Performance Engine Archives - Import Car
Engine Build: Closed-Deck EJ257 Subaru Engine

The shop’s time attack car features this closed-deck EJ257 Subaru engine with nearly 700 hp to the wheels!

Why F1 Matters This Year: New Technology Makes For A Better Show

Love it or hate it, Formula One is the top dog in motorsports. With an improving economy, F1 is changing up its rules to include some technologies that are already in your bays, or coming very soon. For 2014, the cars are, for a lack of a better term, hybrids.

OBD II Misfire And Diagnosis

When diagnosing misfires, it’s important to use tools that allow you to go beyond a simple code reader that displays a P03XX. Even an OEM-level scan tool can’t tell you what the firing voltage is or what the ignition pattern looks like. Nor can it tell you if the serial data is accurate or correct. For that kind of information you need a DVOM or a graphing multimeter/oscilloscope that can look at sensor voltages directly and display primary and secondary ignition patterns.

GM Power Steering Pump Replacement Tips

An analysis of returned power steering (PS) pumps that had been replaced for noise, no power assist, no or low pressure and leaking conditions has indicated a high number of “No Trouble Found” results. When attempting to repair a power steering concern, the steering system analyzer should be used to assist the technician in a successful diagnosis.

Air Filter Fuel Trim Diagnostics

The modern engine measures two things extremely well, the amount of air going into the combustion chamber with the mass airflow sensor (MAF), and the byproducts that are generated by the combustion event with the oxygen sensor. These measurements allow the engine’s computer to put the right amount of fuel and spark into the cylinder to give the most efficient and cleanest combustion event.

Tech Tip: Ford/Mercury’s Engine Stalling On Engagement/Stopping

Some 2005-’08 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner vehicles equipped with a CD4E automatic transaxle and built from Aug. 1, 2004 through Feb. 15, 2007, may exhibit an engine stall when coming to a stop or when engaging the transmission into drive or reverse.

Directions: Irv Gordon And His Red Volvo P1800 Closing In On Auto History

Irv Gordon, a 73-year-old retired science teacher from Patchogue, NY, holds the Guinness Book of World Records recognition for most miles driven by a single owner in a non-commercial vehicle, and has driven more than 2.99 million miles in his shiny red Volvo.

Nissan VVT Diagnostics – Boosting Engine Performance, Fuel Economy And Emissions

Due to the ability of Nissan’s variable valve timing system to provide increased engine performance, Bob Dowie offers his diagnostic, electronic and mechanical expertise for how import vehicle specialists can most effectively perform engine service.

Street Performer: 60 Years Of Chevrolet’s Iconic Corvette

The new Chevrolet Corvette LT1 engine, the first of the Gen 5 family of small block engines, combines several advanced technologies, including direct injection, active fuel management and continuously variable valve timing to support an advanced combustion system.

Diagnostic Solutions: Engine Coolant Temperature Sensors

Considering that roughly 1,500 or more different vehicle models are introduced into our domestic market each year, it’s becoming more difficult to predict how a Powertrain Control Module (PCM) will utilize data from a particular sensor or detect an out-of-range sensor in any single vehicle platform. The engine coolant temperature (ECT) sensor provides a good illustration of how many on-board diagnostic strategies have changed.

Directions: Stamp of Approval

Raw power has a stamp of its own as seven-time NASCAR National Champion Richard Petty helped dedicate the ‘America on the Move: Muscle Cars Forever’ stamps. Petty, his son Kyle and Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe together dedicated the limited-edition stamps at the Daytona International Speedway where “The King” won a record seven Daytona 500 Championships.

Memory Lane: Welcome To My World

I have often been accused of living in a time warp. And, I would have to plead guilty, but with an explanation. All of my customers are working on vehicles that are 60+ years old or older, so that’s the environment I am in every day.