Non-Turbo Cali Engine Smoothness Issue | FerrariChat

Non-Turbo Cali Engine Smoothness Issue

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by Bill Phillips, Aug 23, 2020.

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  1. Bill Phillips

    Bill Phillips Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2019
    478
    New Orleans
    Full Name:
    Bill
    #1 Bill Phillips, Aug 23, 2020
    I have a 2013 Cali-30 and I’m wondering if these are tuning issues or just the way pre-turbo Calis run.

    First, when I start the car for the first time of the day I always let it warm up in the garage before driving away. I have the A/C turned off before starting and it Initially idles at about 1300 rpm for about a minute, then drops down to normal idle of about 1000 rpm or a little less. The issue is that about two-thirds of the way through that warm-up period the engine stumbles noticeably once or twice. The idle is smooth the rest of the time. And the stumble(s) always occur at about the same elapsed time during that one minute warm-up.

    Second, under normal driving conditions around town with the engine at operating temp, when I accelerate smoothly (using a quarter to half throttle) from 2500 rpm or less (I never accelerate from less than 2000 rpm without down-shifting) in 4th through 7th gear, there is a noticeable engine roughness until reaching over 3000 rpm.

    The engine runs flawlessly when driven through higher rpm in all gears.

    Anybody experience anything similar?

    Bill
     
  2. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 13, 2014
    25,898
    DFW, Texas
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    Tom C
    #2 tomc, Aug 23, 2020
    The first sounds similar to the way my '11 Cali acts. I drive her 1 - 2x per week. I'm not sure I'd call it stumbling, but she always seems a tad rough/grumpy when fired up for the first time in a few days. Always on a tender for what it is worth. Once warmed up though, things are pretty smooth. The second thing, I've not noticed anything like that...T
     
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  3. davidtopp

    davidtopp Karting

    Jun 7, 2019
    82
    UAE
    Full Name:
    David Topp
    #3 davidtopp, Aug 23, 2020
    Hi Bill,
    My 2013 Cali 30 has always communicated some vibration through the cockpit on idle since new. It it intermittent almost like it is stumbling to maintain low revs but is never actually an issue. In the first year I reported it under warranty and the dealer said they changed the engine mounts but it didn't really make any difference to me. I've had it 7 years now and it is still exactly the some so I don't think about it anymore. It's just a characteristic of my car is the way I see it.
     
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  4. Il Co-Pilota

    Il Co-Pilota F1 Veteran

    May 29, 2019
    6,023
    Hopefully some place nice.
    Full Name:
    A.B
    #4 Il Co-Pilota, Aug 24, 2020
    The Cali engine is fairly prone to carbon deposit buildup, and it can cause all sorts of problems. You should give your engine a proper cleaning before having it torn apart to fix what is not broken.

    You need two things.
    A bottle of CRC Premium Injector cleaner and a bottle of CRC GDI IVD Intake Valve Cleaner.

    https://www.crcindustries.com/products/premium-fuel-injector-cleaner-12-fl-oz-05062.html

    https://www.crcindustries.com/products/gdi-ivd-174-intake-valve-cleaner-11-wt-oz-05319.html

    The first step is to run that bottle of injector cleaner through your engine. Read the instructions for the mix ratio.

    When you have done this refil with the highest octane you can get in your area.

    With the help of a buddy, use the GDI cleaner as per the instruction. Go back and forth between the two banks for an even dispersion.

    This step is important. After the cleaning is done, go to your dealer and have your oil, oil filter, fuel filter and spark plugs changed. You will loosen a lot of gunk and soot, and you should not let any additives linger in your engine. So make sure everything is fresh.

    If after this cleaning your problems persist, I would start by looking at the MAF. They can go bad on occassion.

    Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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  5. Bill Phillips

    Bill Phillips Formula Junior

    Nov 4, 2019
    478
    New Orleans
    Full Name:
    Bill
    #5 Bill Phillips, Aug 24, 2020
    Good stuff my friend, thanks. I really should have suspected something like that since I’ve owned a number of high performance cars over the years. In addition to the Cali I have a highly modified C7 Vette for a track toy and I had to run injector/valve cleaner through it two years ago. The next annual on the Cali is due in September (my first) so all the fluids and filters will be changed then. I’ll do the cleaners right before I take it in for that. Thanks again.
     

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