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Well, I finally got around to swapping in the 3" intake on the '99. It was late on a Sunday, so I didn't get to drive the car that evening or on Monday. The weather turned really cold Monday, & the engine began to idle rough on cold starts.
My wife was pissed that whatever I'd done had messed up "her" car:
"It wasn't doing this before!" she said. "It was fine before you touched it. Put it back the way was!" she insisted.
I decided it was best not to tell her I had to hack up the airbox to get the new intake pipe in, & putting chopped-up material back simply wasn't an option. "Um, the car's computer needs a little time to adjust to the, uh, changes ... " I said, my voice trailing off as I feigned interest in the open newspaper laying on the counter.
I glanced up. She was giving me that cold, hard stare of The Unbeliever. She didn't understand, but it really didn't matter. Her Spousal Crap Alarm was going off, & if I didn't act fast there'd be Heck to pay. All she knew was that her car was acting differently in a bad way, & I was the cause. "Look," I said, moving swiftly into Marginally Technical Defensive Mode, "the car's computer monitors the air & gas going into the engine, & I just made a change to that. There's less air restriction now, & it might take a few days to reset."
"What," she said, "it LEARNS??" She looked at me like I'd just told her the front door remembers who comes up & knocks each time, eventually greeting them personally & letting us know they're there. "Yes!" I said, trying to continue her involvement, "it learns! It's got a feedback system on it, & it makes adjustments based on how well it's running." I had to be careful. Too much swaggering around in the tech stuff & her Filibuster Alert would fire. I had to ease out of Marginally Technical Defensive Mode with something basic. "And, uh, the cold may be affecting it too ... "
I was still getting The Look. "OK," she said, "we'll see." She turned around & gave the dog a small, rock-like snack that was supposed to make him think he's getting pizza. I slowly exhaled. I had a few days, at least.
It didn't take more than two days for the idle to even back out. The weather had warmed up too, so all options were covered. This mod was the last of the four in the "free" series, so I wanted to do some traffic merges to see if there was any noticeable difference. Yes, quickness had been improved just a bit more, so I was pleased. But what was that new noise? It was high pitched & metallic, like something was falling off the engine & ringing as it bounced. It was ... it was ... hey!! That's my Forge DV firing!! I can hear that on my automatic tranny now! I tell my son about it, & he wants to hear it too. We're leaving for dinner soon, so I tell him we'll do it then.
We're all in the car, threading our way out of the neighborhood & onto the main highway to the restaurant. As soon as we get out & hit the first stoplight, my son asks about the valve. The light's starting to change & there's no traffic in front of us, so I quickly blurt out to my wife, "HangonColewantstohearsomething." To which my wife responds by grabbing all available hand-holds & saying, "What?!whatareyougoingtodo?!" The light changes & the cars start rolling up behind me. My brain's flopping between jamming the accelerator & having to answer for it later, or starting smoothly & explaining what we're going to be listening for & hoping we get the chance on this road again before we reach the restaurant. Life's short. "It'sjustaquickaccelerationtohearanoise." I jam.
"P'fwink!!"
"What was THAT?!" my wife asks. "It sounds like my car just sneezed!" "That was the diverter valve for the turbo," I explain, "we can hear it now." "Oh great," she says, "now everyone's going to think my car's sneezing as I drive down the road?!" I just shake my head & tell her, "Nah, you'll never hear it 'cuz you're never going to drive this way."
And she doesn't respond, 'cuz she knows it's true.
But she IS smiling ...
posted by 32.103.218...
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