My car is making about 10-15 hp less then it should. I have a new fuel filter, new plugs, gapped to spec, new wires (nology, but i did a dyno run with OEM's too, without success), new cap/rotor. My cat is not clogged. The Air filter is clean. I did a compression check. came up with 155, 155, 154, 150. seems ok to me, but i dont know, maybe its a little low. My car also runs fine, no noticable problems. Oh yeah, new o2 sensor and timing at 15 degrees. Anyone have any ideas what I should check next?

Stock compression is 178psi. Was the car warm when you did this? Try your timing at 17deg also.

yeah, the car was warm. 17 degrees wont make that much hp, but i plan to dyno tune my timing when I get the chance. Iv tried 17, havnt noticed a difference. This was a very old compression tester, I should probably try a new one.

I think you are doing the compression test wrong. It is very rare to have all the compression numbers so close to each other but all low. Usually what happens is one or two cylinders have low compression while the other two have higher or normal compression.

I don't know if what you are saying is true 92SE-R about the compression being so close. The reason why I am saying this is because my compression is like only 1-2psi. different from each other.

I think what 92SE-R is trying to say is, it isn't normal to have all the compression numbers close to being equal, AND at the same time, all be so low. For example, if all his cylinders read something like 173-178, that wouldn't be abnormal. Having all his cylinders read 150-155 doesn't seem right.

Originally posted by fastredse-r
I don't know if what you are saying is true 92SE-R about the compression being so close. The reason why I am saying this is because my compression is like only 1-2psi. different from each other.

Originally posted by 92SE-R
I think you are doing the compression test wrong. It is very rare to have all the compression numbers so close to each other but all low. Usually what happens is one or two cylinders have low compression while the other two have higher or normal compression.

I agree with Terrin. It sounds as if the throttle wasn't being held open while cranking for the comp. test.

What is the proper way to do a compression test on our cars?

DOH!!! I feel like an idiot. The Throttle wasnt being held open. I know your supposed to do that but I wasnt the one cranking the engine. Gah, time to do it again. Thanks. But if my compression comes up ok, anyone know what I should look for next? my MAF could use re grounding, but it wasnt to bad when I checked it. Would that cause me to loose that much hp?

Ok, this might be a dumb question, but exactly why do you think you're down on power? Do you have any 1/4 mile times? Dyno plots to show us?

Originally posted by MaddMatt
Dyno plots to show us?

I remember the dyno #s being low. But I cant recall what they were.

yeah, i have dyno numbers, wierd thing is my 1/4 mile time wasnt too bad. First time I dynoed I got I think around 110 hp with my AEM CAI. My 1/4 mile time was a 15.68

this maybe a dumb question, but is the engine original?

yes, its the original engine.

http://community.webshots.com/scripts/editPhotos.fcgi?action=showMyPhoto&albumID=29080106&photoID=29080439&security=XOjVaMGpcI

hopefully that pic works.

At the last se-r meet i let some se-r guys drive my car, and they too felt it was underpowerd.
They said maybe the timing is low. But i had the timing at 17*.
So we looked at the distributor, and the way it was aligned on the bracket with the screw, it looked like the ignition timing was retarded.
We pulled out a timing light and it was at 17*; so they said most likely the cam timing is off.
But even before i put in my 91 cam, it still felt slow, so this summer ill be making enough money to just swap a jdm in there and be rid of my troubles... i hope

Figuring, if i take it to the dealer to have them replace the timing chain is around 300. and this may or may not be the problem, so for a few bucks more just swap in a strong jdm engine is the path i'll take.

Ohh and by the way... check to see if thats your problem too. :)

It's not that hard to determine if your cam timing is off a tooth. What kind of dyno is it?

What is your MPH on your 1/4 mile?

Figuring, if i take it to the dealer to have them replace the timing chain is around 300.

Not a chance. Friend of mine was quoted $700 for his, and it was NOT the dealer. He just bought a JDM.