Thread: How many miles per tank with i/h/e are u getting?

What is the most effective way to check for vaccum leaks? As far as I can see all hoses under my engine bay are connected and I've never removed any hoses aside from my intake since I've had the car (almost 7 years now). I looked inside my intake manifold and there seems to be some soot inside there. Is that normal? If not how the heck to I get that out?




My timing is not advanced but when I put in 87 the car runs horrible. It feels really sluggish and I will almost definitely get a CEL if I get on it for a lean condition. With the 93 I get no check engine lights and the car idles a lot better. The difference is only a few bucks per tank so I just use the 93.

+ 1 on the 93 with advanced timing if i run 87 it bucks and sputters

Actually, higher octane burns slower, hence the reason high-compression motors ping with lower-octane fuels. Lower octane fuel burns faster and actually flashes before spark.

Both octanes have the same amount of emissions. When you get really high on the "octane rating" list, you start to get to substances that do in fact burn cleaner, like ethanol. However, pump gas is nowhere near this.

Coheed did a great job explaining all this here: http://www.sr20-forum.com/turbo/4102-what-octane-does.html

And, advanced timing sometimes will require a higher octane to run properly. This is part of whats called tuning, and tuning is the only way to make higher-octane run better in standard SR20 engines. Just putting it in without tuning the car does jack shit.

N15 GTi SR20DE I/H/E/C 10 litres = 60miles around town 75mile on a run

Cool man. I had it pictured the other way. good post wingman. I learned something today.

Ok so I'm starting to suspect it's my thermostat because the temperature gauge keeps going from normal to cold even when the car has been running for 20-30 minutes on the highway. Once I shut the car off and start it back up the temp gauge will come back to normal and then randomly drop back down to cold. It never overheats though so I'm guessing that means it's getting stuck open?

Maybe I havent been noticing it being stuck since I remote start the car about 5 minutes or so before I drive it.

Edit 3:08am..
Just came back from a 40 mile round trip and the temperature gauge stayed all the way down to cold for most of the drive. It barely got to the 1/4 mark and then would go back down to cold. It's definitely suck and probably at the worse possible time since it's supposed to be in the 30's all week. BLAHH.

Is there a how to on replacing the thermostat? I've never attempted this before on my car.

I cannot agree with the last sentence. It made my car run better when it was stock.

Since my car is no longer stock, I always use 93 since it was tuned under 93, the timing is advanced and it just always had run better from the 93 octane.

There's gotta be one, but...here's from the 2000 FSM (page LC-31)

1. Drain engine coolant.
2. Remove lower radiator hose.
3. Remove water inlet, then take out thermostat. (3 screws)
4. Install thermostat with jiggle valve or air bleeder at upper side.
Apply a continuous bead of RTV Silicone Sealant to mating
surface of water inlet.
5. Refill engine coolant. Refer to MA-27, “Refilling Engine Coolant”.
After installation, run engine for a few minutes, and check
for leaks.

btw, you shouldn't need to drain the coolant. Just check the level after you're done.

where ur lower rad hose goes to the block...driver side of bay....theres 3 bolts,in a tri pattern,.
-take off ur radiator hose
-then take off the 3 10mm bolts
-use a small flathead to pry open the t-stat housing and look inside
-thats the thermostat take it out n replace it but make sure its put in the correct way.