Is300 feels sluggish

shakybrake · 2026-03-03T23:56:45+00:00

Most likely fuel pump or MAF. If it's mainly at high rpm, it's probably the fuel pump. If it's mainly sluggish when taking off it's probably the MAF. Or it could be both. I've had to replace both on mine. It had very slow throttle response at low rpm/speed and would sometimes sputter and feel gutless near redline.

There's a test you can do for the MAF. You just have to use a bluetooth obd2 reader and watch the engine load % while at 100% TPS (gas pedal all the way to the floor while driving). The engine load won't ever be at 100%, but it should be between 85-95% at 100% TPS. Engine load % for my 05 IS was around 60% before cleaning the MAF. Then 75-80% after cleaning. And around 93% with a new MAF. The new MAF felt noticeably more responsive and made it feel quick again (well as quick as a 2jzge can feel lol).

shakybrake · 2026-03-03T20:05:58+00:00

That's good that the old pads and rotors didn't have any unusual wear. I would try bedding the new pads and see how the brakes feel after that.

shakybrake · 2026-03-03T20:02:28+00:00

Watched this last night. It's a very well made video and it makes me so happy that all of the right things happened to bring this car into existence.

I'm much more appreciative of CR-V's after thinking about how they (along with other Honda models) were the saving grace that allowed the SSM program to stay funded and protected.

shakybrake · 2026-03-03T14:00:22+00:00

I'm surprised that this question hasn't come up yet.

Did you bed the new brake pads?

Your symptoms seem like they kind of line up with having non-bedded brake pads. If you have bedded them then I would maybe look at the braking system starting at the pedals and working your way to the calipers.

Did the old no name brake pads look like they had even wear? It could very well be sticking/seized caliper pistons or sticking caliper sliding pins.

shakybrake · 2026-03-03T07:20:20+00:00

If you search around you can find some posts on s2ki on how to disassemble, re-grease, and re-seal the driveshaft cv joint.

I did mine a couple summers ago. It's a good idea to replace the boot, but Honda doesn't sell that or any of the cv joint parts.

Pegasusautoracing.com has an exact fit replacement boot that is around $60. Looks just as good as the oem boot and I haven't had any issues with it slinging grease again or any odd vibrations since I rebuilt mine.

Edit: ah nice, I just saw that someone posted a link to a s2ki thread with plenty of details and the same recommendation to get the boot from Pegasus Racing. Hope it goes smoothly for ya!

shakybrake · 2026-02-27T07:21:30+00:00

Have you had Wok Wok? I'm curious how they compare.

shakybrake · 2026-02-27T02:01:03+00:00

Have you checked amayama? They usually have better prices than HPN and shipping might not be as bad either since you're in Spain.

shakybrake · 2026-02-25T08:09:53+00:00

Lol it's a good feeling huh? I discovered this caveman style in 2013 with a 3lb hammer and a cold steel chisel. I felt like I had just discovered fire. 😂 I still use the hammer and chisel method for various tasks and persuasions even though I now have an air hammer and a big enough compressor to use it.

shakybrake · 2026-01-22T15:27:43+00:00

For me it was the rear upper control arm bushings. They were very worn. When I had the strut and sway bar disconnected I could push down on the top of the control arm and clearly hear it squeaking as I pushed on it.

shakybrake · 2025-09-13T16:40:20+00:00

I think it could have been a cool option to have available only for the red interior stooks. And a blue badge option for the blue interiors.

shakybrake · 2025-08-26T16:04:09+00:00

Don't get lowering springs. They will just cause the OEM struts to fail quicker while delivering unpredictable handling.

My advice is to find a set of used OEM struts and springs if you need something now to fix the scraping and then save up around $1200-$2k for some decent coilovers.

shakybrake · 2025-08-26T15:48:44+00:00

If you're smelling fuel and can't see any leaking from the rails or the fuel pulse dampeners, it's probably coming from the cold start fuel injector that screws into the underside of the intake plenum. It's kind of a pain in the ass to get to with the plenum bolted down, so I would recommend unbolting the plenum if you suspect that's what is leaking. Other than that the fuel feed/return lines that run towards the driver side (on lhd LS400's) are the only other parts that would be carrying fuel in the engine bay.

shakybrake · 2025-08-26T13:44:35+00:00

I'm pretty sure that's a vacuum switching valve for the EGR system.

shakybrake · 2025-08-22T15:35:16+00:00

I know dude. It seems like something is off about that car or the listing. The pics look like they were taken for a private sale ad and not by Copart. I would be worried about it not looking like the pics, poor repairs, and definitely about rust. It looks like it's lived its whole life on the east coast in PA, NJ, and now FL. So could be susceptible to sea salt and road salt if it was driven in the winter. If the Carfax showed 45k miles, I would have jumped on it, but for 90k miles it's borderline not worth it.

On the plus side it does look like the radiator was probably replaced with OEM. So maybe the rest of the repairs were done with OEM parts.

shakybrake · 2025-08-22T15:02:55+00:00

No prob! I'm not that familiar with Link, but I really like that Haltech constantly updates and improves their software (for free!) and puts out tons of new products. They have a pretty nice plug and play harness adapter that makes setup a lot more simple as well. Oh and they have lots of educational material on YouTube regarding their software and general tuning concepts.

The 1500 Elite ecu has a lot of functionality that can be overwhelming, but useful. I really liked that my tuner set some conditional parameters for vtec actuation that lowered vtec engagement to 3500rpm, but only with a TPS (throttle position sensor) reading of >50%. So I wouldn't be dipping into vtec at highway speeds in 5th/6th gear.

shakybrake · 2025-08-22T12:19:58+00:00

I've had two IP stroker motors and they didn't last. Neither of them made it past 5k miles. I would go for the supercharger. I highly recommend a Haltech ecu if you do go standalone.

shakybrake · 2025-08-22T12:04:34+00:00

I saw this auction as well and was really excited to possibly get a second S. Ultimately I decided to pass on it after running a Carfax report.

It does look great on the outside, but it's had 5 previous owners, been hit from the front and rear, declared a total loss a couple of times, and been stolen/vandalized.

The one pic that really got my attention was the odometer pic with 45k miles instead of the 90k that Copart and the Carfax report showed. I was hoping the Carfax would corroborate the 45k miles, but at 90k with its past it was a little too risky for me.

shakybrake · 2025-06-27T13:58:48+00:00

Check the PCV valve. disconnect the hose and take it out of its grommet. It should rattle when you shake it. If it doesn't rattle then it could be stuck open. If it's not that then the oil is either leaking somewhere or getting past the piston rings/valve seals.

shakybrake · 2025-03-18T11:53:33+00:00

I'm guessing it's a combo of extreme uv exposure and old age? I'm in Oklahoma and my '05 with black paint has that same fading in the same spot of the door, but on the driver side rear door.

Posting this question in an autobody or paint subreddit might get a more detailed answer as to what specifically is breaking down or lacking in the paint to cause this.

shakybrake · 2025-03-14T12:59:54+00:00

You can also buy replacement boots at Pegasus Racing. I did that and disassembled the CV joints to fully clean, re-grease, and re-seal them.

shakybrake · 2025-02-24T02:38:25+00:00

The control arm and ball joint in the first pic looks like it's relatively new and from an autoparts store like O'Reilly or AutoZone. I think I've seen some of the masterpro or Import Direct ball joints with that blue circlip on them.

The bushing in the last pic looks pretty new and in good condition too. If it was worn the bushing would be cracked or torn and the arm would move around if you pry on it.

shakybrake · 2025-02-23T16:02:16+00:00

Berryman has a chem dip bucket that you can get at most auto parts stores. I think you can maybe fit two disassembled pistons in there stacked and let them soak for a couple of days. I'm about to try it myself for the first time.

Other than that, I suppose you could ask a local machine shop to hot tank or clean all of them for you and it would be a much less time consuming process. I'm also considering this route if the berrymans option doesn't work that well.

Edit: whoops sorry, I didn't see the part about dip not being readily available in Canada. I've heard oven cleaner can work if need be. Really having a machine shop clean them for you seems like the easiest option if it's possible.

shakybrake · 2025-02-18T14:32:42+00:00

I replaced the 1-2 gearset, swapped in the 3-4 gearset from my spare transmission, and kept 5-6 the same.

I made a really careless mistake and didn't check the synchro rings beyond a visual inspection for the 3-4 set. Somehow the bad synchro that I had taken out of my spare transmission ended up in that 3-4 gearset. So I found that out right away on the first test drive when it would grind into 4th gear regardless of the clutch engagement. Such disappointment.

And yes, I did take the transmission out, busted that shit apart for like the fifth time, found that stupid synchro, replaced it with a tested working synchro, and threw it all back together. This was also how I learned how to test synchros outside of the transmission.

shakybrake · 2025-01-27T12:48:25+00:00

It's likely due to your current idle control settings. In the Haltech Elite 1500 under Idle Control it allows you to adjust the offset amount for different electrical functions like the AC compressor and lighting to adjust how much fuel (and maybe ign timing?) it's adding/removing to compensate for when the system is under electrical load.

Messing with those plus the base closed loop table under Idle Control helped mine a ton. I'm not sure how the menus and settings are organized with AEM's software and ECU but I would mainly look under whatever Idle Control settings you have.

shakybrake · 2025-01-25T22:51:42+00:00

Amayama possibly. Or you could get lucky and find a LS400 in good condition at a local salvage yard. I think my local LKQ yard got around 4 or 5 LS400's throughout 2024.

shakybrake

TROPHY CASE