was pulling way better in cold weather than warm or hot weather. With the Speed 3 is just the opposite. I kind of got used to it since the power comes back with higher temperatures.

It is not the tires, the engine does not pull very strong and it even sounds different under hard acceleration, does not have the "full" sound I am used to.

I think I'm encountering the same thing. Not necessarily a power loss, but power inconsistency. One time on one cooler day (in fourth gear), I could actually feel some kind of boost flutter where it didn't seem to know how much to put down. It pulled hard, then eased, the pulled hard again, then easied, in rapid succession. Then on another day it made me wince it was shoving so hard in the same gear....I don't get it. I think it has everything to do with boost.

I also notice it doesnt sound like its working very hard when the output seems low.
 
I think I'm encountering the same thing. Not necessarily a power loss, but power inconsistency. One time on one cooler day (in fourth gear), I could actually feel some kind of boost flutter where it didn't seem to know how much to put down. It pulled hard, then eased, the pulled hard again, then easied, in rapid succession. Then on another day it made me wince it was shoving so hard in the same gear....I don't get it. I think it has everything to do with boost.

I also notice it doesnt sound like its working very hard when the output seems low.

same here. sometimes I romp on it in 3rd or 4th and it won't put me back in the seat like it usually does. you can really notice it in 6th gear though. if you modulate the throttle sometimes you can feel it. all I have is a first gen cobb intake. I'm about to put the stock airbox on if I can find it and see if it still does acts up.

also, I noticed this problem way more in humid weather. I haven't really noticed it too much since it's been in the 40's and 30's.
 
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