Hey guys,

I have a 99 Civic EX Coupe Manual, 65k miles, etc. The guy I bought it off of was a lawyer so there was no playing with it Well this car is 100% stock, and has never been modded. I'm the 2nd owner and I had my buddy who has a civic drive it and he redlined it in all gears and couldn't hear vtec, I jumped in his civic and BAM I knew it was on right away.

He keeps telling me that I should hear it, and yada yada, but then says to buy an intake and exhaust and see what happens. Well I dont want to blow several $$$ dollars on that stuff and have it not work lol.. So what could be the problem? This car was barely driven and I just dont see how there are any problems, Makes no noises, drives like it was new.. I mean I'm confused, and the search tool on this site is such a pain in the *** lol so sorry if this is a repeat.

Thanks guys!

 

it is extremley hard to hear vtec on a single overhead cam (SOHC) honda, wich is yours, most of the reason is on a SOHC engine its only 1/2 of dual overhead cam (DOHC) vtec on a single cam it only has the dual lobes on the intake side of the cam, not the exhaust. on a dual cam it is on both sides of the cam. on my 94 EX i never heard vtec till i put a b16 in

 

vtec is barely audible on dead stock single cam motors.

With the addition of intake and exhaust, you may begin to hear it. I know that I didn't on my d16.

 

/yourself

Big surprise dude. First of all, D series = smaller vtec sound. Second of all, quieter vtec = smoother transition = best power output. Third, STOCK STOCK STOCK, you bought an economy car not a Ferrari. Mod or deal with quiet vtec.


m4d tyt3 v3t4ch y000!!! (couldn't resist)

 

Check to make sure that your oil level is correct.

Also, can you feel any increase in power when climbing the tach?? I am not sure if you can with a D16y8, where is the VTEC x-over supposed to be??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NXSpoon &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Check to make sure that your oil level is correct.

Also, can you feel any increase in power when climbing the tach?? I am not sure if you can with a D16y8, where is the VTEC x-over supposed to be??</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's supposed to be at about 5500 if memory serves me.

 

put a cam in. i read here ,that with a cam, you can hear vtec on a single cam.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spyderracing32 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">/yourself

Big surprise dude. First of all, D series = smaller vtec sound. Second of all, quieter vtec = smoother transition = best power output. Third, STOCK STOCK STOCK, you bought an economy car not a Ferrari. Mod or deal with quiet vtec.


m4d tyt3 v3t4ch y000!!! (couldn't resist)</TD></TR></TABLE>
you sir are a jackass, he had a legitimate question; you have NO authority to flame this person. not everyone is born with a helms in 1 hand and a lifetime of experience already inside their memory like you apparently. jackass.

 

intake doesn't cost much money at all. that could be the first you can do if you want to hear it a lil. i just usually yell out loud when i'm in 5500 rpm range to make myself feel better.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kamin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
you sir are a jackass, he had a legitimate question; you have NO authority to flame this person. not everyone is born with a helms in 1 hand and a lifetime of experience already inside their memory like you apparently. jackass.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Couldn't have put it better myself.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Kamin &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
you sir are a jackass, he had a legitimate question; you have NO authority to flame this person. not everyone is born with a helms in 1 hand and a lifetime of experience already inside their memory like you apparently. jackass.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly what I was going to say.. Thanks for saving me the effort

Back on topic.. like mentioned before, it's very hard to hear vtec come in on a stock d-series motor. With an intake and cat-back exhaust (not just a muffler, if that's what you're thinking) you should be able to hear it. I hear it fine on mine y7/y8 mini me.

 

Thanks for the replies guys very quick too... Here is the problem, he is saying that you SHOULD hear it stock, and that he heard it on his when it was stock.. Maybe he is just bsing, not sure.. I'm sorry that i'm a newbie.. I really do research before I ask, but the search here is so odd... anyways... I've had it redlines and I really honsetly dont know if more powers kicking in or not.. its too hard for a newbie like me to tell.....

He did get me worried though after hearing his and after being told by a guy before him that it didnt sound like vtec was working.

Another thing about oil... When I bought the car w/ out me knowing my buddy put a lot more oil in it than there should have been like 3qts.. I caught it after only 50-60miles being on the car.. and never had a problem.. but BEFORE he did that, we couldnt hear vtec at all anyways, so that shouldnt be the problem.

I dunno guys... sorry to waste your time if thats what I'm doing, I just paid a lot for this car and its my baby, I've always have had shitty cars and this is the first decent car I've had and now I'm getting told all this stuff.

Thanks for your help guys!

 

i love how its "nice" to hear **** from the engine compartment in the inside of the car. I don't want hear vtec, for good reason, its an engine noise, and should stay there. but i agree with some stuff said, mostly check the oil level for starters.

i prefer to blast the tunes.

 

you can hear vtec on a sohc if you install an aftermarket cam and im.

i have a crower stage 2 cam and a skunk im. and there's a big diference in sound

 

u should b able to hear vtec open up with at least an intake

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tntsniper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dunno guys... sorry to waste your time if thats what I'm doing, I just paid a lot for this car and its my baby, I've always have had shitty cars and this is the first decent car I've had and now I'm getting told all this stuff.

Thanks for your help guys!</TD></TR></TABLE>

You're not wasting our time, it's a legitimate question. Welcome to H-T.com, enjoy your new pride & joy, and remember to search recent and archives. It will answer many questions you might have.

 

Also, there are certain circumstances where vtec will not come in. Your car has to be warmed up, there's a minimum throttle %, has to be in gear (not neutral, obviously), and has to have the right amount of oil.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tntsniper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Thanks for the replies guys very quick too... Here is the problem, he is saying that you SHOULD hear it stock, and that he heard it on his when it was stock.. Maybe he is just bsing, not sure.. I'm sorry that i'm a newbie.. I really do research before I ask, but the search here is so odd... anyways... I've had it redlines and I really honsetly dont know if more powers kicking in or not.. its too hard for a newbie like me to tell.....

He did get me worried though after hearing his and after being told by a guy before him that it didnt sound like vtec was working.

Another thing about oil... When I bought the car w/ out me knowing my buddy put a lot more oil in it than there should have been like 3qts.. I caught it after only 50-60miles being on the car.. and never had a problem.. but BEFORE he did that, we couldnt hear vtec at all anyways, so that shouldnt be the problem.

I dunno guys... sorry to waste your time if thats what I'm doing, I just paid a lot for this car and its my baby, I've always have had shitty cars and this is the first decent car I've had and now I'm getting told all this stuff.

Thanks for your help guys!</TD></TR></TABLE>
you arent wasting our time man, thats what this message board is here for. you are asking a question and we are answering you its simple here, treat everyone the way you want to be treated.

in a STOCK EX you will NEVER hear VTEC. its pretty much that simple and cut and dry.

 

Sorry bout the replies... too much time spent in GDD and a rough day. But please try to use the search function. It honestly isn't that rough once you figure it out, and it will answere 99.9% of your questions.

 

My friend has intake and exhaust and I can hear his SOHC VTEC pretty well.

 

my friend has a 00 civic ex with intake header and exhaust and it is quite loud, almost as loud as my stock 00 si was.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tntsniper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
... I've had it redlines and I really honsetly dont know if more powers kicking in or not.. its too hard for a newbie like me to tell.....</TD></TR></TABLE>

a good way to notice the power is when you are redlining, watch the tach needle and once it gets to around 5k, look at how much faster the car revs to redline, if the vtec is working properly.....it should rev very fast past 5k

 

i can definetly hear it in my 97 ex with i/h/e but when i put the stock header back on.....it wasnt noticeable

 

a quick and easy fix is to check out the vtec solenoid.... if its dirty.. or hook up multi meter and c if its working.... i have a sohc and i hear mine just fine...4800

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spyderracing32 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">/yourself

Big surprise dude. First of all, D series = smaller vtec sound. Second of all, quieter vtec = smoother transition = best power output. Third, STOCK STOCK STOCK, you bought an economy car not a Ferrari. Mod or deal with quiet vtec.


m4d tyt3 v3t4ch y000!!! (couldn't resist)</TD></TR></TABLE>

Out of control......I will never understand why someone will be a smart *** when someone else is asking a honest question.............