CTSC underwhelming...?

God, this is frustrating! I took it back to the original dealership that installed the timing belt, they opened it up and looked at it and everything was correct. I had the 2nd dealership that said it was incorrectly installed go down there and look at it while it was all opened up and they all came to the conclusion that everything is fine with the timing belt. This is after they originally told me with great confidence that the timing was off by 1 tooth and had 3 technicians confirm it!

So now I'm back to square one, minus wasting a lot of time and effort, and being without my car. :mad: I'm still 20-30 hp short and no diagnosis in sight.

Sorry for ranting -- I'm just very frustrated. At this point I just want the car to be running safe for NSXPO. Maybe I'll get the chance to test drive someone elses CTSC to see what it's SUPPOSED to feel like.
 
Arshad,

My NSX will be out of the paint shop tommorrow. If you want to meet up to take mine for a run let me know.

Johnny
 
Thanks for the offer guys, but I'm hoping to ride in a similar config to mine, ie 3.0l w/ headers+exhaust so I can compare fairly.

EDIT: Having said that, I wouldn't mind taking you up on that offer Mark, just to check out what a new NSX feels like :D
 
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Arshad said:
Sorry for ranting -- I'm just very frustrated. At this point I just want the car to be running safe for NSXPO. Maybe I'll get the chance to test drive someone elses CTSC to see what it's SUPPOSED to feel like.
Click to expand...

Really sorry to hear so much frustration from something that should have been a pleasant experience all over the board... In any case, if it may help you feel better driving the car to NSXPO, you may want to consider to remove the belt temporarily so that you're NA again until they find what's wrong... good luck !
 
apapada said:
Really sorry to hear so much frustration from something that should have been a pleasant experience all over the board... In any case, if it may help you feel better driving the car to NSXPO, you may want to consider to remove the belt temporarily so that you're NA again until they find what's wrong... good luck !
Click to expand...
I don't think you can run a CTSCed car without the belt.
Steve
 
Yes.....

whiteNSXs said:
I don't think you can run a CTSCed car without the belt.
Steve
Click to expand...

.....you can.

No power obviously, but the engine will still run.

BTDT.
 
Maybe the lower than expected power increase is caused by something as simple as an airflow restriction in the intake (clogged air filter) or exhaust (clogged cats or clogged muffler). Probably a long shot but still worth checking.
 
BryanZublin said:
Maybe the lower than expected power increase is caused by something as simple as an airflow restriction in the intake (clogged air filter) or exhaust (clogged cats or clogged muffler). Probably a long shot but still worth checking.
Click to expand...

oh jeez, he'd probably jump off a cliff if he found out all this headache was cause he skimped on the yearly air filter change... :)
 
Hehe, I need to review my records but I'm pretty sure my air filter was changed less than 7000 miles ago. If there were issues with either the filter or exhaust, I would have expected them to show up on the pre-install dyno, which seemed to be in the correct range.

So here's the latest:

After they found no issue with the timing belt, they closed it all back up. The original shop wanted to re-dyno, and they measured 308rwhp now, which is up from when I dropped it off. I don't know how to explain that if nothing was done to the timing belt. It was a much colder day out, but the numbers are supposedly SAE corrected.

After the dyno, I had them also adjust my ESM again. It was at 2.918, and they bumped it up to 2.925. Driving the car, it now definitely feels stronger then when I dropped it off, and much like when I initially got it back after the ESM adjustment. It's still off from the 325 that I was hoping for (based on looking at other people's dynos with similar configs), but maybe my expectations are incorrect. I'll talk to comptech about this at NSXPO and see what they have to say. For now I'm happy with the cars 'seat of the pants' experience, but if I'm supposed to get another 10-15hp, I'll keep pushing them.

Some measurements from the dyno:

Vacuum: 18
Peak boost: 6lbs
Boost @ Redline: 5lbs
Peak RWHP: 308.1
Peak Torque: 226.7
A/F Range: 12.0-12.3

For the A/F, unfortunately I didn't see it first hand, and have no print out, this is just based on what they told me. I'm going to try and schedule another dyno either there or elsewhere so I can get an A/F printout. I'm still thinking that changing the fuel pump may be a good preventative measure, and maybe I'll install a high-flow filter as well, prior to redyno'ing. I'll probably do all this stuff post-NSXPO. Now I can finally enjoy the car for a change :D
 
Arshad,

Glad to hear the car is running properly now.

What shop did the last dyno. (DL ?)

Johnny
 
Good Deal, at least theres not a HUGE missing chunk of power! 308 at the WHEELS is nothing to sneeze at, I would imagine a Z06 after drivetrain loss is probably not to much more at the wheels. Good Luck!
 
Yeah, why don't you go run one...(a ZO6) I'm sure FOUR people in your neighborhood alone would have one. :D
 
Well, I didn't bump into a Z06, but I did bump into a '97 NSX just now which was stock except for comptech exhaust. In the first two gears it was pretty much dead even, and we didn't go beyond that. I have stock gearing in my '91 which means a tall 2nd gear, so this sort of makes sense. (I also have 17/18" wheels 215/265, which probably weigh a bit more than his stock 16/17 setup). I imagine that in third gear and higher I should be able to pull away from the 97... or should I have been pulling even in the first 2 gears?

I'm guessing that a Z06 would pull from me fairly easily right now (at least the 400hp ones anyways.. 385 might not be as bad), but I should be evenly matched with a regular C5.
 
Arshad, It's good to hear that everything is all ok with the car, I just can't can believe the amount of running around you had to do to get the car working the way is was engineered to be.

I hope that you guys have fun down at NSXPO, please post any pictures.

Bram
 
Arshad said:
Well, I didn't bump into a Z06, but I did bump into a '97 NSX just now which was stock except for comptech exhaust. In the first two gears it was pretty much dead even, and we didn't go beyond that. I have stock gearing in my '91 which means a tall 2nd gear, so this sort of makes sense. (I also have 17/18" wheels 215/265, which probably weigh a bit more than his stock 16/17 setup). I imagine that in third gear and higher I should be able to pull away from the 97... or should I have been pulling even in the first 2 gears?
Click to expand...

I think you should not have much trouble pulling on a 97 NSX even in 1st and 2nd Gear. In third you should really leave it behind.

If he has the shift @ 65 and you can pull all the way to 80 in second, you really should have left him behind in second.

Something doesn't sound right to me.

Typically I think a 97+ NSX would run a 1/4 in 13.3 @ 106.

I think you should probably be running the 1/4 in 12.8 @ 110.

Just a guess. Your results may vary ;)
 
Yes, if you could run your car at the track (1/4mile)it would be a good diagnoses of how your is powerwise.
 
I have got to say, i was thinking of getting one of these superchargers but after reading all of this and "only" getting 308hp at the wheel and not able to pull a 97 almost stock NSX i will save the cash. Don't get me wrong i like my NSX but for that kind of money on most cars you would get much more bang for your buck.

vince
 
Vince, not all CTSC installations are created equal. My '03 is putting 375 hp down at the rear wheels with the low boost kit. Of course, I also have I/H/E as well.
 
Well, I was starting to pull on him near the top end of 2nd, and I'm pretty sure if we went further I would start pulling away. One fact I forgot to mention (which only makes this even worse), is that he had a passenger as well! :( I don't know how much gas he had, but I was at 1/4 tank.

I can't wait to talk to the comptech people at NSXPO and see what they have to say about all this!
 
There is no WAY your 03 should be making nearly 70 more HP than Arshads car. At most it should be 20-25Hp.

Something is just not right.

I drove a 93 CTSC the other day with a 6-speed and 4.55 R&P. That thing was WAY faster than a stock 97.
 
If anything I am sure most of you have realized that the term "Plug and Play" when used to describe a F.I. system does not hold true. We are all basically doing the R&D for all that will come into the dark side in the future.

Armando
 
MiamieNeSeX said:
If anything I am sure most of you have realized that the term "Plug and Play" when used to describe a F.I. system does not hold true. We are all basically doing the R&D for all that will come into the dark side in the future.

Armando
Click to expand...

I think we are seeing more problems than a typical CTSC install has. I could be wrong though. I would have to agree though it is still not a true plug and play system. But, it is about as close as it gets with the NSX.
 
You are seeing more problems because there are more FI kits out there, and although Im not reffering to this particular instance, there are also more kits in the hands of less experienced tuners/installers, hence more problems less plug and play. :cool:

Armadno
 

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