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Help needed on 99 RS: 3500-4K power dip


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Hi there. I'm new here so apologies if this has alreayd been covered. Please feel free to point me to an existing thread!

 

My rig: 99 RS / manual / stock

 

My problem: Between 3500 and 4K, I'm experiencing a strange loss of power.

 

My stupid attempt to fix it: I thought it might be a glitch in the computer so I disconnected the battery for 4 hours yesterday and tried again. Well now it's worse. Where I used to lose power between 3500 and 4K, now I lose power entirely over 4K. It never comes back.

 

The pull is there at lower RPMs.

 

Any ideas?

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Nope. But this problem persisted through a recent 60K mile service, and I would need to check to be sure but I'm pretty positive they replaced the fuel filter. I'll look.

 

I spent some time driving around today trying to figure out what was going on, and the problem seems to happen within a wider range, from 3K - 4K. Right were you need it most...like when you want to blast by some old lady or get out of the way from an oncoming semi. Grrr...

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It did this from new? It started suddenly 12 days ago? What? C'mon, give out the info that leads to a diagnosis by it's very nature. Explain "what happened" and when "it" happened.

 

History. Chronicle the development of the problem. Spill it, don't be mysterious.

 

Give some info to work with man. :drunk:

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There really isn't that much more to report..sorry.

 

It's been happening for over a year. Before I disconnected the battery the power loss was annoying but I dealt with it. This new effect is like someone put a governor on my car at 4K, so I need to fix it.

 

The engine seems to operate normally in 1st and 2nd gear. The engine sounds normal revving out of gear, but loss of torque is pretty much the only indicator I have that this problem is happening. Revving the engine in my driveway produces no clues. When on the road, there is an audible difference in the rise of engine pitch when the RPM dips, as you would expect if you let off the gas slightly.

 

If normal steady acceleration in 3rd gear looked like a perfect curve, imagine a perfect transition up to 3K, a slight (20%) concave in the curve to 4K, and then a continuing normal curve above 4K.

 

I have always felt that it happened after this one time I took it to Jiffy Lube, which I don't do anymore BTW. Anyway, I watched this kid wrestle with the apparatus that goes to the air filter and ran out and showed him how to handle it. I have always been suspect that the air intake regulator somehow got messed up when he did that, but have no way to confirm or test it.

I hope this helps.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

i read in an article awhile back saying that subaru made that little hiccup on purpose to make the RSs feel like they have turbo lag some where in the 3-4k rpm range.

 

Does it loose power after 4k rpm? or does it just feel like a hiccup and then the power is back on. Have you done any kind of tune ups lately? the newer stuff (and some of the older stuff as I found out) hate cheap plug wires. you can drive it under little load and it wont bog, but when you get on it it will feel like someone threw an anchor out the back and has problems getting out of its own way.

 

Go with NGK plug wires if you do. They are the factory stuff. that cheap crap you get from the parts places will just cause you headaches. trust me on that one.

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i cant remember if they have VVT but i know in 06 the did a type of VTEC.

 

but i know what your talking about, when you unplug the VTEC it hits that VTEC map in the ecu and it dumps more fuel and changes the timing.

 

I wish i could find the article that said that subaru purposely put that hiccup in there to make it feel like turbo lag. rather then doing that, they should have just brought the damn wrxs over here.

 

but thats just my opinion. :brow:

 

I wonder if the 99 RS has variable valve timing? Sounds like exactly what happens on a Honduh if you unplug the veetak. :rolleyes:
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