How do you know if you need a valve adjustment? My car has over 100k miles and I believe honda recommends one at this interval. The car feels fine though.

 

I neglected mine; some valves were about 3 gauges too tight. This made idle lumpy, especially in warm weather.
For tools it only takes a feeler gauge ($5-$10), 10mm ratchet, allen wrench for spark plug cover, pliers, wheel wrench for crankshaft, torque wrench, and maybe a spark plug tool. Takes all night on your first try but at least you get to see the condition of your cylinder head. My first attempt I found my valve cover gasket was chewed so I had to keep the car parked another couple days.
I think a valve adjustment should be done more frequently than honda specifies since its cheap to do.

 

you wont know you need one until you put a feeler gauge in there and check the specs.

if they are within spec, just put the valve cover back on and you're done.

if they are out of spec, then you got more work to do.

 

maintenance isnt required but its highly recommended

 

I just did my valve adjustment (120k miles), and the car SEEMS to have a little more power (probably just me). But the valves were mostly too tight. I also repainted the valve cover while I was at it, and as gen2gsr said, its a good chance to check out the condition of your car. I would definitely recommend a valve adjustment tool (<$5 at Harbor freight). I dont know how people can do these without it. I tried the old "10mm and screwdriver", but I ended up making a meakeshift tool, with a deepwell 10mm. I grinded 2 sides down so I could get a wrench on it tightly, and stuck a thin screwdriver through it. The valve cover gasket (you need one) also comes with those 5 rubber/metal gasket/washer things that you can see holding it down. The whole kit goes for around $25 from Honda. Other than that, its quite simple. Theres a nice thread around here somewhere, just search "valve adjustment diy." Shouldnt take you more than an hour or 2. Also, if you can, get a bent feeler gauge. I had to just bend all the ones I needed.
<-- Valve adjustment tool

 

i needed mine done at only 30k miles....honda dealer said you might need one every 30k miles or so.

 

careful with the valvecover bolts, just snug them up with a small wratchet

 

I used the following tool for my valve adjustment. I agree with everyone else. You won't know till you do it. Go for the middle adjustment if you don't plan on doing it often. I went on the tighter side for better performance.

http://www.amazon.com/Alltrade-64882...8330962&sr=8-1

 

I did mine today at 80k miles after installed ap2 retainers. Every single one was too tight, but I set the back to the tighter side of within spec.

 

For what its worth, I'm on my first tank of gas after my valve adjustment. It seems like I'm getting alot better MPGs! I usually get a little over 200 miles per tank(ish-about 9-10 gallons, when the light comes on). But this tank has already got 200 miles, and a quarter tank left. And I have played with VTEC more on this tank than most others haha