what does vtec actually sound and feel like?

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Old 10-15-2007, 08:12 PM
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what does vtec actually sound and feel like?

I have a stock '04 engine and I've been trying to hear any change in exhaust note or feel for a power surge around 6000 rpm but so far I haven't noticed anything. VTEC is one of those things Honda owners put on a pedestal so I was just wondering what the big fuss is about =P
Old 10-15-2007, 08:25 PM
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kinda like freedom for me, it doesnt feel like there's any restriction...kind of like all of a sudden you're gliding.
Old 10-15-2007, 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by OoKrnBoi0331oO
kinda like freedom for me, it doesnt feel like there's any restriction...kind of like all of a sudden you're gliding.

^^no that would be crank....as for VTEC...it kind of whines a little bit at 6k rpm and pulls a little harder
Old 10-15-2007, 08:54 PM
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The engine sound should get louder, deeper and throatier. It is most noticed after an intake, then you will really hear it (and feel it)
Old 10-15-2007, 09:25 PM
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Did you get hondata? If so, the RPM is lowered to 4.3k-ish and it's set so that the vtec change-over isn't noticeable.

Otherwise, at 6k, the RPM's should shoot up fast, the engine will sound louder, and you'll feel a bit of a stronger pull. If vtec isn't engaging, your oil pressure might not be high enough.
Old 10-15-2007, 09:46 PM
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VTEC gives you good fuel consumption. That's what it is all cranked up to be.
Old 10-15-2007, 10:08 PM
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well i bought my car used so i am not sure how i can figure out if it's had a reflash... i'm just assuming it hasn't...

it doesn't help that the window between 6000rpm and upshifting is so small...
Old 10-15-2007, 10:36 PM
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well is more like a little um wistle. peeeeee lol
Old 10-15-2007, 11:17 PM
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test drive a honda S2000....you'll feel it at 6,000 RPM!
Old 10-16-2007, 01:21 AM
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vtec is primarily for fuel economy. the last vtec changeover is what you're describing, get an intake and you can hear and feel it better
Old 10-16-2007, 05:28 AM
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when you hit vtak it feels like a rocket booster just fired. your heAD snaps back into the seat and you pull about 4 g's.
its sick.
Old 10-16-2007, 07:19 AM
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haha rocketships. c'mon, the eariler vtec motors had a distinct profile change when it switched over, just like suddenly the motor turns into something totally different. the new ivtec with vtc is designed for smoothness, so it the average non-informed driver does feel more power, but he/she probaly wouldn't know exactly when. you can try to search on youtube for a tsx or rsx or newer civic si with exhaust/intake on a dyno or something. you should be able to tell when it switches over.
Old 10-16-2007, 07:32 AM
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you can always add a vtec indicator led...

(i'm thinking of doing this in my beater civic)
Old 10-16-2007, 08:20 AM
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Originally Posted by SoCaliTrojan
Did you get hondata? If so, the RPM is lowered to 4.3k-ish and it's set so that the vtec change-over isn't noticeable.
Correction, VTEC engagement point is lowered to 5k in 04/05s, 4850 in 06s, and 3k for the S/Ced guys .
Old 10-16-2007, 08:40 AM
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ha... nice found something that'll give me a better idea of what to look for next time...

also, i've been trying to hear it in 1st gear... vtec in 2nd gear is too fast for me

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GfToIocVpyQ
Old 10-16-2007, 08:45 AM
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maybe you are not hearing/feeling vtec bc you need to replace your vtec fluids. lol

drive in a stock 06-08, you will hear/feel it.
Old 10-16-2007, 08:47 AM
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its kinda like..
vrooooom
then it goes vrrRRRRRR000000000000000000000MMMM!(second you hit 6k...)
get an intake of any brand. you'll hear the dif.
or.. lol back in the day for kicks. i took the the lid off the air filter.
you can hear it that way too... but i wouldn't recommend it. what if ur filter flies out. lol.
Old 10-16-2007, 01:00 PM
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I had been wondering the same thing. :-D I think I notice it best when mashing it after crusing at around 40 MPH. I never notice it on the freeway. I wish I had another car to compare! Oh well.

Stock '04 as well.

I want to upgrade the intake, but I can't justify the $200+ just yet....and I'm too lazy to switch it over whenever I take the car in for service (still under warranty).
Old 10-16-2007, 01:10 PM
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Vtec has been mellow out over the years mostly because a lot of the people who can afford theses cars new didn't like the snappy transition it used to have. If you really want to experience Vtec, get your hands on a 5th gen Prelude or a Integra GSR. Those old Vtec engines like the B16, B18 and my personal favorite the H22 had a lot more snap when the Vtec engages the more aggressive cam profile.

In Boston we use to words to describe both the sound and feel of Vtec

Wicked Pissa!!!
Old 10-16-2007, 03:01 PM
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Originally Posted by vthree
its kinda like..
vrooooom
then it goes vrrRRRRRR000000000000000000000MMMM!(second you hit 6k...)
get an intake of any brand. you'll hear the dif.
or.. lol back in the day for kicks. i took the the lid off the air filter.
you can hear it that way too... but i wouldn't recommend it. what if ur filter flies out. lol.

tape that bitch down!
Old 10-16-2007, 04:34 PM
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Go and test an Si or RSX-S if you want to know what it sounds like. On the TSX, it's added as an afterthought just to gain some good power specs.
Old 10-16-2007, 05:04 PM
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Originally Posted by thunder04
I had been wondering the same thing. :-D I think I notice it best when mashing it after crusing at around 40 MPH. I never notice it on the freeway. I wish I had another car to compare! Oh well.

Stock '04 as well.

I want to upgrade the intake, but I can't justify the $200+ just yet....and I'm too lazy to switch it over whenever I take the car in for service (still under warranty).
hmm check on amazon! or ebay!
i got my first k&n cold air intake with everything. for only $65 shipped!!!
also people sell theirs quite a few times in the BM
=)
Old 10-16-2007, 05:24 PM
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just get a cone and some piping and make a home made intake lol. its all the same shit
Old 10-16-2007, 05:26 PM
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Check out the Hondata Reflash review on Temple of VTEC.
http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...icle_id=339233

At the bottom of that page are a couple of video clips (with sound) of the dyno runs. Listen for the change in the tone of the engine at higher RPMS, it gets a little more raspy and aggressive sounding. That transition is the vtec crossover.
Old 10-16-2007, 06:45 PM
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Old 10-16-2007, 09:50 PM
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whats a good intake for he tsx, i just got n 08 and i would like to start out slowly doin some stuff to it?
Old 10-16-2007, 10:01 PM
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Injen CAI. Lets you use it in CAI or SRI mode, depending on your mood and weather. Best thing is that it is kind to your hip pocket too.
Old 10-16-2007, 10:11 PM
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When I got my vehicle, I did a couple of careful 1st 2nd and 3rd gear accelerations up to redline. Well, the first couple of times, I sped from 6000 to well into redline and I think I encountered that limiter thing. That, to me, is what vtec does.

My impression of Vtec, at a point when other engines are running out of increase of RPMs, this engine gets a sort of second wind and goes right past redline without a complaint.
Old 10-16-2007, 10:42 PM
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VTEC (which stands for Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control) is an electronic and mechanical system in some Honda engines that allows the engine to effectively have multiple camshafts. As the engine moves into different rpm ranges, the engine's computer can activate alternate lobes on the camshaft and change the cams timing. In this way, the engine gets the best features of lowspeed and highspeed camshafts in the same engine.

And as for the system its self making a sound, I think it has more to do with the sound of the engine/pitch of the exhaust/intake as a result of the change in the cam timing , and not as a result of the something in the system its self.
Old 10-21-2007, 04:36 AM
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honestly, my old non-vtec sohc f22 in my accord sounds wayyyy better than the vtec in my 97 cl. I remember when I would floor that sucker, and it would literally scream.

but yeah, vtak is overrated.
Old 10-21-2007, 07:52 AM
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Originally Posted by fliplyricist1
honestly, my old non-vtec sohc f22 in my accord sounds wayyyy better than the vtec in my 97 cl. I remember when I would floor that sucker, and it would literally scream.

but yeah, vtak is overrated.
The sound/noise/acceleration is not made by VTEC. It is made by the combination of cams and intake.
Old 10-21-2007, 08:50 AM
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Talking about what VTEC sounds like is similar to "dancing about architecture," as a critic once said.
Old 10-21-2007, 12:36 PM
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They explained it already its the cams going to a higher lobe so when your flooring it you hear the steady acceleration and then you hear a higher pitch towards the end thats vtec engaging.


http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...icle_id=214692
http://video.vtec.net/04/tsx/aemtsx.wmv
you hear it around the end of the gearing
for 04.05 only get vtec 6800-7200

with hondata you get
http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-ar...icle_id=339233
http://video.vtec.net/tsx/tovtsx_hondata_dyno.wmv
Old 10-21-2007, 01:34 PM
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Old 10-22-2007, 12:26 AM
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VTEC works much better if you mix these two gas: half Shell V-Power and half Cheveron Tectron so together you have full VTEC Yo
Old 10-22-2007, 12:32 AM
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VTEC doesn't depend on gas. It depends on engine oil and oil pressure to push the mechanism.
Old 10-24-2013, 09:14 PM
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I definitely can tell the difference on my 2006 tl, after I put the short ram cone intake I can really tell, ive had sooo many people ask me if I have turbo, nopee just a monster v-tec! She sucks hard!
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