[mopark]

we all know the non turbo 2.2 is no hot rod racer....however though I have used some tips and tricks from the TBI performance page. Removing the bucket that blocks the air hose seemed to add a few horses. Secondly I changed the timing from the standard 12 degrees to 14 degrees, 3rd I gapped the spark plugs to .040 instead of the standard .035. I also have no hot air hose running to the air box, and lastly I removed the cold air flap..Warm up time has not been effected. I notice an increase in power going from 55 to 65 MPH.


I have a hesitation problem with the car though..even before the mods..I think the fuel pump is on its way out, as it is getting noisy.

 

[chilibowl]

HMMM -is this car you have a 2.2 CARBURETED????



when you say "bucket that blocks the airhose " do you mean the PLASTIC air cleaner box???????


I have a annoying dilemna on my 84 Reliant 2.2 CARB set up , I changed the Valve Cover to one off of a TBI ,(for better oil leak sealing).

But breather hose is not the same as old one. So I drilled a BIG hole in FRONT of the box ,to facilitate inlet of a New Breather Hose , I am just sick of all the Fumes from this old engine.

 

[pSun]

mopark: this is some good, real world information, thank you for sharing. I have been putting off pulling that overflow reservoir to check out this air box situation; you have motivated me to investigate it!

chilibowl: I may be mistaken but I think he is referring to the air-box outboard the computer in the engine bay aft of the radiator overflow reservoir, which supplies cold external air to the "air filter box". Also, I am under the impression he did this to his Reliant, not the Aries

 

[Bob Lincoln]

That would be bad news. The PCM needs that cold air flowing past it to cool the power transistors. Without it, PCM life will be reduced. He may not see the failure, but it definitely affects its lifespan.

 

[mopark]

Let me be a little more clear guys, I still got the stock air box and all of its parts, there is a little bucket that keeps snow out and such, I removed it so its getting stright cold air. The cold air flap that closes during warm up has been dissasembled....The engine is not a carbed 2.2 chillibowl.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Your profile says Wisconsin. Disabling the pre-heater will definitely worsen your gas mileage, and cold weather operation, even if you don't notice it.

 

[VillageIdiot]

I disabled the air flap on my car. I don't really know if it was working properly, seems like even after 20 minutes or more of running if I pulled off the plastic air hose from the air cleaner assembly the flap was still in the closed position.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Pulling the vacuum line off causes the flap to open. Vacuum is what holds it shut, in the heating position.

 

[mopark]

I don't drive the car in the winter time last fill up with this mod was 33.6. I now can hold a fairly good hill at sixty mph

 

[Bob Lincoln]

You should be able to get that mileage in that car without any mods.

 

[mopark]

You should be able to get that mileage in that car without any mods.

when I first got the car I was gettting around 27 MPG...and its a car without lock up torque converter..my 1988 Aries with a 2.5 in it gets around the same mileage..

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Full tuneup and steady driving should yield better.

 

[mopark]

car is always taken care of, the fuel pump is the only thing that is going to need replacing as soon as the weather gets warm again. Other than that, the spark plugs only got 3,000 miles on them, The rotor too, no engine codes...

 

[B10alia]

I have to agree with Bob-- there's not much you can do to a TBI to increase horsepower short of fairly radical internal mods. The only thing I've done that noticeably increased performance is advancing the cam, and that killed my head gasket. There are tweaks, but they're not going to add up to anything noticeable. I still haven't given up on my bumper induction system on my Spirit, but that won't show anything until highway speeds, and with the way the intake system is set up, the benefits won't be much. There's nothing wrong with playing with things, but increasing your plug gap by .005 inch is not going to give you that much of an increase in performance.
The bucket that he's talking about is at the grille end of the PCM. IMO it serves no purpose, I've never had snow clogging issues, but it's not enough of a restriction that it's going to cause a noticeable drop in performance.