A Question of Speed...

Greig8 · #1 02-06-2006, 09:50 PM

I have a 1990 LeSabre with 77,000 miles on it. Its a great car in very good condition for its age. I was wondering if anyone else experiences annoying 4 cylinder drivers who think their cars are cool. Many of my friends drive cavaliers and they laugh at my 'old granny car' until i get on the road next to them and blow them away. I reciently added one of those 'Tornado Air Management Systems' which sucks but I was wondering what you pros would suggest to increase my speed/power/gas mileage. Also my accelerator seems to be very 'loose'. when i say loose i mean it kindof knocks back and forth and i was wondering if this is common and if anyone knows how to fix it. One more question. I have a LOT of road noise someone suggested that i get some self adhesive weatherstripping and put around the doors and it just seems louder now. so i need to get that off. my question is How hard is it to shim the door up to reduce the noise? and can i put some of the weatherstripping similar to what is already on the door to quiet it down a bit? And What does everyone think about getting a paint job. My clear coat is coming off and my hood looks terrible. I also have a bit of rust at the bottom of both doors. So any input to any of the questions or any comments at all would be great.

devildust · #2 02-07-2006, 12:12 AM

You can get a K&N intake off Ebay for about 50 bucks, i dont know if u feel a difference in speed and milege, but it will sound cooler. And dont waste ur money on a paint job, good one are too much and the cheap one are really horible

mtmaurer8ooo · #3 02-07-2006, 09:10 AM

Do you actually have 'road' noise, or is it the noise of the apparent wind rushing by the vehicle? Buicks are notorious for that wind noise...it comes from the A-pillar design and there's not really anything you can do about it, except turn up the radio.

Loekee75 · #4 02-07-2006, 12:23 PM

This will cover the performance question:
http://www.racepages.com/brands/buy....abre&year=1990

Greig8 · #5 02-07-2006, 05:06 PM

Thanks guys. My preliminary plans as of right now are to remove the cheap foam-like weatherstripping and put some normal weatherstripping on where the majority of the noise comes from. (and yes the noise is coming from the wind around the doors most likely since they are 4' 10'' long) I also will be sealing down the metal stip at the base of the windshield so that my 'hide-away wipers' will actually hide away. I think i will probably just blow the remainder of the clear coat off of the hood with the pressure washer and put several coats of carnauba wax on or ?Can I put on a new clear coat on just the hood? and since im feeling SO ambitious How do you get those wires off of the spark plugs. I was kind of worried about changing them since and everyone talks of how difficult they are to do on this model( something about rocking the engine out of place - but it doesnt appear to me that that would be necessary) i dont know for sure that they've ever been changed and I at least want to check them. So do i just yank the wires off and use a wrench to get them out? and I am suppost to get Delco right? maybe they are the reason I only get 20mpg or maybe I drive too fast....

Thanks again
Greig8

Greig8 · #6 02-08-2006, 04:13 PM

One more thing to add to the list...
My temperature gage sometime goes clear up to the stick and i mean well past the end of the red zone. It sticks up there and is easily adjusted by a good slam on the dash. I have the more normal cluster (its not the one with the 3 foot wide speedometer) in my Limited Coupe. Should I bother with trying to fix this or just live with it?
Thanks again.
Greig8

rustbucket · #7 02-09-2006, 04:33 PM

In my 87 I had an intermittent speedometer, Whacking the dash would temporarily fix it. I finally took off the dash and the instrument panel and cleaned the contacts, and the problem went away.

Bassasasin · #8 02-10-2006, 02:14 PM

Sound suppression.. thicker carpet also helps.. they get mashed thin and a new one helps..

Greig8 · #9 02-12-2006, 07:59 PM

Thanks for all your imput. BTW: I got pulled over last night for 'careless driving' ( i was spinning tires on ice ) and speeding doing 50 in a 40. Can you get hauled away to the station for that(because he threatened me) ? I wasn't being careless..... I was being very careful to press the accelerator to the floor and burn ass in the exact fashion that i was. And i was only speeding because he was riding my ass in an unmarked car. Bastards.

Greig8 · #10 03-05-2006, 11:21 AM

Update:
I replaced my spark plugs for the first time ever after(at 77500 miles) i pulled one and was afraid to put the corroded thing back in the engine. I went to Autozone and got Delco Rapidfires and they seem quite good. My mileage has gone up from 20mpg driving slow to 23 driving too fast so im excited. I also replaced the weatherstripping that I had put on my door with some thicker stuff and it seems to be much better although I haven't driven it yet. I tried to buy some ICON wipers the other day and realized that they dont fit my vehicle because my car is post type. That was dissappointing.

PS. - Theres nothing like driving a car with no salt all over the windows - You can actually see!

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