My MY2003 S2K has experienced a real change in the VTEC operation. It used to give me a real kick at just over 5500 RPM, and now it is a gradual thing at higher RPM. I took it back to the dealer yesterday. The technician said it is VTECing properly at 6200 RPM.

He also said the car "learns" how the car is driven, and will change the characteristics based on driving patterns to optimize fuel economy.

Is this true, or is it baloney?

If it is true, can I get back the old performance by disconnecting the battery for a while to reset the engine management computer?

My car has 3,635 miles, and is purely stock except for added rear speakers and a Phatnoise hard drive in the trunk.

Thanks for any help!

John

 

By the way, the change has occurred in just the past few hundred miles.

John

 

At 3635 miles your engine is still breaking in. First things first, check you oil level and keep a very close eye on it till 10K miles. The other thing to remember is that this engine gets stronger and stronger till 15 to 20K miles and that will have an effect on how the VTEC transition is percieved.

 

Are you certain that the VTEC is engaging later? It can be difficult to tell on a stock S2000 when it kicks in, especially as you get used to the power curve.

 

gernby -

I am quite confident that it is behaving differently. It was very pronounced at first.

I'll probably just try disconnecting the battery and see if that does anything.

John

 

You can reset your ECU without disconnecting the battery. Just remove fuse #25 for 30 seconds with the ignition off.

Even still, just because VTEC is "less pronounced" doesn't mean there is anything wrong. In most cases, a smooth VTEC engagement means that you are actually getting better total performance.

 

Go to a dyno shop and they will tell you the truth on a graph!

 

its true that the ecu will adapt to driving patterns. for example, if you take your car into vtec very often, the vtec kick will be much stronger. but if you baby the motor and decide to vtec it after a week, the transition will be weaker.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by RazorV3
its true that the ecu will adapt to driving patterns.

 

How does our engine get stornger after 15-20k miles?