I've searched thru the threads in the forum, and while there are differences of opinion, in general it seems the majority of people on this site think it's good practice to adjust the valves at 30K miles.

(my mechanic is suggesting this and I wasn't sure ... since the manual states 105k or if noisy).

Question: do people prefer adjusting the valves to the tight side of spec, or the loose side? Or in the middle. I'd prefer give my mechanic some input, if possible.

Can someone confirm the clearance spec on the MY04 Intake .008~.010" and Exhaust .010~.011" ?C

I dont drive my car too hard, I dont track it, and it is pretty much stock. It has 30k miles.

TKs for your ideas/thoughts on this subject.
M

 

well, if you mechanic suggests it go ahead...

if its not noise, you should be fine.

but if you're going to do it...you will notice a smoother engine.

public opinion leans on the tight side. as long as you're in spec you're fine.

 

I tend to adjust mine on the tight side. If you're only going to do it every 30K or so, you might go just a hair looser than the min recommended value.


Random and interesting (to me, at least) side note. I just did a valve adjustment on my '95 Accord. It has 190K miles on it (and still sees high RPMs on occasion), and I don't think it's ever had a valve adjustment done. All 16 valves were within 1 thou of optimal setting. I was impressed.

 

I adjusted mine at 25k as per suggestions on this board. A few were lose, none were tight. I tried to get close to the min spec since I knew they would loosen over time. Avg was probably 8.65 intake, 10.43 exhaust Adjustment couldn't help, and it shouldn't take the mechanic very long.. but its up to you.

 

Tks for the info. I assume you meant 'adjustment couldn't hurt' ... right?

Did you notice any difference in the way your car ran after the valve adjust?

 

When I was tinkering w/ my cams, I tried a variety of settings for my valves. At 2 thou below the min recommended values, the car ran piss-poor. Rough idle, the works. At 2 thou above the max recommended values, the car felt weaker, but idle was still OK, etc. Anywhere in the recommended range... my butt-dyno wasn't really sensitive enough to tell much of a difference. I'd say the low end of the range made the car feel slightly stronger/more responsive.

 

yes, I did

I didn't notice any difference. At most, I might have had a couple vales .0005 higher than max spec.

 

I did decide to have my valves adjusted at the 30K service (along with fluids etc), according to my mechanic several were too tight for spec.

Anyway, I do notice an improvement in the engine. There is a much more noticeable surge now when VTEC kicks in during acceleration. That seemed to have had disappeared over the 3 yrs I owned the car .... but now its back!!.