VVTI acceleration lag?

Caporegime
Joined
20 May 2007
Posts
41,032
Location
Surrey
Just got myself a Toyota Celica vvti (140) and sometimes there seems to be some sort of acceleration lag. Now I am no expert and I am going from a 1.4 peugoet, and when I get it "right" it seems to accelerate very quickly. Is this just me not being used to how the VVTI engine works or a bigger problem? I don't know whether you have to get used to the throttle responsivness, gear ratios and rev ranges e.t.c.

If not, what could cause this a sort of lag effect.

by lag, i mean you put your foot down and there are a lot of revs but it doesnt seem to get going for a while.
 
As far as i know they dont pull very well at low end by design, more power in the top end of the rev range.
 
As far as i know they dont pull very well at low end by design, more power in the top end of the rev range.

OK, it takes some getting used to. When I get the throttle control just right it really does go!

But, for example. If im in 4th not going too fast and i put my foot down it revs a lot and then seems to take a little bit for the engine to catch up and go.
 
I've got the 190 variant of the Celica.

If you are in 4th gear at 30 it won't exactly put you back in your seat. Power is all at the top end.
 
Do the revs climb in time with the movement of the car or do they jump from about 2.5k to 4k without proper movement?
 
I would also say slipping clutch, try accelerating up a hill from reasonably low rpm in third gear. If the rpms increase and your speed doesn't it looks like the clutch.
 
If i'm in 4th at 30mph i'll often go down a gear or two if i actually want to accelerate, its really not suited for that. It'll take some time to get accelerating properly in 4th which is why it feels like its not doing anything at all, but the rev's will be going up slowly too.
 
If i'm in 4th at 30mph i'll often go down a gear or two if i actually want to accelerate, its really not suited for that. It'll take some time to get accelerating properly in 4th which is why it feels like its not doing anything at all, but the rev's will be going up slowly too.

That sounds normal for most cars.
 
Would a whole new clutch be needed then? I suppose it depends. Its only done 52,000 miles!

It changes gears fine and there is no unsual feel or unsual noises/smells e.t.c. Might take it to the trusted garage nearby on tuesday to get it looked at.
 
Last edited:
If it's had a hard life, clutch wear at that mileage wouldn't be unusual. It's a wear and tear item after all. I would try doing a clutch test...something like parking on flat level road and applying the handbrake, bring the clutch up and if it stalls...clutch is ok? Might be a better way of testing this though?
 
sounds like a typical Jap Vtec/ VVTi setup to me, they really need to be driven at high revs for the vtec (honda obv) and for toyota's 'lift', but 140bhp isn't really gonna set any roads of fire to be fair, either way, you need to be getting up to 5-6k revs to be hitting the power band as these cars aren't renowned for having any torque to speak of.
 
If it's had a hard life, clutch wear at that mileage wouldn't be unusual. It's a wear and tear item after all. I would try doing a clutch test...something like parking on flat level road and applying the handbrake, bring the clutch up and if it stalls...clutch is ok? Might be a better way of testing this though?

Don't you put it into fourth and try and move off.

Although I doubt there is a black and white test for all cars.
 
Back
Top Bottom