Indianapolis ? Pulling out of the pits for the first time Wednesday, Scott Dixon could tell his car wasn’t accelerating as it had during the Indy Racing League’s first three races.

Once Dixon got the car up to speed, he liked the way the IRL’s new engine performed.

“It’s a lot slower,” he said. “You don’t really notice it much on the track, but coming out of the pit box you do.”

The IRL is making a midseason change, reducing the 3.5-liter engines to 3.0 and changing the aerodynamic package to limit speeds and improve safety. The first time the engine will be used in race conditions will be May 30 at the Indianapolis 500.

Between now and then, drivers are trying to figure out how to regain some of the lost power.

Some drivers tested the engine April 2, but they had time Wednesday to do more extensive work with it.

On the first day of a two-day open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, drivers tried different setups, something teams were reluctant to do during the closed test April 2.

Wednesday’s windy conditions and cool temperatures weren’t ideal for fast speeds. In the morning practice session, southwest winds blew at 18 mph with gusts to 29 mph.

IRL driver Scott Dixon waits to test his car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Drivers practiced Wednesday in Indianapolis.

In the afternoon, some drivers thought it was a bit stronger. The Mexican flag in Adrian Fernandez’s pit was fully extended most of the afternoon and even curled around the flagpole.

That may have explained Dario Franchitti’s close call about 45 minutes into the three-hour afternoon practice. Franchitti brushed the wall, bringing out the caution flag but the Andretti Green Racing team driver was not injured.

Still, speeds were increasing. IRL officials have said they expect qualifying speeds to drop about 10 mph from Helio Castroneves’ pole-winning speed of 231.725 mph last year. After going just 216 in testing almost four weeks ago, they were up to nearly 220 on Wednesday.

“A lot of the first test everyone was trying to get the bugs worked out,” Sam Hornish Jr. said. “A lot of it is that everyone has fine-tuned some things.”