Dirty gritty drained oil when I did the oil change today

m4a1mustang · 04-05-2010, 11:21 AM

Below 3k, yeah, I run into that. This engine really makes no power down there so if you want to go you need to be up in the revs already.

semtex · 04-05-2010, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlmartin81

Actually, sometimes the pick-up is sketchy. Sometimes it's not a sudden burst of power that kicks in once you get past 3K. It feels indecisive for the first second when I get on it. But that's not all the time.

Do you (or anyone else) experience this as well?

I don't. It'd be interesting to see a dyno graph on your car, because this hesitation would show up big time. Sometimes being able to visualize a car's power curve is very helpful. Oh heck, what am I talking about? It's always helpful, not just sometimes.

m4a1mustang · 04-05-2010, 11:27 AM

Well from my experience, the hesitation is all below 3k. Maybe his is a little different.

dlmartin81 · 04-05-2010, 11:39 AM

Semtex -- Could it be that you have the lighter pulleys that you don't experience such lag/hesitation? I know when you first got them installed, you said you noticed not so much a difference in power but in responsiveness.

semtex · 04-05-2010, 12:58 PM

Could be. Or maybe I'm just more used to cars with low bottom-end torque. I did once drive an S2000, after all. The Z has gobs of low-end tq compared to those anemic little monkey wagons.

m4a1mustang · 04-05-2010, 01:36 PM

I'm guessing its the latter. I come from big V8s so I'm used to putting around at 1500rpm with 300lb-ft on tap.

dlmartin81 · 04-05-2010, 01:58 PM

^ Dude, you must be hurting for more low-end TQ in this car, then?

m4a1mustang · 04-06-2010, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlmartin81

^ Dude, you must be hurting for more low-end TQ in this car, then?

Pretty much!

FWIW -- reset your ECU. I was poking around last night, checking the MAF sensors and everything on my Injens that *might* be causing low RPM hesitation. I didn't find anything but I decided to reset the ECU overnight.

The car definitely felt better this morning, to my surprise. The car is a dud below 3K RPM, but it's a little bit smoother. Interesting.

dlmartin81 · 04-06-2010, 10:05 AM

^^ Hmmm...interesting. So what's involved in resetting the ECU; just disconnecting the battery for a long period of time?

semtex · 04-06-2010, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dlmartin81

^^ Hmmm...interesting. So what's involved in resetting the ECU; just disconnecting the battery for a long period of time?

Pretty much. Disconnect. Pump the brakes a few times to drain any remaining charge. Wait maybe 20 mins and reconnect.

m4a1mustang · 04-06-2010, 10:25 AM

Yup!

semtex · 04-06-2010, 10:30 AM

Oh, and a quick tip. Jot down all your settings on a piece of paper before you do this so that you can set everything back afterwards. Like all your radio station presets. Your shift light rpm (if you have it set to something other than default). Your instrument panel dimming setting, vibrating massage seat settings, etc. Interestingly, the only thing that doesn't get wiped when I do a disconnect is my XM station settings.

dlmartin81 · 04-08-2010, 09:26 PM

And the results are in. Looks like things are normal. Thank God!

However, the strange thing is that no one else on these forums reported their oil looking as bad as mine. What, did mine for some reason have really unusual rough brass and bronze parts, which would mean more leftover material? Or maybe because I babied it so much during break-in those parts took longer to smooth out, and then after break-in I was a little more aggressive with the car, which produced all that copper like debris.

Oh, and this still doesn't explain why it seems like I lost about a .5 quart of oil 2 or 3 weeks after the oil change.

I don't know. Who knows. I'm just glad the car is ok.

dlmartin81 · 04-08-2010, 09:31 PM

BTW, Semtex, nice avatar....haha. Would be willing to help me 'Pimp My Ride'?

m4a1mustang · 04-08-2010, 09:40 PM

Fwiw I was burning oil for the first few oil changes. Now at 17k miles oil burn is not material.

04-05-2010, 11:21 AM	#136 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Below 3k, yeah, I run into that. This engine really makes no power down there so if you want to go you need to be up in the revs already. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

04-05-2010, 11:27 AM	#138 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Well from my experience, the hesitation is all below 3k. Maybe his is a little different. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

04-05-2010, 12:58 PM	#140 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 32	Could be. Or maybe I'm just more used to cars with low bottom-end torque. I did once drive an S2000, after all. The Z has gobs of low-end tq compared to those anemic little monkey wagons. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

04-05-2010, 01:36 PM	#141 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	I'm guessing its the latter. I come from big V8s so I'm used to putting around at 1500rpm with 300lb-ft on tap. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

04-06-2010, 10:25 AM	#146 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Yup! __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

04-05-2010, 11:39 AM	#139 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 43 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	Semtex -- Could it be that you have the lighter pulleys that you don't experience such lag/hesitation? I know when you first got them installed, you said you noticed not so much a difference in power but in responsiveness.

04-05-2010, 01:58 PM	#142 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 43 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	^ Dude, you must be hurting for more low-end TQ in this car, then?

04-06-2010, 10:05 AM	#144 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 43 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	^^ Hmmm...interesting. So what's involved in resetting the ECU; just disconnecting the battery for a long period of time?

04-06-2010, 10:30 AM	#147 (permalink)
semtex A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Behind enemy lines Age: 54 Posts: 5,995 Drives: People to drink Rep Power: 32	Oh, and a quick tip. Jot down all your settings on a piece of paper before you do this so that you can set everything back afterwards. Like all your radio station presets. Your shift light rpm (if you have it set to something other than default). Your instrument panel dimming setting, vibrating massage seat settings, etc. Interestingly, the only thing that doesn't get wiped when I do a disconnect is my XM station settings. __________________ "There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna 316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) \| 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10) Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.

04-08-2010, 09:26 PM	#148 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 43 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	And the results are in. Looks like things are normal. Thank God! However, the strange thing is that no one else on these forums reported their oil looking as bad as mine. What, did mine for some reason have really unusual rough brass and bronze parts, which would mean more leftover material? Or maybe because I babied it so much during break-in those parts took longer to smooth out, and then after break-in I was a little more aggressive with the car, which produced all that copper like debris. Oh, and this still doesn't explain why it seems like I lost about a .5 quart of oil 2 or 3 weeks after the oil change. I don't know. Who knows. I'm just glad the car is ok.

04-08-2010, 09:31 PM	#149 (permalink)
dlmartin81 Track Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chalfont, PA Age: 43 Posts: 923 Drives: 09 370Z Rep Power: 607	BTW, Semtex, nice avatar....haha. Would be willing to help me 'Pimp My Ride'?

04-08-2010, 09:40 PM	#150 (permalink)
m4a1mustang A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Northern VA Posts: 55,385 Drives: on two wheels Rep Power: 6962	Fwiw I was burning oil for the first few oil changes. Now at 17k miles oil burn is not material. __________________ - Steve Zs & Coffee - Saturdays at 10AM in Fairfax, VA and Columbia, MD (Click the banner!) LIKE us on Facebook!

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