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After cruisng on this highway for a while I come to a light and stop. When I go I decide to floor it and take it all the way to the redline...... it was like WOW where did this power come from!?![IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG] Usually when I do that it still feels like the normal slow Civic, but for some reason it felt like it had an extra 10hp today... this has happened before, but not very often. Maybe it was the warm weather? Or intake temperature since I had been cruising for a while? Or did the ECU just decide to change something, or did the VTEC change? I wish I knew why so I could make it do that all the time.

So I'm just wondering, does anyone else see a noticeable difference in power from day to day?


And no, it wasn't downhill....

 
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lol yer on crack.... yeah weather can have some effect on hp tho....

 
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Same thing here.

If i drive slow for a while and then floor it, the car feels a lot quicker.

However if i drive it hard all day, it doesn't take off as quick...

hmmm.

 
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That must be it, I'm on crack. I guess I should do more crack because it makes my car faster??[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
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I have noticed that. I noticed the difference when I've been driving a lot. If I cruise for quite a while and the engine's pretty hot, it picks up quicker, but i just let it warm up according to the gauge, it doesn't have all it's power as it would if you drive for 15-20 mins @ 60mph.

 
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i think if you let the engine warm up pretty well, VTEC kicks in much better at certain temps.
weather plays a big role too.[IMG]i/expressions/beer_yum.gif[/IMG]

 
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i guess most of the power difference you're feeling is pretty much psychological... sorta like "feeling" the boost of power (with is barely any) from our intakes, exhaust, fake BOV or WOO WOO! whistle hehehe

 
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I notice the same thing somedays. Its strange.

I just refer to it as my cars mood. If it's in a good mood it goes... if its pissed off at me or in a bad mood, it doesn't.

 
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Its not phsycoloagisngal.... I know that because I chirped 2nd gear, and I usually can't do that. There was also a definite difference in how long it took to wind it out in 1st and 2nd. Maybe something to do with temperature, maybe intake temp was cooled because I had been straight on the highway for a while. I dunno, I wish I knew.

 
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tire-pressure might be a small factor too i guess... higher psi = bigger diameter = slower car ?

 
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It had nothing to do with tire pressure, that is a very very tiny little insignificant factor. First off, if anything my tires had slightly higher pressure created by the temperature increase of prolonged highway driving. So according to your theory my tires would then expand in diameter, making the overall gearing taller and making the car slower. My car was FASTER, so obviously that explanation is worthless.
Doesn't anyone have some useful explanation for this? Or are all of you going to continue to assume that I am crazy and this was purely phsycolongsignsical?

 
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I have never driven a car with such a wide range of variability in the power curve, the difference in power between a crisp day and a muggy hot day can be over 10 horsepower easy. You are not the only one to make this observation.

I frequently find one hour the car is an absolute dog and can't get out of its own way, the next hour the tires will be grappling for asphalt at high RPM's and the thing exhibits torque steer.

I haven't quite developed a good reason for this, but I propose that it is the ECU overreacting to the ambient conditions.

 
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I was just thinking about this today - I cruised around for a bit early this morning, taking it slow, and cringing whenever I got to a light and a Jetta 1.8T pulled up beside me (three times in a row.. what did I do to deserve that?!). Then I whipped around some slow congested traffic and was almost nailed into my seat thinking "holy SH*T! WTF!". So.. yeah...to.. umm.. sum it all up : I've noticed it too.

My dot oh-two.

 
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Too bad the ECU doesn't overreact all the time. I am hoping someone with some technical knowledge of the ECU will have an explanation (maybe someone develops a performace chip that makes like that all the time? then gas mileaeg is probably not so great).... cars are so damn complicated these days. Maybe I'll call up the dealership and see if they have any info.

 
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maybe your car is tired.......... that's a good mystery though!!

 
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freaky......my 03 did that for the first 1000 miles but its evened out.

but very strange
n8

 
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its something u get used to
but according to my butt dyno if i drive slow and then i gone it then it moves fast
if i gun it all the time.. haha its slow yooOoO!!

 
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When I'm walking and then I start running I fell like I'm going faster... weird.

 
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A lot has to do with the wheather. Second, MOST of it is all in your head. Lastly, you don't know for sure if the car is faster or slower because you haven't measured the performance with any reliable and valid method.

 
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i like this answer

 
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How weird!!! I noticed my car is the fastest when i get in and the engine is cold and when its below 50 degrees. Warmer tempature means slower vehicle i thought!

 
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maybe you're car was bored and decided to work for once

 
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well dont forget the car performs better whent he engine is cold.. kind of like the idea of the turbo.with the intercooler . ti's to keep the engine cold .

 
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I've definitely noticed this too. I think it seems its the fastest when i've been driving moderatley for just a little while and then floor it. I may be that the engine is just warmed up nicely, but not too hot yet.

 
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I've noticed this as well... I thought I was smoking crack too.. but I feel the same power difference as well. Although the temp may be a factor, I really think it's the ecu too.

 
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Some of it has to do with the weather but the biggest factor is the engine fluids. When the engine is cool the fluids will be thick, so it will be sluggish. When warm the fluids will be thin, so the pistons and **** will move with ease.

 
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Actually, I'm gonna have to agree with the people who say that whenever they do run their car hard on the freeway...

And then end up driving from stop light to stop light, the car does feels a little quicker/responsive.

Weather does play a role in it but I've noticed this night AND day. The car would be quicker at night, but even more noticable after being in WOT for a while.

Fuel also plays a role, too. Not by octane, but by the amount of gas that's in your car.

Oh yeah, I'd also like to add that I would change my oil every 3,000 miles but once I reached 3,000-3,500 miles, the car feels more responsive... and I know this because after the oil change, it feels slower and right now. I'm at 4,000 miles after the last oil change and the car feels good. The oil still looks good, so I'm not gonna change it just yet as long as it's not too dark.

Power does vary, and I want to know why.

 
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Hey Friedrice Im with you on this:

Temperature can equal differnt power cause the colder it is the more dense the charge but I am having the same problem. I do the same drive every day and one day it can be very quick and the next day slow as a dog. I even find it is different after turning the car off for 2 minutes and starting back. The bottom end torque is totally different then when I pulled in. I have tried premium, and regular gas at different places to make sure its not bad. I have tried with a friend and a stopwatch testing 0-60 times and it can show up. I tried a couple days in a row testing it and I found on an average of 5 runs a day I got almost 1 second of difference. I wish we could find a cause for this, cause its really annoying. Its almost like the map sensors on the car has a mind of its own