pinging

it's definitely a possibility, but check the ignition timing first though. if that shows OK, and the distributor is at one end or the other of the rotation slots, the belt's ou. make sure the fix is done by the head mechanic, not the apprentice - timing belt tension on a honda needs to be just right and whoever did this job last time doesn't know what they're doing.

Take the car back to the shop that did the timing belt replacement as soon as possible. The most likely cause for your pinging problem is that the mechanic did not get the mechanical timing correct and failed to check either the mechanical timing or the ignition timing after the belt was replaced (another possibility is that the belt was not tensioned correctly and slipped a tooth or two). Adjusting the distributor is not a suitable solution. Although you may be able to get the ignition timing in a reasonable place, the valve timing will still be off and cause the engine to have poor performance (or if the belt slipped initially, it could slip again leading to bent valves). Note that driving around with excessive pinging can destroy the piston ring lands causing the engine to burn oil necessitating a rebuild of the lower end of the motor. Also note that if your car ran fine on 87 octane gas before the belt replacement, then it should most likely run fine on it afterwards unless there was a problem resulting from the belt replacement.

Eric

Comebacks at a shop are usually handled by the tech that initially did the work. This system allows them to learn from their mistakes. Many shops pay their techs flat rate. Thus, the tech would have more incentive to get the job done right as they would be working for free on a comeback (and there's little incentive for a shop to pay another tech for warranty work). Such a situation may not be the case though if the initial tech was doing work that was clearly beyond their capability.

Eric

which it obviously was. you wouldn't want this guy touching /your/ car again would you?