Good morning Guys,

I was just wondering if I can get some of your advices. When I'm doing 65mph on the 6th gear, I can't barely maintain the speed even if I put the gas pedal down to the carpet. The tachometer is basically around 2700RPM.

As I know, Of course the Justa doesn't have a turbo, which means she's subject to some difference in performance related to the relative humidity of the air.

But it is still weird that I can't maintain at least the speed on the highway. I mean, I'm not losing a lot of speed but like 3 or 4 mph and then I need to downshift to get some more torque.

Maybe something need to be cleaned or the air intake has something wrong.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

There isn't a lot of power at 2700 RPM, so it doesn't really surprise me that you need to downshift to get the push you want.

 

Hi,

I unmounted the whole air intake and found a piece of tape blocking 30% of the airflow. Now it's better but I still want to get it a little bit better. Sparks plugs new, air filter new. What can I do more?

Thanks!

 

Fuel system cleaner? give her a premium gas diet only........

 

manual or auto?
i have an 09 justa auto and the power can be a bit week in 6th gear, i can tend to pass without having it switch gears but it takes a while to build up more speed
try turning on sport, give better throttle response
otherwise youre gonna have to drop a gear

 

Its an auto, and I'm most of the time driving in Manual Sport mode with the paddles on the steering wheel. I don't really want to modify the car at all, but I'm trying to understand why we loose so much torque. The 6th gear should be able to maintain at least the speed. But mine is maintaining 80. Then a slow climb (very slight) comes, and I'm going 80...79...78... Until I need to change to 5th. And I noticed, I started to feel this loss of power last week, and with doing the same commute, I've lost almost 40 miles in one full tank. I'm definitely consuming more gas with no AC. There is something wrong but I'm trying to figure it out! Any thoughts? Tks

By the way guys : always premium fuel and change oil every 5000miles.

 

Any ideas guys?

 

The Cooper does begin to run out of steam a bit when climbing hills, but since you've also experienced a reduction in mpg, it seems likely that you do have some sort of issue.

No CEL (Check Engine Light), I hope?

Assuming not, then if you're getting an unrestricted air supply with your new air filter and tape removal (and what was that all about anyway - wouldn't we all like to know?), there are a few other things worth looking at. I'd start with the fuel filter, a good injector cleaner (Techron), and then plug wires. Those are the simple things.

A compression test might tell you something useful, particularly if you've got leaky valves.

A less likely and more expensive problem might be a partial restriction in your exhaust system. You don't mention how many miles you've got, but an '08 is now a seven-year-old car. Somebody here with more knowledge will hopefully chime in on this, but I think a serious exhaust restriction would cause the CEL to come on. A slight restriction, perhaps not.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

 

Someone taped off the air box anti droning holes and looks like the tape peeled off. Hope other chunks of tape did not work their way deeper!

As for 2700 rpm, there is not much ummph to give at that level so a downshift is needed to pass. I get a good bump from 6th at 3800 rpm but 5th has more to give so I would downshift anyway. Downshift and flooring it will cost you mpg. On anything but fairly steep grades, 6th gear should hold 65mph on the cruise control so perhaps you should keep looking for causes if you see you can't maintain that. Ironically, on steep highway grades, my Justa easily holds 85mph but struggles with any speed below that in 6th!

As mentioned above, a compression test might be worth having done.

Spark plugs the right type?
Hotter coil packs might add some power.
Exhaust is probably worn out inside, could give you either more or less power in that condition and not consistently across rpm's.
Tires/wheels too big? 15 or 16", right? - 17" work a Justa motor too hard, like going uphill all the time. 18" would be ridiculous, imho.

 

Sorry for the delay! So,

No CEL! The tape found in the intake was actually a part of the seal itself (WEIRD). There is no restriction in the exhaust I think either, but good thinking.

- What can I do with a fuel filter, change it? Clean it?
- I read about injector cleaning and I found people having big problems after cleaning them because of the carbon monoxide going to some other locations in the engine...
- I ll do a compression for sure! It will help.

Just some notes : I changed the oil pressure switch last week and didnt put a ring seal, but used a gasket maker cream instead. Do you think I could loose power from this part. Like a part of the pressure would leak here? I don't know...

 

Hi,

I just changed the spark plugs last week too. BOSCH IR-PLATINUM (combination with platinum and Iridium)
Here is the model :
I have 17" wheels, but it was working well before... So I really suspect something from the engine/air intake...

It holds better 85mph than lower than that too, but come on! I'm sure this engine is totally capable of maintaining 65mph in 6th gear. Even when I downshift to 5th, its still hard to gain 2/3/4 more mph... I am missing acceleration, now my game is to find from where! And we will

 

Nope. The oil system should be completely separate from the combustion chamber. (Yes, there is "blow-by", but that's a very very small amount.) Using gasket goop on the switch could cause several problems, but a lack of power is not among those. An oil leak would be the most common problem with it, and an absolute worst case (very low probability!) would be that some of the hardened goop comes loose and clogs an oil passage. Any lack of power at that point would be because the engine was completely dead.

Make sure the clutch isn't slipping, where the RPMs go up but the speed doesn't. Check to see if your brakes are dragging--feel them to see if they're hot after driving for a while. Check for intake and exhaust restriction. (Not sure exactly how though.) Maybe hit a specialist up to do a scan to see if there are any stored OBD codes?

 

I do not have oil leak from it, so its good! Thanks for the info. I dont think the clutch is slipping either. Even if it is an Auto, my 1st, second, and 3rd gear have power. It is only at high speed and low RPMs.

Could be :

- Loss of Heat (pressure) during the combustion
- Problem of Air intake
- Carbon monoxide... (But weird because I start feeling the loss a week ago).

Again, all the test I do to see which gear is not holding the speed is always without AC. Actually i don't even loose power with the AC on.

 

I'd do this, a stuck/siezed caliper is a strong possibility. Could be dragging you car and slowing it down a bit.

 

I just changed the front brakes!
Ahah! should I just lift the car and rotate them to see?

 

Yep check all 4 and see if there is one (or more) thats harder to rotate. If you find one, you may have yourself the culprit.