Miata Mailing List: December 1999, Message #414

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On 12/2/99, Bob Schnider wrote:

>>Still have a bit of "wait" when I mash the throttle from idle
>> - about a quarter second. It feels like a bad accelerator pump on a
>> carbureted engine.

>yup... usually means you've let the revs drop too low...  keep 'em up over
>4000 and the throttle hesitation goes away.

That's fine, except in city driving I usually need to make a more
conservative takeoff... :-P

>>But it do run nice, and I couldn't make it ping on 87
>> octane, even lugging up steep hills in third.

>don't do that...  lugging a fine engine is one of the worst punishments you
>can give it.

I only did that once becaused I wanted to see if it would ping. I never lug
the engine if I can help it - I just couldn't believe it wasn't pinging. To
atone for this sin, I did spend the rest of the 25-minute drive up around
5K for the most part, with the top down (about 75, sun shining, gotta love
Tucson in Dec).

>all of your injectors should be ticking.  usually not very loudly. sometimes
>you even have to place a long handled screwdriver at the base of the
>injector and listen at the handle just to hear it... but if the injector is
>working it will make a ticking sound.

I know they're supposed to tick, but #3 is really loud. Loud enough that I
really thought it was valvetrain rattle, but now I'm almost certain it isn't.

>> Should I care? I
>> have a spare (long story).
>>
>nah...  injectors will usually tell you when/if they need replacement...
>hard starting, rough running, low power, excessive fuel consumption or
>combinations of the above... and when they do it's prolly best to replace
>them as a set.

I reckon that's true. That's a rather expensive proposition - I expect to
get at least 100 grand out of a set of injectors. I think I'll put the
bonnet back down and drive it.

ps