chrisexv6

Recently, my 6th gen V6 coupe seems to be performing below average on the highway. Doing around 60 in 4th gear (ATX), if you give it gas, it seems to take a couple seconds to actually accelerate...........its almost like "turbo-lag" on a non-turbo car.

Ive noticed that if Im parked at idle and accelerate, the engine almost seems to go down in RPM, and THEN accelerate. It only happens intermittently, but I thought it might be a clue.

Any ideas? Car has 35K miles on it (its just out of the regular warranty, and I wanted to see if I could figure this issue out myself so I dont have to fight with the extended warranty). Going to start by replacing the air filter, but after that I figured Id get everyone elses' opinions.

Thanks!!!!
-Chris

Riva

try cleaning your throttle body using Seafoam.

chrisexv6

Forgot to mention that!!! I was thinking about doing that as well.

Would a dirty throttle body be obvious if I removed the piping to it?

Thanks!!
-Chris

Soulja

Also try resetting your ecu, and see if that helps.

DJ Scotty

Chris,

My 99 Accord V6 coupe has been slow as balls since the day I picked her up---forget about if I have the A/C on -- plus, I have a HUGE subwoofer box in my trunk, which cant help....so my car's weight may be different from yours....but this car has NO acceleration----from a dead stop, she revs to about three or four grand and hesitates and wont lurch forward; I really have to punch her to make her move----I mean PUNCH her---the specs say 200 horses from this V6; in reality, it feels like 80 horsepower. I feel your pain. Everything you describe with the RPMs acting erratically happens to my coupe; she revs up and down, searching for a gear---when she finally settles, the acceleration gets sluggish....its terrible. I dont know what people are talking about on here who also have this generation coupe and say their cars are "smoking balls off everything else on the road"....mine sure as shit doesnt do that----from the day I picked it up....

chrisexv6

No, this isnt that bad

I too have a sub box in back..........have had it since the car was two months old. What Im experiencing is not normal for my car.........and if it IS normal for yours, Id have it checked out.

The car is pretty darn quick, except with this thing going on. Even with this issue, it seems once its done "hesitating", when it "catches up" it goes nicely. Its just that Ive noticed its taking longer now to "get up and go".

Honda's OwnerLink website even mentions something like this occurring during the changeover from cold to warm weather, before the gas stations change from winterized fuel to normal. And oddly enough, up in CT its around May.........so I may hang on for a little to see what happens.

As far as resetting the ECU, I was thinking about that as well. Did wonders once for my wife's 86 Legend

-Chris

DJ Scotty

Yeah well I cant get mine to "get up and go"!

Riva

Hey Chris,

I apologize for not being more specific about the throttle body. If you remove your intake piping you should definitely see the carbon gunk inside. Use some 3M cleaner on a pipe cleaner and brush out some of that gunk. Then spray some Seafoam inside the throttle body and rev the engine while doing so. Do this for about 30 sec - 1 min. You'll see all that carbon come out of your tailpipe. Also, pour a little bit of Seafoam into your gas tank if it's about 1/2 full or less. Good luck!

98CoupeV6

That's because you're not in your powerband. Next time look at your tachometer...VTEC engagement is at 3500 RPM, and the car has no balls below that. Second gear tops out at 72MPH, but above 62 or 63 the transmission downshifts to third, leaving you at about 3200 RPM. That results in lag. The same thing happens at around 32-38 MPH. Try taking her up to 55 or 70 and then punching it

Chris

chrisexv6

No, this isnt that either trust me..............had the car for 3 years, this is the first time Ive felt this.

Its also evident at idle...........the car seems to "suck air" for a second before actually accelerating when you push on the gas. It actually doesnt happen every time, but if driving I feel that it might translate into the car having to "catch up to itself".

I understand the power band of Honda cars, because of the VTEC the low-end is really low...........but this is worse than normal. Im trying the "new fuel" idea, because they are in the middle of changing over from winterized to normal fuel up here in the Northeast, and even Honda suggested that winterized fuel during warmer temps can cause issues (and since its only recently gotten to "warmer temps" up here, its a viable solution).

If this doesnt fix it, then its onto the dealer.

-Chris