First off, this is my first time driving a RWD in winter and I have to say, it’s not as bad as I thought it was. Since this past week, I’ve been driving it daily and with the decreasing gas prices, I should get more mileage out of my car. Here’s the first problem, I noticed that my fuel consumption has gone up since the blistering snow storm began. I was wondering if the drastic decrease in temperature affects the fuel consumption. Before I was able to hit roughly 100km after the first bar (indicated by 3 white lines in the fuel gauge).
Secondly, I still keep getting popping noises from my exhaust and I believe it’s due to my catalytic convertor. I have the blitz Nur Spec cat back exhaust system and the piping it 3 inches. I think the leak is before the smaller flange hole between the cat and the exhaust. My question is, for those who have 3 inch exhaust, what is your solution to this? buy a 3 inch cat?
Finally, since the s13 is an old car, it certainly has its share of problems. This problem of mine stems from a vibration coming from my gearbox. Everytime I rev it to about 2300~2500 rpms, there’s this buzzing noise coming from below the shifter. It’s REALLY annoying but I can’t seem to precisely pinpoint it. If any had this problem and found a solution for it, please post it
Much appreciated.
The rattling is probably something loose in your exhaust system, quite possibly downpipe bolts or a heat shield. Regarding your cat, yeah, a matching 3" cat would probably be ideal.
Your fuel mileage will go down a little because the car needs to warm up a lot more in this weather (uses more fuel as it does so). As well, if you’re letting it run a few minutes before (and/or after due to turbo) driving that will use fuel without getting any mileage.
The cold weather is a factor for you fuel milage going down since your probably letting your car warm up longer in the morning etc…
Hows your coolant temp in the cold weather? If your car isn’t warming up fully say as it does in the summer, I would get a new thermostat and test to see if your coolant temp sensor if working properly. If you car is running colder than normal, the ecu will constantly be running in open loop as stated above which severly kills gas milage.
As far as the popping from the exhaust, I have a 3 inch exhaust from the turbo back with a test pipe and I still get the odd backfire which usually results in a nice flame coming out the back.
thanks for the reply guys
Since my exhaust has been popping since the day I got it, I wonder if it caused something in the cat to come loose making it rattle? Just a thought
I’m not using my thermostat, I’m running a fan controller and I do notice that the temp gauge is reading just a hair below normal (obviously during summer it reads higher). I have an oil press. gauge and everytime I turn it over, it reads around 80 psi depending on how cold it is. I usually let the car warm up until it drops below 60 psi and then I starting driving slowly.
So my main question is, where can I get a cat that can properly mate to my 3 inch exhaust?
Install a thermostat.
It’s use is not to make the engine run cooler, but to make sure the engine heats up quickly and runs at proper temp. Running your engine at cold temperatures for extended amounts of time is not good. Having one is a very good idea, a must for winter operation.
and get an OEM Nissan one, there are HUGE differences between them and the generic ones… the price is very similar too… (well the trade price is similar).
I would like to install a thermostat but the thing is I don’t have a wiring diagram for it and I don’t even know where or how the thermostat is connected for operation. Like I said before, I bought the car with the engine installed so I don’t know the details of the engine. I’ll try to take some pics of it to show you guys what I mean
To install, you go to where one of your rad hoses plugs into the engine (bottom one on the SR). There is an adapter that looks something like this that you unbolt.
Then you put the thermostat in the right way (one part is supposto be up or down i cant remember), put a gasket in place, and you’re done.
5min job, you don’t need to drain coolant, some will spill and you will need to top up.
Go find the PDF of the SR20DET FSM (factory service manual) It’ll have a step by step thermostat replacement procedure.
does anyone have the sr20det FSM?
I know there are links posted but it seems that the site is inaccessible (at least the files are). So anyone could be so kind and email it to me cause I really want to fix this problem (how to wire my e-fan to the thermostat)
In short: it opens / closes (depending on temp) to let coolant into the engine.
You DO have one installed, it just may not be working properly. IE, if it is stuck open then collant will flow constantly, not allowing the engine to get to proper running temp, thus causig it to run in open loop mode, which in turn consumes a lot of your gasolineeeessss.
