I have an 05' xA. I love this thing but every day it seems to get slower and slower. I am at almost 13k miles and have replaced the oil 3 times so far with mobil1. No racing or redline whatsoever. I also have an 1992 Eagle Summit(Mitsubishi Mirage) with a 1.5 sohc rated @ 92 hp,this thing feels more powerfull than my scion at the moment. What could the problem be?

Also,the engine noise is really getting to me. This being a daily driver and I drive allot,I'm about to blow my brains out. I have to either go deaf from the stereo to mask the noise or go insane from the engine noise...what is a person to do?

Thanks.

 

Have to tried cleaning/replacing your intake filter?
Where are you buying your gas?

Weather plays a big part on performance. Hot weather slows a car down considerably, and cold weather makes it faster. . . this also corresponds to the time of day.

Is your clutch slipping?
We have a "smart" ECU. . . try doing a reset (search the tech section to find out how).

Also, the some friends of ours who tune Porsche's and worked on ours, also told us that driving a car too gently reduces performance. . . ??? go figure ????? But supposedly it has to do with the way the pistons and rings set in. . . and this is also important during break in. The way a car is broken in can make considerable differences on the dyno. It's not uncommon for cars that are identically built to have as much as a 10hp difference. But occasionally driving your engine a *little* hard can't hurt it, and may even do some good. . . so I've heard.

And the engine noise? Wow. . . I know Mitsu Mirages. . . I dunno how you can say it's bad coming from that thing. It's got the insulation of tuna can. But slowing down reduces noise. . . 60MPH is a lot quiter than 75MPH. And for some reason, this car also runs smoother at 100MPH than 95MPH. Maybe it's a resonance thing. . . This thing is capable of cruising at that speed for hours on end. Even at 4000+RPM, cruising, I've been pretty unbothered by the sound. . . and my last car was a Lexus LS400

 

Another oddity to add here: I have been checking my mileage on the last 4 tanks of gas,I always use Shell but Exxon was the only thing open one late night and I decided to fill up.
On the 3 taks of Shell I am getting an average of 36 mpg(this is all in town),on the exxon I got around 29(in town),exxon sucks..I just can't believe I am getting this good of gas mileage on strictly stop and go driving,this is running 87 octane as well.

 

maybe your getting used to driving it. with me i feel the same way but i ask people when they ride with me and always get that it feels the same. i dont kno, just my 2 cents

 

The difference.

Mirage = SOHC engine

xA = DOHC engine

It's not the xA is slower. It's the fact that you're not driving the car where the POWERBAND is at. The Mirage has more low end torque (SOHC engine) so it 'feels' faster, but will actually crap out at higher speed/rpm.

The xA is faster than the Mirage. Hell, I've eaten them for breakfast on my daily commute :D

 

First of all, i have to wonder if your poor performance is all in your head or not. You say, 'it seems to get slower and slower'. Have you have made an effort to factualize the impression you have? Did you time yourself when u got the car (or even a couple of weeks ago) and compared it to now? I wouldn't freak out unless I had concrete data first. And if you do have concrete data that it's getting slower and slower then for goodness sakes take it to the dealer and let them know.

Secondly, your miles per gallon has nothing to do with what company's gas u get. Gas is all the same. The only difference is the octane levels. It is a myth that Company A's gas is better than Company B's (My father worked for an oil refining company and it would take too long to explain all the details.). Besides, Consumer Reports says the overall gas mileage for your car is 30 mpg and you are averaging more than that! So, you should be happy about that.

As far as the noise goes, I guess when you took your test drive you didn't test drive it on the highway.

I hope it all works out for you, whatever the case may be. I know it must be frustrating spending over ten grand on somehting and not having it work the way you want it to.

 

Your complaint about the engine noise concerns me here. Are you talking about normal road noise that it has made since new, or has the noise changed? Does the engine idle ok? How does it sound at different RPMs and do you have a manual or automatic?
You should probably take it to the dealer and tell them EVERYTHING you have noticed. There is a possibility they may recognize the problem as soon as you start expaining. And if they don't find anything, at least it will be documented you had it in for service in case something happens later on.

There is a difference in Company As gas from Company Bs gas. The gas itself is all the same, but sometimes Company As trucks or storage tanks can become contaminated, and you will notice a rash of bad gas up and down the road at those stations. Water in the fuel can have devistating effects on enignes(carbureted engines mainly, not so much on fuel injected, but you will still notice it.)

 

There is considerable difference in fuels produced by different companies. Although gas is gas, it's the additives in it that make different formulas out of the same oil. Each company has their own recipe for the fuel that includes different amounts of detergents, stabilizers, anti-knocking agents, and a whole host of other chemicals.

Did you know that in most places, there's even a difference between summer and winter gas? +1 to props if you can tell us why ;)

 

I heard about the difference between summer and winter gas, I think the history channel just had something on Modern Marvels about it.

Personally, I try to stay with Shell or Mobil. I avoid Arco like it's the plague.

 

I'd like to add that I've noticed a big difference in gas mileage depending on where I fill up as well. I have about a two-mile drive to work every day. 15 mph out of the neighborhood, 65 for most of it on the freeway, 15 mph into the office parking lot. Same trip, 5 days a week, with little or no deviation.

Filling at Exxon with regular gets me about 34 mpg to a tank. Filling at the Chevron I gets ~26. And I've done it multiple times depending on which had a lower price at the time.

It really makes me wonder what is in the Chevron gas to make mileage so much different. Water? Something posing as gas? Whatever it is, it does make a difference.

 

The 4g15 SOHC in my summit hits maximum torque @ 3k(93 lbs/ft). How much torque is the xA pulling at 3k? The Summit is bone stock,no A/C,no power steering,no power anything...so I know it has to be much lighter. When I test drove my xA it had 1 mile on it and I was afraid to push it to hard at first being so new,I just assumed a car built 13 years after my Eagle with a DOHC engine would perform better. I still maintain that my Eagle would kick my xA's ___,this is just sad.

 

hitting peak torque early won't neccessitae a win; it depends on how well the gears are matched to the engine. . .

Heck, I'd race ya! I can consistently beat my buddy's Civic EX auto (not that that is a HUGE accomplishment).

 

My Eagle is only a 4 speed and it is exactly the same RPM's at 80 in 4th as my xA at 80 in 5th if that gives you some idea as to the gearing,top speeds are also roughly the same as well.

 

I dunno what to tell you. . . who knows what is faster?

The only thing you can do is magazine race. . . unless you try the real thing.

The fastest 1/4mi time I know of for a stock xA is 16.7. Try to find the numbers for a stock Summit. . .

 

'

-START-
DOHC and SOHC do not have anything to do with where the so called "powerband" is at,my eagle didn't have vvt-i either,it had intelligence,just stupid intelligence.

Does the "i" in VVTi just a fancy way of saying that it has a computer?If so,my Eagle also has a "learning" ecu. I'm drunk....end of post:
-STOP-

 

Wow, now that's quite a difference in gas mileage.