Losing control when VTEC engages?

ImElvis

Sup yo'
I drive a 1994 Acura Integra GS-R.

I was on an isolated street, no one around, no houses, just an old abandoned business place with a long road, so I was doing it somewhat safely and not near traffic, schools, or residential.

I floored 1st, I don't know if there is VTEC or not, but from what I heard and felt I think there was, and when VTEC engaged, my steering wheel started steering left and right on it's own, I heard what sounded like a very loud sucking sound when VTEC had engaged, and I had to hold the steering wheel straight. Then I shifted to 2nd, and it stopped but I didn't try hitting VTEC anymore cause it was kind of a heart stopper for me..

Is it normal for this to happen? I don't hit VTEC much, when I do I just let it engage for a few seconds, and shift..
 

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
Either uneven tire wear, a bad CV joint, crap tires, some wheel hop, bad driving, or a mixture of the last three. No offense :lol:
 

ImElvis

Sup yo'
Either uneven tire wear, a bad CV joint, crap tires, some wheel hop, bad driving, or a mixture of the last three. No offense :lol:
None taken lol
I just got 2 new tires like last month with no alignment, and the other 2 came with the car with good tread.
Brands are Yokohama and Good Year. I think it might be my CV joint then since my car is 16 years old.. but not sure..
Thanks for the help!
 

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
It only happens under VTEC load? Not when you floor it at any other point in the power band? And not at any particular speed?

You can test the CV joint theory easily. Find a cul-de-sac or an empty road. Put the wheel at full-lock left and drive in circles. The do the same on the right side. If you hear/feel a clicking or any metal-on-metal abnormal sounds, you have a bad CV joint on whichever side the noise is on :thumbs up

Was the steering problem making long, sweeping pulls or was it short, violent shaking?
 


ImElvis

Sup yo'
It only happens under VTEC load? Not when you floor it at any other point in the power band? And not at any particular speed?

You can test the CV joint theory easily. Find a cul-de-sac or an empty road. Put the wheel at full-lock left and drive in circles. The do the same on the right side. If you hear/feel a clicking or any metal-on-metal abnormal sounds, you have a bad CV joint on whichever side the noise is on :thumbs up

Was the steering problem making long, sweeping pulls or was it short, violent shaking?
Yes, it only happened when VTEC engaged. I didn't try engaging VTEC anymore afterwards.
I'll give the CV joint test a try.
The steering problem was when VTEC engaged and my car started getting faster, then I let off the gas and it was gone. My grip on the steering wheel was semi-hard(?) cause I'm just like that I guess.. and when it happened, the steering wheel jerked left about maybe 1 1/2 inches, then I tugged back and the car was like back and fourth a little bit until I left off.

Wish I had VTEC :/

Good luck with your problem lol :thumbs up
Haha I really can't imagine driving a manual car without VTEC.. it's just awesome! Thanks :)
 

BigMac88

Fat guy in a little 'teg
It went back and forth (more than likely) because you overcorrected, especially if you cut the wheel back to the right. That's what your description sounds like to me. Also, it looks like you have some all-seasons on there (in your sig). Those large-ish profile all-seasons usually aren't made for sharp steering response. They tend to take a split-second to transfer weight, so some of the giggling after the initial tug to the left was also due to this factor (compounded by the overcorrection).

Sometimes and improperly balanced or unevenly worn tire can have problems, but it's more of a consistent shudder. But since you said it only happened once when you hit VTEC, it sounds like the tire caught a groove in the road or something. A bad CV joint would cause a consistent shudder as well, under hard acceleration.
 


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tenshi_R

luxury integra driver
lol i dont need vtec for that.
its the low end torque from LS muahahahha.
but on a serious note.
lack of LSD
uneven road or wavy road,gravel on the road.
bad engine mount.

power steering
 

ricardofavela11

New Member
well this one time i did something like that was when i shifted into second while hitting vtec while the road curved and the wheel jerked, but i thought it was from the power hahah idk it was intense
 

ImElvis

Sup yo'
It went back and forth (more than likely) because you overcorrected, especially if you cut the wheel back to the right. That's what your description sounds like to me. Also, it looks like you have some all-seasons on there (in your sig). Those large-ish profile all-seasons usually aren't made for sharp steering response. They tend to take a split-second to transfer weight, so some of the giggling after the initial tug to the left was also due to this factor (compounded by the overcorrection).

Sometimes and improperly balanced or unevenly worn tire can have problems, but it's more of a consistent shudder. But since you said it only happened once when you hit VTEC, it sounds like the tire caught a groove in the road or something. A bad CV joint would cause a consistent shudder as well, under hard acceleration.
hm.. I'll try doing it again to see what happens, and I'll check out my tires along with that CV joint test.
 

ImElvis

Sup yo'
well this one time i did something like that was when i shifted into second while hitting vtec while the road curved and the wheel jerked, but i thought it was from the power hahah idk it was intense
You live in Oceanside? Oceanside next to Carlsbad, Escondido, Vista, and all that?
 

blaketeg

I <3 Boost
its all that horsepower vtakkk gives you, maybe you should get some drag slicks :lol:

no, it almost sounds like your alignment could be off
 

JDMxDB8

Raceline USA
You know your car is badass when you lose control when VTEC kicks in yo!

In all seriousness... You should check your alignment and suspension components.
 
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