Why are EX's so slow?

Ok, I've only owned this car for a week or so but it seems to have no power... at all. Not to use the word 'power' improperly... but I had a 1994 EX Coupe and I am 110% sure that would walk all over my 1996 EX Coupe. The throttle response is junk. It feels like I'm driving an automatic. And it sounds like the motor is going to blow up at 4k with it's random hissing noises and such. But another thing. Me and a friend raced for fun... he has a stock DX 1994 Hatchback. He beat me by quite a bit and he was still pulling on me. Wtf?? Come on! He's got 102 to the crank w/o VTEC. Then a friend of mine just bought a car identical to mine only his is a 1997. He raced a friend that has a 1996 DX Hatchback... completely stock. Well, the hatch had 4 people in it including the driver and the Coupe had the driver and passenger. Well, when they raced... the hatch completely wasted the coupe. Like it was hardly a race. But the coupe at least had an intake... something mine doesn't have. He too complains that his newly purchased EX coupe cannot compare to his 1993 EX coupe. We have the same scenario and it is unlikely that our cars have the same problems... so what is with this? I'm not bashing Civic's at all... I'm a huge fan, I'm just wondering what is wrong with 96-98 EX Coupe's? Do they have an anchor in the trunk that I'm not aware of? Is OBD2 -really- that bad? Or is there something that I'm missing? You stomp on the gas and it doesn't go anywhere but in first gear, after that... no power. Even then, the 1994 still felt like it accelerated faster in 1st. And my motor only has 114k on it so it's not like it has high mileage. Unlike the DX hatch that I lost too... that thing managed to beat me with 179k on the motor... rusty as all hell and it's a 1.5L whereas mine is 1.6L. Bleh.

Annoying!

Ok, I've only owned this car for a week or so but it seems to have no power... at all. Not to use the word 'power' improperly... but I had a 1994 EX Coupe and I am 110% sure that would walk all over my 1996 EX Coupe. The throttle response is junk. It feels like I'm driving an automatic. And it sounds like the motor is going to blow up at 4k with it's random hissing noises and such. But another thing. Me and a friend raced for fun... he has a stock DX 1994 Hatchback. He beat me by quite a bit and he was still pulling on me. Wtf?? Come on! He's got 102 to the crank w/o VTEC. Then a friend of mine just bought a car identical to mine only his is a 1997. He raced a friend that has a 1996 DX Hatchback... completely stock. Well, the hatch had 4 people in it including the driver and the Coupe had the driver and passenger. Well, when they raced... the hatch completely wasted the coupe. Like it was hardly a race. But the coupe at least had an intake... something mine doesn't have. He too complains that his newly purchased EX coupe cannot compare to his 1993 EX coupe. We have the same scenario and it is unlikely that our cars have the same problems... so what is with this? I'm not bashing Civic's at all... I'm a huge fan, I'm just wondering what is wrong with 96-98 EX Coupe's? Do they have an anchor in the trunk that I'm not aware of? Is OBD2 -really- that bad? Or is there something that I'm missing? You stomp on the gas and it doesn't go anywhere but in first gear, after that... no power. Even then, the 1994 still felt like it accelerated faster in 1st. And my motor only has 114k on it so it's not like it has high mileage. Unlike the DX hatch that I lost too... that thing managed to beat me with 179k on the motor... rusty as all hell and it's a 1.5L whereas mine is 1.6L. Bleh.

Annoying!

1) They make 127 hp. Expect them to be slow
2) Don't be surprised a DX beat you. I can put a car and 1/2 on my friends EX and keep him there with my DX auto until 100, where he will start to pull. And he has an Intake. I still expect to pull down low a bit now that he has a performance exhaust.(haven't talked to him recently, so I don't know the brand)
3) The New EX's are a bit heavier than the older ones, but they also make a bit more horsepower and I think they are quicker over all. You obviosly have a problem with your car. Someone else will eventually come to help, but check to make sure there are no obstructions from the air box of the intake all the way to the manifold. New spark plugs/wires and feul injectors can SOMETIMES be the problem here due to wear and tear, and they just need to be replaced. When was the last time your oil was changed?

honda slow.... go figure?

its a cruddy little motor made to get from point A to B while running clean for 1000000000000 miles and getting great milage the vtec is just there for passing power

both cars are slow yours is heavier maybe hes better driver.

compression? maintenence? more practice driving?

i have a 98ex coupe
i have noticed that my car stuggles a lot against lesser moble and older civics.
wait my car stuggles against...

When was the last time your oil was changed?

Oil was changed less than a week ago.

Hondas are built for three things..........zero maintenance, longetivity, and gas mileage.

If you want go fast, buy something thats supposed to.........Shelby, Saleen, Corvette......do you get the picture??

hell why buy one of those when you can build a nice honda that will smoke one? just my opinion not trying to get on the wrong side of things... anyways, you said there was hissing with your engine... then there is a good possibility that you have a vaccume line off somewhere, which would greatly reduce your cars power, try finding one of those, and if not, then heres what i would do, rip that engine out, and put a new one in, not brandnew because to much $$$ but go to the salvage yard, get your replacement.

Maybe the clutch is about to get mess-up; sometimes when the car feels like it has no power it's due to the clutch wear...if not you're used to driving really fast cars

yeah had the same problem with my 96 ex got new wires and plugs runs like a champ

hell why buy one of those when you can build a nice honda that will smoke one? just my opinion not trying to get on the wrong side of things... anyways, you said there was hissing with your engine... then there is a good possibility that you have a vaccume line off somewhere, which would greatly reduce your cars power, try finding one of those, and if not, then heres what i would do, rip that engine out, and put a new one in, not brandnew because to much $$$ but go to the salvage yard, get your replacement.
If you want to play it that way and be a cheap ass, then simply go for a 5.0 mustang. It will eat anthing dollar for dollar.

Build your little 300-400fwhp civic with major work done to the engine and high maitenence or get a nice car such as a LS1 Camaro or Mustang cobra and ad a few bolt ons to run.

With your reasoning, why get a new luxury car when you can get a half decent mid 90's Camry for a fraction of the price? Just stupid logic.

first off
kill yourself

most 5.0 Rustangs are slow and dont hold any value.
and look how old the thread is

did i mention to kill yourself

first off
kill yourself

most 5.0 Rustangs are slow and dont hold any value.
and look how old the thread is

did i mention to kill yourself
That is the whole point. Please do me a favor and grip onto any bit of reality you can and realize I was responding to the person who said why bother to get a high end mustang when you can mod a cheap civic.

You proved my point by saying the 5.0 doesn't hold value meaning it is cheaper than a 4 banger civic with equal miles on the used market. One in good condition should pull the best honda you can through at it, stock for stock. They run in the upper 14 second range if they were kept up. I've seen them rape RSX Type-S' That go for $25k+ with nothing done to them.

And they respond very well to mods. You can build a $8-10k 10 second Mustang with ease. Read up on the 5.0 before you talk next time, okay?

Btw, you said drive a civic EX. You shouldn't talk. You will lose to a V6 stang.

And when you say most of them are slow, most of them are faster than most hondas. I mean, and ex runs what? 16-17 second 1/4 mile? And a Si runs what? 15.7? The 5.0 can usually run a 14.9. They are lightweight(3000lbs), make great torque, good hp, and great factory transmission setup.

I don't see why I can't post here again. I took some time off since the last time I posted in here under Rampart Crawler, which is me.

Surprisingly I have and can beat v6 pony’s( not saying I haven’t lost to them either). When we talk about the 5.0's well it has twice the engine as mine and three times the rust as my car. Well they do have another thing on my car; they also get twice the gas mileage as mine (this is because it has a bigger engine and a guy with a mullet driving it). Well, all around I would have to change my mind because if Jesus were here right now he would drive a 5.0 mustang.

Going back to 96-00 ex with no power.
What I have heard is the vtec cam lobes are smaller than the non vtec, untill the vtec kicks in at 5500. I don't know if it is true just what I heard from a mechanic with a turbo si.

yes, so they get better bottom end, and better top end w/ VTEC. that makes them faster, not slower. that is the whole basis behind variable timing.

I just thought smaller lobes means less air fuel into cylinder so not as good off the line as a non vtec. I guess i don't understand the better bottom end from smaller cam.

its more timing than air fuel consumption.

Yeah that makes sense now.

I'm still trying to figure it out too. Its timing, but less gas and air go into the cylindar as well. I guess for better mileage. once you hit vtec, the gas mileage goes down considerably.

I don't agree... I have a 96 EX, I've had it for 5 yrs. It's got 130k+ miles, stock everything and I can still chirp the tires through 3rd without much effort... Plenty of power...

The only work I've had done aside from normal tuneups was a new timing chain at 90k and replaced the oil pan after a friend said he could change the oil and ended up cross threading every bolt on the pan... (should have done it myself)

Sin City Granny

chirp the tires through third? hahahaha. thats bullshit if you're talkin about dry tar. maybe on ice.
you might be able to chirp 2nd if you have shitty tires.

dont worry about vtec too much in a sohc you can hardly even feel it...and to the guy talking about how fast 5.0s are...they arent that fast...maybe it was just the driver but my friends '94 prelude si i/h took a 5.0 that was lightly modded.

That 5.0 driver couldn't drive for shit then.

That 5.0 driver couldn't drive for shit then.

YEA thats what I thought...my mouth just dropped when he beat him...

the si lude are kinda slow i think they have the h23(non-vtec), i have always wanted to race one since the closest thing i can get to is my friends 94 sh lude (the sweet H22 vtec, that will smoke a stock 5.0 or GT rustang)

do you think a 98 ex coupe could even hang with an si lude?

that guys was right on the 5.0 mustanges holding no value, and i still think it would be cheaper to mod a cheap civic anyways and nicer looking....