i have a b18a, obd0 LS in my ef hatch. at low rpms, (under 4k) i have a very noticeable loss in power, almost like its bogging (doesnt sputter though), and will have to down shift to accelerate up a hill. As rpms climb, all of a sudden the power will kick in, like a vtec kick. its a very noticeable and sudden gain of power, and it usually happens at 4k. what could this be? In other words, the throttle has bad resolution, it isn't smooth. Instead of smoothly accelerating more and more, the power kicks in, in large heaps relative to throttle position, like 2 or 3 steps up to WOT.

when there is low power, it isn't sputtering or missing, it just feels gutless, and flooring it only makes the engine louder. after i reach 4k rpm, the power kicks in and things return to normal. However, after i apply enough throttle (gas pedal halfway or more down), the power will kick in at any rpm under 4k as well. so its not timing (and i checked it), and i tested that the TPS has no dead spots and is calibrated correctly. The car has no catalytic converter, so that isn't clogged.

 

bumpsz

 

Is your motor originally obd0, or obd1. What ECU are you running? p75 (obd1) is stock, and anything but stock that has no basemap will be bad for the motor.

It sounds like it could be running extremely lean on the low end, which can cause power issues if i'm not mistaken.

Also, have you had the car tuned, etc?

 

its an obd0 engine, b18a1, running on the stock pr4 ecu.

 

How's the idle? Any vac-leaks or potential vac-leaks?

 

idles perfect, right around 800 rpm. no fluctuation or hunting. someone mentioned it could be bad spark plug wires causing the problem. could it be?