Is This Normal? Turbo Lag? Something Else?

[pleggo]

Hi all!

I've noticed something when I'm driving my vehicle and hopefully you guys can help me figure it out. Lets say I am driving in a straight line in 3rd holding the RPMs at 4000. When I want to accelerate, I push the gas pedal down hard and fast. Here is the issue. I feel the torque in two waves. There is an initial kick of acceleration, followed by a much greater kick after about 0.25-0.5 seconds. I also feel a delay of sorts in torque when shifting gears.

The car is a 2017 and is completely stock performance-wise. This is my first turbo car so immediately I'm thinking this is what people call turbo lag. However from what I've researched, the FiST doesn't really suffer from turbo lag. I'm thinking it may be something else since it seems to happen at all RPMs, even higher RPMs when the turbo should already be spooled up.

Any thoughts or simple tests I can do ? I'm itching to start upgrading but want to make sure nothing is wrong with the car before I lose my warranty.

Thanks!

 

[alexrex20]

That's normal. It's just turbo lag. The Fiesta ST doesn't lag much, but it certainly does have some turbo lag. If it's your first turbo car it can feel like a lot, but it ain't bad compared to other turbo cars. The delay you feel during shifting is also the turbo lag. First and second gear specifically have "torque truncation" where it doesn't give you full torque right away. It's trying to save the clutch and tires. It drove me nuts. I also have a 2017 but I have an Accessport now and with my Stratified tune, the throttle control is much more linear/natural, like it actually has a cable connecting the gas pedal to the throttle body.

 

[pleggo]

Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind me asking, did you buy your tune while having a warranty? I'm on the fence between getting a tune or keeping the warranty for a bit longer. Also, What made you choose Stratified over the other brands I see pop up? Any personal feedback on your tune?

 

[alexrex20]

I still have warranty. The Accessport doesn't void the warranty. There are tons of threads discussing the subject on this forum as well as others. Long story short, there is case law that makes it illegal for them to deny a warranty claim on a part that is unrelated to the aftermarket part (Accessport). For example, if you go in for warranty work for a bad AC compressor or window switch or headlamp housing, your Accessport should have no bearing on the claim. If you have a blown head gasket (just an example), they can say it was caused by the aftermarket tune and deny the claim.

I got my Accessport through Mountune as it came with their own tune. I didn't like the Mountune tune much so started searching around and Stratified was one of the names everyone kept recommending. I got my 93 tune from them, and liked it so much I now am using their E30 tune.

 

[BuiltforSin]

Hi all!

I've noticed something when I'm driving my vehicle and hopefully you guys can help me figure it out. Lets say I am driving in a straight line in 3rd holding the RPMs at 4000. When I want to accelerate, I push the gas pedal down hard and fast. Here is the issue. I feel the torque in two waves. There is an initial kick of acceleration, followed by a much greater kick after about 0.25-0.5 seconds. I also feel a delay of sorts in torque when shifting gears.

The car is a 2017 and is completely stock performance-wise. This is my first turbo car so immediately I'm thinking this is what people call turbo lag. However from what I've researched, the FiST doesn't really suffer from turbo lag. I'm thinking it may be something else since it seems to happen at all RPMs, even higher RPMs when the turbo should already be spooled up.

Any thoughts or simple tests I can do ? I'm itching to start upgrading but want to make sure nothing is wrong with the car before I lose my warranty.

Thanks!

Yep. Just turbo lag my friend. You would think a turbo as small as ours wouldn't have any, but most turbos have some noticeable lag upon hard acceleration and in between shifts.

 

[FORZDA 2]

It's not turbo lag. The turbo is fully spoiled and ready at 4K rpm. The issue is just the opposite. When you floor it the manifold pressure spikes and the ecu closes the throttle to prevent exceeding max pressure allowed. If you log the data you will see it.

 

[pleggo]

I still have warranty. The Accessport doesn't void the warranty. There are tons of threads discussing the subject on this forum as well as others. Long story short, there is case law that makes it illegal for them to deny a warranty claim on a part that is unrelated to the aftermarket part (Accessport). For example, if you go in for warranty work for a bad AC compressor or window switch or headlamp housing, your Accessport should have no bearing on the claim. If you have a blown head gasket (just an example), they can say it was caused by the aftermarket tune and deny the claim.

I got my Accessport through Mountune as it came with their own tune. I didn't like the Mountune tune much so started searching around and Stratified was one of the names everyone kept recommending. I got my 93 tune from them, and liked it so much I now am using their E30 tune.

I see what you're saying about the tune/warranty thing. I haven't seen a lot of people having engine issues after a tune so it's probably a safe gamble then? I checked out Stratified's site and they have a lot of options. I'll have to study up. Thanks for the info!

Yep. Just turbo lag my friend. You would think a turbo as small as ours wouldn't have any, but most turbos have some noticeable lag upon hard acceleration and in between shifts.

Cool, guess everything is normal then. Thanks!

It's not turbo lag. The turbo is fully spoiled and ready at 4K rpm. The issue is just the opposite. When you floor it the manifold pressure spikes and the ecu closes the throttle to prevent exceeding max pressure allowed. If you log the data you will see it.

Hmm interesting. Do tunes remove this or help make this less noticeable? I imagine the factory setting is pretty conservative.

 

[FORZDA 2]

....Hmm interesting. Do tunes remove this or help make this less noticeable? I imagine the factory setting is pretty conservative.

Yes the issue can be eliminated by tuning.

 

[NJBooST]

Congrats on the new car! Have you tried holding down the ESC button until it’s disabled? You might be feeling traction control. Otherwise I agree with FORZDA on the throttle closures.
As for tuning, you should wait til you hit 10k miles or at least 5k to make sure everything’s ok.
Then immediately get an AP3 and tune. You’ll be amazed at what a panel filter and tune does for this car.