DOHC_Side

my car put down 192.6 hp to the wheels...now thats what a stock s2k puts down right? well mines not stock...
MODS: CAI, big bore tb, megan header, test pipe, catback, hondata intake mani gasket medallion cat back. NO TUNE.

so i was told that maybe my compression is low so today i did a compression test and the results are... #1. 225 #2. 220 #3. 235 #4. 220...thos are all good numers from what i have read...

does any1 have any advice on y my cars power is still at stock?

mxt_77

What do stock S2000s put down under the same conditions on the same dyno at the same shop?

Numbers are just numbers unless you have a baseline to compare them to.

Same w/ the compression. The test equipment, the test technique and the ambient conditions can affect your numbers. Yours are pretty consistent across the board, so they're probably fine.

marcucci

Those numbers aren't that good. A stock S2k should blow 230 pretty easily. It should also put down 200whp. An older one will put down more, maybe 210whp, after higher miles and carbon buildup.

AFAIK your mods aren't going to make a huge difference, though I would suspect if the motor were healthy, with those mods, you might see an extra 10whp or so. You should definitely be over the 200WHP mark.

I would suspect that #2 and #4 have some slight issues that are accounting for the power. Maybe #1 as well.

You need to do a leakdown test. That will tell you where the power is going.

00-01's and some early 02's had an issue with the oil bolts (piston sprayer bolts). This issue caused an early demise of a bunch of engines, especially if run low on oil. The 02+ can still suffer from low oiling under heavy lateral loads (like road racing) but you've got to be at least a quart low, or more. It also generally happens on #4 first.

The most likely culprit would be slightly bent and/or worn valves. I've seen it more on higher mile engines now. A leakdown will pinpoint this.

Another failure I've seen recently is of the knock sensor. This is usually evidenced by random misfire codes. I suspect it starts with a mild knock detection that the ECU won't flag a CEL for, though.

LMK if you want me to take a look at it. I do all my diagnoses that don't require (much) wrench turning for free.

marcucci

WRT Marcus' post, I would normally agree, but this is below what I think is right even for a lower dyno reading on a hot day. Those compression numbers also fall outside or are right on my "10 psi comfort zone" I normally consider.

All that said, you've got to crank the engine for almost 10 seconds on each cylinder to be sure you get a good reading. Having all the plugs out and holding the throttle wide open during the test also helps to improve consistency. I'd suggest checking a known good s2k first.

If you've not done a valve adjustment... it would be wise. It rarely fixes things unless some head work was done (without a valve adjust being done) but you might be the outlier, who knows.

DOHC_Side

well i have had a valve adj...u did it lol...and how much would u charg me to do a leak down test...

more info on car: its an 02 has just under 62k miles always use full syn valvoline oil has ngk spark plugs....anything eles u need to know that might help let me know...

marcucci

Sorry, seen a lot of cars lately.

No charge for a leakdown. They usually give people bad news, I hate charging people for that!

Do you know how much oil it uses every xxxx miles? How often do you check it?

Are you sure the car wasn't boosted before you had it?

DOHC_Side

my cars is good on oil it burns maybe a half a quart in between oil changes...as far as boosted i doubt it i bought it when it had 36000 miles off a Porsche lot the owner before me traded it in for a Porsche...now im not 100% sure that it wasnt boosted before but when i got the car it was 100% stock...i really mean 100% not even shift knob or after market radio...

so when could u do the test and how long will it take?

CosmosMpower

192 whp might be a tad low but not too bad. Which dyno did you use, was it calibrated? If you used something like a mustang dyno your 192 is probably really more like 205 whp. The mods you have don't really add much hp if any especially if it's not tuned to take advantage.

madsedan

The peak number of compression aren't as important as how close they are, within 5 % of the average is good. There are way too many variables to say that your compression should be XXX or whatever.
If all 4 cylinders were low by a little bit, which would be very strange, you'd have lower hp numbers.
Could be the dyno was slightly out of calibration, just being off a little bit could cause readings to be off 10-15 hp easily.
This is just my experience based on BMW tuning, I'm not as up to snuff on s2k's but I think its universal info.
All that said, on a small displacement, high compression motor like ours not having a tune with all of that stuff bolted on it could be your problem.
What was your AF ratio and how was it checked, that'll tell loads more info than our guessing, if the factory computer is defaulting to run rich due to how much you opened up the intake and exhaust than you'll be way rich and down on power, lean it out with a tune and you could find 10-15 hp real quick.
But, again, I'm no expert on these cars.

marcucci

My comments are based on 20 years experience with Hondas, and 10 years experience w/S2k's. I won't admit to knowing everything but I speak w/confidence on comp test numbers.

That said, the test is only as good as the tester and person conducting the test (i.e. the procedure).

As for dyno numbers, I know they vary from dyno to dyno, and again, the numbers are only as good as the calibration. I may not have seen enough dynos but this would be the lowest numbers I had seen for a stock S2k yet. With the mods I would not expect much whp increase, but I would expect a couple. The cat alone is usually worth a couple of whp on the very top end. I see now you didn't mention what catback, if the header and TP and catback are mismatched that can affect HP.

But I still don't like those comp test numbers.

For this, I'd be available any week day from about 9a to 1p.