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SLOW Cali car.

2K views 24 replies 10 participants last post by  NeonPinHead 
#1 ·
We have a 91 Civic DX hatch with Cali emissions.
It's considerably slower than our other 1.5L cars (we had an 88 and an 89 DX Hatch previously).
especially if you turn on the a/c, it's like hitting a wall, you can floor it in third and it makes no difference whatsoever. :p

It's got 200k on it, and it burns a little oil, and the mileage is not what the others were, (32-34 mpg average) but is otherwise very reliable. the timing was advanced a LOT when we got it, and it was pinging really hard. we backed it off to where it should be, and the pinging was better, but it was even slower. now we run it slightly advanced, and just deal with a little ping every now and then.

for giggles, we swapped in the ECU out of an 88 CRX DX 49-state car we had for a bit. throttle response was better, but it smelled rich and even backfired a few times. gas mileage got worse, so we switched back to the orig. ecu.

what other differences are there with a cali emissions car? what can we do to make this run like a non-cali car, and is it possible there's more going on?
 
#9 ·
but there has to be a difference!! what gives a california emissions car california emissions? it must be more than programming...

it's definitely a swap candidate, it's in the cards. must work on the racecar first. in the meantime...

no, no codes. it's just really slow and has been since we got it. we sort of got used to it, and then when we picked up the 90 CRX DX hatch for our friend, we got a back-to-back comparison. i've got plenty of spare bits around, i was was hoping to throw some parts at it. putting the 88 ECU (still a pm5) in it made a noticeable difference in throttle response. butt-dyno said 'wow.' but it was still a dog, and running so rich... we're thinking maybe different injector size, and the 49-state car was throwing more fuel at it?

re: FPR - silly question, is the dual-point FPR different from the multi-point?
 
#12 ·
okay. maybe i should back up.

i've had FIVE (5) healthy running/driving 1.5L Cars of this generation. The one in question i assume has california emissions, as it was originally built for sale in california, and sold in california when new (we have the window sticker). since California has a more strict emissions requirement, i assume there is different equipment on this vehicle to make it meet those requirements. at the very minimum automative had an EGR valve the others didn't, it says so right in the owner's manual.

also since this car is considerably (quite obviously) slower than the other four cars, i assume that the additional/different equipment on the car is what is making it so slow.
it really cannot get out of it's own way. despite this, it runs quite happily, idles well, is very reliable, and otherwise does not have any drivability issues.

the difference is night and day. and the only physical difference is a bunch of stickers?

are my assumptions incorrect?
 
#14 ·
what other differences are there with a cali emissions car? what can we do to make this run like a non-cali car, and is it possible there's more going on?

Catalytic converter, camshaft, O2 sensor..... These are all different between both and most likely the parts that will make the most difference in how they both run, with their respected ecm....
 
#15 ·
ouchie. cam, huh?

i figured the cat was different, but it may not have the OE cat anymore, i don't know. we got a packet of stuff from the orig owner.

anyhoo. that's the kind of answer i was hoping for. i guess we need to do some more research on what else to put in the hole.
 
#17 ·
Due to EGR shit I'm still thinking sludge... How does the top and bottom end look?
this is also very possible. when we had the valve cover off to do the t-belt and water pump it looked a little gunky.

we were only recently inspired to actually investigate the lack of performance of this car.

any OGs on here remember the details of "the ATF trick" ;)
we're going out of town this weekend, might be a good time to fog the mosquitos.
 
#18 ·
well believe whatever you want, obviously no one can talk you out of this. Ignorance is bliss. the only 92-95 civic that came with an EGR setup would be the VX( I could confirm this but the manual is in the garage downstairs), and it isn't the slowest motor compared to the CX. It came with Vtec-E. the intake manifold looks like this...



If this is the case either way you have the wrong setup for the car and that's most likely the problem. what are the block, intake manifold, and head codes?
 
#19 · (Edited)
Ignorance is bliss. the only 92-95 civic ...
snip

It's actually a 90.

i wish my intake manifold looked like that.

If this is the case either way you have the wrong setup for the car and that's most likely the problem. what are the block, intake manifold, and head codes?
it's a completely stock d15b2. it's never been apart.
 
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