Have 98 jdm type r. Leaking Distributor o ring. Vtec when engaging suddenly became smooth and not loud. THIS IS AN INTEGRA TYPE R so what gives? It usually cracks really LOUD when engaging. I even made sure oil level was full and still no difference. Haven't gotten a chance yet to fix distributor oil leak. Running a p28 demon Neptune ecu if wondering. never was this quite before. Even with initial stages of leak it was very loud. Could the leak have messed something else up? Also may have a minor radiator hose leak but the levels seem to stay good for now in the reserve container.

 

realy loud cracking is not ideal actualy. has this car been tuned yet on this neptune ecu?
if you have low oil pressure you will have vtec problems..if you dont care. go into neptune and delete oil pressure sensor for vtec. and put a bolt in the vtc ops switch

 

lol there's no correlation whatsoever ... if it goes to redline then vtec is operating

if vtec wasn't working it would redline a lot earlier

 

Not entirely true. Even if the secondary lobes aren't engaged the engine can still rev up to redline unless the ecu is running in limp mode for one reason or another. "VTEC" is engaged when the oil pressure rises and pushes into the solenoid to lock the rockers.

^op
Your oil leak says you aren't getting enough oil to the solenoid. Fix your leaks and check your solenoid filters to make sure they aren't clogged. Civilian driving speeds in the suburbs or city limits shouldn't be reaching vtec crossover points anyway unless you're on the freeway or a maniac.

Sounds like you hit vtec after every stop light or sign.

 

There are two cams. The cam that runs off the distributor is not the same one that operates vtec. Even if he has a leak at the distributor oring it will have no effect whatsoever.

The only real time vtec isn't going to work is when it throws a code for the operation. When that happens the car will go into limp mode and won't go past 4k rpms.