Hello everyone! This is going to be a long post so I apologize in advance. The evo has been very near and dear to my heart and I've been checking out EvoM ever since the early evo 8 days. Anyway, my Evo 9 is acting very strange recently and no one knows what's wrong. Therefore, I am seeking your advice to help me trouble shoot and find out what's wrong with my car.

I took my Evo to a few very reputable shops here in the Bay Area (FFTEC and RBMS Auto Care) and even they couldn't figure out what's wrong with my car. The car has never been tracked, launched, abused, or anything of that nature. It was running perfectly fine (no problems whatsoever) until I let it sit for ~ 1 month in the garage because I was gone on vacation. After I got back I noticed that the battery had died and so I jump started it. Ever since then the car has not been the same and has had a significant and very noticeable lack in power (mainly torque).

Some background information - The car used to be an absolute beast. It was tuned by Sean at FFTEC who did an outstanding job and even he agreed that it's one of the fastest Evo 9's he's tuned on E85. It was making north of 400 whp and 400 wtq and was very powerful to drive. It would pull so brutally that you would be scared to go more than 1/4 throttle because the turbo would spool and throw you back and before you knew it you'd have to shift. The torque kicked in so violently that you could easily spin the wheels in 2nd and 3rd. It was one of the most powerful and brutal evo's you could imagine on E85.

The problem -- My evo is still running, however, it is no longer the brutal beast it once was. The "punch you in the face" and "instant throw you back in the seat' torque is all gone. The car seems to have gone numb. The boost gauge still reads 30 psi, however, it is significantly lacking power and torque. In reality the car drives and feels like a NA 4 banger. It's still boosting and although the gauge reads full boost, in reality, the car feels like it's making maybe ~10 psi. That's how noticeable the power loss is. And no I didn't get "used to" the power because I know how my car used to drive and how it's acting now. Before the car used to feel like a beast and I would be scared to go more than 1/4 throttle because of how aggressive the torque kicked in and threw you back and now I'm having to literally floor it to barely extract any power. That's how bad the power loss is.

I took it to FFTEC and RBMS to have them inspect the car to see what's wrong. They checked the car out and also noticed that it is having a significant loss in power. However, according to their inspection everything checks out and they cannot find anything wrong with the car.

The plugs are good (still new), piston tops dry, turbo in great condition, compression test shows even compression across all 4 cylinders, boost leak test is solid (zero leaks), wastegate actuator is working normally, MAF is good, throttle body is in good condition, couplers are good, idle is fine, exhaust system/TP in good condition, lines/hose connections are good, the FIC high flow injectors and fuel pump are in new condition, the car has no knock or CEL codes. The clutch is in good condition as well and the E85 is new as well.

I love the car and it used to be an absolute monster and drove VERY aggressively now it feels like a VTEC civic (that's how bad the power loss is). Even my buddies have noticed that the car has become very weak. What's surprising is that the shops cannot find anything wrong with the car.

What do you guys think could be going on? Have any of you encountered a similar problem? Any recommendations? I really appreciate your feedback.

Thanks!

 

What exactly did FFTEC do to check out the complaint.? Was it put on the Dyno. Those results should tell all

 

How much power is it putting down now? Have you logged a few pulls?

 

Time to pull out the laptop man and start logging pulls something doesn't sound right almost sound like it's kicking into the low octane fuel map and running some killer retarded timing does the boat still come on at the same time?.

Or is it taking longer to build the boost it could be the turbo going south or in need of a rebuild

 

Thanks for the prompt replies guys. Appreciate it!

They haven't dyno'd it yet. All they did was a physical inspection and everything checked out. I'm going to schedule an appointment with them to have them run it on the dyno and do some data logging.

Evo_Goodness - Yes it definitely feels like it's taking longer for boost to build. The car used to start spooling ~2500 and then it would ferociously throw you back. Now it slowly spools and the boost gauge will hit 30 psi but the car doesn't do anything at all except normally build power as the RPM increases. I agree it feels like it's kicking into a different map and running some weird timing. What's surprising is that the car randomly started acting like this after sitting in the garage for a month. FFTEC and RBMS did check the turbo and said it looks good. The car has 40k miles on it.

I'm going to call FFTEC tomorrow to schedule a dyno appointment. Hopefully they can get me in soon. l'll keep you guys updated.

Thanks!

 

Do you have a flex fuel sensor in the car? Could you running less then E85 and not know it due to a bad batch of fuel? Sounds like its pulling a lot if timing...etc. FFTEC should be able to figure out what's wrong with the car, you'll just have to give then time to do so. They probably just did the basic inspection and not finding anything assumed all is well. I'm sure if you give it back to them with a dyno Apointment booked, then they'll dig into it further.

 

It definitely sounds like it's kicking into a conservative timing map and from me tuning my car the only way it would do that is if 3 counts of knocksum was reported at once. To me that's what it sounds like it's doing because you are still hitting peak boost was a boost leak test performed on it or just visual inspection.
Also how do your Air to fuel ratios look is it leaning out at all or do you not have a gauge the vacuum line on the FPR like to get bridle and crack and that can cause a leaning issue

 

I don't have a flex fuel sensor. The e85 was filled up a few days ago from the same station I always go to. They did a visual check so far and couldn't find anything wrong. My AFR readings are the same as before 14-15 under idle and drop under load/acceleration. Yes we did a boost leak test and it showed no leaks. Thanks

 

might not be of any help but i had a friend with a similar problem with a sr20det 240sx. it would get to full boost and sound healthy but stupid slow like geo metro haha. ended up his fuel pressure was way high and he was running way too rich losing alott of power.

 

Update - So I called FFTEC to schedule a dyno session to do some runs and dyno mapping. I'll be taking the car in 2 weeks. They think it's most likely a mechanical issue because they said there's no way the tune could've been effected unless the ecu was reset to factory settings which isn't the case. I will keep you guys updated. If you have any more ideas as to what could be happening please chime in. Thanks!

 

I would have to pinpoint it's pulling lots of timing either it's getting to much fuel not enough fpr failing but now I'm really curious and want to know

 

Definitely keep us posted.

 

I'm also beginning to wonder if it's a fuel pressure/volume delivery related issue. The car has a Walbro 255lph High Pressure Fuel Pump with FIC 1100cc injectors tuned for my E85 set-up. Curious as to what the data logging shows. I'll post results when I get them.

 

It probably is the fuel pressure regulator. Something about the voltage. I also got similar setup and was tuned at fftec I did some upgrade with the hks turbo and e85 and they told me it needed to be replace to support the e85 or something. They suggest I change the fuel line and regulator something about fuel pump not getting enough voltage and car was not getting enough fuel which made it run lean and they needed to rewire.. Idk the full details because I was super busy. I didnt have the time and needed the car back and can't wait so Sean rewired it without changing the regulator.

 

What seems weak besides your car is the support you got from these shops.

If they were suppose to diagnosis the car, why did they not A) put it on a dyno B) log numerous points of data ?

Seems strange. There are so many places to start from, A and B would be my #1 and #2 right after a visual inspection of the obvious.

Good luck, it seems like eventually you will get those things conducted.