F50 Engine not punchy enough

How many miles on your friend's F50? And how much difference did you feel? Could be the difference on how hard (or soft) it was treated during the break in period.

 

My only guess would be the fact that the car has ran so little over an 8-9 year period. How many miles does your friend's F50 have? And for that matter, how did he break in his engine? How did you break in your engine (i.e. under 4k RPM for 1,200 miles, then increase RPM by 500 for every addition 500 miles).

I don't know how you prepped the engine to start for the first time in a while, but the oil might have all gone down to the bottom of the engine (the oil probably should've been replaced anyways if you didn't do it). Something bad could've happened the first time you started, but I don't know. Please keep us updated with any progress you get.

 

Well, of course theres always the cam timing debate again.....

Then there's things like old stale fuel and/or bad fuel filters

Or even something silly like not getting full throttle...when you pull an F50 engine off, the trickiest bit is the throttle cable, it's easy to not set it up right.

Could be a blocked cat or two,

binding brakes also a possiblity.

What about your friends car...is it std, does it have a tubi, or no cats or other mod...even just some race air filters will make a noticable difference.....

Maybe you have a misfire...are the spark plugs new/good??

Rule out as much as possible, then go to the cam timing is my suggestion.

 

This needs to be quantified. I'd dyno the car and see exactly what you have. I'd dyno your friend's car at the same time if you can and compare. This might lend a clue of where to look if the numbers do indeed show a problem.

Wild guess from a Lotus guy: exhaust restriction?

Ken

 

Throttle cables are a trick on the F50 for some reason.

Get the cars both dyno'd.

 

Agreed. Calibrate the @ss-O-meter.

 

Butt-dyno, dynamometer.

 

Does the ECU computer register driving style in the F50? Should it be reset then run hard? Maybe the former owner babied it?

 

Yes, the ECU does "learn" to a certain extent. That said, sometimes an ECU reset is a quick and easy test, though usually doesnt' get you much result, though doesn't hurt anything either.

However, the main issue here is we can't drive this car over the internet. I could tell you in one run through the gears whether it's making average F50 power. I'd be less expensive to find either an experience F50 technician living close to the owner, and/or a chassis dynamometer (even better solution). With the F50, you'll not have any ECU issues like sensing the front wheels not turning and pulling back the ignition timing to avoid overheating, etc. like most modern engine management systems do.

Rob

 

It's hard to tell driving one and then driving another one. I'd guess throttle cable isn't right. I have never found these cars to be very peppy until they come on the cam (High Revs) I'd also make sure your tach is calabrated. If it's reading high you may not be reving high enough.
Best

 

I and working in a 1996 F50; i replaced the dashboard harness and after that only the bank (engine cylinder 7-12) is working.
i did swaped the ECU's and still the same.
the pin #34 in the ECU send the ground signal to activate the fuel pump relay, but the passenger side ECU is not sending that ground signal; check for fuses and relay all ok?
any ideas.
by the way as soon as i key to possition 2 (not starting the car) the slow down warning light comeout; and cehck ciliders 1-6

 

Could you post the serial number of that car, Reytech?

 

When the throttle pedal is put to the floor, make sure the butterflies are wide open. i.e cable slack.

 

ARISE !!!!!!!!

Come up out of your 7 year slumber.

 

This thread has probably done more miles than the car in the op over the last 7 years!