Hi guys, just wondering if anyone experienced a high pitched ticking noise from a H22a? Seems very faint at low RPM, also slightly audible at deceleration. But the ticking is very noticable at high RPMs, well into vtech. Power seems to be smooth and vtech engages stongly when warmed up.
Mechanic said to try octane booster incase it was pinging under load (in Ireland we have 95 octane compared to JDM 98). That didn't do anything, now we're gonna replace the knock sensor next.

Any tips, advice for what we should be looking for? Thanks

 

I guess it would depend on what type of tick it is.

If you are worried about pinging, unfortunately most octane booster doesn't even raise your overall octane level by 1. You can read the fine print on the bottles but it takes A LOT of octane booster to get you from 95 RON to 98 RON.

The other possible source of ticking could be
1. Lifter tick . Check your valve clearances (using feeler gauge) and also consider what type of oil you are currently using. What viscosity oil are you running on the engine? Is the oil pressure good?

 

Hey thanks for the response, I would say the tick is between high and medium pitch. Im not a mechanic but it sounds top end, towards the front (above the exhaust manifold). When I listen toward the back I can hear the injectors firing. When driving the car hard it is audible with the window down. My passengers say it sounds fine, maybe I'm being too sensitive.

I used Millers CLV Extra competition that says "Adds up to 4 octane numbers to base fuel." I know there are 2 different numbers to determain octane levels, so I am not sure what "4" means in this context.

As for lifter tick, the mechanic said the valves sound fine (he knew the clearences from memory but didn't actually check). Using 5w30 at the moment, not sure of the oil pressure (I wish I knew, would give me peace of mind). I feel like it gets louder when the engine is fully warmed up (driving for 20 mins with 3-4 vtec engages).

(And more fun news, when I start the car and let it idle to warmup, after 5 mins I can hear a knocking from the bottom end and I give it a tiny blip of throttle and it goes away, never comes back )

Again, thanks for the response!

 

I honestly don't think octane should be the main cause, it is possible, but we have a few CL1 Euro R's here in Jamaica and they seem to run ok on the 95 without too much drama. We only recently got 98, and only about 3% of petrol stations sell it, so its definitely not commonplace.

Re the 4 octane numbers, some of them speak about octane point. A point being 0.1 of a number, so 10 points = 1 number (to raise you from 95 to 96 for example). Re the brand you are using they claim up to 4 numbers, but they also say a complete bottle to 20L of petrol, and your tank is presumably around 60L, so BEST CASE that raises your octane to 96.3, not 98 or 99.

Me personally, I would look toward checking the valve clearances using the exact honda specs, and doing an oil change while you are at it (assuming your oil hasnt been changed recently). You can consider 5w-40 oil to potentially quieten the ticking, but in MY MIND i am thinking lifter tick.

You can always take a video to get the sound and let some of the other guys chime in