the past 3 days, my car feels like it gained a shitload of power. I didn't do anything, and it was feeling kinda sluggish before this. I do love vtec and all but I hate how inconsistant our cars are, I mean this feeling of incresed power would prolly mean 3 or 4 tenths of a second differnece in the 1/4. I was just cruising and I added just a touch of throttle and the tires were fighting to keep grip, and last week I couldn't even break them loose from a stand still. oh well, I'm just gonna hope it stays strong and enjoy it while it lasts. I am also happy that it warmed up a bit, less sqeaks and rattles, makes me love the car like the day I bought it.

 

The most obvious culprits are weather or gas. Outside of that it could be your car; something unusual going on where the ECU is holding it back at times.

 

Maybe your tranny hasn't been slipping as much lately?

 

I remember my CL was much more highly sensitive to temperature or humidity compared to any other cars I have owned. Why is this?

 

I noticed that too.

Puzzling how different the same car can be sometimes.

 

Ditto : this is the main reason I am getting the CT icebox in a few weeks. I think the OEM design of the air intake is so challenged that it needs a more consitent airflow to breathe correctly.

 

mine does that too....good to know its not just me...im curious to know what causes it though....

 

you know, I was in NJ getting some work done and I decided to take advantage of the gas prices. It's been a while and the tank seems to last longer than normal and the power is so pure. I guess that's why, but we'll see when I refil in NY.

 

Same thing here, sometimes she feels heavier and not as quick, but then at other times, feels like a rocket. I always use the same type (brand, octane rating, ect) of gas too, and most of the time it is from the same station. Maybe it is this winter gas shit.

 

I've only noticed the extra power during cold days, but all cars do that.

 

Ive noticed the low end torque very weak sometimes for no reason also. then once it gets at a certain rpm level it feels like the old beast again.

 

I got this saturday night as well. Just felt like it was driving on "normal" speed the whole day. Then i take it out that night and the thing felt like a totally different car. Weird.

The temps didn't really drop that much from day/night.

 

and even the magazines had times of 6.2sec to7.0sec 0-60mph times between the cl-s and tl-s when they were both being tested by the nagazines. i mean that is so broad for an auto car with the same output. I know their testing habits are different, but most other car makers have a more narrow gap by the magazines tests. I can see the cars behavior reflecting those test results, sometimes I think I would lose to a saturn in a race, and other times I feel like I can beat an e36 M3.

 

could be the humidty, its all in the temps though, thats when i feel a difference

 

As scalbert alluded to... gasoline quality and ambient air-temps are probably the most guilty culprits here.

Other than that... possibly your actuator is intermittent?!? Also... its psychological to an extent as well - sometimes if you are in a good mood, the car feels quicker!

Have you lost a lot of weight recently???

 

i feel the same way i thught my car was getting slower ...but maybe im in a bad week ..my car next week hopefully it will be an animal again .or at least feel that way

 

To put the weather changes in perspective below is an example. Lets say you wake up and go for a drive in the following conditions:

Temp: 60 F
Baro 30.1 inHg
RH: 30%

Now later on that day you go for another drive in the following conditions:

Temp: 75 F
Baro 29.9 inHg
RH: 80%

This change in conditions, although it seems minimal to you, is fairly significant. This would equate to about a 4.5% change in power which is on the verge of being noticeable.

Another factor may be the tuning done with our intake tract. The resonance effect was tuned at a certain air density; changes to the relative air density may also impact the power curve.

 

had that with my 00 TL. somedays it was so slow. id floor is from a start and the tires wouldnt even peel out. ther was about one week where it got really bad, so i just reset the ECU. then the car seemed fine

 

yeah it happens, Past cars that i have owned never had this problem as bad as my TL. I hate it on really hot days when the car goes into "limp" mode. That shit drives me nuts, i feel like I'm driving a fucking civic.

 

On my 6MT, it seems fairly consistant; a little stronger in cooler weather.

 

I can only imagine what the S/C must do when its really cold out.

 

yea there is a big difference in temp, whe i go to school in the morining the car has no problem getting to a hundred mph