power loss

[Torry Skurski]

Most of you already know the story.  But here it is again, with an
update:

Last weekend I installed a Hotshot Header on my spec V.  So I took it to
a dyno on Thursday to see my gains.  What happened was shocking.  I
dyno'd 145.9 HP and 154.9 lb-ft of torque.  That is with a JWT pop, VRS
exhaust, Hotshot Header, and removed balance shafts.

The really bad thing was that the dyno place laid that graph on top of
my last dyno run.  My last dyno run was with a JWT pop and VRS exhaust.
On that run, I put down 148.2 HP and 158.1 lb-ft.  So with the removed
balance shafts and header, I LOST HP and torque.  Something is defiantly
wrong.

I think something has been getting worse and worse since I've had the
car.  My original dyno run when stock was 143.3 HP and 155.6 lb-ft of
torque.  So my initial gains from intake and exhaust weren't that big,
but I didn't think it was too bad.  But now, with the current mods, it's
obvious something is wrong.

My theory was that the fuel pressure regulator was bad.  So today I went
to check the fuel pressure.  So my first question is, does anybody know
how in the hell to disconnect the fuel line from the fuel rail?  It has
some type of weird clip that, according to the service manual, requires
some special dealer tool to remove.  Well, I hate dealer tools, so is
there any other way to get it off?

Because I couldn't get the fuel line off to check the pressure, I
decided I would try a different method.  My brother also owns a spec V,
so I swapped fuel pump assemblies with him.  That includes the pump,
fuel filter, and fuel pressure regulator.  I was praying that my car
would feel much quicker, thinking this would be the problem.  Well, it
didn't make a difference.  And it didn't make my brother's car feel any
slower either :(  So now I don't know what to do.

I'm looking for suggestions on what else to try.  Some things to note
are the following:

Since about March I have been experiencing problems when starting.  The
car cranks excessively when starting some times.  Almost as if the fuel
line is not pressurized.  I do not know if swapping the fuel pump
assembly changes this, as it has only been swapped for about 2 hours.  I
will find out later this week.

I have also been trying to install an RPM switch to change the opening
time of the intake runners.  This switch was not in my car last time I
dyno'd, but it was this time.  The way I have it hooked up is it is
spliced into the main power, ground, and crank pos sensor wires going
into the ECU.  The VIAS wire between the ECU and the VIAS solenoid is
cut, and the switch wire from the RPM switch is connected to the VIAS
wire on the solenoid side.

The O2 sensor has been relocated to after the secondary cat.  I have no
MIL codes.

Also, a glass pack was added between the downstream O2 sensor (now
located after the secondary cat) and the muffler to make the car
quieter.  The glass pack is straight through.

Those are the absolute ONLY things I can think of that have changed on
my car.  If anybody has *any* suggestions at all of what to try next,
please let me know.