Most all new cars engines have an "urgency" or willingness to run. Same with my xBox. Basically, I cracked open the throttle and the engine felt strong and ready to rev. Well, this performance "halo" only lasted to about 1500 miles. Now I have to coax the engine with the throttle rather than "unleash" it. That willingness (urgency) is now gone. The mileage has not been effected nor has the idle (smooth and steady). I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed this? I thought the "new" wore offer rather quickly . . . . but there's more!

I now have a little over 2500 miles on the engine and rarely rev it past 3500 rpm. In addition, I put in a K&N air filter around a thousand miles. It seems that I may have read something here relating to air filters being oiled too much and fouling sensors. Any ideas? Am I being too AWARE of my box?

 

The mass airflow sensor might be all cheesed up, try removing it and washing off with contact cleaner and reinstalling.

 

Excessive oil can cause the problem you are experiencing. It can also turn on the service light.

 

Rev it some...

 

Yes, I read somewhere that if you baby it it will not perform like it should. Something that the computer has some kind of a memory of the way it is driven :o

 

No wonder why I have to chase mine down to drive it...its ready to go when I get out of my door.

 

About where is the mass airflow filter? Is it just past the airbox?

I will try a little more spirited driving but 60% of my time is spent between 60 and 70 mph.

TIA

 

From what I've noticed from my xB, after the break-in period the power band moves up to start at 3500 PRM. 3500-5500 is where the power's at, also where the MPG starts sucking. I have 10K+ miles on mine, no power lag here.

Also, an over-oiled K&N can jack up your MAF sensor.

 

My Box has never felt "strong" or "ready to rev". I have just over 2k on my Box now and still feels the same when I got her at 4 miles on the odometer. Maybe it's because I come from a GSR powered Civic

A new air filter should of been oiled from the box. Did you oil it as well? If so, then maybe a sensor is screwed up. If not, maybe you just need to realize you're driving an econobox / grocery getter :D

 

I had a similar problem when I took my box in for servicing when a sensor went out and my ECU had to be reset...It took about a week of driving it hard again to get it to respond to where I like it, but it got there...

However in your case I'd check on that filter and your MAF sensor being messed with because of it...

Best of luck with your box :D

DAN

 

Whats happened to you is that the vvti engine has got the memory of you driving it easy, which is what its supposed to do. If you drive it more agressivly it will have a memory for that, like mine does. I can give it a little juice and it takes off. So its all with the varable valve timing intelligence (vvti) and how you drive it.

 

Whoa, I just rolled 5k and my baby still runs like I first got it! :twisted:

 

what's best for breaking the engine in? I've been taking it easy so I don't mess up my brand new engine. Trying to keep it around or under 3500rpm. Can I drive it real hard after the first 1k miles and get the engine to respond and remember?

 

This motor doesn't even start making power until 4k rpms. If i am not mistaken the book says to shift between 4500 and 5500. From looking at some dyno sheets, if you stay under 3500 you are driving a 50 hp car.

 

i'm glad i'm not the only one who has said this. I was told by the dealer on my test drive to shift between 4000 and 5000. And i have 16000 miles now, and she's just as powerful as ever. DO you have an auto? that would explain your power loss.

 

got 13000 on mine still feels as powerful as the first day and yes I always drive it hard, yet you may also be use to the car.

 

Nice try. The difference between the stick and auto doesn't change over time, except when that clutch starts wearing out...

The dyno chart explains it so well. i hate when people say "It doesn't seem right to be driving on the freeway at 4000 rpm. If it cruised at a lower RPM, these same people would be complaining about the response lag. Being in the powerband means quicker response. I could care less about 0-60, it's 40-65 or 60-85 that is much more relevant to my daily driving and for that, the box is perfect, IMO.

 

jesus christ man, almost 83whp...

What's going on there??

doesn't seem right.. well, it could be the calibration on that dynojet they used.. they're a lil' tricky ;)

btw, I suggest you let your car warm up first before you go out and 'giddy up', that is if you're not already doing that already...

btw, 13k mi. and a more than 17months later, I still have that happy peppy lil' 1NZ-FE working fine

I dynoed 1st for a baseline at the 600mi. mark, and compared to a just recent dyno on the same dyno less than 2 months ago, I still managed to have nearly the same power curve for both tq. & hp.... except there were a few (4-5hp) gains over my 1st dyno, due to running new, hotter plugs, and 93octane.

but perhaps you should not drive it so hard all the time, maybe you've done killed the clutch already...lol

who knows, I suggest taking it in, and not saying ONE WORD about exceeding the speed limit, fast acceleration, 0-60times, anything like that, because the FIRST time that pops out of your mouth, will be the FIRST TIME the word "abuse" pops into theirs.... so keep that in mind... Trust me, my father was a Service Rep. for subaru for like 7 or 9 years or something rediculous, and I know, what TO say, and what NOT to say...lol

good luck, and sorry to hear about your misfortunes

late.

-Tylor

 

i have an auto box and if you drive like a granny,then the fuzzy logic computer willdrive like a granny too,it remembers your driving habits,mine thinks i am mario a. and glh!

 

I drove mine hard from the start. I changed the oil @ 200 miles, and still drove it hard. Changed the oil again @1500 miles, and switched over to Mobil 1, and i still drive it hard. I have no rattles, ticks, no noise at all. I am having a problem with my tires though. Lately when it rains, my tires just spin. I drive my little box like i stole it, and has given me nothing but :D the whole time. BTW .. mine is an auto tranny and has over 13K miles on it.