6100rpm = car falling on face please help!

[cua0]

i just bought this car, it's a 92 TSi AWD with a JDM swap (otherwise bone stock.) its got the cyclone manifold but it's not hooked up.
anyways here's the scoop, as soon as i get to 5800 or 6100 rpm the car stutters and acts like its running out of fuel. i replaced the plugs and wires and the ones i took out looked like they were running a bit lean on cyl #1 and cyl #4. so I'm pretty sure it's being starved of fuel, but I'm not sure why, all the vacuum lines seem to be in order, aside from the emissions stuff that is omitted because of the JDM components.
i was concerned that i was overboosting and leaning out because the stock components couldn't handle the added air and properly trim fuel, but i tried lugging the car into 4th and building boost from 1500rpm to redline, it built full boost and had no stutter or issue until ~6000rpm

the car has 287k kms on it and the motor supposed to have sub 100k on it. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem before and what fixed it if they did.

otherwise I'll end up spending a fortune replacing potentially good parts hunting a gremlin on a vehicle I'm otherwise unfamiliar with (i just picked it up this weekend)

my next step is replacing the fuel filter, and if that doesn't work I'm going to swap out my injectors with my civic because i know they work. if that doesn't solve it then I'll replace the fuel pump. beyond that I'm totally mystified as to what would be causing this otherwise very mechanically sound vehicle to fall on its face at such a high rpm.

any help would be more than appreciated

--Brent

 

[IMMORTALSPYDER]

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure your civic injectors won't work. Even if they did then I doubt they'll flow enough fuel. Give us some specs on them. You also need to know whether they're low or high impedance.

 

[cua0]

sorry, i'm using a set of flow matched blue tops in my civic. it's a popular upgrade for turbo'd honda's.

 

[rgurleyjr81]

What kind of exhaust do you have on the car? I had similiar problems one time and it turned out my cat was clogged up. Just an idea of what it could be. I'm wondering if your ecu is pulling timing due to knock, too bad you can't get some logs of it.

 

[put2gether]

If the Honda injectors aren't at least 450cc, they will be too small.... if they are larger you will need a fuel tuning device, and a logger.

You say the car has a stock engine swap... but is everything else on the car stock? Stock turbo, exhaust, etc.? How much boost are you running?

 

[ACKERSON]

He's saying he has dsm 450's in his honda. But its probably not the injectors because it's very unlikely they would have a problem at a specific rpm. You need to get a datalogger and do some datalogging to see whats going on. What mods do you have, how much boost are you running?

 

[cua0]

yeah, the civic injectors are DSM 450cc blue tops that were flow matched.

the exhaust looks to be very stock. this weekend i think i will take it out to the shop and throw on a test pipe, fix the turbo drain line and figure out where the hell coolant is seeping from.

running whatever boost the stock ecu sees fit i assume, from what I've heard the stock boost gauge is based on the MAF sensor readings so its most likely way off. either way i can build boost to about .75bar maybe a little more. not quite 1.0 on the stock gauge. i may try to find a boost gauge at the shop and throw on just to see.

no mods other than the engine swap.

i would love to do some datalogging to find out what the hell is going on, but i don't want to invest in any sort of mods for this car yet. the civic is the toy, the talon is going to be my winter car for now.



so far for ideas of what could be causing it and suggestions from people are:
plugged cat.
overboosting.
fuel filter.


the fuel filter is really quite pricey ($70) so i will do everything else first and then swap the fuel filter. probably a good idea to do that anyways.


any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated meantime though.

thanks a lot so far.

 

[ACKERSON]

It's probably not the cat since its rpm related. Could be overboosting. You really need a datalogger to see whats going on.

 

[vtracer20]

fuel filter for 70 bucks...damn...where the hell do u buy ur filters...there like 15-20 bucks here for a stock filter here...anywyas...u gotta get ur self a logger...that would really give u alot of information what the engine is doing expecially at higher rpms if everything seems okay till 6k.

 

[cua0]

yeah $67 and my brother in law works at the dealership. is there a place i can order one online? all the places i've seen sell fuel pumps and fuel pressure regulators but no filters. i guess i'll have to check at autovalue/canadian tire/etc.
i live in central alberta canada. could explain the price difference? i dunno.


I'd love to read more on the dataloggers, haven't seen much info about them. (i have only been reading the newbie forum and FAQ's so far.)
could you link me to more info about them if you chance to reply to this thread again? (i saw a palm logger, is there one that hooks to a laptop? i already have a laptop for tuning the civic so i'm fairly versed in tuning and such.)

thanks again guys! i really do appreciate it.

 

[Maestr0]

Fuel filters are availible at most auto parts stores. I haven't bought one lately however, so I couldn't tell you how much they are

 

[cua0]

well, i'm still waiting for northwest motors to call me back about having the transfer case fixed.
the car is pissing oil out of the rear diff seal, front diff seal, and oil pan area. (guy i bought it off said the return line for the turbo was leaky, i hope he's right but when i had it on the hoist it didn't look like the return line, looked like either the pan gasket or a cracked oil pan. i sure hope it's not the pan.)
also during the safety inspection we found that the drivers side ball joint needs to be replaced as well.
hrm, i was kinda hoping the car was mechanically sound when i bought it. i wouldn't have bought it had i known it was going to be this much of a hassle to get it on the road.

 

[i'm boosted]

Before you start throwing money at the car you need a logger. What you are experiencing could be knock. So much knock that the timing is getting pulled to the point the car loses power in attempts to save the motor.

 

[cua0]

yeah the only money i'm throwing at it is maintenance that needs to be done before i can drive it even to do logging.
i might see if the dealership will check my timing for me while they have it this friday.

 

[Flavor-DSM]

Before you start throwing money at the car you need a logger. What you are experiencing could be knock. So much knock that the timing is getting pulled to the point the car loses power in attempts to save the motor.

I'm kindof in the same boat as well.. my car runs great up until around 5000 RPM then it just like it shuts off and doesnt continue to go any higher.. I'm very new to DSMs and after reading this I'm planning on getting a datalogger to see if im knocking.. but until then is there any way I can tell if knocking is the problem? If i do find out that knocking is the problem to where my car wont go past 5000 in gear..and.. How exactly do I fix the problem (if it is knocking)? we have recently put a new head gasget, timing belt, valves and seals, ISC, water pump, new plugs/wires.. Everything is running well (as i can see) but it just wont go past 5k RPM .. Sorry for the terribly newb question and i truely appreciate all information you can give me. Thank you all very much for the wisdom.

 

[cua0]

I'm kindof in the same boat as well.. my car runs great up until around 5000 RPM then it just like it shuts off and doesnt continue to go any higher.. I'm very new to DSMs and after reading this I'm planning on getting a datalogger to see if im knocking.. but until then is there any way I can tell if knocking is the problem? If i do find out that knocking is the problem to where my car wont go past 5000 in gear..and.. How exactly do I fix the problem (if it is knocking)? we have recently put a new head gasget, timing belt, valves and seals, ISC, water pump, new plugs/wires.. Everything is running well (as i can see) but it just wont go past 5k RPM .. Sorry for the terribly newb question and i truely appreciate all information you can give me. Thank you all very much for the wisdom.

did you set your timing according to the 1000.Q ?

 

[Flavor-DSM]

did you set your timing according to the 1000.Q ?

Timed it according to Chilton. It did it before we put the new valves in and the timing belt ect.. as well..so im kinda lost on what to do.. I guess i will just wait till i get my data logger.. I'll be ordering it here shortly.. so i guess i'll find out within the next week .. if you got any more info dont be afraid to pass it my way im learning every day when i get on this forum