theres a weird sound from the engine bay that im getting at idle. it can barely be heard with the top up but with the top down you can hear it. its coming most from the bottom section of the engine and its like a light chittering that is on and off. it almost sounds like a critter (no critter was found tho lol).

i dont have crankvents and the only mod i have is the FIPK intake. is this normal? what could be causing this sound?

 

Hard to tell from your description. If it sounds like having a playing card in the spokes of a bycycle then it could be the timing chain tensioner. See the thread below as a possibility.

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=320897

 

check ur oil?

 

Does the sound change/go away/appear based on if the car is warmed up all the way or cold?

 

yes, when its warmed up all the way, it seems to be making the noise.

when its cold start, it doesnt.

 

if it resonates perfectly at 4k-5k then i have the same sound...its ticking but its not and you only hear it after its fully warmed up..no noticeable effect on performance...i just found out my car doesn't have a pcx oil filter on it...i just got my shipment from handa so i'm gonna change the filter and oil on the weekend. supposedly the filter is very important on this car. my car is eating a bit too much oil but i beat it all day every day. most of my ramps are hard rights too....i vtec at least 30 times a day ...DD for the win...anyway i know it has oil cuz i'm on top of that...i check it all the time and add when i have to. anyway when it gets warmer out i'll be able to really get in the engine bay and see if its anything on the accessory side of the engine. until then if you find anything let me know..there's about 4-5 other people on the board that have this same noise and they say its "normal" but i think there has to be a cause.

 

also me and a couple other peepz can hear it really distinctly when its bouncing off a wall or other car or barrier..weird shit...each of us took it to the dealer or mechanics and even other s2000 club members/meets and people say its normal...i still think there has to be a cause cuz the other car's i've seen/heard/drove didn't have it or it wasn't anywhere near as loud.

 

Have you ever lost an oil cap? Had an oil change done at dealer or other garage? Are you the original owner? Did it just start making the sound out of nowhere?

 

i started noticing it when i was at my university's parking structure. when it was outside, i never noticed it.

it might be my oil filter, i got it done at a reputable shop that works on s2000s alot but i remember the guy telling me to change the filter between oil changes.

 

I was thinking maybe the shop dropped your oil cap and just replaced it. It has happened before. They get stuck somewhere near the transmission and make a "rattling" sound. May be something worth checking. I have never heard of an oil filter making a sound. They just have the seal fail and start fires when they are improperly installed.

EDIT:I really could be anything. "Chittering" at idle almost sounds like it could be valves too. These are all just wild guesses.