Hey i have recently bought a monte carlo 02 s2000,

i have noticed that when warm there is a slight tapping noise when running at idle.

As soon as i touch the gas its goes, i have also noticed that between 6-7k there seams to be a flat spot then the V-tec has a definate pulse and activates like normal.

I am wondering whether the tapping noise is connected???

Why would the V-tec kick in so late???

only sometimes??

it is due a service soon, im wondering whether the spark plugs are running a bit lame, the car is running on V-power at the moment.

any suggestions???

kind regards

Paul

 

Is your car idleing normally?

slight tapping noise at idle is normal valve/vacuum noises.

vtec engages at 6,000 rpm, there's a slight decrease/hesitation when switching over cams.

I would post this in your local forum and perhaps meet with some other owners to get a feel on normal sounds. Maybe setup a race to see how it holds up.

 

How many miles on the car? You may need a valve adjustment.

 

tapping noise could also be the timing chain tensioner, but not sure about the why the vtec kicks in so late

 

 

some tapping noises is normal; to be sure get your valve clearances set. How many KM/miles is the car on? honda recommends valve clearance adjustment every 40,000 kms but from my experience with my car it could use it every 30,000, and definately get them checked after an overrev.

with the delayed VTEC, VTEC is activated by oil pressure. Definately check oil levels. After this you may consider cleaning out your VTEC solenoid (do a search there are some threads on this) which could be causing an issue with VTEC.

spark plugs even? if you have just bought the car do not trust the service sticker on the windscreen that it has been serviced. When i bought my car it had a sticker saying next service 70,000, the car was on 57,000 yet no 60,000 had been done, just an oil change and the service dept had changed the sticker.

also - regarding fuel. I found with shell V-power here in aust that the car ran a bit raspy in the upper rev range, and the car was chucking O2 sensor CEL's all the time. I swapped the secondary O2 and still getting CEL's. I swapped to premium 95 and the car runs smoother and the CEL's have dissapeared.