Ok, I have had my car for a few months now, and I am loving it! I do have one concern though, my car is feeling a little sluggish between 3k - 5k rpms. The vehicle has 21k miles on it and is up to date as far as service goes. I compared it to my friend's '03 s2k and his is a noticeable difference. I am no mechanic or expert on cars of any kind, so I have no idea what it could be. I do have a tanabe racing medallion exhaust, which I heard could hurt the power of the car a little, but I assumed not enough to tell a difference (besides, I think I felt the "sluggishnes" before I added the exhaust).

Any ideas? Any help on what I should check? Is it a possiblity that one engine was just built better from stock than the other? Thanks in advance.

 

Reset the computer. People always comment on the extra power immediately after resetting.

 

I would agree that you may want to consider an ECU reset and/or check your map sensor. I'm sure xviper will pop in with some other tips.

 

....how do you manually reset the computer? Is that possible...? I knwo you can swap chips and so forth... (which I have yet to do... thus my ignorance on the subject).

My car has had similiar issues... but they always seem to correct themselves after a couple hundred miles. I always attributed it to getting the oil changed, bad gas... or something else that could slug up the engine.

 

You can pull the ECU backup fuse or disconect your battery.

 

take a look at the air filter, change if dirty.

 

3ngin33r1 has waaaaay too much faith in me. AND BTW, you're doing a heck of a job moderating this forum.

First, the "chip" in this car CANNOT be changed or "flashed". You can put on "piggy back" components like a VAFC or replace the ECU all together with one of several aftermarket units out there but much tuning is required.
Yes, pull the "BACK UP" fuse for a minute or so to reset the ECU. Disconnecting the battery will work but you will need your radio code after and this proceedure is more for reseting other more complex issues.
There are a lot of things that can make a car feel sluggish in the rpm range being mentioned here. With 21K miles, have you changed the diff fluid or tranny fluid? The "book" does not include a tranny fluid change yet, but this wouldn't be a bad idea. And sometimes, the dealer will neglect the diff fluid change OR put the WRONG fluid in all together.
The 3K-5K rpm range is probably the "worst" place for the engine to be and is the place that is most noticeable in day to day driving. It is just below VTEC and in the area of lower speed/higher load. This is usually just after you have moved off and have just fully released the clutch. If your driving style has changed or "matured" then this is the rpm range that you will notice the most. Your clutch may have "seasoned" to the point it reacts differently. This is also the rev range that is most affected by "heat soak" and a CAI would alleviate this somewhat. If you have changed brands (or grade) of gasoline lately, this may also be reflected in what you have observed. If you got a few tanks of dirty gas, like when the gas station was near the bottom of the barrel or had just received a new load, your fuel filter may be getting clogged.
Have you kept up with your tire pressures? Again, this rpm range may accentuate any deficiencies in this area. Have you gone to a different kind of tire/wheel lately? Although less likely, do you put a bottle of fuel injector cleaner into the gas tank with every other oil change? Your injectors may be getting a wee bit cruddy and this could be partly due to the gasoline issue I just discussed.
Does this happen more when you are running the A/C? Have you checked the condition of your air filter? PCV valve?
Sorry to hit you with all these possibilities but not knowing your specific circumstances, it is very hard to pinpoint what it may be.

 

great stuff so far. I guess I will reset the ecu. Change the tranny fluid and diff fluid. I have already checked the air filter, that seems to be fine.

xviper, are you saying I should run a bottle of fuel injector cleaner through the gas?

Anyway, I will start with all this, and see if this alleviates the problem. Thanks again everyone.

 

The injector cleaner is more of a "routine" preventative maintenance thing, done at each oil change or every other oil change. If your injectors are not flowing freely due to "build up", this will not cure it. If this were the case, only an injector "clean and flush" will. This usually involves going to the dealer to have them "infuse" a strong solvent of some kind directly into your fuel rail. HOWEVER, since this is only a very small likelihood, go with the other possibilities first.

 

try tightening your throttle cable?

just an idea.

D