after three weeks....

[TheHolyGhost]

...that does not make me think it's the best thing after sliced bread.

You're right, it's better than sliced bread!

[Hawkzilla]

The way in which you apply the throttle has a definite impact on performance. Most drive by wire cars will smooth the throttle input when you just push the pedal to the floor. I find my car accelerates stronger if I apply slightly less than full throttle at speed around 30mph. I'm not saying that this is the problem that everyone is having, but it does happen.

Agreed. Also, once your car hits 1500 miles switch it to fully synthetic oil, get the K&N high-flow air filter and use only 91 octane gas. These combined will make a noticeable difference in engine performance.

Also, I would argue about the handling of the Kizashi. I have never drove a car that blends sporty handling with a smooth ride quite so well. Usually you have to sacrifice the smooth ride for the stiffer sporty suspension, but my Kizashi handles on a dime when I want it to, while still riding smooth for normal driving. I'm not saying the OP isn't entitled to his opinion, because he is, but I don't think the SPEED Network guys at "Test Drive" would be raving about the Kizashi's handling if it weren't top notch. They even let a motorcycle racer drive it on the track and he was blown away by it's handling.

[Hawkzilla]

well, i'm taking another hit of bad news on my Kizashi. I took it in today to get the blown tweeter replaced under warranty and have my aluminum side sills installed. it appears the blown speaker is still shorting out and the dealership has no clue what it could be. they are going to put a call out to suzuki engineering tomorrow. i told them about the amp problem that's been described on the boards.

i'm still hoping that one day i will ride my sexy bad ass Kizashi worry free....

if they cannot find the answer to the speaker problem, and it's not resolved in three tries i am going to look into florida's lemon law and if it gets to the point that the lemon law is enforced then i will have my 2011 six speed Kizashi sport.

to be continued......

It's the amp. Tell them to replace it. The Kiz has had problems with Rockford's amp. I would blame that one on Rockford trying to save a buck by skimping on the amp. I need to get mine replaced too, but it only affects my volume jumping on occasion, so it's not a high priority right now for me.

[Hawkzilla]

Similarly, for the low rpm vibrations, if you accelerate slightly at low speeds, when the rpms are below 1500 (but not too hard so you get a quick downshift), do you notice a lower tone grumbling (almost diesel engine like) before getting towards 2000 rpm (when it sounds a bit more "round")? If so, that's what I think we're talking about here...

Another related aspect that can contribute to this is the gas. Yeah, I know it only requires 87 and it runs fine with it. However, with my other cars I always managed to find a type of gas they ran smoother with, usually a premium one (but not always), even if the fuel consumption was not significantly different. And different engines find different types of gas better (I have a friend whose V6 Toyota Camry sounded horrible with the same gas my Outlander purrs with), so I'm still looking for the best match for the Kizashi.

That's a perfect description of what I'm experiencing and what I didn't expect in the Kizashi!

I also tried a higher octane fuel, 95 RON (as standard the Kizashi runs 91 RON fuel here in Australia), it didn't make any difference to the roughness and I'm only half way through the tank, so we'll see how the fuel consumption goes.

Just had a thought, maybe they only run rough in ex-british colonies

Hi there

.. yeah I experience this.. but I can't say it annoys me or makes me think of my engine as rough.. i just put it down to CVT ratios set for the car. I drive a lot in manual mode.. so maybe it annoys me less than some others?

Also, at high speeds I have no roughness and no adverse feedback through the car, seat or wheel.. - did 145kph overtaking a ford falcon on the freeway the other day and I felt no difference between that speed and 40kph.... in fact I had a hard time believing I was doing 145kph... and had to keep an eye on myself re speed cameras for the rest of the trip!!

Agreed. They gave me a Mazda 3 while they did my recall stuff and while I know it's a Mazda 3, it reminded me of how SMOOTH my Kizashi rides. I felt like I was doing 90 mph in the Mazda 3 and looked down and was only going 60 mph. That car really was a giant pile of crap. When I got my quiet smooth riding Kiz back, I was doing 70 mph when it felt like 55. Not sure about everyone else's Kiz, but mine rides like butter and gets over 30 mpg at 85 mph... I can't ask for much more for under $30K.

[TheHolyGhost]

Mine's rock solid even at (above) legal highway speeds.

Welcome back Hawk!

[Hawkzilla]

Mine's rock solid even at (above) legal highway speeds.

Welcome back Hawk!

Thanks man. I have just been enjoying my ride, so with no complaints anymore I haven't been on much.

[TheHolyGhost]

I hope that this forum can develop into more than just a place to complain. I'd love to see more activity on the off topic threads.

[TheHolyGhost]

How is your hood cover holding up? How often do you take it off to clean underneath?

[Hawkzilla]

How is your hood cover holding up? How often do you take it off to clean underneath?

Very well, thanks. I take it off at least once a week to clean it and wash my car. I use leather wipes on it and it gets a very dark shiny black look going... I feel y Kiz is naked without it. lol

[gaww]

I hope that this forum can develop into more than just a place to complain. I'd love to see more activity on the off topic threads.

I would like to see a lot of the performance issues currently spread all over the "chat" threads somehow moved over the the performance section - at least the ones with specific observations and ideas (hey MOTO - you got other plans this weekend?). The performance section has almost gone extinct.

PS - once again - am surprised there are so many "roughness" observations out there (?). i can be a nit-picker on engine and handling issues, but I have zero complaints on roughness. I have had to stop myself from pressing the start button sometimes when I forget it is already running as it is so smooth at idle and on the road (which fortunately only turns it off and not the clashing of stater motor gears as in other cars in the past - ha hs)

Maybe they used different damping in the US engine mounts - but cannot think of any reason they would not all be the same.