I went to pass somebody today who was going 25 in a 55.. well anyway, I push the gas pedal down to the floor to get some of that addicting boost (after not flooring it for about a month!) and I hear the absolutely wonderful sound of the supercharger kicking in. there'* just one catch though.. I was getting hardly any acceleration! Usually I can be up to around 60-70 MPH by the time I get around a car, today it was around 40. It'* like when you floor it and expect it to downshift into first, but it'll only go to the absolute bottom of second gear. THAT is what it felt like, but worse. I know it was in first too because the RPM'* were 4,500+. After I finally got around the car I could smell an extremely aweful smell. not the common "stomping on the gas smell" that you'd usually get, but a really bad, nose-burning sulfur type smell. I tested it out a bit on a few full-throttle runs to see if it was just that one time, and it had a bit more power, but still not like it usually does. After running it hard like this I pulled into my driveway and got out and yep, that horibble sulfur type smell was coming from the exhaust. It smells so bad that it burns your nose, and you can still smell it for a few minutes after just breathing it for a second. I've not had this problem before. My 02 sensor is new and spark plugs are only about 15,000 miles old. any ideas?

I also have a really bad surging problem when accelerating onto the highway. I think that is more transmission based though. As in a failing torque converter.

Would another way of describing it be, "That rotten egg smell" ? If so, start looking at your cat

unfortunately not. It'* more like the smell you get when you light a flare (flair?)...

Could this smell be Ozone? I've heard that when an engine misfires that ozone is created from the wires and plugs? You mention that the car is stumbling on accel so it could be the plug wires, plugs, or coil?

i stay away from accel parts jus cause they mostly go wrong i seen about 65% returned back to napa cause of that same reason but ur cat could also be bad too i had the same problem

hahaha...Maybe I misread but I think he was talking about acceleration, not Accel.

i don't have a clue what the smell is, but there'* a huge thread addressing the surging problem in this forum. we're still trying to make progress with it, there'* a possibility it'* pcm-related and not component malfunction. it might help you out some. welcome to the land of the surging...

on a related note I have discovered a few other symptoms. When the engine is cold, or when it'* cold outside in general my performance suffers greatly. it seams if I drive it after it has been sitting for a few hours (like around 2) then drive it again it drives great! For example, on my way to school in the morning it'll feel slow, but on my way home from school (when I get out around 3 hours later) it drives great. It just seems like if the engine is warmer, but recently started it works better. There'* a dirrect connection between this and transmission shifting too. When it'* colder out the tranny shifts and acts irradically, but when it'* warm the shifts are seamless and smooth.

hmmm, maybe it'* not the same kind of surging as some of us have experienced