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Hey Pplz, My vic now has 23,000 kms (15 miles or so). I have been replacing the engine oil and oil filter every 5-7000kms. She's been running sweet, not many problems since I picked it up new. Only real problems are the interior vibrations driving me nutz!

The engine now seems to be quite out of tune! Eg. sounds kinda harsh when under acceleration feel as if it’s lacking low down power/torque. Doesn’t pass smoothly thought he rev range (the usual).

I don’t like taking my Honda’s to Honda for servicing as they simply charge to much. What's the servicing/maintenance required to correctly get our engines back in proper shape correctly tuned and running nicely? Like the valve clearence/timing?

The second part to the question is does any descent workshop have the tools and specifications to correctly Inspect and Adjust our engines?

All feedback appreciated….

 
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There is nothing to tweak on a vehicle of such low mileage. If you are experiencing driveablility issues, and it's not due to your car being modified, it will be covered under warranty. I noticed you specified your mileage in KM so I assume you are in Canada. They can/will decline warranty work on a modified car here. There is no work to be done on your car of such low mileage. Valve clearance doesn't need to be touched until your car is several years old (176,000km). Timing is electronically controlled, so there's nothing to touch there.

 
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It could be to a number of factors, the IAT sensor could be out of wack, the ECT sensor could be, etc. I would take it to Honda and have them look at it.

 
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This may sound dumb, but have you checked your air filter? If that is not it then honda will have to check it out.

 
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If there's no engine light, do the following.

NGK iridium spark plugs
new air filter (napa gold is good)
greased lightning fuel system cleaner
tranny fluid change if auto

That's a start at least. If you've been keeping the rpms low or lots of idle, chances are these is carbon buildup in the engine. Do the above and start driving the car harder. Floor the gas to engage vtec maybe once a week and go fast on the highway.

 
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It's a non-vtec. 5sp manual sedan. I have a AEM cold air intake and axel back exhaust. I have been driving the car fairly hard! Like bouncing the car off 7k at 220 Km/h. Ect.... All the mods went on straight after the 1k first service. And for the past 20k it's been perfect running so nice! Now it's having the above mentioned problems. I exhaust and throttle have both gotten increasing louder! Hence I think it was the Valves that would need to be adjusted! It's also been very hot over the past 2 months like 40 Degrees. So maybe could it be the spark plugs, however on my last Accord I had completely different symptoms before I have to change the spark plugs.

 
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My stock plugs only lasted 18k miles. Also, that intake and exhaust will reduce low end torque. Valves only need adjusting if noisy. You will hear the engine making loud clicking sounds.

 
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The engine is not making any loud clicking sounds. My exhaust and Intake increased torque and power I have a Dyno graph to shwo this.

 
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The car did go into Honda, last week. There was no alarming codes. Accept a Right-Hand rear ABS speed sensor. Which they didn't replace because they tried to f@#k me of due to the modifications. Dude trried to tell me that "because of the after market exhaust, who ever fitted it must have nocked the speeed sensor out fo the back wheel". I told him it's b**s*it! They were suppose to get back to me, nothing! So i will wait one a few more days go in there and blast them at 8:30am sharp when all people are dropping are dropping there cars off!!

 
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What do you mean no work to be done? (175,000km)?? In the owners manual is says that the Valves need to be adjusted every 40,000km??

 
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I'm looking right at my manual. 2003 Honda Civic LX Sedan. P 194, Inspect every 176,000km, otherwise adjust only if noisy. This information corresponds to the service information on honda.ca

 
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Like tacheon said. There is nothing to be done on a car with only 23K km. The sparkplugs is platium. They last at least 60K miles (100K km), even when driven hard. If driven normally, they'll easily last 100K miles (162K km). There is no need to replace any sensors because any sensor that is faulty will immediately cause the ECU to throw an error code together with a "Check Engine" light. So, don't mess with things that is not broken.

Since you said you have been driving the car really hard. I suspect you have a lot of engine wear (rings, valves, ...etc.). Your engine may have worn to a point where there is a lot of free play between piston and cylinder wall; valves and valve guides, ...etc. All these loose moving parts contribute to more noise. These kind of wear can happen if you make very agressive turns while running at high engine (near/at readline). As you turn, oil will be pushed to the side of the oil pan due to centrifugal force. If the turn is hard enough, the oil pickup may be expose to air. This situation will lead to oil starvation. i.e. no oil going to the moving parts. At high engine speed, this can cause a lot of engine wear. They add up very quickly if you do this often.

If you want, you can perform a compression test or a leakdown test to see how well the combustion chamber holds pressure. This will at least give you an indication of the health of each cylinder.

 
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[QUOTE=EX4Dr]Since you said you have been driving the car really hard. I suspect you have a lot of engine wear (rings, valves, ...etc.). Your engine may have worn to a point where there is a lot of free play between piston and cylinder wall; valves and valve guides, ...etc. All these loose moving parts contribute to more noise. These kind of wear can happen if you make very agressive turns while running at high engine (near/at readline). As you turn, oil will be pushed to the side of the oil pan due to centrifugal force. If the turn is hard enough, the oil pickup may be expose to air. This situation will lead to oil starvation. i.e. no oil going to the moving parts. At high engine speed, this can cause a lot of engine wear. They add up very quickly if you do this often.
QUOTE]

That makes alot of sence and some how whilst I read that obove paragraph somthing hits me right between the eyes! I all ads up
The amount of times I've taken a sharp bend flat-out in 2nd gear just coming out bouncing of the redline and going into 3rd.

Looks like I've been having to much fun! I will try to relax a bit on the driving to preserve me engine for a little longer.

 
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Not true. The sensor could be defective enough to cause drivability problems without reaching the criteria to throw a check engine light.

 
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do the necessary first. then if problems persist, take it somewhere.