I was running my car at the races last night, and I was told by a few people there that my car is running strong, but my top end doesn't seem to be where it should be. I was just wondering; Is there anyway that I can know for sure if my vtec is functioning correctly, and at full effeciency ? I dynoed at 138 whp, ,so the hp is around where it should be for a stock GS-R ? but at 165,000 miles, do you guys think I might need to replace my vtec solenioid ? Or any other part to make sure vtec is engage with maximum potential ?

 

first of all it can be your cans but instead of beating around the bush and trying to replace other things that wont fix your car y dont u just go get ur car tuned properly and they will tell u whats wrong with ur car if anything is

 

138 is on the low side. usually stock gsr will dyno around 145. But anyways, to check and see that ut vtec is engaging, take out ur air filter cover on ur stock one and u should hear it when the VTEC kicks in.

 

yah, 138 is on the low side, of normal, but pretty good for a stock car with 165,000 miles. Its just that I ran this guy with an LS/crx about 4 times, and each time he pulled on me in third by about 1 1/2 car lengths. I know the crx weighs like 600 lbs less than a teggy, but I dont think he should have pulled that hard. Thats why I figured something could be wrong with my vtec solenoid or something. I just noticed that he'd always pull on me at the top of the gears.

 

Umm ya he should have pulled that hard or even harder.And 138 is prolly normal for your mileage and gsr.I think its runing fine.If you just got the car, i would replace all the little things,plugs,air-filter, etc.Thats what i did and it smoothed out my idle and gave better power...

 

how do you figure out your vtec solenoid is not working properly?
the solenoid only turns on and off..
it doesnt add hp into the formula...
how is your oil level?
is the vtec kicking at the set rpm's?
when was the last tune up?

 

You're problem is not vtec... Like Mr. Beeks said - it's either on or off... You should test your compression. Maybe you have some bad rings... With those miles, you'll need a tune up as well... (ie: liquids, timing belt, valve adjustment, etc...)


EDIT: Typo - forgot 'not'


Modified by 631 Teggy at 3:05 PM 4/3/2004

 

Take your GSR for a tune-up. I honestly don't think anything is wrong. Yes its a bit lower then what normal GSR's dyno at in stock trim, but you've got a lot of miles. It could be just normal wear and tear over the years. Do your normal maintenance checkups. Always keep an eye on your oil and other then that it all seems fine.

If you want more power, then start modding

I think your fine mine, my buddy has an LS swap into his civic and he's running high 14's. Just has an intake and gutted interior. Granted its probably floating around 1900lbs or so. If you want a little extra power up top to beat that guy then just get some bolt-ons.

goodluck

In your sig it says you ran a 15 flat. I wouldn't be complaining about anything, thats a great time for a stock GSR. Also, good driving for that 2.2 60 ft. Looks like you just need a bit more power up top to peak into the 14's.

 

If you are not quit getting that power up top anymore then its possible your IAB is not opening

The idea of taking your filter cover off to hear VTEC is... well for lack of better words incorrect.

at ~4500 RPMs VTEC will engage. its a fairly simple system, it either works or it doesnt. On a GSR, if you can hear it from the drivers seat then you have awesome hearing... its basically inaudible... at around 5600 the secondary runners open ala IAB. That is what most people hear and confuse with VTEC.

You can hook up an LED to the vtec solenoid that will tell you when VTEC is on... its either fine and normal or your IAB is messed up... The IAB doesnt make that big of a difference as far as peak numbers go but it really does when you look at the dyno curves

There is a test proceedure for the IAB in the helms manual... if you dont already have one, you should get one.

 

Being that your car is of such high milage, you are probably losing a bit of compression, or have some carbon buildup thus explaining the low horsepower. Run a bottle of Seafoam through it, and then get a compression test.

As for VTEC, I'll be the next to tell you that it is either on or off. It can't kick in hard one time and then soft the next.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I brought the gzzr to a local speedshop, and one of the techs told me that it is totally normal; the crx weighs almost 500 lbs less than a gs-r, even with the LS swap, so of course it will pull hard on a stock gs-r. I will try to run that seafoam for the carbon, but I was always told that for high mileage cars, a little carbon is good, to tighten up the compression in otherwise worn cylinders. But i will try it to see what results I get

 

with all your miles you have a slight compression loss, which isnt bad, so your ok.

 

As everybody has stated, that is a low whp figure (IMHO even for a 165000k motor). My experience with my motor is when the ignition timing is off, you can lose some upper or lower hp depending on whether or not your timing is advanced or we-todd-did. I was at 10' of ign. timing and my car sucked from in the upper revs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Comp97GSR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As everybody has stated, that is a low whp figure (IMHO even for a 165000k motor). My experience with my motor is when the ignition timing is off, you can lose some upper or lower hp depending on whether or not your timing is advanced or we-todd-did. I was at 10' of ign. timing and my car sucked from in the upper revs. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Is there anything else I could use to clean the carbon besides seafoam ?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eclipse spanker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Is there anything else I could use to clean the carbon besides seafoam ?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Water in small amounts.

You might try fuel cleaner and run that through your tank.

 

Just get that Chevron Techron, run it through two full tanks in a row... Will do almost the same thing... Be carefull with the seafoam...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Eclipse spanker &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I was running my car at the races last night, and I was told by a few people there that my car is running strong, but my top end doesn't seem to be where it should be. I was just wondering; Is there anyway that I can know for sure if my vtec is functioning correctly, and at full effeciency ? I dynoed at 138 whp, ,so the hp is around where it should be for a stock GS-R ? but at 165,000 miles, do you guys think I might need to replace my vtec solenioid ? Or any other part to make sure vtec is engage with maximum potential ? </TD></TR></TABLE>


the only way to know for sure if the Vtec point is the most efficient is to change it on a dyno with a VAFC to see gains ... but since you say you have a stock gsr... why not leave your vtec point to stock setting ?

 

I/E GSR, vtec engagement, atleast on mine, was spot on perfect...