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Ive noticed a massive difference since i replaced the timing belt. Car feels so much more responsive, is it just me or a combination of not having driven it for so long after driving a diesel daily driver for 6 months? Anyone else notice an improvement after belt replacement? I wonder if its the change of plugs as well?
All of the above, particularly the diesel bit after so long.
Psychological.:)
Did you adjust the valves? If they were out of spec you may notice a difference.
It's the plugs. And oil, surprisingly.
I'm amazed by how responsive & smooth cars feel after an oil change. I presume that when you're running 0-30 water these days, particulate build-up makes a massive relative difference to the viscosity.
Back to plugs; they are very long-life, because the gaps get massive and they gradually start to run like a Diseasel. I had this problem recently with the S2000, where I quickly diagnosed a coil pack failure. I was still getting random misfires & found the gaps had gone over spec.
New set of plugs and packs seems to have knocked 100,000 miles off the engine. Which is good, because the car's only done 50,000. Because they wear gradually, one does not notice how rough it's become. New timing chain tensioner and it's like new again.
Without the data or photo, it's the same as this story I experienced in the past.
We had a visit from one of the famous car magazine for test driving a certain racing category machine and their test driver commented that he loved the feeling when the VTEC kicked in….. To be fair with the driver, there was a huge ‘VTEC’ logo on the body panel but…..
Well, there was no VTEC on this race engine……
You will feel as if you got extra horse power when you change the final ratio on the gbox even if you haven't touched anything on the engine.....
What you experienced could be just your imagination, your previous TB was installed at wrong alignment or jumped a tooth that you were driving with wrong camshaft timing for a long time or it could be the free play adjustment to the TH cable (or the TH pedal sensor wire for DBW), etc, etc, etc.
Again, without the data, can't tell much.
Unless you were experiencing misfire or already had IG related issues, changes in IG system including the spark plug, IG coil, GND, etc have no power gain or measurable changes in performance with the rpm range and compression ratio on our C30A and C32B engine.
Never adjust the gap on platinum plug.
If no moisture entered the IG coil hole, you can keep re-using it for 60K miles without touching it though I had to replace the plugs at about 30K - 40K miles for owners with low annual mileage for the following reason.
If not driving regularly, you may start seeing dark brown corrosion at the metal HEX body at much earlier stage. Basically, it's a rust and since moisture is present inside the hole, you may experience misfire if the IG coil tube has cracked or deteriorated.
Light brown is corona arching marking so normal for any IG system and not a problem so don’t confuse yourself with the above 'dark' brown corrosion marking.
I’m not going into the Eng Oil discussion as it’s almost meaningless without knowing the design spec of the engine, oil pressure used, metal clearance, etc.
It's a molecule level fluid bearing and not metal to metal contact.
Kaz
It's entirely plausible that it's a placebo effect - we are all nuts, apparently.
But it gets me quite often, nevertheless. More so with a 'full' oil change including the filter.
But I think my old 'Lude was a tooth out on the TB - I had it changed a bit early because of it and it was definitely smoother/less pronounced a VTEC step afterwards.
I doubt the timing belt replacement itself would make a difference but as others have said if you carried out other servicing items at the same time, even just an oil change, could really improve the feel of smoothness through the car, especially if it's overdue!
There was a noticeable difference (not just placebo) after my engine refresh - belts, tensioner, plugs, LMAs, valve clearances, a lot of seals plus filters and oil. Put it mainly down to plugs/LMAs/clearances, but as above it will all add-up...