A strutbrace stole my VTEC

[Setanta]

With apologies to Azaria Chamberlain (then again, only the older Aussies and Kiwis will prolly know what I'm talking about)*.

But I digress.

I went for a run out to the coastal city of Wollongong with Spunkymonkey (she drives a VTiR 'teg) for some pretty hard driving on very twisty/fast roads. The car seemed down on power, but it wasn't responding - no kick from the VTEC (and no comment from people about not being able to hear it due to my stock exhaust thanks).

I switch off the stereo and listen as the engine comes on song at 4000 preparatory to VTEC at 5400. Weird - the engine seems to be surging - kicking in and out - runit up to 7000-8000 - VTEC is definitely surging - cutting in and out. Hmmm... wasn't doing that the day before.

Ok, what have I done recently (other than rev the shit out of it?). Oil change - I put Honda Type R oil in - that's a different weighting (10-30) to the 5-50 Mobil 1 I usually drop in. Shouldn't make a difference though, it's designed for VTEC motors.

Topped the coolant up (and ended up not resealing the radiator cap properly resulting in cooland flowing out of the resevoir after some hard driving). Maybe bad fuel... nah - spunkymonkey filled up at the same servo with Optimax - no problems with the 'teg (well, none out of the ordinary ).

Nope... check the VTEC solenoid unit... no problems with the wiring.

Hmmm... what else have I done... strut brace!

Ok - it was a very tight fit:



No clearance other than half a millimeter between it and the pot attached to the intake manifold... wonder if it's runbbing.

Pull it off... take the car for a run - VTEC is back full-time - no cutting in and out. Look at the pot:



Ok - it's rubbing. My guess is that the resonance was transmitting into the intake and screwing everything up. Possibly affecting the knock sensor as well - but most likely messing up the ECU signals from the varios sensors etc.

Since then I've shimmed the brace up with washers to give 2mm clearance and all is good.



I'll have to either have the brace remade to give it a touch more height or make the mounts a bit higher (maybe 3mm) so that it clears as the bolts holding the suspension on are tight - but not all the way down the thread. That makes me nervous.

Anyway - weird how one little thing can develop into a pain


* for those not in the know, Lindy Chamberlain coined the phrase: " A dingo stole my baby" in the '80s when her daughter Azaria disappeared - still controversial, but evidence points to the baby being murdered

[FourthGenHatch]

When I installed my Strut Bar the throttle cable got pinched by it and my car would idle at like 1500-2000 and rev by itself, it was odd, until I figured out what was going on.

[habib_88]

Yea...not so powerful without the big cam are we? huh huh? hehe just kiddin, glad you got it fixed I hate electrical problems. But the bars are nice arn't they? Any clue on whats next?

[Moppie]

Sorry. but that is quite funny! (and we all know linda was guilty!)

You could almost get away with removing that dash pot, iv actualy thought about it, as the early B20a's in the prelude Si use the same TB, but with out the dash pot.

All it does is stop the butterfly slaming shut to quickly from full open.
(it has a strong spring on it)

[Setanta]

Originally posted by habib_88
Yea...not so powerful without the big cam are we? huh huh? hehe just kiddin, glad you got it fixed I hate electrical problems. But the bars are nice arn't they? Any clue on whats next?

LOL - but da BIG cam is back :finger:

Couple of plans that might appeal to you - spread over the next 8 - 18 months (prices are in Aussie $s so halve them for US currency ).

Rear strut brace: $170
Rear 20mm stabiliser bar $190 (front is fine).

Extractors/high flow cat/2 1/4inch exhaust, high flow (not straight through) muffler (SiR exhaust tips unless the bug bites). $950

Height-adjustable Koni coil-over system $1400

16 inch wheels (or maybe the old Mugen 5 spoke 15s - I don't care what people say, I like them ) - Price anywhere up to 1700 bucks with tires.

Adjustable caster kit ($200)

Adjustable cam wheels $700 fitted and dyno-tuned.

Respray in factory colours $2000.

Long term: CTR cams and full rebuild, balance and blueprint.

Maybe upgrade the sound system - but I doubt it.

Longest term plan: Car becomes weekend driver (I have almost 220,000kms on it) and I get a 1G Civic/City Turbo project, or a RX2/RX3 coupe and drop in a turbo 12A, or a RA23 Celica with 3TGTE turbo, or a Datto 240Z, or a Holden Torana SLR5000/A9X restoration project...

But most likely as a daily driver/hoon-mobile:

Nissan S13 or S14 Silvia import or 180SX.

I've realised that Honda isn't the be all and end all - especially with the current crop of chaff that they are marketing to us. Besides - if you want a truly fast road and track car, you can't beat the Nissan turbo 4s for tweakability over here.

[Setanta]

Rather than remove it, my other option is to relocate it - make a bracket that drops it 4mm and shorten its actuator arm... hmmm... might be a lot easier to do that than remake the brace you know...

Thanks for the idea moppie

Originally posted by Moppie



Sorry. but that is quite funny! (and we all know linda was guilty!)

You could almost get away with removing that dash pot, iv actualy thought about it, as the early B20a's in the prelude Si use the same TB, but with out the dash pot.

All it does is stop the butterfly slaming shut to quickly from full open.
(it has a strong spring on it)

[Chhuong]

What brand is that strut brace??

[civickiller]

idk if there is a difference between the dx and the sir but doesnt the dx strut bar make it go in the back of the dpfi, so it should fit with the b16. because in my friends dx crx, he has a strut bar and it bolts on but then the bar is mounted back about 3 inches, not straight across. it clears his zc fine.

[sastanley]

Originally posted by civickiller
idk if there is a difference between the dx and the sir but doesnt the dx strut bar make it go in the back of the dpfi, so it should fit with the b16. because in my friends dx crx, he has a strut bar and it bolts on but then the bar is mounted back about 3 inches, not straight across. it clears his zc fine.

I think it all depends on the strutbrace. I recently installed a Neuspeed strutbrace, and it goes in front of my DPFI intake system, but well behind the valve cover.
Solid strutbraces kick-ass, and with my new Performance All-Season Yokohama Avid T-4s up front (just mounted this weekend ) I am ready for some twisty turny roads!!

[amy@af]

at least your v-tec didn't kick in due to shifting at 3000 rpm like the kid in a del sol who thought it would be funny to mess with me in traffic.

didn't anybody ever tell you....v-tec is for that final shift into 5th....if you go over 4000 before that...the engine will DIE

bahaahaahaa! :smoka: :licker:

i'm glad you quickly figured out the problem. sometimes trouble shooting stupid stuff like that can be frustrating (like you said...trying to think back)

ami

[Setanta]

Originally posted by Chhuong
What brand is that strut brace??

Spoon

Second hand - currently getting cut up to make the towers a few mm higher.

[Setanta]

Originally posted by civickiller
idk if there is a difference between the dx and the sir but doesnt the dx strut bar make it go in the back of the dpfi, so it should fit with the b16. because in my friends dx crx, he has a strut bar and it bolts on but then the bar is mounted back about 3 inches, not straight across. it clears his zc fine.

SiR mounting points are very different to the DX (and the Aussie GL)

Basically, everything front of the windshield is re-engineered - especially the crossmembers, their mounts and the LHS mount which is further forward in the engine bay than the other 4G Civics. When you mount a B16A in a non SiR 4G, it sits lower and flatter than in the SiR. It is also on a slightly different angle.

That's why nothing aftermarket fits unless it was designed for the SiR specifically.