i drive a 1996 civic ex with the 1.6L sohc vtech. My engine revs to about exactly 5k rpm's and then spits and sputters, forcing me to shift. why wont my car rev past 5k?? maybe back-pressure issues? i have a full aftermarket exhaust, headers all the way back. i do still have a cat though, one resonator, and a straight through muffler. also have a short-ram air intake

 

While there are any codes set in the ECU, a rev-limiter of about 5k is imposed. This is called "limp mode".