very laggy prelude in hotter weather :(

Whenever the weather outside gets warmer, my car starts to run like crap, it will hesistate off the line, or when i drive the car hard it just feels like it doesnt wanna move. Now when the weather is cold outside it drives just fine! I have a 95 prelude sr(si in the u.s.) I put an h22a motor with the stock 2.3L tranny. I run 94 octane gas, changed all the plugs and wires to ngk. Changed the dis cap and have a K&N intake. Does anyone know what could possibly be causing this besides recommending me to change some more parts and mods/upgrades to my motor? Anyone have this same problem with their own honda? thanks

Is the engine overheating. Are the fans running properly. How is the thermostat. what do you run in your radiator?

cars do slag in hotter temps. the air is hotter, less effective (especially with a cold air intake), engine runs a little hotter, and you can't change that. it could be something else to boot, but my car does the same thing. everycar i've ever owned did. people who go to the track a lot will even tell you, you run better times when it's cooler out.

yeh i also find that my car doesnt perform in the hot weather as well and i have a stock 94 prelude Si
Hey SRV Boy how much did it cost u to change the motor and was it easy to do the otha mods as well?

Are you running your AC when its running laggy? That may have something to do with it also.

Well thanks for all the replies, the engine does not overheat, the fans do run properly especially if i leave the car idiling, and I do not run the AC. Yesterday afternoon my car just sucked when i drove it, this morning I drove into work, and it was completely fine. Now i know that cars are suppose to run worse in hotter conditions, but this is bad i mite as own a dodge neon! The motor in canadian dollars costed about 2,500 installed with less than 50k so convert that into U.S. numbers lol. I do not have a cold air intake, just a K&N cone filter w/arm. I was thinking of getting one to see if it helps, i also tried using some injector cleaners and octane boosters, and none of that helped. I dunno im gonna take the car into my mechanics the next real hot day. Thanks anyways guys

My car is night and day difference between crisp cool mornings and hot afternoons.. It's generally the nature of cars in general, but I HAVE heard that one sensor (for the life of me, can't remember which one) will go bad from time to time, causing a more dramatic difference when the car's warmed up.

I'm contemplating a full blown cold air (ram) intake, I'm of the belief that once my engine heats up, all my car is sucking is the hot hot air inside under the hood. It's a scientific fact that cold air contains more oxygen molecules per square foot than hot air. More Oxygen, Better Performance.

Ok if you can somewhat throw any kind of idea as to what that sensor could be it would be much appreciated. Im thinking of getting a cold air intake as well. I think my regular K&N intake is just sucking in all the hot air from the motor. Thanks

<nod> I never liked those 'intakes', the ONLY benefit you get is a much straighter shot from the intake to the throttle body, one simple bend, but you're absolutely right, you gain nothing in 'cold air' induction... I have seen guys run dryer hose over the end of the filter and down to the front of the car somewhere to suck cold air in front of the car into the intake but you have to be careful about sucking water if you put it down low.

I'd like to fabricate a 'trans am' style box that mates up to my hood and build an intake vent into the back strip that runs across the hood and houses the windshield washer nozzles, I think you know what i'm talking about in the 3rd gens... that's going to take some work and planning and I have to figure out how to keep it from sucking rain but I think it'll make a sizable performance jump.

I'll keep my ear to the ground about that sensor... I recommend you call honda and ask if there was any common sensor that would cause warm temperature sluggishness... good luck man.

Ok thank you very much, ive heard with the cold air intakes that you can get "water by pass" so that way when it rains it doesnt suck in all the water, i think i will give honda a call, although i know most of em around here are all morons. I appreciate the response thanks!

my lude with a jdm h22 does the samething...do you also have the infamous prelude hestiation? it only occurs between 2-3k rpm and it just loses all power...feels like it's running rich. anyway, there are different solutions i've seen on a bunch of preludes but one of the big ones is the 02 sensor. that will make it run like absolute garbage. also the knock sensor is one that will go bad but will NOT throw a code. does your exhaust note change in the 2-3k range? if so, there's a good chance that it's the knock

from 2-3k my car does infact hesistate like a bitch!
So one thing that it could be is the O2 sensor or the knock sensor. Im not sure if the exhaust note changes during 2-3k. But im surprised to hear others with the h22a have the same problem. Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. Any idea how much this could cost to change?

What if i make cold air from AC to Intake
it help?

nah, I think you will have less overall net hp, but that's something I've thought of too. if that actually produced power everyone would have their A/C's connected to their intakes

I'll keep my ear to the ground about that sensor... I recommend you call honda and ask if there was any common sensor that would cause warm temperature sluggishness... good luck man.

Mass Air Flow sensor?? i've heard that one get blamed once or twice

I'm thinking 02 sensor... Honestly, I haven't even heard of a MAF on hondas.. I heard of 'em going bad on domestics all the time (mustangs and camaros), but never even heard of them popping up in honda conversations.

I think the O2 sensor/knock sensor is something that i will have looked at once i take the car to my mechanic (can't this weekend, its our long weekend here in canada) I dont think it would be the mass air flow sensor, that usually more for stangs and domestic cars. But thanks for the suggestions anyways. Thanks a lot guys

Hey guys i finally had my mechanic and another shop where i got my h22a motor put in the car. My mechanic wasnt sure what the problem was, so i took the car to the place where i got the motor installed. They told me that it was a distributor problem. The coil inside was weak. The funny thing is I supposedely already got the distributor changed from this place when i first got the motor put in, because i was having problems with it. Anyone have any clue what this could be, they did not mention anything about the O2 sensor or anything like that? thanks

Have they changed the distributor? Do you feel in improvement?

I mean, it's possible, but I worry about you taking it in the shorts on this one... it's a lot more beneficial to a shop to change the distributor than it is to change the O2 sensor...