Mr Pilot, obviously you know a great deal about Honda cars in general and what is normal and what isnt.To attempt to diagnose a ticking sound on here is difficult at best. Your noise might be a tick, tick or a ticky ticky,or a clack or a thunk. LOL>.Honestly, your engine is generally very quiet. Asking your Rep, Im assumeing you mean your local Honda/Acura dealer service rep? If this is the case, you will be very disappointed. 99 % know nothing about Cars,they are collage educated business majors that are taught facts and figures like Customer satisfaction surveys.The days of Honda hiring people like me that actually Know the cars mechanically wise are long gone.Im not even going to get into the affirmative action hiring policy which im a victum as we speak. Im other words, the "Rep" will ask the lead technician/Shop forman his opinion about your problem.A lightly ticking valve train is actually good for most peoples cars because it provides a strong manifold vacuum. The MAP sensor ( Manifold Air Pressure) controls the fuel rate.A high manifold vacuum provides better fuel economy and driveability.I know this post really dosent answer your question, again because I cant hear your engine noise,but at least you know more now then when you wrote your post.