whitet777

I just bought a 94 FD and am having a blast. I am used to a 4 banger and it is obvious that I am going to have to learn a different driving style with this beast. I have found no tips on best driving practices through the search feature or on other websites. For instance on a strip: what are the best shift points, do you let up on the gas between gears, etc...

I have also found this weird issue and am wondering if it is my car or if it is typical of turbos. Please read on... If I am doing like 45mph in 3rd gear at about 3200RPM's or close and want to pass someone, in my old car, I would downshift to second and floor it. If I do that in the FD, I get really slow acceleration and it never improves at any RPM as if the turbos aren't kicking on. However, if I would have just kept it in 3rd and floored it, I would have awesome acceleration. This sounds counterintuitive to a NA car. The same thing happens in 4th gear to 3rd at about 60mph or so. Should I always leave it in gear to pass or is something wrong with my car? I will be buying a boost gauge to see what is going on internally.

Thanks for the help. Just trying to get the most out of my toy.

Zoomspeed

I think it your already around 3k-3.5k RPM then you should just leave it in gear because the boost spike occurs around 3.5k-4k RPM which will give you a nice kick in the pants.

FatDave747

Whitet777,

Do you have a boost guage installed? This is a good diagnostic tool that will show you what's up with your turbos. But what you are saying about downshifting and not getting anypower could mean that you have a boost leak somewhere.

whitet777

The boost gauge is my first purchase. Thanks for the advise. Does anyone have a tip on the best way to drive this car as opposed to a piston engine car?