ive had my b16a for almost two months now. i never noticed this till a friend pointed it out. every time i rev my car, there is a popping noise. we opened the hood to find it was the air filter. kept testing... sure enough, once it dropped to low rpms, it would pop. My engine is really LOUD too !! guess i never noticed it before since i always thought it was the dist. or exhaust issue. ive pretty much replace everything but the internals (rods, etc...), but its still loud, not exhuast loud, engine sounds like it going to blow, loud. i only noticed it cause i sat in a friends the other day and his car has all the bells and whistles and its quieter than my car!!! even start up is quiet. could there be something wrong with the motor?

 

anyone?

 

It could be your cam timing, have you checked it? Maybe your advanced too far or retarded. Probably retarded since you here popping. Try aligning everything to TDC if you haven't already. My car sounded louder and sounded like it was going to blow when I was playing with the cam timing with my cam gear, but this was on a sohc.

 

thank for the info. I checked the timing. its at 16, also everything set to top dead center. the car runs, just sluggish and loud. would advancing or retarding +2/-2 help with the popping?

 

like u spun a bearing. how much do u rev that thing out? dont forget honda bearings are basically sheet metal

 

ok, this is what i found out. one of my wheel bearings are bad so im going to have them replaced. mechanic heard the loudness and said maybe there is a leak somewhere ( he only tested it for 10 minutes). wanted to leave it with him but they didnt have time. i just installed a 2.5 inch exhaust and its still the same.

the mechanic doubts its a spun bearing.

 

I'm gonna take a soundbite of my neon with a spun bearing. It's one of the worst automotive sounds ever. It's still running though, good enough to mop the floor with a 5.0 Mustang GT last night

Have you done a compression test on your motor?