rough acceleration when cold

[GoHybrid]

okay... potentially revealing my ignorance:

first, let me say, i've never owned a car with a manual trans before, but i have driven stick on a number of occasions without many embarassments.

I have a problem though when I first start driving, where the acceleration through first and second is extremely jerky. For example, i'll let the clutch out slowly and give it a little gas, and it rolls off just fine. So at about 2500rpm, the clutch in engaged and it's still smooth... but if i give it just a little more gas like, I want to go 12mph in the parking lot, it just oscillates and jerks around. If i floor it just momentarily, the car accelerates smoothly and then the whole rpm range is smooth again. And then it will never happen again as long as the car is on.

the 07 Si i feel is one of the easiest clutches to operate of any car i've driven, but this is one annoying problem, and I don't know if it's me or the car. The only reason I suspect the car is because it only happens when the engine is cold and not again until the car has a chance to cool down.

The only workaround I've found for it is to hold the clutch partially engaged for longer than i normally would. I assume this warms up the clutch and makes it behave differently.

I don't presume to know anything about what's going on... just guesses, so i'd really appreciate input from some of the more experienced drivers here.

thanks!

[06RALLYREDSI]

let the car reach normal operating temperature and then drive it!!! c'mon thats how people ruin there engines

[06RALLYREDSI]

its like waking you up at the crack of dawn and making you instantly lifting 100 pound dumbells you wont like it you need some coffee to warm up...LET THE CAR WARM UP!@!!!!

[K20z3 Civic Si [PHONG]]

Yup, atleast up to 2 bars

[GoHybrid]

okay, i'll try that. i guess that's just years of driving an auto i have to undo. thanks for the advice!

:edit: i found another thread regarding this exact issue. I think I may try the honda dealer too and see if they have anything to add as well...

[kevzSi]

Its perfectly normal our cars to do this.

Do you plan on purchasing an aftermarket exhaust? If so, it should take care of the problem. Mine stopped doing that after I bought my greddy exhaust! Worth every penny imo!

[Nathan]

i can tell you people live in cali and aren't from a cold state. Here in michigan, first of all to let the car hit 2 bars it can take 10 minutes and if your going to work how can you wait that long?

The engine is horrible for warming up, admit it!

[webby]

moved to the garage forum

[GoHybrid]

hadn't thought about an aftermarket exhaust... that really fixed it for you?

[ImTheVoiceOfGod]

Originally Posted by Nathan

first of all to let the car hit 2 bars it can take 10 minutes and if your going to work how can you wait that long?

The engine is horrible for warming up, admit it!

Or you could just start the car 10 minutes before you have to leave for work What an idea!!!! Dont be jealous because you live in a crap state.

GO USC!!!!

[Anubis]

Originally Posted by 06RALLYREDSI

its like waking you up at the crack of dawn and making you instantly lifting 100 pound dumbells you wont like it you need some coffee to warm up...LET THE CAR WARM UP!@!!!!

There have been several studies done that disagree with you. One of the worst things you can do to your car is let it idle until it is in operating range. You are better off letting it sit there about 45 sec to 1 min then slowly driving away. Do not floor it by any means until you are in operating range, but a cold idle is terrible for cars.

[simplicated1979]

Originally Posted by Anubis

There have been several studies done that disagree with you. One of the worst things you can do to your car is let it idle until it is in operating range. You are better off letting it sit there about 45 sec to 1 min then slowly driving away. Do not floor it by any means until you are in operating range, but a cold idle is terrible for cars.

+1

[GoHybrid]

update: i tried letting the car warm up for a few minutes and watched the idle slowly drop. I was able to drive away without the major surging... but i still didn't have the confidence i'm used to in the throttle as I was exiting the parking lot. As a precaution, I'm leaving my car at the dealer next week to ensure all updates have been implemented and see if they can reproduce the symptoms.

[kevzSi]

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

hadn't thought about an aftermarket exhaust... that really fixed it for you?

yup! It was a pleasant surprise the first morning i drove with my exhaust on

[GoHybrid]

so i got my car back from the dealer for some rattles, and they said they were aware of the PCM update for the 06 Si, but that the 07s included it. They also said that honda acknowledged that it doesn't completely solve the problem, but it does reduce it. Nothing we haven't heard of.

so until further notice from Honda, I guess I should start shopping for a new exhaust.

[sonitex]

Gun the engine once your clutch is fully disengaged, to 4500 rpm, fast shift to second at 15-20 mph and again gun it to the same range rpm. The engine warms up a lot faster, and I don't believe your're hurting the engine, but it eliminates that jerky accelleration.

[Michael Bolton]

you should never gun it when the engine is cold

[Si 07]

Originally Posted by Michael Bolton

you should never gun it when the engine is cold

agreed, gunning it on a cold engine is like having yourself wake up and do a quick quarter mile, if you dont stretch out first somethings bound to bite you in the arse later.

[GoHybrid]

i can mitigate the surging just by really focusing on keeping the rpms under 3500 when i'm first starting out. After it warms up, which it does pretty quickly, it works fine after that.

[DrR10n]

i have the same problem. it is a little bit jerky when cold but after driving for a mile or so mine is gone. let us know if you find out anything from honda.