1st Gear Feels Like A Diesel !!!

[Burger Boy]

Hello Everyone,

I have just had the FRP gearbox and ST150 clutch fitted, and wow 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears are amazing, it feels like it pulling a lot more than the standard gearbox :grin: .

But the 1st gear feels really poor , can't remember if it did before, and that it just feels poor now because of the other gears.

But it really doesn't pull in 1st Gear? it feels like a slow diesel van, then no matter what rpm you change from 1st to 2nd it pulls brillantly in 2nd gear? At the moment I set off and have to change asap into 2nd to get any speed.

It feels as if the car isn't allowed to set off fast in 1st gear, almost as if something is stopping it?

Does the mapping system on standard 1.7's prevent the car from setting off fast in 1st gear in a bid to protect the engine?

What are the FRP's like, can there set off fast in 1st gear?

You can put your foot down in 1st and watch the dial slowly increasing, put the car in 2nd and the dial goes wild along with the power.

How can I make the car set off fast from a 1st gear standing start?

Regards
Scott

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe the torque restrictor is stopping you from 'booting it' in first gear or it may just feel slower because the other gears seem better.
I have a 1998 model, and if I disconnect the cable from the gearbox speed sensor, it takes off pretty quick...

 

[Burger Boy]

Where is the torque restrictor and can you remove it? is it safe to remove it? (or is this a silly question)

Must admit, a black cab taxi beat me off the lights the other day, until I put it into second.

Strange every other car I have had set off well in 1st gear, but not the Puma?

 

[Scotty1.7]

Private roads allowing and even with a weak clutch- 2500rpm seems to eb the sweet spot for a reasonable get away, and to just about match the book figures for the puma.

 

[paulserinaemma]

my puma which is standard feels very slow in 1st but good in the rest

 

[FlashBastd]

Scott, the torque limiter is part of the map on the ECU - there are apparently ways to get around it, or get the FRP map, where it is still present, but much reduced. Hope this helps?

 

[Burger Boy]

Do you think it could be due to the fact that my brakes and traction control lights are?

I have just bought two new abs cables for the front of the car so need to change them, but do you think the traction control might be slowing the car down in first gear and rectifying the cables may resolve the matter?

I let my brother drive the car yesterday and he confirms that the car is a lot slower than when he drove it at Cadwell. He stated he could feel a power drop in each gear, but agrees that the first gear is very poor, hence why he thinks it might be the traction control?

I need to sort it out quick as the track session is getting close for me, I want to go to Bedford in February.

Cheers
Scott

 

[FlashBastd]

Scott,

Seems odd that ABS would cause this, do a search on the torque limiter thing, at least then you could rule that out.

The power drop thing is odd though, as beyond 2nd the restriction is gone. Have you had your timing belt done recently? Or perhaps a faulty VCT solenoid?

 

[Burger Boy]

I might go to AET and put it on the rolling road and see what they can find? I think it could with a full tune.

Cheers Flash I will have a look at the Torque Limiter.