Improve poor performance

wonski

Jack0106 wrote: »

Hey guys, hope i found the right place to put this but i have a question. I have a 2001 mk4 golf (1.4) but it seems to be lacking a bit of power when it goes past 2500 rpm. I dont really mind when driving around my area, but when on the motorway it seems like some of those horses have turned to ponies. I know the car has only 75 bhp but come on.
Is there anything i can do besides buying performance parts? or is there any problems that could be there?

Any advice will be appreciated - Thanks

Rev it up, 2500rpm is nothing;)

greasepalm

maybe a reason to have a diagnostics done to see if anything crops up like lambda probe fault=car down on power.how does engine look on tick over viewing it with bonnet open rocky/shaky side to side movement from drivers wing =worn valve guides.

colm_mcm

Jack0106 wrote: »

So its 100% fine to be up on 4500 rpm in 5th gear (i have no more, could have done with a 6th) cruising at whatever speed thatd be, for a lengthy period of time? Or as you clime up the gears hitting that red line or close to it before you shift every time?

The second bit. Obviously in 5th at 4500 rpm you'll be breaking the speed limit by a fair bit.

djimi

Its worth bearing in mind that amid all the advice to red line the car to get the best performance out of it, the fuel consumption will take a significant hit if a car is driven in that manner all the time. Also driving a car that hard is going to put a lot more strain on components and as such more frequent servicing is going to be required. A car can be driven in that matter, but there is a reason why, for the most part, they are not, and if want the kind of performance that only red lining can give from your current car then perhaps its time to consider upgrading to something with a bit more poke!

slimjimmc

I hope your timing belt and belt tensioner are in good nick before you start making a habit of revving high.

Some guys and gals here have the engine internals cleaned by Terraclean and reported some improvement, not huge but some.
http://www.terracleanireland.ie/

alias no.9

visual wrote: »

Is that the temperature red line

Nah, the lumps most prone to head gasket failure don't have a temperature gauge, just a little warning light telling you that its already too late to do anything

Stallingrad

If you are willing to spend some money around €300 will get you 10% more power via Superchips. Only you can decide if it is worth it.

Caliden

Owned one before.

Grand for driving around but if you want to overtake something on a single carriageway forget about it.
Economy isn't great on them either and you need to keep at least 10 bulbs in your glovebox as they go every second week.

CiniO

Caliden wrote: »

.

Grand for driving around but if you want to overtake something on a single carriageway forget about it.

Well you can overtake with anything capable of speed faster than vehicle to be overtaken is travelling. It's all a matter of technique.

In cars that have very little power, and poor acceleration, what you need to do is keep big distance from vehicle which you'll be overtaking.
That gives you better visibility on situation ahead and time to gain speed. When you see there is a gap in oncoming vehicle, then you start accelerating on your lane before this gap is near you (so you accelerate when cars are still oncoming).
If you do it right, the gap should be just there available for you to overtake, when you are close behind car to overtake, and you have a good bit of speed difference built up. Then just a lane change, and overtaking takes only few seconds.

I learned this technique when I first started driving in late 90s and was driving mostly my dad's fiat cinquecento 0.7cc. 30BHP.
I think even though it was the slowest car I've driven, I've proceeded with the higher number of overtakes per 100km driven out of all the cars I ever had. And this car was only 4 gear and only capable of doing 120km/h max.

Caliden

Yea I should probably have stipulated that unless you formulate a battle plan 30 second prior to there being a gap in order to overtake, forget about it :P

Henry Ford III

Improve poor engine choice? 1.4 in that Golf is a bit of a nail.

ShaunieVW

Stallingrad wrote: »

If you are willing to spend some money around €300 will get you 10% more power via Superchips. Only you can decide if it is worth it.

€300 for 7.5% bhp would be madness though. The 1.4 is an awful engine to put in them. Id be more worried about burning oil than gaining power if I was you. Sell it and buy a GTI, a 1.8T that is. They will do great MPG and all for a warm hatch. They are cheap and all as everyone buys the over rated diesel counterpart.