Mighty

When I first got the S in February of last year it seemed pretty fast, on par with my turbo B18b Civic which ran a 14.7@100 the year before.

I drove the car all summer and the power seemed to fall off but of course this happens with cars once you get used to the power level. The car is heat sensitive so the summer temps might have had something to do with it.

In August or September I took the car to Lebanon Valley Dragway in upstate NY. I ran a 15.4@94. This was disappointing. The ET wasnt that great because Im not abusing the drivetrain but the mph should have been up close to 98 or 100 mph even with a slow start. It was only in the low 80s that day but I excused the poor performance because of the heat.

In the fall, I was showing off the car to a friend. It was in the 60s, a nice fall day and Im hotrodding it around to impress my Insight driving friend. And again I notice that the power just isnt there. I couldnt use the heat as an excuse for the poor power that day

Im looking for some advice on what to check to determine what is wrong.

This is a 2001 S2000 that I bought used with 36000 miles on it. There is a possibility that there was some prior abuse. I myself have hit the rev limiter one time but have not misshifted. The car does use a bit of oil but that seems to be common for the early S2000s.

Im looking for some advice on what to check to determine what is wrong.

Im planning on checking the compression and pulling the valve cover to look at the condition of the valve train.

Anyone else have any advice on what to check?

clawhammer

I'd check the compression.

Also, let someone else who owns an S2000 drive your car, and maybe they can tell you if it feels slow to them as well.

Wisconsin S2k

before you go running off trying to find a hidden conspiracy theory as to why you're car is losing power, you need to figure out whether it's actually losing power.

a 15.4@ 94 is a TERRIBLE run in the 1/4 mile, even in 80 degree weather. If I can pull off a 14 flat stock in 90 degree humid weather, you should be at least close to that. I'm assuming your track is at least less than 1000 feet above sea level. this tell me that it's probably your S2k driving skills that need some work.

my guess is that you're perceiving something that isn't there. you're "feeling" that your car's power is not where it should be. this is far from scientific, and actually, provides us with absolutely NOTHING to go off of in terms of helping you with said "problem".


go and dyno your car on a dynojet, preferably, and see what kind of power you put down. my bet is that your car is probably fine, but on the offchance it isn't, a dyno would be a start. you sitting here telling us you "feel" your car has lost power won't do us any good. any "advice" you're given based on that statement would be nothing but fluff.

xviper

There are some very basic things you can do yourself to ensure your car is at least mechanically OK. These should not cost you much in money, only in time.
Are you using the correct viscosity of oil?
How's the air filter?
Checked the plugs for condition and gap and function? Read them. What do they tell you? They may tell you how your fuel system and fuel injectors may be working (or not working) well and give you an idea of continuity from one cylinder to the next. The story they tell may also clue you into how the a/f is.
How's your tire pressure and condition?
Are you using good fuel?
How's the clutch? Slipping?

Getting a slow time at the drag strip may not be an indication that there is some deficiency in your car. This car is not an easy one to launch and the launch is very important in achieving a good time. Comparing your time in your turbo Civic is not necessarily valid.

Mighty

I dont really appreciate your "tone", you can go pack sand for all I care.

This is not my first time at the drag strip. Ive dragged several different cars over the years. High ETs indicate some sort of traction problem or a poor start. Usually this does not affect your MPH very much. The MPH indicates what kind of power youre making. You can make poor starts and still come out with fairly consistent MPHs. ETs are about the driver, MPH are about the car.

I already admitted that the ET is off because I babied the car off the line. After that I ran up to 9000 every shift and banged through the gears pretty good. There was no real reason for my MPH to be so low.

And I dont have "just" a feeling. I had a feeling and then I backed it up with a poor performance at the drag strip.

Whatever your personal agenda is take it elsewhere.

First time Ive posted in months and I get a stealth flaming, thanks!

Mighty

The oil is good I believe.

The air filter I havent looked at yet, thats a good idea.

I also havent pulled the plugs yet but I will for the compression check. Youre right about that its a good place to start checking.

I checked the tires at the track and they were off a bit so I put the fronts at 35 and the backs at 25 for racing.

The fuel could be in question. I normally buy gas at the cheapest place but I believe on that day I filled up on Sunoco before going to the track.

The clutch is an ACT clutch that the previous owner put in. It seems to grab fine.

Wisconsin S2k

I wasn't flaming you.

Your entire basis for loss of power is your 1/4 mile time. Sorry, but 1/4 mile is way too dependent upon driver. I have raced the same as you.... no launch, baby the car off the line, just to see how it would do. I still run 14.4-14.6 @ about 95-96mph. So your trap is about what it should be, but your ET is not. This means it's probably driver. However, you argue that ET is the driver and MPH is the car. If you really think that you are gonna trap the same at 15.4 seconds as what the car does at 13.7, then you are sorely mistaken.

Regardless, you still can't use your 1/4 mile performance as to whether or not your car is making the power it should. You need to dyno it to do that.

Repost your thread when you don't have an attitude, and you have given us some information that we can actually work with. Your 1/4 mile doesn't count, because it's far too dependent on driver and conditions.