Honestly im not 100% sure what is going on here, but im gonna do my best to attempt to describe it.

Basically when the engine is still cold, and only when im starting off,(put the car into first and begin to release the clutch and give it gas) it almost seems like the throttle cuts off, and it stalls or almost stalls. The car idles perfectly fine and this only occurs occasionally when the car is cold, not always. After warming up it runs absolutely fine. In fact within about 5 minutes after this happened when leaving work, when i got to the freeway and the temp gauge was normal, i did a 0-90 pull onto the freeway with no issues at all. Also sometimes when this happens, after i shift from first into second (around 20mph/4k rpm) , there seems to be a big power loss for a moment, before kicking into gear and starting to move normally.

My first thought was maybe ignition, since its been about 30k since plugs, and 20-25 since coils, but if that were the case i feel like there would be problems when warm as well as under load, but there isn't.

This is my first manual car so i dont know the symptoms of a clutch going out, but i have no problems shifting into any other gears.

Some other possible relevant information:

-We just replaced the radiator when i started noticing these problems. While im pretty sure its not directly caused by this maybe moving something around in the engine bay messed something up on accident.

-My car did overheat (up to 235) shortly after replacing the radiator, we accidentally wired one of the fans wrong and it ran backwards.

Any assistance with this would be grateful! Thank you!

 

Definitely replace the ignition system. Coils, wires, plugs. I bought my 8 with a "blown engine" and it was the coils all along.

 

Starting the Engine
• Starter
• Battery
• Engine Compression
• Grounding Wires
• Ignition Coils
• Spark Plugs
• Spark Plug Wires
• Fuel Pump
• Fuel Injectors

Keeping the Engine at an Idle
• Ignition Coils
• Spark Plugs
• Spark Plug Wires
• Engine Compression
• E-Shaft Sensor (ESS)
• Mass Air Flow Sensor (MAF)
• Front O2 sensor
• Catalytic Converter (Cat)
• Intake Vaccum


Engine Power Loss
• chokes as revs increase
o O2 sensor failure (too rich)
o MAF failure
o MAF disconnected
o e-shaft sensor fouled
o accessory belt fraying
• high end power loss (hard fuel cut)
o Rev limit reached
• high end power loss (jerky and stumbling)
o Ignition failure
o fuel pressure loss
o e-shaft sensor fouled
• high end power loss (smooth)
o Catalytic converter clog
o air filter clog
• low end power loss (smooth)
o Engine compression loss
• low end power loss (stumbles)
o Ignition failure
o front O2 sensor failure
• revs slowly but smoothly
o O2 sensor failure (too lean)
o catalytic converter clog
o air filter clog
• sudden power drop at a specific rpm
o Intake valving actuation problem
• trouble getting to redline
o Ignition failure
o front O2 sensor failure
o catalytic converter clog
o air filter clog
o e-shaft sensor fouled
o fuel pressure loss
o MAF failure

 

• low end power loss (stumbles)
o Ignition failure
o front O2 sensor failure

This makes the most sense out of these, but would an O2 sensor failing only cause problems at cold, same with ignition failure? And with the AC off (like today) it seemed to not be causing any issues. I plan on changing to the BHR ignition system soon anyway, so i guess we shall see if that is the issue.