I finally made it through the break-in period today and I couldn't wait any longer to crank it up and feel that famous vtec surge. So I hit the highway and wound it up and ...nothing. The engine cranks up beautifully and just keeps going but there was no noticible surge at all. Is this normal? Oil is full, engine sounds great, winds up nicely but absolutely no surge or difference in the sound. Somebody tell me everything is ok with my baby.

 

If you cranked it up to almost 9,000 rpm, you had to have the high rpm cams engaged. I don't think the engine will go to 9,000 rpms without the VTEC engaging the high rpm shaped lobes.

How much you feel the "cross-over" seems to vary from car to car and may have to do with other things like altitude, air temperature, etc. If your engine is performing really well below the approximately 6,000 rpm cross-over, the boost doesn't feel as strong.

I can clearly feel it in my '93 Prelude VTEC. I could easily feel it in my S2K before I got my new short block. Now I'm a few couple of hundred miles away from exceeding 5,500 rpm.

Barry in Wyoming...

 

It definately is noticeable at 6K. But I wouldn't compare it to the tourque of a big block V8.

 

Thanks Barry. I feel better now. I live in Michigan and the weather is cold and dry(about 15 degrees this morning)but the car was well warmed up before I got on it. The car does perform very well at the lower rpms and seems to be getting stronger the longer I drive it.

 

There is no way you cannot feel the surge. Either your car was not warmed up enough or something else such as oil is low.

There is a CLEAR difference between the two profiles.

One good indication is to listen to the sound. It changes around 5000 RPM and further changes at 6000 RPM. If the sound is remaining the same, the transition ain't happenning in your car dude.

 

I've personally noticed that the kick is somewhat dependent on how hard I'm on the gas. If I'm only accelerating slowly past 6 grand I don't really notice a difference (and I know what you're thinking: "What the hell are you doing accelerating *slowly* past 6 grand??"). However, if you're on the gas with gusto, when your baby hits VTEC territory, your head *will* snap back. It just puts a big grin on my face every time

 

Ok, now I'm worried again.

 

The VTEC is not very pronounced right after the break-in period (I waited until 1000 miles). It becomes much more pronounced as the miles stack up, particularly around 3K miles or so. In fact, if I remember correctly there was hardly a kick the first time I pushed but then progressively it got stronger with mileage.

A few other things have an effect VTEC engagement (from my own experience):
- Oil level (weaker kick when low on oil)
- Temperature (stronger when colder outside)
- Throttle rate (you won't feel it if you're only using part-throttle, really need to have your "foot in it" so to speak)


[Edited by VA S2K on 02-21-2001 at 06:51 AM]

 

You can do two things, one go to the dealer and arrange for a test drive, it can be as simple as a throttle cable adjustment.

Or get someone form the board in your area to take you for a spin in their car.

It is true that the car gets much stronger over time but if you cannot feel any difference before and after as you describe, even at low miles that is not normal.

Make sure you do some FULL throttle passes.

 

Barry is right. If you have drive a V8 or turbo car, you are probably used to the surge. The vtec engagement is there but not very pronounced. You have to sort of lower your expectation a little bit. I had trouble noticing it when I first v-tec and that was at 1000+ miles.

Sorry I did not mean Barry, but Wirejock.