I Need Help, Before I Spend $, Lag Problems!

[BMW-ATI]

Ok here it is, I need major help, i finally have enough money to fix whatever is causing this
OK as ive said before
my car is kinda laggy
I notice this, it seems to happen more now
my car is a 1994 325is
and 100,687 miles on it
Ok so when i start off from a standstop it seems to like....lag, and be unresponsive , like it's stuggling,

but when I get going im fine

AND i know it's not my transmission, because it shifts Perfectly, short and quick when driving, even when I gun it,HEHEH
oh yea my cars an automatic if that matters

but sometimes also when im driving (this i can only tell only "sometimes")
it feels like somethings pulling me back a lil

Ive heard many things it could be
ICV? but would that affect driving too
O2 sensor?
Cat converter (im sure it's clogged to shit by now)
BY THE WAY, my car makes like a funny noise when taking off, it's like a bunch of marbles, or like little metal objects are jumping around under my car
Only when I take off though, ive heard this is cat converter problems?


any other ideas

and btw if it is my cat converter, if I decided to take the cover off and bust out that honeycomb shit, would that help any?
or just make more lag?


thx
OH kinda another random question
I have crusted oil (just a lil) on my engine, NO drippage though anywhere else, is that normal?

trust me it's not leaking

[jrhaile]

torque converter? possibly...

ICV doesn't really slow your car down, just makes it idle like shit. Same thing with the O2 it'll idle bad with a bad O2. But with a bad O2, it is possible and I've heard of it causing accelerating problems. Your cat will just rob you of gas mileage and HP when it's clogged.

Things I'd check: Clogged air intake/filter, throttle body is dirty or clogged or something is wrong with your timing chain in that it doesn't catch when it's supposed to and take off. I'll get you a video of my 95 325i automatic so you can compare the difference in acceleration because auto bmw's are slow from the start.

For the last time, if you're going to remove your honeycombs, just remove the whole damn cat man! Take it to a shop and make so it so it's removable! :P

[BMW-ATI]

Whats throttle body
and ive heard 02 sensors def to that

BTW i smell sulfer sometimes after a hard days of driving, thats the cat isnt it?

it's got 100k miles, so u think maybe the cats causing the problem?

Oh and btw I dont know how to weld so If I did anything it would be busting out the honeycombs, but I dont know if that'd make more lag or not?
I doubt it's the timing chain, because it still slowly starts but it's just laggy

[john_18]

is your check engine light on? If so pull the codes and get back to us

[jrhaile]

Originally posted by BMW-ATI@Apr 15 2005, 04:09 PM
Whats throttle body
and ive heard 02 sensors def to that

BTW i smell sulfer sometimes after a hard days of driving, thats the cat isnt it?

it's got 100k miles, so u think maybe the cats causing the problem?

Oh and btw I dont know how to weld so If I did anything it would be busting out the honeycombs, but I dont know if that'd make more lag or not?
I doubt it's the timing chain, because it still slowly starts but it's just laggy

[snapback]333045[/snapback]

sulfer is the cat yes, but I've never seen or heard of a bad cat causing your car to lag from the line lol...

[BMW-ATI]

umm i dont have any check engine lights on

except ok this is weird, when My car is like turned on, (just radio etc)
the check engine light shows up, it's red and so does the battery and oil lights, but when I turn my engine on.....nothing shows up

and ive heard of cats causing lag?
i mean why wouldnt it cause lag?

It seems that when Im like driving my RPM's just kinda dip around 2 G
and I notice that the car kinda slows down too?

does this have to do with 02 sensors?

[BYOCOM]

Originally posted by BMW-ATI@Apr 15 2005, 11:55 PM
BY THE WAY, my car makes like a funny noise when taking off, it's like a bunch of marbles, or like little metal objects are jumping around under my car
Only when I take off though, ive heard this is cat converter problems?

Detonation (aka preignition, spark knock) sounds like this. Perhaps try a higher octane fuel or add some octane booster and see if it still makes the noise.

This happens when the fuel/air mixture is ignited before it should be therefore causing a downward force on the upward traveling piston. As I'm sure you would assume, this will rob power and is not good for the engine. This happens alot in forced induction where the incoming air charge is hotter than it would be in a NA setup.

I notice your name is BMW-ATI... ATI makes forced induction stuff (not sure if they make stuff for these cars or not)... Is your car supercharged by any chance?

[jshearer]

Originally posted by BMW-ATI@Apr 15 2005, 07:38 PM
umm i dont have any check engine lights on

except ok this is weird, when My car is like turned on, (just radio etc)
the check engine light shows up, it's red and so does the battery and oil lights, but when I turn my engine on.....nothing shows up

and ive heard of cats causing lag?
i mean why wouldnt it cause lag?

It seems that when Im like driving my RPM's just kinda dip around 2 G
and I notice that the car kinda slows down too?

does this have to do with 02 sensors?

[snapback]333126[/snapback]

OK for your lights to show up when the key is in the on position like that is completely normal and I have not found a car that doesn't do that(and I work valet so drive around 50 cars a day). It is just engaging the electrical system not actually showing that you need to check all that stuff.


Simple thing you can do, but I am not sure this is causing the problem. Put in some fuel injector cleaner for a couple of tanks. You should put it in and then again after a normal tank(so skip a tank). Also try putting in a higher octane grade gas if you don't already and just see what the difference is. You may still have other problems, but the injector cleaner will clear that up and helps with minor lag.

[BMW-ATI]

actually i used some of that stuff yesturday and it seem3ed to help

thx

i think my cat is causing lag

but the RPM dipping is prolly my o2 sensor or idle control valve, I called our bmw mechanic and he said it could be one of those, or my trannsy, but my transmission shifts fine so he said it 99% sure isnt that