jackal8788

Yeah, I know it. But I'm sure not finding anything yet that could account for it. If it was plumbing on the intake side I would think it should also show up somewhere in either boost, AFR, or both.

Thanks S2. That was actually on the docket for today to see if we could isolate what cylinder (or cylinders) are suspect. I may also try flashing a few different old maps that I have just to see if there are any significant differences in performance. Eventually when I exhaust this tank of e85, I might also try running a tank of 93 octane to see how it responds on that tune.

At this point, I'm willing to entertain any thoughts at all! We did smoke-test and no leaks were present though.

I have and I also recall the issue you mentioned. In my case, they are in alignment. 100% accelerator position corresponds to 100% throttle position.

You know, as frustrating as this all is, this forum has provided a fantastic sounding board for ideas and discussion so let's keep it going. Know that I appreciate everyone's input, experience, and comments. Now for fuck's sake, let's get the Panda back to it's angry old self!

^Yeah, this! I just got off the phone with Cobb and they are also completely stumped. Even a 'soft' misfire or a few shouldn't be dropping my power by 200+ hp. That much drop should have some more severe symptoms presenting like hitching, stuttering, codes being thrown, pet's heads falling off, etc.

Yeah, that's about what I'm seeing around here too. I just wish I could isolate which one it was so I don't have to drop $400+ replacing them all, especially if I don't know for sure that they are the issue. To summarize, compression, MAF, and plugs are all good at this point, no leaks were detected on the intake side but power output has not changed. We are guessing at a possible 'soft misfire' that is not yet significant enough to throw a code but this is not confirmed. Any other thoughts on what I could check or how we could possibly further investigate the soft misfire/coil pack theory?

Still can't find anything. Air filter is clean, so is MAF but still no power. Had my life mechanic friend drive it and he is thinking maybe a soft misfire that isn't yet throwing a code, maybe a dying coil pack. However, new packs aren't cheap and without knowing which one or ones are bad, I might be dropping $400 plus and still not resolving the issue. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions related to the coil packs and diagnosing them?

None that I have come across yet. Everything looks to be in perfect order. I did notice on the nipple of my BOV (Turbosmart Kompact) that it is quite free-spinning. Is this normal? I don't remember it being able to spin freely when I installed it but my memory sucks....

No worries GT! I should have done it hot for more proper results. Just didn't get around to actually doing it until a little later her and to be honest, it never occurred to me. I was thinking 'cool' for ease of handling the plugs and working around everything.

Okay, I am feeling a little better now. It would seem that this might be normal yet for a cold engine and since all cylinders are consistent with each other and because I've had no high oil consumption (using well under a qt. at 4000 miles now). We now have good plugs and <assuming> good compression, so I will be cleaning the MAF next and then smoke-testing the intake. Any other thoughts/comments are welcome!

Thanks for the input guys. The motor was completely cold (had been sitting for about 5 hours in 55 degree weather). That being said, does it seem more likely that we might not be in complete desolation land here?

Shoot, didn't know that was considered on the low side.... Throttle plate was WOT. Not disputing the low pressure, but if it was a ringland failure, wouldn't you expect to see one cylinder a bit lower than the others? Unless all the rings are failing at the same rate....

So the compression test showed just over 100 psi in each cylinder which I think is pretty good. Surely not a sign of a major issue. Plugs also don't look bad.... The hunt continues.

I've got a catless DP bolted up to Borla (3" midpipe with 2 x 2.25" pipes at the Y) and a 3" Vibrant bottle-style resonator in the midpipe, so no cat to plug up. Not sure where else a blockage could occur?

Thanks for the comments everyone. I'll chime in with what I can. The WGDC being lower on the 'low power' log doesn't surprise me. That was one of the adjustments made to my current map when I started having overboost issues. We resolved with lower WGDC and porting the WG. We also leaned out the fuel very slightly as it was previously running in the low - mid 10s under WOT. Now AFRs are 11.0 - 11.1 (since I'm on e85, these aren't the true ratios) so that may have something to do with the reduced IDC or maybe the IDCs are lower simply because, for whatever reason, I'm not pulling as much air in. Interesting point about the A/F Learning. Maybe one of the tuners will chime in here - does that value really mean anything when you are in open-loop and WOT? What just seems so odd about all of this is that on my wideband I don't ever see 'abnormal' conditions. In closed loop, I'm around 14.3 - 14.9. Under throttle, it will drop accordingly until it reaches ~11 under WOT. The car isn't hitchy or jerky, it doesn't idle poorly, no white or blue smoke in the exhaust. Just bad fuel economy and not much power. fahr_side, how can I tell if the TGVs are fully opened? Appreciate everyone's input and help with this!

Having a little Google trouble right now, but here are the two datalogs for anyone who's interested3rd Gear no power.csv Stage 3 E85.csv

Just for the heck of it, I snagged a short datalog on my way home from work tonight and compared it against a log that I took shortly after my original stage 3 tune. I had to re-install Virtual Dyno so some of the settings may not be correct, but as a way to at least get some more quantitative picture of the output, this paints a pretty significant (albeit depressing) picture. I also checked my DAM again tonight and it is now at 0.9. I haven't had a chance to do the plugs and the compression test yet - planning to do it Wednesday. All that said though, I'm starting to become more concerned that this is a bigger issue than just plugs. Anyone want to reassure me or offer other possible thoughts...please??

Let's just say the WRX is an appropriate car for her and she pulls it off well for a 31-year-old mom Yeah, that was kind of my wake-up call as well because we've played a little tag in the past and I've never had trouble just walking away from her. She hasn't done anything to it yet because of the warranty so something has to be up. I'm hoping with a clean MAF and some new plugs things will be back to normal. I have noticed my fuel economy has been worse now than ever before but with no change in oil consumption, I'm hoping this is just the plugs. #fingerscrossed

Always appreciate the discussion that gets generated with these questions! To the questions: - No, no data yet to support my feeling but I was not able to keep up with my friend in her 2015 WRX two weeks ago when we got on the highway ramp. She was pulling away pretty significantly and when she first got her car (not long after I had my e85 tune), it wasn't even a contest. - Running ID1000 injectors and DW300 FP - There is indeed winter blend e85 as others have stated and it has a lower ethanol content to help with starting and even that blend starts hard. However, my trusty ethanol tester verified that my last tank was still at 83% ethanol so at that time, they hadn't switched over. I can also see on my wideband when they switch as the car will run richer for 20 or 30 minutes until it adjusts to the reduced ethanol content. Anyway, much thanks for everything so far - please keep it coming!

Possibly. I have seem my fuel economy drop as well. I have seem pretty normal fuel pressure even with my fuel pump at only 60% duty cycle - I wonder if the injector was stuck open if I would see reduced fuel pressure (or a higher fuel pump DC to compensate) and possibly more rich conditions on my wideband? I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary in terms of my AFRs.

E85

Yeah, timing is good and DAM is at 1.0. That was actually the first thing I checked though - thanks!

Thanks s2. I don't think it's the clutch yet - had a few other cars with slipping clutches and it was pretty noticeable when the RPM's started climbing without direct response from the car. I haven't seen that yet but when I grab my datalogs, I can look at the plots to make sure there aren't any spots where RPM's climb without a matching response from the speed.

So in last couple weeks, the car has felt a little down on power. I need to grab a couple datalogs and feed them to Virtual Dyno (or maybe get back on the real dyno) but I am confident that it isn't pulling like it used to and it seems that this has been a slow degradation as it kind of snuck up on me. I will be pulling and checking my plugs and also performing a compression test. Curious if anyone has other thoughts on what I may want to look for. There is not a significant amount of oil consumption, no boost leaks, I'm not running lean. Just don't quite have the same pull. It especially seems underwhelming at 4k - redline. I know that's where our torque curves drop off anyway, but this isn't how the car used to feel. As always, appreciate the advice.