I've owned a 4th gen Accord and now my '06 civic is my 2nd honda. These 2 4bangers are identical in terms of engine noice especially when cold. I've also owned Celicas (also 4bangers) in the past and it is not noisy as honda. Should I just accept the fact that Honda engines are efficient but noisy. Just wondering...

But on a more impt thing. I can hear a clank/squeak at the front when Im going over bumps or when driving slow on uneven roads. I havent inspected under the car coz it still damn too cold. What is more likely the problem - stabilizer link, cv joint, tie rod, ball joint, shocks/springs, steering column, ???

 

^I seriously lol'd when I read the title of this thread! haha.

First off, how many km's on each of these engines? And what kind of oil are you using?

My 11 year old b16 with 260+ km's on it chatters a bit when it's cold, but that is significantly reduced with synthetic oil. Especially in the colder winter months. Regular oil doesn't like to flow very well when it's cold. Another thing to remember is engint components expand and contract with heat and cold. So a piston, for example, is slightly smaller when it's -10 than it is when it's up to full operating temp. The same goes for many other moving parts in an engine. So on initial start up, there is some looseness in the tolerances until everything warms up. Thus, it's noisy at first. This is also why you shouldn't beat on the engine when it's cold.

Advancements in engine component materials has come a long way in recent years to minimize the expansion and contraction, but it's difficult to completely eliminate it.