Z's losing power
 

I checked all around for a sticky on here and I couldn't find it so hopefully this isn't an infraction! But me and my buddy each have an 03 touring edition Z with identical mods: Motordyne plenum spacer, Berk Racing Test Pipes, Fujita Intake. The only thing that he has that I don't is a Borla exhaust. I drove his the other day and its significantly faster than mine. I know that obviously the Borla will add power but I feel like it shouldn't be THAT much.

With that said, I do have a CEL because my wires going into the connector for the MAF sensor are frayed and some are even separated, so that could be causing it. It's throwing another code saying I need a new engine knock sensor, idk if that would cause it too.

Is there anything else as far as maintainence that could cause the car to be losing a little bit of power? I'm sure people on here have been on the same boat. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

AGAIN, sorry I'm a NEWB, so if this isnt in the proper spot feel free to yell at me and move it but show a little mercy:dunno:

um, all of the above , yes.

What? lol

fix this


"With that said, I do have a CEL because my wires going into the connector for the MAF sensor are frayed and some are even separated, so that could be causing it. It's throwing another code saying I need a new engine knock sensor, idk if that would cause it too."

this thread is facepalm to the max.

dude the bad knock sensor will beat the hell out of ur power lol

If you have OBDII codes why not fix them? Isn't that obvious?

Well yes obviously I'm going to get them fixed lol but The Maf connector is a tricky situation because they don't sell just the harness, you have to buy the entire wiring loom from the factory for 1500 dollars, so I need to like find a connector from a junkyard or something. I figured that obviously wasnt helping but not everything bad on ur car means power loss, I didn't even know that the Engine knock sensor had anything to do with that. I thought it just warned you when there was engine knock

Like dude I didn't know things had to be in operating condition for the car to go fast. Uhm........Can I go fast now?? Why can't I go fast? I like heard of repairing wires & then preforming a functional test but I thought that was for other kids.. LMAO. Is your name Beavis??

Seriously pull the codes. Get the parts online or off wrecked 350's. People wreck these things in drones! People also sell brand new ones after they bought bigger ones for their FI applications. Don't you dare ask me what FI is. One thing at a time. Keep codes of your CEL, fix things right away & never test the speed of your car with bad components. A knock sensor prevents catastrophic engine failure! Detonation will crack a piston.

ever heard of wire soldering?

just splice in some speaker wire. same thing

For starters, I do appreciate the input, but not the sarcasm, I'm on here to learn and I apologize if I dont spend 8 hours a day on here researching everything...now that that's settled. I know exactly what the codes are, but not EVERY code means power loss so I just didn't know if that is for sure where it was coming from thats ALL I was asking.

Secondly, I have heard of wire soldering but if people actually came on here to help me and not flame, I would've told you that where the wire frayed off, is apparently too close to the connector to be able to wire back in. Two different places told me I need to find a connector with about a foot or so of wire already attached so they can splice it in.

If people paid attention instead of being A$$holes you would've realized that was what I was trying to say...some people...:icon14:

Ik what FI is douche, I had a 2006 Tiburon GT with a custom turbo build dynoed on a dynojet at 275whp, nothing crazy but pretty quick for a tib, and it beat stock Z's. Turboing the car was too much of a headache though so I bought a Z, saw this forum, and was like hey, these people know what theyre talking about, I should ask them for help. Ik I'm not experienced with this cars but answering the stupid question would've taken much less effort and energy than trying to be funny....unless you do have that much time on your hands...idk

You would think thats True! I figured some stupid kid didn't know how to drive and wrapped one around a pole but I can't find any crashed Z's in upstate NY. Do you know any places on this site possibly where people sell them after they buy bigger ones like you were mentioning?

Also, does the Z have the same connector as any other Nissans? I know the G35 would be the same, but if we had the same connector as an Altima or Maxima or something that would probably be easier to find.

Mileage of your car and your friend's car?

A bad knock sensor will take a lot of character out of any car

We both have 2003's and his car is at 61k and mine is at 65k

Everyone already covered everything, but just adding that the knock sensor is what pulls ignition timing to reduce knock. If the ECU detects that the sensor is bad, it is most likely preemptively reducing ignition timing across the board. In general, less timing = less power. If your MAF isn't working, the ECU will go into a "limp mode" of sorts, or at the very least, use a default table of MAF values that are nowhere near ideal. That means you're definitely running rich since the ECU will always default on the rich side (unless something else is wrong, of course). Running rich with low timing is a recipe for being slow.

This.

It doesn't take much knowledge above common sense to realise having a cel on for multiple reasons might cause a power loss...

You're missing the point, read further through the thread...I KNOW that the CEL problems are causing the power loss...no I'm asking how to fix them. I KNOW all about the knock sensor, what I DON"T know is how to fix the maf connector seeing as I have no crashed Z's near me to get another connector and my connector wires frayed too close to be able to solder....so either help or gtfo:thumbup:

Get a new MAF connector if you can't solder/repair it. Cross check any V6 near same model year nissans/infinitis.