Car runs better when I floor it?? Is it really hard on the car?

Question

I have a 2001 Grand Am GT with 85k miles on it and I usually baby the car(I take off at 2k rpm's or less alot) but it seems that when I floor the car a couple times(6k is my redline) the car tends to run alot better and smoother and even starts up really quick. Sometimes it takes a couple seconds for the car to start but after I floor it the car will start up smoothly and quickly.

Why does my car perform better when drivin hard? and am I doing any damage to the car when I floor it? I wanna try to get atleast 200k out of her.

Answer 1

It sounds like your car has been driven hard all it's life by the privious owner. You might not want to baby it, but don't drive it hard either. The car has been broken in to run optimally with rough driving and babying it will cause valve build up and protential blow by. However continueing it's rough driving will lessen it's life in general by wearing out all internal engine, tranny components. Moderate driving will put it in the middle where it's not doing much damage either way. I would horse it though to clean it out about 1 week before each oil change. Next time check the car out more thorough before buying. with engine running check oil for grittyness deep black color, and tranny oil for bubbly texture or silver white color, both oils smell for burn scent.

Answer 2

The first thing I try is fuel injector cleaner. It's amazing how many times this clears up a little sluggishness. Then dry gas or some similar gas line dryer to take water out of the fuel system. The alcohol absorbs the water and takes it through. Condensation in the tank can be a problem in the winter which is why they tell you to keep your tank full. Whatever isn't gasoline is air, and whatever water condenses out of the air in the tank settles to the bottom.

It's hard on a car to make short and slow speed trips, especially if it frequently doesn't get the chance to warm up completely. This is considered severe use and oil should be changed more often. If you do this kind of driving, you might want to take it for a run to warm up fully on occasion. But the injector solvent and dry gas (along with watching those oil changes) might be all you need.

You don't have to run the car hard. Just let it stretch its legs once in a while.

Answer 3

I have a 78 road runner, have had the exact same problem, if the fuel filter is partially plugged it will run at idle but when you open it up you starve the carb for fuel so it dies, press it slowly and it will stay running, what is happening is you are sucking the fuel out of the carb and line faster than it can get to the carb when you step on it. Also if you have a bad fuel pump which the fuel pump for the 318s are known for going bad after a year or so, it will do the same thing, the diaphram in it goes bad. The only other thing it may be is a bad timing advance or hole in the vvacuumhose to the timing advance. I had all these go wrong with the same result you are having. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

If it was an old Pontiac V-8 with 85,000 on it I would say replace the timing chain and gears NOW! That still could be the problem, timing chain or belt. Could be just driving around town and building 'carbon' on valves and spark plugs, in which case, hit the highway at wide open throttle for a few miles (or until you get pulled over, whichever comes first). It only hurts it if you wind it too high or hold it open too long a distance.
And good luck getting to 200K miles on it. A valve job now can help you get there.

Answer 5

i own a shop.and it wont make it driving it that hard,grand-am,s are good cars but it wont hold up driving it like that,it sounds like to me you have a fuel problem with it that's making it start funny sometimes,id repair the problem and drive the car a little easier,then it might last a little longer,if you keep running it at the pace you are now,it wont take it,i just gave an 85 model away ,that was treated the same way,it wasn't even worth fixing,take care of it,or it will let go on you,good luck,i hope this help,s.

Answer 6

Basically you are cleaning out the carbon build up in the heads when you get on it once in awhile, it won't hurt the car as long as you don't drive it that way constantly, slow driving and city driving is just as bad on the engine as running it hard once in awhile and cleaning everything out.

Answer 7

Your car might need a tuneup, new spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter.... clean the injectors also... scan your computer for codes as well.

Answer 8

Yeah what the last guy said. maybe u need like new oil or something also

Answer 9

clean injectors