Goin on 96,000 Miles w/ stock clutch! As soon as I run this into the ground I'll have saved up enough for a swap.

But in the meantime... could use some pro honda suggestions...

I bought the car with 36,000 miles.. it's an EX 2.2 SOHC VTEC 5-spd. When I bought it, it felt GREAT! ALOT stronger than it feels now I could race my friends V6 4-door Accord and beat him in the quarter by a carlength.

The only things I've done to the engine are a removed resonator and drop-in K&N filter, Greddy exhaust, and advanced timing (17degrees)

I did the big 90,000 tune up from honda a little early. So... everything should have been checked and replaced according to the service schedule.. meaning.... timing belt, pumps, hoses, cap, rotor, filters, etc etc.

The problems I'm having are as follows.

Slow as a dog and feels like a stock civic. With the A/C on it's even worse
It idles at like 650 steady.. but when I blip the throttle and the rpms go back down the idle drops under 500 for a split second then back up to 650.
Also, when I turn my steering wheel when NOT in motion, I notice my idle drop like 150 rpms then go back up...

Besides all the work honda did, I change my oil religiously w/ MOBIL-1 5W-30 Synthetic and keep up with my maintenance pretty well.

 

oh yeah, it's a '97... meaning.... crappy OBD-2

and no I'm not throwing any codes.

 

All this is very normal.

It feels sluggish because the temperature has been getting warmer, thus your engine is not as cool and responsive.

 

It was never like this even in the dead of summer.

It feels like it's about 20 or 30 horse under what it should be.

 

The engine is just old. Scratches made in the cylinder walls over time have reduced the compression ratio, and the advanced timing may have impacted your piston rings whether you know it or not.

 

What can I do to get it back up to par that won't cost me an arm and a leg ?

suggestions guys.... i know there's some smart honda techs out there...

 

how far are you willing to go?

 

I'd like to know why it's driving like crap all of a sudden.
Read the 1st post.. it describes in detail what's going on.

i've never set timing before so I don't know the exact procedure, however I have the basic idea. Maybe it's just my timing... maybe a vacuum hose... i dunno, what should I check ?? Man.. for a tech board I'm not getting much help.

 

You havent described anything abnormal to us! How are we supposed to diagnose a problem when there when there arent any symptoms. We can only do so much e-wrenching. All you say is it feels slow. Maybe your used to its performance? It happens to everyone. What you described is normal with the turning of the wheel, AC etc. Take it to a dyno and have 3 baseline runs done for $50-$100. It will tell u what whp ur making, should be 125 or so. If u get something like 100, u know ur missing power. But if you go to a dealer and say "something doesnt feel right" and tell us what u told them, then ur gonna pay an arm and a leg for them to figure out if anything is in fact wrong.

 

Does advancing the timing have negative effects in the long run??? What if higher octane is always used after advancing?

 

advancing timing should not have any adverse affect on the motor, and i hope if you did advance you are using slightly higher octane, although the cr is 8.8:1 i have advanced completelly and had no detonation at all. my motor has 140k on it now, ans still hold synthetic

 

what is the maximum amount the accord can advance? is it 20degrees? Is it worth it to advance it all the way? I recall seeing a discussion here about losing power if you advance it too much. I was thinking of 17-18degrees on 91-92 octane (best in my area).

 

I know a certain Prelude VTEC driver who eventually cracked some valves on his H22A1 due to advancing ignition too high. I think he was right around 18 degrees. Do a compression test.

 

yeah, but there is a big difference between 8.8:1 cr and 10:1 cr

 

Err, musta been higher than 18, I think 16~17 is stock for a H22.


[Modified by 4doorH22, 5:02 PM 4/25/2002]

 

you cannot adujust the timing on obd2 cars! right? thats what i was under the impression of

 

Apex-i ITC

*FLUSH*