My car accelerates very slow, and barely keeps up with traffic. I have to shift gears around 4-5k to catch up to speed. What can be the cause of the problem and where should I start looking. I would floor the gas pedal, and it would not go any faster. When the car is in neutral, the engine revs fine, but when it goes in gear, the car feels as if there is no power.



1988 rx7

 

^Don't listen to this guy, he has no clue what he's talking about.

If it was your clutch the engine would rev, but not go anywhere (or slip while you were driving, causing it to rev suddenly without picking up speed).

It sounds like engine nor vehicle speed is increasing with more throttle, under load. I've seen clogged cats and air filters cause that. Any strange noises or odors?

 

Ditto, do not listen to Rx-7GTU. But i'm not here about that.

When's the last time you did a tune up? When did the car start to become sluggish. Have you checked codes? You can with s4, with an led light I believe. Have stock cats? Any mods?

 

If the car is stock, I'd start with checking for clogged cats. And at the same time, perform a full tuneup.