p0171,p2096 checking the list...
 

2004, 135,000 mi completely stock. I bought my 8 in Oct of 2012. Been a member of the forum since. (What a wealth of information, thanks)

Here's the story. Ran great no CEL until about four weeks ago, during a down shift from 5th to 4th at roughly 50 mph (to pass on the highway) the car goes no engine power, and CEL flashes. I sh!t myself, put in neutral, and pull over to shoulder. Once in neutral the engine died. Try to start, no go. (go figure, every time i fall in love, I soil myself and something dies, lol) Consult the forum from my phone, flashing CEL, misfire. With much trouble i get it started and decide to make the struggled drive home (3-5 miles). Flash the whole way home with extreme power loss and no idle. Hit the forum and decided to do the tune up that i had postponed for good weather.

-New plugs
-New wires
-New coils
-Clean MAF (quite dirty)
-Air filter (normal)
-Oil change
-Other fluids look normal
-Found large deposit of wax like oil in the intake accordion need catch can

Tried to start. Very hard to start. No idle. Only way to keep it running is to use the gas pedal. Very unusual throttle response. Still get flashing CEL. Red hot cat at o2 sensor after about 2 mins. Didn't have access to code reader, yet. Was too scared to drive anymore (autozone) with misfire and wasn't confident in ability to get restarted.

-Clean ESS
-Fuel pressure just under 60 psi no load
-Hollow out cat
-Ordered bluetooth OBDII elm327
-Checked connections and spark wire/plug order
-20 brake stomp reset
-Fuses are good

Same as before no idle, misfire, hard start. Code reader arrives, use via the Droid Torque app. Get p2096 lean, p0301 misfire, p0171 lean, p0401 gas cap(?), among others that seem to be reader specific

-Swap ignition relay with headlight relay
-20 brake stomp
-Get vehicle service history. Looks like basic recalls but not sure what it all means.

No more misfire. Still hard to very to hard start. Wont idle on it's own. Acceleration is smoother but a little rough. Take for quick drive around block. Thinking 20 brake stomp has things off. Still has extreme power loss. Had fuel pressure gauge attached and it stayed constant at just under 60 psi under load. Pull the codes and i'm down to just p0171 and p2096. Thinking vac leak, i used two cans of carb cleaner, no engine stutter.

Haven't had compression test yet. (it did run great before all this) Mainly due to lack of money to throw at the car. Want to check everything i can before paying for a tow and dealership hourly rates.

I have researched this. That is what has gotten me to this point. I have been at this for a bit. My frustration has me ready for some advice. Any help would be appreciated.

I'd like to revive this post as I am having the same issues as OP. I have a 2010 R3 with 40k, put BHR ignition on shortly after I bought it in march. Car felt great, then performance started to suffer on the top end. Got to where it would hardly go over 6k, so I figured my cat was fried. Installed RB DR midpipe, car didn't really change (maybe a little but I think it was wishful thinking). Top end was hit or miss for a few weeks, only code I was throwing was P0420 from the midpipe which would go on and off intermittently. Then this week I filled up on gas and drove about a mile and my car started to stutter, had to blip throttle so it wouldnt stall at lights. Kept driving to work, got a little better as I drove it more. When I got to work it was idling fine again, felt responsive, but zero power over 5k. It will rev fine but its like its trying to suck air through a pinhole. No misfires, no ruff idle, but now I get P0171 and P2096, with 2 P0420 (why 2 I have no idea). I've ran every fuel cleaner I can think of through it, all my intake trickery turns easily with no obstruction. Aside from just buying a new pump and hoping for the best, any way to confirm a bad pump? I tried switching the fuel relay with a different one to see if it was that which it wasnt.

So, to review
symptoms: NO top end power, P0171, P2096, P0420(2), sounds like its knocking starting at 5k,

Already checked....
BHR ignition (good, I double checked with coil tester)
RB Midpipe
Fresh oil
Fresh air filter
NO vacuum leaks (that I can find, dont hear anything no idle issues)
Cleaned/Reset ESS profile
NO oil in intake
VFAD, SSV, and VDI all turn easily with fingers