Power loss after drift attempt

dibler08 · 10-30-2023, 08:41 PM

(TLDR: car accelerates less quickly at full throttle and makes slightly more (deeper) noise after a pathetic attempt at drifting with clutch dumping.)

Dear everyone,

Last night I went for a little recreational ride. It was raining which made me want to take advantage of the more slippery road. When I was almost home I went into a remote industrial area and tried to drift into a turn by quickly releasing the clutch in second gear at around 5000 rpm. The last time I tried that was about a week ago and to my surprise it worked on the second try. However, this time it just didn't work and I gave up after 2 or 3 pitiful attempts. Then I tried a 180° drift in first gear to head back home; had also failed.

When I drove away and gave it some extra gas, I noticed that when I accelerated a lot, the car made a deeper sound, and the car also started to vibrate a little more. On top of that it felt like the car had less power, as it doesn't accelerate as quickly as it used to.

As long as I don't give it a lot of gas there is actually barely any difference, I really only notice it when I step on the gas hard. I've also noticed that revs make little difference; the deeper sound comes up just as much at 2000 rpm as it does at 3000 rpm. But if I accelerate slowly there is little difference. And when I rev it in neutral there seems to be less of a difference

What I have also noticed is that the fuel consumption seems to have increased by a tiny bit (based on the consumption gauge), but this could be just my bias towards exhaust leak symptoms

My suspicion is that this is an exhaust leak - that's what the symptoms point to - but I wonder how a failed drift attempt can lead to an exhaust leak. I think the chance is small, but I'm still afraid that something worse might be going on. Damage to the drivetrain, for example, seems to be a more likely consequence of drifting, but to my knowledge that would not produce a heavier noise.

I'll probably go to a DIY garage this week to look at it under a lift.

If anyone happens to have experience or an idea of what it could be, I'd love to hear it.

My car is a euro spec, 318i E90 manual from 2006 (N46B20B motor)

NB: I know that it is not wise to (try to) drift and that it will damage the car anyway. I just didn't know it could also cause damage to the exhaust

CLEAN13BOOSTED · 10-30-2023, 08:49 PM

How does the clutch feel, any chatter/vibration or slipping when the clutch engages?

dibler08 · 03-10-2024, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLEAN13BOOSTED

How does the clutch feel, any chatter/vibration or slipping when the clutch engages?

Sorry for the super late reply, I didn't think anyone would reply to my post and I didnt get any email or something. I'm new to the forum so I don't really know how it works yet.

Anyway, if you still care, since I bought the car the clutch was juddering everytime the car was cold, but I havent experienced any other type of vibrations or clutch slipping but after some research I concluded it wasnt much to worry about.

What I do notice is that when the car is cold the clutch seems to slip when I give it a little gas but when I floor it, I get instant feedback.

After all, the decrease in power feels worse in higher gears. And depending on how much I press in the gas pedal, the whole car vibrates and the exhaust begins to sound louder and has a lower tone

10-30-2023, 08:41 PM	#1
dibler08 Registered 0 Rep 2 Posts Drives: BMW 318i (E90) Join Date: Dec 2022 Location: The Netherlands iTrader: (0)	Power loss after drift attempt (TLDR: car accelerates less quickly at full throttle and makes slightly more (deeper) noise after a pathetic attempt at drifting with clutch dumping.) Dear everyone, Last night I went for a little recreational ride. It was raining which made me want to take advantage of the more slippery road. When I was almost home I went into a remote industrial area and tried to drift into a turn by quickly releasing the clutch in second gear at around 5000 rpm. The last time I tried that was about a week ago and to my surprise it worked on the second try. However, this time it just didn't work and I gave up after 2 or 3 pitiful attempts. Then I tried a 180° drift in first gear to head back home; had also failed. When I drove away and gave it some extra gas, I noticed that when I accelerated a lot, the car made a deeper sound, and the car also started to vibrate a little more. On top of that it felt like the car had less power, as it doesn't accelerate as quickly as it used to. As long as I don't give it a lot of gas there is actually barely any difference, I really only notice it when I step on the gas hard. I've also noticed that revs make little difference; the deeper sound comes up just as much at 2000 rpm as it does at 3000 rpm. But if I accelerate slowly there is little difference. And when I rev it in neutral there seems to be less of a difference What I have also noticed is that the fuel consumption seems to have increased by a tiny bit (based on the consumption gauge), but this could be just my bias towards exhaust leak symptoms My suspicion is that this is an exhaust leak - that's what the symptoms point to - but I wonder how a failed drift attempt can lead to an exhaust leak. I think the chance is small, but I'm still afraid that something worse might be going on. Damage to the drivetrain, for example, seems to be a more likely consequence of drifting, but to my knowledge that would not produce a heavier noise. I'll probably go to a DIY garage this week to look at it under a lift. If anyone happens to have experience or an idea of what it could be, I'd love to hear it. My car is a euro spec, 318i E90 manual from 2006 (N46B20B motor) NB: I know that it is not wise to (try to) drift and that it will damage the car anyway. I just didn't know it could also cause damage to the exhaust
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10-30-2023, 08:49 PM	#2
CLEAN13BOOSTED Private First Class 74 Rep 104 Posts Drives: 2013 BMW E93 3351 Join Date: Oct 2023 Location: FLORIDA iTrader: (0)	How does the clutch feel, any chatter/vibration or slipping when the clutch engages?
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