My car is feeling sluggish...

[rayDC2R]

Gday all!

I have felt my car (DC2R) is feeling sluggish lately. I didn't take too much notice of it until someone else drove my car and said it felt sluggish and questioned me why that was... So now I know its not just me. It still revs out to redline, still VTECs, etc. but just feels a bit "slower" than usual.

I first felt the sluggishness after I changed my car battery about 2 months ago. Mods: Intake, header, high flow cat, exhaust, Power FC.

I got the ECU tuned around start of the year maybe. It was good back then and did not feel sluggish.

I've also had an issue with my cat for a while now. Its been rattling for maybe a year. At first it was just the heatshield but that was pulled off and rattling stopped for a month but then came back, but not as loud. I've been too lazy to get it looked it, but I got my ECU tuned while it was rattling and the tune was fine.

I also got a major service done on my car maybe a month ago but it didn't make a difference to the sluggishness. I'm sure they changed fuel filter, and whatever other things get done during a major.

So basically, the sluggishness seems to have happened only after changing my battery about 2 months ago. My question is: will having no power to a Power FC have any effects to its memory and the tune?

My other thought is that maybe the cat has finally almost carked it and is affecting my car revving? Can a cat make a car feel sluggish?

[DC2R]

The power FC will be fine if you disconnect the power.

[Flippit]

maybe your cat is starting to collapse therefore affecting the 'breathing' of your car!?

[cordz]

when you disconnected the battery maybe it reset the ecu? Should be more specific with your definition of sluggish:

i.e vtec engagement feels like its does when the coolant temp is cold (like on start-up) and the ecu is holding back the power to protect the engine

[Flippit]

when you disconnected the battery maybe it reset the ecu? Should be more specific with your definition of sluggish:

i.e vtec engagement feels like its does when the coolant temp is cold (like on start-up) and the ecu is holding back the power to protect the engine

Don't think thats possible though as when you tune an ecu it permantely BURNS the image onto the ecu.

[rayDC2R]

Yeah I thought the ECU should hold its tune even after disconnecting for a long time. So I came down to possibly the cat causing breathing problems as Flippit agreed with me on... But will it affect it to the point of being sluggish?

When I say sluggish, I mean it seems to not rev as quickly as when I first got the tune. Again, I'm thinking the tune shouldn't be affected by anything...

Any other ideas before I get my cat replaced?

[hello]

Yeah I thought the ECU should hold its tune even after disconnecting for a long time. So I came down to possibly the cat causing breathing problems as Flippit agreed with me on... But will it affect it to the point of being sluggish?

When I say sluggish, I mean it seems to not rev as quickly as when I first got the tune. Again, I'm thinking the tune shouldn't be affected by anything...

Any other ideas before I get my cat replaced?

you have a look at it before you replace it.
if it looks like this, you dont need to replace it.

[Flippit]

My mates n14 sss started feeling sluggish, slowly slowly it would rev slower, was quieter and when foot was flat it got to the point where it wouldnt gain speed. ended up being as suspected a collapsed cat!

[T-BaGGeR]

I had a cat collapse on me on my old car and it ran like shit. Try put your hand close to the exhaust tail pipe and get someone to rev it. Feel if the gases are flowing through.

[ChargeR]

Maybe your cat is starting to collapse therefore affecting the 'breathing' of your car!?

I think this is possible too, this happened on my DC5R and it was worth 10kW at the wheels power loss. The cat was only partially collapsed too, and it did make a distinctive rattly noise. I would take your cat out and have a close look through it, since it is an easy thing to rule out.

Resonators and mufflers can collapse on the inside too, but this is a lot less likely.

[DC2RKID]

cat for sure!! i had same problem with my car... and then i "modified" my cat and the car is a rocket now!

[Flippit]

cat for sure!! i had same problem with my car... and then i "modified" my cat and the car is a rocket now!

LOL. Smelly car would be now!

[MYDC5R]

probably gutted it i bet lol

[Karl]

There not hard to take out.. You can also buy cleaner's for them... Have you checked your intake.. Maybe you intake filter's badly clogged some how.. Also check spark plug leads and the spark plugs..... If the leads have internally snapped inside it will arc inside the lead then also at the spark plug.. This will make the spark at the spark plugs piss weak.. And can cause misfiring!!! Seen this 1st hand... Check leads with a resistance tester.. They should all read 0 ohms or very close to..

[rayDC2R]

My car has smelt bad for a while now and I was assuming it was because the cat was rattling and not doing its job anymore... So may as well gut it for a quick temp fix to see if that works? Then replace when I have the money...

Yeah my intake was cleaned not too long ago and I also had a major service about a month ago as I said... The iridium spark plugs are only about 60k old... If the cat 'trick' doesn't work then I will move on to checking the spark plugs and leads... Thanks for that suggestion!