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Old 10-18-2011, 07:27 AM   #1
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3.2L performance

During a recent track day (very cold and wet) I was at around 4000 rpm and fourth on a long straight ....cruising in the rain behind a mid to late eighties 911sc and finally got a signal to pass. On the throttle from 4K I found I had virtually no overtaking power; my foot was flat and I could barely get by in time for the next sweeper. Not sure if the guy started racing me mid pass.

Does it sound like I have a flat spot in engine performance? It was too fast and wet to fiddle around and experiment.

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Old 10-18-2011, 11:07 AM   #2
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Originally Posted by jaykay View Post
During a recent track day (very cold and wet) I was at around 4000 rpm and fourth on a long straight ....cruising in the rain behind a mid to late eighties 911sc and finally got a signal to pass. On the throttle from 4K I found I had virtually no overtaking power; my foot was flat and I could barely get by in time for the next sweeper. Not sure if the guy started racing me mid pass.

Does it sound like I have a flat spot in engine performance? It was too fast and wet to fiddle around and experiment.
It's that heavy rear strut brace that's slowing you down !
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Old 10-18-2011, 11:09 AM   #3
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Originally Posted by jaykay View Post
During a recent track day (very cold and wet) I was at around 4000 rpm and fourth on a long straight ....cruising in the rain behind a mid to late eighties 911sc and finally got a signal to pass. On the throttle from 4K I found I had virtually no overtaking power; my foot was flat and I could barely get by in time for the next sweeper. Not sure if the guy started racing me mid pass.

Does it sound like I have a flat spot in engine performance? It was too fast and wet to fiddle around and experiment.
In my 2000 3.2, 4000rpm is where I want to be to start a long pass. 4,000rpm is where the engine really starts to make serious power. Maybe your VarioCam is not functioning.
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Old 10-18-2011, 11:36 AM   #4
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It's that heavy rear strut brace that's slowing you down !
Danger you of all people should know that a heavy rear strut brace always speeds things up....
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Old 10-18-2011, 11:39 AM   #5
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In my 2000 3.2, 4000rpm is where I want to be to start a long pass. 4,000rpm is where the engine really starts to make serious power. Maybe your VarioCam is not functioning.
Yes exactly....I will investigate the vario cam function. I trust this can be done without a dyno?
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Old 10-18-2011, 11:58 AM   #6
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Yes exactly....I will investigate the vario cam function. I trust this can be done without a dyno?
Yeah, try your butt dyno 1st, with car in 2nd gear @ 1,500 rpm floor it, VarioCam kicks in between 2200-2500 rpm & revs really take off @ 4000rpm. If your not feeling it then remove cover behind the seats & with trans in neutral rev engine from idle slowly thru 2000-2700rpm & you should hear VarioCam change over if it's working.
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Old 10-18-2011, 05:40 PM   #7
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Or, you might have been momentarily traveling in time. There's no such thing as a mid-late 80's 911SC.
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Old 10-18-2011, 06:06 PM   #8
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My 2000S had the same flat spot during acceleration when I first got it. Ran fine until the RPM's and load got high. Check the fuel filter and other areas related to fuel delivery.
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Old 10-18-2011, 08:08 PM   #9
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Or, you might have been momentarily traveling in time. There's no such thing as a mid-late 80's 911SC.
Okay drop the sc ....should have less power unless it was modified
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Last edited by jaykay; 10-19-2011 at 06:24 AM.
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Old 10-19-2011, 06:34 AM   #10
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My 2000S had the same flat spot during acceleration when I first got it. Ran fine until the RPM's and load got high. Check the fuel filter and other areas related to fuel delivery.
Yes I was wanting to change out the filter last week, a service advisor at the a dealership indicated that it was a life time item!!???
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Old 10-19-2011, 06:54 AM   #11
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Okay drop the sc ....should have less power unless it was modified
Mmmmm, a late 80s 964 Carrera has a potent 3.6L and will easily hang with a Box S on the straights. Never underestimate those air pumpers.

Regarding your 4K flat spot, this was the first symptom I got when my MAF was heading south. A flat spot developed around 4-5K and the CEL didn't show until a month later.
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Old 10-19-2011, 07:45 AM   #12
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Mmmmm, a late 80s 964 Carrera has a potent 3.6L and will easily hang with a Box S on the straights. Never underestimate those air pumpers.

Regarding your 4K flat spot, this was the first symptom I got when my MAF was heading south. A flat spot developed around 4-5K and the CEL didn't show until a month later.
Yes it could be my relativity reference that is the problem here and it felt like I was not moving; I may have been too occupied to notice the additional thrust and engine note. I don't think it was a 964 but I will try and look at the exact model and post a visual here. If model year was in the first half of the eighties would I be dealing with a 3.6? I had thought that it would be carrying a 3.2 at most.
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Old 10-19-2011, 02:05 PM   #13
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I'll go along with Topless - my maf went south without throwing a CEL, in fact I only noticed a problem when I ran my 3 monthly Durametric check which showed up a maf problem. When I replaced the maf, the midrange torque was much improved - something I had overlooked just driving on the street.
Up untill 1988, the ROW Carrera's ran the 3.2 l engines with up to 231bhp, but you can get a lot of bits to increase the power to 300bhp easily.

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