vtec loves to be driven hard?

Guys I have a civic with b18cr engine, and the car is my daily driver. The car often won't hit the vtec much during the weekdays because of the peak traffic and some of the worst roads I have to go through in Sydney. But it does get driven hard during the weekend.

My question is, when the car is treated softly for a few days or longer it seems to be becoming sluggish, however after it gets thrashed around during the weekend, it seems to be more responsive and rev happy. Has anyone experienced the same, is this mechanically possible or am I just imagining things?

The spark plugs are NGK platinum I believe. Would running cold plugs have any negative effects?

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Originally Posted by xtercii

The spark plugs are NGK platinum I believe. Would running cold plugs have any negative effects?

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Yes, the plugs get fouled quicker.

Just compare your plugs to the pics in this link, courtesy of Slow96GSR. http://www.spark-plugs.co.uk/pages/t.../diagnosis.htm

Thanks guys. So if my plugs are running too cold, apart from running hotter ones, would thrash the car more often help?

how do i take out the spark plugs to check??? do i need a special tool or can i use something at home?

its really dark in the holes and i cant really tell if my spark is worn or not

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Originally Posted by gxiang

how do i take out the spark plugs to check??? do i need a special tool or can i use something at home?

its really dark in the holes and i cant really tell if my spark is worn or not

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youll have a spark plug key/socket with your oem jack handle :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by egSi

youll have a spark plug key/socket with your oem jack handle :thumbsup:

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yer?...no shit....i didn't know that

yes one cause of 'sluggishness' is casued by not enough thrashing. i giv mine a quik burst in 2nd and 3rd everyday.
always start with the easiest solution 1st then move up the ladder, no point strating at the hardest possible thing and finding out it could of taken <1min to find the solution >< trust me on that

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Originally Posted by vti_ek9

yer?...no shit....i didn't know that

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but careful when you tighten back the plugs. don't tighten them too hard nor too loose. it will cause damage otherwise.

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Originally Posted by Rice_4_life

yes one cause of 'sluggishness' is casued by not enough thrashing. i giv mine a quik burst in 2nd and 3rd everyday.
always start with the easiest solution 1st then move up the ladder, no point strating at the hardest possible thing and finding out it could of taken <1min to find the solution >< trust me on that

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does this apply to the sohc non vtec ones?

i think in general all VTEC engines, they need a bit of thrasing now and then, dont quote me tho :P seen a couple cars hu dont get thrased and wen u do a big puff of blak smoke cums out :S

There are two reasons I can think of ~

The ECU learns your driving style and sticks to it, until you give it a bit of a thrashing and re-learns the new driving style. Well for K-Series at least.. not sure if that happens with B-Series ECU's.

Thrashing the engine after driving softly for a long time gets rid of built-up deposits thanks to the excess vibrations and higher pressures etc..

quik answer: yes. ur engine does enjoy a thrasing, if i had a b18cr in my civic i would giv it wot it wants everyday:
1) a good thrasing now and then <- note the now and then :P
2) make sure u hav it mechanically maintained.

that is it. treat it well and it'll treat u well. my 2cents

How about oil pressures and engine seals. I used to own a corolla manual and after driving it hard for a year oil started leaking. How do the honda engines hold up to high revving and low gear load constantly ? Is it common to see oil leaks for engines with 100k on the clock ?

as long as u maintain ur engine it should be all good. but as for seals and the likes they do start deterioating at a certain point in time. nothing lasts forever.

I have a Jazz Gli and I never trash it. Should I trash it once in a while? Also mine is an auto, so how to best trash it? Just floor it?

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Originally Posted by Mrrevolution

How about oil pressures and engine seals. I used to own a corolla manual and after driving it hard for a year oil started leaking. How do the honda engines hold up to high revving and low gear load constantly ? Is it common to see oil leaks for engines with 100k on the clock ?

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Hondas don't like low gear loads. Most small displacement engines don't like low engine load. That's why your engine seals started to leak.

i think an occassional thrash is fine for the engine...

otherwise why have vtec?

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Originally Posted by AsH_

i think an occassional thrash is fine for the engine...

otherwise why have vtec?

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VTEC is for fuel efficiency.

Anyway, engine life is calculated by the number of revolutions. Using high RPM does shorten the lifespan of the engine, but it will still be long enough to last over 200,000km as long as it is maintained regularly.

Other engines like those in Holdens were designed to be driven around at low to medium RPM. So the cyclic (no. of rotations) lifespan does not need to be long. That's why you most Holdens engines that were revved constantly would drive not as good as one that was driven gently.

Honda engines on the other hand were designed with a higher RPM for normal driving. The number of rotations it can last is much longer. That's why when you test an engine that has been revved most of its life, it still drives as well as an engine that has been pampered. Of course, the lifespan of the revved engine is still shorter.

For example, say you have an engine designed to cruise at 110km/h at 2500rpm and last 300,000km. Then you have a Honda engine that was designed for 110km/h at 4000rpm and also last 300,000km. That means the "normal" engine was designed for about 410 million revolutions. The Honda engine on the other hand was designed for about 655 million revolutions.

Say you find an engine that hypothetically has been driven at a 6000rpm redline at 110km/h for 100,000km of its life. The normal engine would have gone through 327 million revoltions out of its design of 410 million. That's 80% of its cyclic lifespan. Then you find a similar Honda engine that was driven at 8000rpm at 110km/h for 100,000km. You'd expect the Honda engine to be in worse condition than the other because it has been driven at 2000rpm higher than the normal engine. But when you calculate, although at 100,000km it has gone through 436 million cycles, it is still only 67% of its design capacity. So eventhough the Honda has been thrashed harder than the normal engine, it is still at only 67% of the lifespan compared to the other engine's 80%.

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Originally Posted by Mrrevolution

How about oil pressures and engine seals. I used to own a corolla manual and after driving it hard for a year oil started leaking. How do the honda engines hold up to high revving and low gear load constantly ? Is it common to see oil leaks for engines with 100k on the clock ?

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i have the same problem tooo...btw hw to prevent oil leaks at the seal?or hw much to repair it or etc...

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Originally Posted by marcus

i have the same problem tooo...btw hw to prevent oil leaks at the seal?or hw much to repair it or etc...

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Did you drive at low RPM with high loads, like going uphill at 2000rpm or flooring the accelerator at 1500-2000rpm?

So if a person takes really good care of the engine (regular servicing, 98oct fuel, synthetic engine oil etc.), and does not ever go over 2500-3000rpm, can a Honda engine last 'forever' or will it eventually fail?

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Originally Posted by aaronng

Did you drive at low RPM with high loads, like going uphill at 2000rpm or flooring the accelerator at 1500-2000rpm?

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i m not sure about the 1st one....but flooring at 2rpm maybe..

my answer hasn't been answered yet,

so is sohc non vtec enjoys to be thrased every now and then too?

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Originally Posted by Jazzdude

So if a person takes really good care of the engine (regular servicing, 98oct fuel, synthetic engine oil etc.), and does not ever go over 2500-3000rpm, can a Honda engine last 'forever' or will it eventually fail?

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If they go uphill at 2500rpm and lug the engine, it will fail :)

But if the engine was designed for 300,000km @ 4000rpm, then it should last 400,000km at 3000rpm.

Note: my figure for 300,000km is just a guess. Honda might have designed it for 200,000km or for 400,000km, I do not know the exact number.

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Originally Posted by blk_shadow

my answer hasn't been answered yet,

so is sohc non vtec enjoys to be thrased every now and then too?

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It's an engine. It does not enjoy anything. It is the driver who enjoys it. :p

The engine will withstand a thrashing every now and then.

I have been driving like a hoon these couple of days, I am getting a bit nervous now because my spoon exhaust can get so loud.

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Originally Posted by aaronng

It's an engine. It does not enjoy anything. It is the driver who enjoys it. :p

The engine will withstand a thrashing every now and then.

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thx bro :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by blk_shadow

thx bro :thumbsup:

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Make sure your engine is wamed up fully before thrashing. This is rule #1.
Rule #2 is to make sure your engine oil is always close to the max level when the engine is cold.
Rule #3 is to not lug your engine. So when you floor the accelerator, make sure you have enough RPM to pull.

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Originally Posted by aaronng

Rule #3 is to not lug your engine. So when you floor the accelerator, make sure you have enough RPM to pull.

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what you mean by enough RPM to pull?

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Originally Posted by gxiang

what you mean by enough RPM to pull?

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he means selecting the right gear to maintain or obtain speed. If you try to accelerate from a slow speed in a high gear you are lugging the engine.

Yup, what yfin said. Say there is a hill coming up, and you want to accelerate quickly. Instead of being in 4th gear 2000rpm and flooring it to get over the hill (and lugging the engine), it is better to use 3rd or even 2nd gear at a higher rpm to get the acceleration.

thx guys:D

Does lugging cause any damage?

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Originally Posted by SLOWEGG

Does lugging cause any damage?

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Yes it does. So don't do it.

I change gear at 3k rpm... seems a bit sluggish. Is it ok to change at 3.5 every gear when driving normally or is that a bit too high?

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Originally Posted by simbadda54

I change gear at 3k rpm... seems a bit sluggish. Is it ok to change at 3.5 every gear when driving normally or is that a bit too high?

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It's ok to change at 3.5. That is not high. High is 5000rpm and above.

also I've been told that make sure shifting above 3000, otherwise your engine will weakened.
as the ecu learns to take it too easy and make the engine soft.

I normaly shift anywhere from 3k rpm to 5k rpms depends on the gear

once i accidently launched in 3rd >.< i was tired as shit and drivin more than an hour.. yes i was wondering wtf was goin on :P car didnt wanna go.
and i usally shift b/w 3k-4k.

honda engines are really reliable and (again) yes they do like a thrashing once in a while.

seals always heat up and cool down over and over again so eventually they will harden and crack. no car last forever, all u gotta do is make sure u get the most out of ur engine by maintaining it, repair when u have to or when u want to :P

think of it this way.

your car is like your own body.

never workout or put ur stress your body if u havent warmed up properly.
same goes with a car never thrash it when its cold.

anyways back to the topic. honda didnt set vtec at 5.5 for no reason :) (dont bother getting a vtec controller) so of course vtec loves to be drivin hard lol :) so do chicks.

hope i helped u guys in some way o.O

vtec on B16A is 5,700 - 5,800...

cant remember exactly...

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Originally Posted by yfin

he means selecting the right gear to maintain or obtain speed. If you try to accelerate from a slow speed in a high gear you are lugging the engine.

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So technically its bad for me to "cruise" in 5th gear going 60? cause then wen i accelerate it bogs down??

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Originally Posted by VTi_b0i

So technically its bad for me to "cruise" in 5th gear going 60? cause then wen i accelerate it bogs down??

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That's why it's called "Cruise". If you are maintaining 60, without needing to accelerate, it's fine. If you have to accelerate, you should downshift to a lower gear.

ah i see wat ya mean...thanks aaron

No problem :)

my poor lil engine....

My normal driving shifting point is always around 4k or above, and after few days of driving like that the car still becomes sluggish compared to when you thrashing it like a slut...

hw much does it cost to change the seal or replace it or seal up the sealed???