Lack of power in 4th and 5th gear

D15, D16, D17 and Mini-Me swaps
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Lack of power in 4th and 5th gear

By LeKrow
- Tue Oct 21, 2014 10:00 pm #349310 So when I'm driving along it seems the new Hatch doesn't wanna get out of its own way in fourth or fifth, but screeches into third no issues.

Background on the motor:
D16Y8 jumpered to obd1
Unknown economy tune on Hondata
Z6 Trans
Stage 2 Clutch
Lightweight flywheel
fresh complete rebuild on motor everything tightened to spec
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By teal_dx
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 1:08 pm #349322 I'm wondering if it has something to do with that tune. Everything else looks good. I'm assuming you don't have a check engine light?
For a piece of mind, I'd throw a stock P28 in and take it for a test drive to see if that solves the issue.
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By KidKRYLON
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 4:49 pm #349326 Could I take the chip out and still run? I have a spare chip so a different burn isn't out of the question
Last edited by KidKRYLON on Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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By teal_dx
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:08 pm #349327 I've never chipped an ecu personally, so I don't know the difficulty, but it seems like a lot more work soldering/unsoldering something that may or may not be the problem vs picking up a P28. Borrow one from a friend's car if possible. If you have to buy one for $100, you can sell it later on for the same.
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By KidKRYLON
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:17 pm #349328 I found an s200 box. not sure if that helps...

By jefferydclark
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 5:57 pm #349330 you can simply cut the J1 jumper and it'll go back to the stock ECU tune. although, if its running right in 3rd gear, it should be about the same in the other gears. the key is to compare 3rd gear at the same RPM as 4th and 5TH gear. 3rd will feel stronger regardless but if it appears 3rd is laggy around the same RPM that you could have some issues with the tune or the map sensor or TPS...
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By KidKRYLON
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:14 pm #349333 The car pulls hard in 1st-3rd, but feels like it falls on it's face in 4th and 5th.
Mods found on the car:
AEM CAI
Edelbrock Performer X Intake Manifold
unknown 4-2-1 Headers
Hondata s200
full 2.5" exhaust with resonator and "turbo" muffler.

By HeikDiesel
- Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:59 pm #349343 I'd sell you a p28 if you're needing one. You can't really just pull the chip out. They are either soldered in or inserted into a socket so you'd need an "oem map" chip to replace it
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By TrailerTrash
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 3:15 am #349351 are you sure you have an EX/Si trans?

I noticed a huge lack of power in 4th and 5th when i went from a stock flywheel to an 8.5lb flywheel. you loose alot of "momentum" i guess you could say. in the drivetrain

since all other gears feel fine my first thought is the higher the gear the lower the rpms and D series motors are not bottom end torque monsters

also whos thread is this? Kidkrylon or LeKrow
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By KidKRYLON
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 12:17 pm #349356 As to who's thread it's both. Both names belong to me. I was told ots a z6 trans but have yet to run the serial. It has a lightweight flywheel and stage 2 clutch if that helps, but I think you're right on on the torque. I got spoiled with the bmw and subaru torque monsters and now I make 110 torque at best.
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By teal_dx
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 2:39 pm #349363
TrailerTrash wrote:I noticed a huge lack of power in 4th and 5th when i went from a stock flywheel to an 8.5lb flywheel. you loose alot of "momentum" i guess you could say. in the drivetrain


This, especially when going up the slightest hill. After putting a light flywheel in my D16, I notice that I have to downshift to 4th more often while cruising on the highway, even on slight inclines.

By jefferydclark
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 5:54 pm #349368 at the end of the day, it is a d series and you cant expect much unless its got a turbo bigger than the engine line mine :wink:
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By suspendedHatch
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:34 pm #349374 It could very well be your tune. In 4th and 5th gears, you are moving into a higher load, lower RPM portion of the fuel and ignition maps. If you don't know what tune is on the ECU then that is something that should be addressed before anything else.

Get a stock ECU or have it properly dyno tuned.

The tune is absolutely critical, more important than any other mod. Not sure why the Honda community lags behind in understanding this. So many people are running on some random base map or ebay chip. The stock map or a dyno tune are the only acceptable options to be running on.
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By KidKRYLON
- Thu Oct 23, 2014 10:19 pm #349376 The tune is supposed to be a dyno eco tune done by alternative motorsports in Oklahoma. They built the car giving me a nice base to start from. I don't think that the tune isn't partially at fault, runs rich at idle lean a full bore, but I also don't think a stock p28 would be very happy in there.
UPDATE: It's the torque curve. As long as I stay above 3 grand it feels just as peppy in every gear. Dyno results show the same trend on the power graph. Thanks for everyone's help. 125whp, 109 ft-lbs for those interested.
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