Hopefully the hive-mind here can help out & I'll try to describe this as best as possible - been looking through all of the forums since last night trying to find something similar to this & haven't had any luck (limited mechanical knowledge so may be searching for the wrong thing?)

Had the S a little over 6 months (02, 110k, FIPK is the only mod), no issues what so ever. It's a weekend car & kept in garage on trickle. This week is the first time I've driven it for more than one day in a row because of the weather. A good few hours hard drive around the Peak District early doors Friday and a calm(ish) drive Saturday without issue.

So, drove down to Bicester yesterday, 140ish mile drive each way. Through the tolls (so 'had' to do a pull). No issues with VTEC there. First through sixth not a problem. Off motorway, VTEC, no issues. On the way back, get to the North bound Toll. Out the gates, do a pull. First was fine, change to second about 8k and it feels like I've shifted down a gear. Jolt forwards. Clutch in, make sure everything's fine - didn't over rev. going about 30 at this point - revs had dropped to 5k(ish), so shift into second and go through the revs to a shade under 9k - VTEC engages without issue, shift to third, same thing happens, same procedure, same happens in 4th. At this point I'm thinking it's the syncros but gear changes are fine through the rev range when not in VTEC, no grinding, nothing. Important to note, every time it dropped immediately out of VTEC, revs went from north of 8 to the bottom end of 5 & feels like you've hit something big.

Congestion, stop start - absolutely no issues. Pull off into Keele, do a pull out to make sure I'm sure it's not me. It's absolutely fine. Second to fourth, no issue what so ever. Off the Motorway, down the B Roads home, no issues - checking first to fifth, no problems absolutely fine. Come to the end of the journey - and just to check again slow down to 40ish in third, wide open throttle (making sure VTEC is kicking in properly - it does), shift to fourth at a shade under 9k. %^&*ing same thing happens again, jolt forward - feels like I've gone down a gear, revs are 5200ish in fourth so it looks like it dropped out of VTEC immediately as I changed the gear.

Got home, left it running for 5/10 mins to make sure there's no odd noises, check all the fluids when it's warm and checked them again when the car's cooled off. Everything's fine, engine's in one piece - and I spend the rest of the night trying in vein to find anything that resembles the above.

TLDR; Intermittent issue, changing gear in VTEC, dropped immediately out of VTEC, revs went from north of 8 to the bottom end of 5 & feels like you've hit something big.

Regards
Jon

 

Sounds like the 'cold' rev limiter that you get if you attempt to go north of 5K before the oils had a chance to warm through, so possibly pressure related?? Sorry I can't be more helpful, good luck getting it sorted

 

I thought the same thing after running though threads from other forums - only issue is that the car was fully warm (was driven for about an hour or so) before the first time it did this... Could be pressure related though?

Thanks anyway

 

Engine temp is stable all the time and not fluctuating when you drop out of VTEC?
If so it's probably not the cold rev limiter. Dropping out of VTEC does bog down the engine hard and it's not very good for your valvetrain.
Have you checked the VTEC solenoid connector? Maybe it's just bad connection there.
Otherwise it's probably something oil pressure related which is a bit harder to debug.

 

Engine temp is consistent, Solenoid is a good shout - I'll check the connections and make sure they're all fine. Thanks man

 

Failing that, what about the VTEC solenoid oil screen/filter thing? If it's close gged, might be causing low oil pressure in the VTEC system. Although if its THAT blocked, hopefully it's not a sign of something more serious!

 

So, nipped back to check if the Solenoid was leaking - looks like it is. Taking it in when I can. Will update as soon as I can.

 

You can pick those filters up for under a tenner. I would also check the PCV system is clean / clear. The other things i'd be looking at is plugs / coil packs and also the connectors / bolts on the cam sensors in the rocker cover.

 

Wondering if a blockage in the filter is causing the oil leak? if the oil can't pass the filter it may be forcing a way out past the seal. Not a big job to check I reckon?