clutch shudder in Euro

On the clutch shudder issue ... I've found that taking off in 1st gear at anything below 2000rpm hopeless ... the engine stutters around like a wet fish out of water. I generally pick up the clutch at 2000 to 2500rpm, feed it throttle and gradule clutch take-up without letting the revs fall below about 2500rpm. The Euro motor is torque-less and useless below 2000rpm, except when crawling along in peak hour traffic!

If your clutch shudder is happening at any other time or another gear (other than taking off in 1st) I suggest you take it back to the dealer to check it out. Other than bad clutch-engaging habits, there should not be any shudder ... I've not experienced any myself.

On the vtec "kick" ... definately something happens at or around the 4000rpm mark, there is no doubt of that ... the motor spins like a top starting 3500 to 4000 then all the way up to redline. I've never found any other 'kick' coming in at 6000rpm ... might be true for other Honda vtec motors but not for the Euro.

The only thing I find at and above 6000rpm is the motor pitch changes to a screech like someones stepped on the cats tail ... its an awful stressed and strained sound, doesnt sound right at all. I avoid pushing it up to 6000 or beyond, and if I'm looking for performance I'll take it to 5500rpm before changing gears.

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Originally Posted by MalGib

On the vtec "kick" ... definately something happens at or around the 4000rpm mark, there is no doubt of that ... the motor spins like a top starting 3500 to 4000 then all the way up to redline. I've never found any other 'kick' coming in at 6000rpm ... might be true for other Honda vtec motors but not for the Euro.

The only thing I find at and above 6000rpm is the motor pitch changes to a screech like someones stepped on the cats tail ... its an awful stressed and strained sound, doesnt sound right at all. I avoid pushing it up to 6000 or beyond, and if I'm looking for performance I'll take it to 5500rpm before changing gears.

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That's interesting -- you can't feel the cam change (I think it's actually about 5800)? It's quite clear in my car -- especially if you're accelerating not WOT. There's a little jolt, and the engine suddenly feels much easier and more fluid. I find the most strained or rough feeling part of the rev band is actually about 4-5K.

You feel that there is a kick because the peak torque of the K24A3 is at 4500rpm. Switchover to high-cam is at 6000rpm, with VTC altering the timing through the entire rev range. If you hit the limiter, you still have VTEC working. I haven't tried overrevving and I don't want to.

On my car, the strained part is 2000-3000rpm. After 4000rpm, it's sweet and smooth.