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1.1 How to cut your springs correctly
1.2 How to convert to one wiper
1.3 How to tint your lights black
1.8 Various Honda Performance info
14/07/01
1.1 How to cut the springs correctly?
Ok, as funny as it sounds there actually is a correct way to cut your springs. Firstly there are two ways to cut the springs: on the car and off the car. I would recommend off the car, but often time is a issue and on the car is the only option.
It is recommended to cut FULL coils. (eg cut 1 coil, not 0.25 coil)
On the car: Jack the car up and remove the wheel. Undo the bolts on the upper arm and place a block under the disc brake for support. Now you will have access to the strut, showing the spring. Now simple mark the reduction on the spring from the BOTTOM. This is important as not to cause damage to your Preludes suspension components. With an angle grinder cut the spring and repeat for all four springs. Its that simple.
Off the car: Once again jack the car up, but now you need to remove the entire strut. This involves unbolting the upper control arm, the bolt from the fork connection of the lower arm, and finally the three bolts of the upper assembly (located in the engine bay). Note all this is done while the disc brake is supported by placing a block underneath. Now use spring compressors to allow for the spring seat nut to be removed. Now simple remove the spring, and with the angle grinder cut the desired amount of coils off (from the bottom). Repeat for all four springs.
14/07/01
1.2 How to convert to one wiper
This is very simple and looks good. Firstly remove both the wipers. Next place the wiper that normally sits on the passenger side, on the driver side wiper bolt. Now simple set the wiper at approximately 30-45 degrees from the passenger side and your done!
Please not that this will not wipe the passenger side, just the drivers side.
14/07/01
1.3 How to tint your lights black
This procedure will work for front indicators, tail lights and side indicators. (all lights in other words). Firstly remove the lights, and with steel wool rub the lights down well, this will provide a median for which the tint to hold on to. Next by some spray on tint (from your local automotive store) and light spray nice even coats until you get the darkness you desire.
Often the spray-on tint does not leave a smooth shiny finish, this is why I recommend to spray a clear coat lacquer spray. The trick to this is not to spray light even coats but thick even coats. This will also provide added protection.
14/07/01
1.4 Project Camber
This is currently a project that is still under development, but does work. As negative camber is caused by the upper control arm not being long enough, I have proposed to make very simple modifications to the original upper control arm. The modification involves drilling a hole in the control arm to make a slot closer to the edge of the arm (not too close this will weaken the structure).
Note, i have just realised that some upper control arms have the hole closer to the edge, so that a slot could not be drilled. Therefore a piece of high strength carbon steel should be welded onto the control arm with the new holes drilled on the expansion.
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Thanks to Nidecker for the images
Even though this might not seem like a lot of adjustment, you will be surprised how much straighter your wheels will sit. All for the cost of ZERO dollars!!
Currently there have been no complications - this text will be revised if required.
02/08/01
1.5 How to make clear corners
All you have to do is remove both sets lights. Get hold of some covers from flouresent lights in offices. Trace the outside line of the orange lenses to the celling light panel.
So basically you are making a totally new lense out of the flouresent cover. Then once you have the patterns traced, cover the lines that you are going to cut with duct tape, and cut them out with a jig saw. Careful because the plastic is really flimsy, it breaks pretty easy.
Take your light housing, and chip away all of the orange lens. Once you have most of ythe orange lense off take some sort of grinding tool, im sure sandpapper will work well too... and make it so you cant see anymore of that orange lense on the housing. You do that to all of the lights. Then, heat your oven and take the light housing (i like to do one or two at a time) And lay the plastic on top of it.. Watch it carefully it takes about 5 min to soften up. Then once the new lense is bendable you shape it (wear some gloves or something, its pretty hot) to the housing. Once you have it all shapped up, you just put some glue around the edges of housing--then lay the new lense on. Use a rubberband and let it sit over night to dry. Thats all there is too it.
Thanks Kyle for the image
Just do that to the remaining 3 lights and you'll be set.
thanx to joe
09/08/01
1.6 Cat modifications
This is how to make your catalytic converter bester than a Hi-Flow cat!!! In actual fact this is a very simple modification, with a performance gain that you can notice.
Please note that this is illegal, but the way i have designed this mod, it will always look prefectly legal. Firstly you must remove your origal cat, this is simple done, so that you can make accurate measurements. Next produce a modified cat like the diagram below:
This simply consists of two pipes welded together, with the exhaust fumes only being allowed to flow in the direction illustarted (thus the rear (R) end of the pipe is actually a dummy pipe). Now when this new modified cat is installed, it will look legal, but you will get all the performance and sound increase!
10/08/01
1.7 Custom Cold air intake
This modification is very simple and effective. Firstly remove your old air filter and box, rip it all out!! Now at the moment the plastic pipe from your EFI to the original air box is at a 90 degree angle facing down. What you need to do is loosen the bracket at the EFI end, and rotate the plastic piping until it is 90 degrees facing the front of the car (therefore rotate extactly 90 degrees). Please note that for this 90 degree rotation to be possible you must also disconnect atleast one rubber hose all conneced to the plastic piping. This might sound confusing at the moment, but as soon as you attempt the pipe rotation you will see exactly waht i mean.
Now you must get hold of your sports filter (i used K&N) and measure the inside diameter, this should be approx. 3inch.
The next part is up to you. Either get hold of 3inch PVC, aluminium, or stainless steel piping and measure the length needed for your FILTER (not pipe) to sit along side the battery. Simply cut to correct size and connect the new pipe using adjustable backets.
Now the final part to to connect the hose that was previously disconnected. As you probably will notice the original hose does not fit anymore, so you will need to purchase a right angle irrigation pipe to suit the hose size. This will be dirt cheap (50cents).
Connect the right angle pipe to the plastic EFI pipe and your done! your custom cold air intake system is complete.
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Various Honda Performance Question and Answers
0.0 Table of contents
Dictionary
3.0 Engines
3.0 Engine Basics
3.1 What engine oil should I use? How often should I change it?![]()
3.2 What's the difference between SOHC versus DOHC?
3.3 What's VTEC?
3.4 How often should I adjust my valves?
3.5 What is a porting & polished head job?
3.6 What benefit do I get from changing camshafts?
3.7 What are cam sprockets? What do they do?
3.8 What models and engines are out there?![]()
3.9 Can the [xxx] engine be swapped into the [xxx] chassis?
3.10 What do I need to know before rebuilding my engine?
3.11 Do reprogrammed computer chips work?
3.12 Who makes the best VTEC cam?
3.13 What's a milled head?
3.14 Should I buy a VTEC controller? Can I make my own?
3.15 Can I just swap a VTEC cylinder head onto my non-VTEC motor?![]()
3.16 What does a lightened crankshaft pulley do for me and who makes them?
3.17 What does an underdrive pulley do?
3.18 What's a blueprinted engine?
3.19 What's shotpeening?
3.20 What VTEC camshafts are compatible with each other?
3.21 How do I break in an engine?![]()
3.22 Why is there a difference between USA and JDM engine power outputs?![]()
3.23 Why do you give those valves an angled seat?![]()
3.24 Any cures for a rough idle due to a camshaft(s) swap?![]()
3.25 Comparison of B18A/B to B18C Integra engines![]()
4.0 Intake System
4.1 Why do I need a cold air intake?
4.2 What's ram air?
4.3 What air filter is the best? Will more dirt be let in?
4.4 What intake system is the best?
4.5 What's a bored out throttle body?
4.6 What's the coolant bypass modification?
4.7 Why does my car idle bad after a t-body swap?
4.8 Why do I need to port match my intake manifold?
4.9 What is extrude hone?
4.10 What's a resonator? Why should I remove it?
4.11 Why should I adjust my throttle cable?
4.12 Is there hope for a 1.5 SOHC with the lousy intake?![]()
4.13 What is the Tornado and how does it work?
4.14 How do I clean a HKS filter?![]()
5.0 Exhaust Systems
5.1 How loud do exhausts get?
5.2 Which manufactured cat back system is the best?
5.3 I wanna save money and get a custom exhaust. What do I need to get?
5.4 What are headers?
5.5 Who makes the best headers?
5.6 How much power will I get by removing my catalytic converter?
5.7 What are the legal consequences of removing my catalytic converter?
5.8 Should I get a ceramic coated or stainless steel header?
5.9 Should I buy a high-flow catalytic converter?
6.0 NOS
6.1 Assorted Nitrous Oxide Information
6.2 How much NOS can my stock engine take?
6.3 What kind of gains should I expect with NOS?
6.4 How much does a refill of NOS Cost (15 pounds)?
6.5 What causes NOS backfire? Why should I use a purge valve?
6.6 Real World NOS Damage Stories
7.0 Supercharging
7.1 What is it like ordering a supercharger from Jackson Racing?
7.2 Are there any customer testomonials for the Jackson Racing supercharger?![]()
7.3 Why do I have to use a stock engine with a Jackson Racing supercharger?![]()
8.0 Turbocharging
8.1 What's in a DRAG turbo kit system?
8.2 Does VTEC work well with turbocharging?
8.3 How much horsepower will a Greddy Bolt-On Turbo Civic make?
8.4 How is boost regulated?
8.5 What's the difference between a manual and an electronic boost controller?
8.6 What's the best boost controller?
8.7 What's a blow off valve? Do I need it adjustable?
8.8 Does a turbocharged motor really need no backpressure?
8.9 Does a turbocharger add a significant restriction in the exhaust path?
8.10 Is boost all that matters, what's CFM have to do with it?![]()
8.11 Do turbochargers really lag that much?![]()
8.12 Why use an intercooler, if the intercooler itself creates a restriction?![]()
9.0 Ignition
9.1 Will changing my plug wires give me more hp?
9.2 What kind of plugs should I use?
9.3 What does a colder/hotter plug mean?
9.4 Why do I need to upgrade my ignition system?
9.5 How does advancing timing improve power?
9.6 How do I advance my timing?
9.7 What does indexing plugs do and how do I do it?
9.8 When should I widen my spark plug gap?
9.9 Why should I examine my spark plugs?
9.10 What good is an ignition unit rev limiter?
9.11 Do Nology wires deliver horsepower improvements?
9.12 [VTEC] Should I run stock platinum plugs or switch to copper?
10.0 Transmission
10.1 Why does my transmission crunch during shifts? How do I fix it?
10.2 What's clutch chatter?
10.3 What's a good performance clutch to get?
10.4 Why should I lighten my flywheel?
10.5 What's a limited slip differential (LSD)?
10.6 Should I use a Type R LSD or Quaiffe?
10.7 If I have a LSD, do I need to care for it differently?
10.8 What kind of aftermarket flywheels are out there?
10.9 Is my speedometer accurate when I am gunning for a top speed run?
10.10 How hard is it to convert an automatic transmission to a manual one?
10.11 How do I make modify my own shifter to have a shorter throw?
10.12 What's all this about gear ratios? Why mix and match trannies?
11.0 Brakes
11.1 What's brake fade?
11.2 What performance brake pads do I buy?
11.3 Why should I use cross drilled/slotted rotors?
11.4 What kind of brake fluid should I use?
What's wet and dry boiling temperature?
11.5 Do aftermarket brake lines improve stopping distances?
11.6 Who makes brake lines? And is DOT approval necessary?
11.7 How are brake fluids classified?![]()
12.0 Wheels
12.0 Wheel basics (offset, diameter, width)
12.1 I wanna get a set of wheels, how do I make sure they're gonna fit?
12.2 How do I buy the best set of wheels for handling and acceleration?
12.3 What's a hubcentric wheel? Why do I need hubcentric adapters?
13.0 Tires
13.1 Will I really sacrifice my ride comfort with low profile tires?
13.2 What's a good tire pressure to set?
13.3 How do I pick a good tire?
13.4 Why do my tires wear out fast on my lowered Honda?
14.0 Suspension
14a.0 Springs
14a.1 How low can I go?
14a.2 What's the difference between a progressive versus linear rate spring?
14a.3 Do I need new struts if I get lowering springs?
14a.4 I want to cheap out and cut my springs. Why shouldn't I?
14a.5 Do I need to realign my car once lowering springs are installed?
14a.6 What's for the formula for spring rate?
14b.0 Struts/Shocks
14b.1 What's compression and rebound? Why adjust both?
14b.2 Should I get adjustable or non-adjustable struts/shocks?
14b.3 Should I cut my bumpstops if I lower my car?
14b.4 Why do my Tokico Illuminas bottom out so much on my 3rd Gen Integra?
14c.0 Swaybars
14c.1 How do sway bars work?
14c.2 Should I disconnect my front sway bar?
14c.3 Should I only get a rear sway bar?
14d.0 Chassis Braces/Roll cages
14e.0 Misc suspension components
14e.1 I've heard of camber kits to correct my lowered Honda's negative
camber problem. How do they work and who makes them?
14e.2 Why should I upgrade my bushings to poly-urethane ones?
14e.3 What kind of alignment settings should I get?
14e.4 How does lowering one end of the car affect weight distribution?![]()
15.0 How to drive, and misc. racing questions
15.1 So what 1/4 mile times can I expect for [xxx] mods?
15.2 What's my 1/4 mile time? What's trap speed and what's E.T?
15.3 I wanna go to a real drag race track, what kinds of things do I need to know? Drag Racing 101)
15.4 What's speed shifting and what's power shifting?
15.5 How do I calculate horsepower from trapspeed?![]()
3.1 What engine oil should I use? How often should I change it?
3.2 What's the difference between SOHC versus DOHC?
3.4 How often should I adjust my valves?
3.5 What is a porting & polished head job?
3.6 What benefit do I get from changing camshafts?
3.7 What are adjustable cam sprockets? What do they do?
3.8 What models and engines are out there?
Too many for me to remember. Please send me the engine specs if you have them. Civic Honda Civic HB EG 3 EL D13B carburated 85HP@6300 SOHC 1.3l EG 4 MX D15B dual carb 100HP@6300 SOHC 1.5l EG 4 ETi D15B PGM-FI 94HP@5500 SOHC 1.5l EG 4 VTi D15B PGM-FI 130HP@6800 SOHC 1.5l EG 6 SiR B16A PGM-FI 170HP@7300 DOHC 1.6l Honda Civic Ferio (sedan) EG7 EL D13B carburated 85HP@6300 SOHC 1.3l EG8 ML D15B carburated 91HP@6000 SOHC 1.5l EG8 MX D15B dual carb 100HP@6300 SOHC 1.5l EG8 ETi D15B PGM-FI 94HP@5500 SOHC 1.5l EG8 VTi D15B PGM-FI 130HP@6800 SOHC 1.5l EJ3 EXi ZC PGM-FI 130HP@6600 SOHC 1.6l EG9 SiR B16A PGM-FI 170HP@7300 DOHC 1.6l Honda Civic Ferio 4WD EH1 RTX ZC PGM-FI 105@6300 SOHC 1.6l EH1 RTSi ZC PHM-FI 130@6800 DOHC 1.6l Integra 142hp@6300, 127 ft/lbs@5200 B18B1, 1.8 L DOHC from G3 Integra. 170hp@7600, 128 ft/lbs@6200 B18C1, 1.8 L DOHC VTEC from G3 Integra. Thus, Civic/CRX 1.6-16 in UK uses a ZC engine which is 1590cc DOHC. I forgot the D16... name. My previous car which is a Civic model specifically for certain parts of South-East Asia also uses a ZC engine. It's 1590cc SOHC Dual-Carb and the serial number is preceeded by D16Z1. I believe if you are to check the 1.6lSOHC VTECs of US Civics, you will also find its serial number preceeded by the D16... name. In fact if you are to check a japanese catalog for the Civic/CRX, all of the 1.6l motors will be called 'ZC' except for the DOHC VTEC. The 1.6l (1595cc actually) DOHC VTEC is called the B16A. There are two generations. The first generation appeared in Japan-only version of the 2nd gen Integra called the XSi in 1989. They appeared in the Civic/CRX in end '89/1990 in the model called the SiR. This first generation produces 160hp at 7600rpm in Japan. To add to the confusion, this engine when used in the UK version of the CRX (called the 1.6-16VT model) produces 'only' 150hp at a lower rpm (forgot exact number). From late '91/92 onwards, B16As got revised and now Japan versions produces 170hp at 7800rpm. These again appeared in the Japan-only Integra XSi's and then in '92+ Civic/CRX DelSol SiRs when they appeared. IF you are looking at used motors imported from Japan, look at the valve covers to determine the generation of the B16A you are getting. The 1st gen has DOHC wordings larger than VTEC. The current gen has VTEC wordings larger than DOHC. Now, to REALLY add to the confusion, all B16As used outside of Japan (in the UK Civic and DelSol and the US DelSol VTECs) has 160hp at 7600rpm but has the new valve cover (ie VTEC wordings larger than DOHC) so its important to _make sure_ exactly where the engine you are getting comes from. (In Malaysia, they cut the car in half and imports the half complete with engine into the country. Then we can clearly see all the japanese wording in the engine bay !. In anycase, the timing belt information on the valve cover will be in japanese). BTW, just a slight digress. The B16A seems totally different from the ZC. B16A = 1595cc, ZC = 1590cc. Their bore AND stroke are different. But B18C have the same bore as B16A so it _could_ be true that they are stroked B16As." For those of you interested, I weighed both engines (complete with tranny). The B18B1 is 40 lbs heavier. From info I have from TC Kline, the B18C1 (vtec) is 20 lbs heavier on top of that, mostly up high because of the vtec system. I've also got a complete run down of each individual component that can be taken off the engine (alternator, dist, starter, engine mounts, PS bracket, pressure plate, tranny alone, clutch, all sorts of crap). Someone remind me to post that some time this week. The tranny without pressure plate and clutch weighed 81 lbs. Oh, the B18B1 weighed about 350 lbs total and the D16Z6 310 lbs (error is about +/- 5 lbs max).3.9 Can the [xxx] engine be swapped into the [xxx] chassis?
"So you wanna go hybrid?" I can't begin to completely answer this question. Currently, Integra powered Civics are the rage. There's talk of Prelude DOHC VTEC motors getting dropped into Civics too. For your Civic engine swapping information.3.10 What do I need to know before rebuilding my engine?
When rebuilding a motor, you need to think of your tuning path. Nitrous oxide? Turbo/Supercharged? NA? Choose your compression wisely or you'll need to buy stock in Octane Booster companies. Recall your engine basics and chemistry (PV = nRT). The more air and fuel you pack into a given volume, the higher the pressure and temperature will be. This all leads to premature combustion and causes engine detonation which can/will lead to destruction of the engine internals.3.11 Do reprogrammed computer chips work?
This is a very touchy subject. Some people say they do, others don't. Here are some general comments : Every engine runs a little bit differently than others. How can one company claim to have a chip that can boost power up by XX horsepower. Make sure your chip company has a good dyno, and dyno proven results. Does your chip company custom tune to your car's setup. And just how do they do so without your car at their shop? Say your setup changes, what will your chip company do for you then? A money back guarantee is a nice thing. Raising your rev limiter does you no good unless you're making power up there. Better keep an eye on the valvetrain.3.12 Who makes the best VTEC cam?
Currently, Honda is the best VTEC cam maker. Putting the Japanese Type R camshafts in has resulted in +7hp on their DynoJet. JG Engine Dynamics as well as DPR are both prototyping VTEC camshafts with reported good success. GUDE has always offered VTEC camshafts, but there have been mixed reports to thier performance results. Reason 1 for not regrinding cams: There are effectively 4 cams in a 1.8 L VTEC, thus Honda does not have to compromise on cam design. DOHC VTEC cams can offer great low end and great top end, one would assume that there is less power to be found by changing cams on a DOHC VTEC for the simple reason that the stock cams did not have the same compromises that other motors have (single cam VTEC or non VTEC). Reason 2 The stock hardened Honda cams can last 100,000 to 200,000 miles with no to minimal wear. Try that on your regrind cam. I've seen regrinds show significant wear after only a few thousand miles. Oh that's right the Regrind cams were Rehardend... and after a few thousand miles they were Replaced with stock units and then Resold. Reason 3 Honda offers a great (the best) cam. Yes you can get Honda Type R cams from your local speed parts store. They fit, they last, they work. There are not cheap. Get the Type R intake springs at the same time. Use the GS-R intake springs on the exhaust side. Keep the stock cams if you don't like the Type R sell them for big $$$. Reason 4 The Type R gets 195 HP with a whole bunch of stuff changed, do you guys think that a GS-R will get 182 HP (+12) with just a cam change? So intake manifold, air cleaner, cool air pickup, ported head, undercut and re-angled intake valves, new high flow exhaust, brain, TB, lightened flywheel and moly coated high comp pistons are only worth 13 more HP? A cam is worth maybe 8 or 9 HP on a VTEC and that is if it is working with all the other mods. I saw the article that shows 12 HP for JG and another 15 HP with cam gears. Yeah if you custom cam can get another 15 HP with gears maybe there is something wrong with the cams? More on this reason : A stock GSR will make more HP with gears, but not 15 more. The point is a custom cam should have duration and overlap setup correctly for more power, the gears let you change overlap, if you can get 15 more HP by changing overlap, why was this not designed into the custom cam? I realize not all setup are the same and thus a custom cam may be tweaked with adjustable gears... but 15 more HP over the 12 HP for cam alone. I don't think so. [Ed : As someone else pointed out, a stock B18C w/ dialed in cam sprockets makes more power, does this mean the stock B18C camshafts are faulty? VTEC allows for different cam profiles, VTEC DOES NOT allow for dynamic/realtime adjustable valve timing (a la Toyota's VVT or the Skyline GT-R's computer controlled sprocket) To a large extent overlap is controlled simply by camshaft installation (except for SOHC engines). IMHO, I'd imagine regrinding/manipulating a camshaft's lobes for a certain degree offset as expensive and unreliable. Or you can reweld the position of the ends of the camshaft for the offset. The best solution would be for a custom billet camshaft (which is a lot of money too) By far the easiest solution, is an adjustable cam sprocket with the reground cams, since you would be dyno-tuning the engine anyhow.] Reason 5 The stock GSR cam peaks at 7600, the Type R at 8000, fuel cut off at 8200, 8500 respectively. Larger cams move the power further up the curve, how much higher do ya want to rev? I try to keep my 1.8 below 9000 RPM. All kinds of exotic stuff is needed in a motor that goes above 9000 RPM, and most of the stuff does not like street use. Take it from a guy with two daily driven Integras, 9000 RPM is about all a street motor can take and still go 100,000 miles. Reason 6 Regrind cams can change the lift and duration but can they keep the same ramp profiles as a billet or factory cams? Look at a GSR cam notice the lifting face is flat, yep it is flat... talking about an aggressive profile; no lift then bam!! slap the valve open. Yes the regrind might have more lift and duration at zero lash, but how does the duration compare at .020 .050 or .100 ? The last VTEC regrind I checked had way more duration at .020 and less duration at .050 and it is @.050 where the flow really starts. Reason 7 To use a larger cam: Type R or better, you must have all the other mods. My large tube 4 to 1 header has NO ground clearance, My 3 inch exhaust can wake up the dead. My heavily ported head has zero gas milage and low end torque. My high comp pistons want only race gas, My con rods are ready to blow thru the block, My custom multiangle valve job seems to last about 6 months before they give up their seal. Why do you think I have two Integras? I can change a head in 4 hours and a motor out in 8 hours. I have a lot of practice. Reason 8 GSR motors are big bucks. So when your cheap regrinds with their pitiful no spec cam profiles and sagging valves springs decide to let that stock intake valve float/bounce because the regrinds have non-engineered deceleration ramps. You would be out a motor... tuff. I have two seperate GS-R pistons both died because of valve train failure (of course the motor went also). One valve train from JG and one from Gude. I don't have a failed piston from a Type R top end (yet). To sum it up, save your money and either by a billet cam from OLM-R or Type R cams from your local speed shop. Anything less is a waste of money, time, and maybe a motor. Don't buy a cam if that is the only thing you can afford. To prove me wrong, let's have a report from someone with Gude/JG cams before and after dyno runs/ 1/4 mile runs; also a wear report after 20,000 miles. Here we go with my Type R cams: 20,000 miles: no wear on cams, no valve adjustment need in that time. Power till 8500 and shift at 8800, no loss in lowend, no decrease in MPG. best time before cams 14.79 @ 94 MPH @Hawaii Raceway park, stock tires, shift at 8600 top of third at 8400+ RPM thru the traps best time after Type R cams 14.51 @ 98 MPH with Vericome, yes I calibrate my Vericome to reflect close to my true times. yes same car, same road, same driver, same distance. I found my Vericome is more constant match with MPH then with time. top of third at 8800 RPM at end of 1/4 mile. I have tried to short shift third to fourth but my time fall off by 2 tenths."3.13 What's a milled head?
This is a process of shaving off a little of the bottom (mounting side to the engine block) of the cylinder head. By doing so, you reduce the size of the combustion chamber (you have effectively raised your compression ratio, good for power) Be careful about milling your head. I've been told the ~correct~ way to change your compression ratio is to use ~domed~ pistons. A much more expensive route than milling the head (see why people mill now?) By milling your head, you may throw off your camshaft timing (see adjustable cam sprocket), your ignition timing will be off too (the distributor reads input off the intake camshaft), and you may introduce more timing belt slack. People claim milling the cylinder head ever so imperceptably will not throw off these three areas too much (why bother then right?). I've always regarded Honda 4 cylinder engines as the epitome of conventional engine engineering. With astronomically high RPM power range, milling your head just seems to me like pulling out the pin on a grenade. Now before every milled head groupie writes in saying a milled head is the bomb etc etc., it's your valvetrain and your money. You've been warned.3.14 Should I buy a VTEC controller? Can I make my own?
A VTEC controller varies the RPM kick in point for the VTEC system (i.e. the high RPM camshaft profile) They're pretty much knob adjusting devices I believe (is there a fully digital one?) By modifying your car, you may not be engaging VTEC at the optimal point. Only by extensive dyno time can you determine the optimum point. No one tuner has definitively proven that a VTEC controller yields a good power improvement. Simply purchasing a controller will not make your car faster. You need to dyno tune this device. If you know how to use it correctly, VTEC controllers do help out. Now, my experience with these relates to the SPOON VTEC Controller in specific. I don't know if any of you guys have tried this out... but when the VTEC kicks in... the timing is advanced (ignition timing that is..) When your car is on the dyno... especially if you have cams, there is a very huge spike when the VTEC kicks in. On my car when the controller is set at 6000 rpm, there is a 45 (wheel horsepower) power spike on the dyno sheet. On the road... this kicks the tires loose in 1st gear. This kind of power is useless, therefore set the VTEC to kick in lower... now you don't want this at idle obviously because the low-rpm power production of the VTEC portion of the camshafts don't produce too much power. In drag racing, a VTEC controller is not really necesary since most of us launch above 6000 rpms anyway. But on street tires... it helps out. I launch at 1700 rpm on the street. If I wait until 5000 rpm+ for the VTEC I get my ass kicked out of the hole. If I the VTEC kicks in at 3000 let's say... the tires don't start spinning after 6000 rpm. Also, to get a smooth horsepower curve, having the VTEC kick in at around 4800 rpm gives a relatively smooth transition. Hardly any power spike. Having it too low bogs the car in the lower rpm range and having it at 6000 is like brrrrrr...BAAAAAHHHHH (I just like that sound.. ) When I had my 1.6 SOHC VTEC in the coupe I had the SPOON VTEC Controller and I actually raced someone about 4 times having it set at different rpms. Launching the same, but varying the transition rpm, is about 1-2 car lengths (plus and minus) in the 1/4 mile. Now, racing someone is not as accurate as E.T, but it's allright. If it can make a difference on the SOHC, think what it does on the DOHC's!! P.S. The SPOON VTEC Controller works on the 1992 GSR, 1992-up Civic, 1994-up GSR, 1994-up Accords and Preludes." Several HP-list members have made their own VTEC controller. Although very basic and crude, it can be made very cheaply in comparison to Japanese units. It involves triggering the VTEC wire (off the engine ECU via +12V) based on RPM. MSD sells a RPM actuator device or a tap into a shift lite would do the same. Or you can jimmyrig one up if you're electronically inclined.3.15 Can I just swap a VTEC cylinder head onto my non-VTEC motor?
To answer this question in one word "YES", check out www.ludespeed.com3.16 What does a lightened crankshaft pulley do for me and who makes them?
The idea here is much the same as the lightened flywheel. Reduce the amount of mass your engine is using energy to move. I've held a B18A OEM pulley, it's not extremely heavy. It is heavy enough to discourage you from dropping on your foot. So it looks like some power could be freed up by swapping the pulley out.3.17 What does an underdrive pulley do?
By changing the diameter of pulleys running off your engine you can increase or decrease the amount of revolutions the pulleys get (think about gear ratios for a moment, and general gearing thoughts) Anyhow, using an underdrive pulley you can make less revolutions, sapping less power. This is good to use on say power steering or A/C. I do think that underdriving your accessories probably sacrifices how well they perform. You'll probably get less steering assist and cooling. I don't think it's wise to mess with your alternator.3.18 What's a blueprinted engine?
"Blue printing is the most expensive way to gain power from your engine. It involves stripping the engine and re-building it as close a possible to the engineers 'blue prints' for the engine. Blue printing is only used in motorsport where there are strict rules on the mods that can be done to an engine. Blue printing does not really modify the engine, only makes it closer in specification to the original blue print and thus more power. However, due to this, the engine will also be more balanced and stronger... Power gains can be from zero to 40bhp... depending on engine. With a Honda I guess you would gain around 15bhp... Due to the high labour and skill involved, blueprinting is very expensive. I reckon anything from US$1000 upwards... (this is a rough guess!) Pause for thought.... A top Ford Motorsport UK engineer said you could get the same results as blueprinting by driving your car to red line from new (no run in period) for 2,000 miles."3.19 What's shotpeening?
"SHOT PEENING is a method of cold working in which compressive stresses are induced in the exposed surface layers of metallic objects by the impingement of a stream of shot, directed at the metal surface at high velocity and under controlled conditions. It differs from blast cleaning in primary purpose and in the extent to which it is controlled to yield accurate and reproducible results. Although shot peening cleans the surface being peened, this function is incidental; the major purpose of shot peening is to increase fatigue strength. The process has other useful applications, such as relieving tensile stresses that contribute to stress-corrosion cracking, forming and straightening of metal parts, and testing the adhesion of silver plate on steel." From: ASM Metals Handbook, eighth edition, volume 2, "Mechanical Finishing, Shot Peening", page 398, first paragraph.3.20 What VTEC camshafts are compatible with each other?
"B16A, B17A, B18C cams are all interchangable. B18C and B16A cams are slightly different. B17A cam is that same as the B16A (notice they produce the peak HP and peak torque at the same RPM; 7600 RPM and 7000 RPM respectively). JG cams, from what I know it's something like, a shop* let JG have a set of Japanese Type-R cams to test, and never got it back... since then JG started to sell DOHC VTEC cams. I dunno, you figure it out. Not sure if it's the exact duplicate (JG's are regrinds, with smaller base circle; not the rewelded and refinished cams which are costly) but you can bet it is based on the Type-R cam. * shop name withheld as it's not first hand info, regard this as gossip. PS, I'm glad Louie brought up the point of durability. For a soild power gain + factory quality, it's hard to beat the Type-R valve train upgrades. Althought it ain't cheap. For a streetable naturally aspirated motor that's the only way to go. For race motors I can sell you Mugen Group-A cams and valve springs. This cam makes power to 9500 RPM and beyond and idles at around 2000 RPM. Are you ready for it on the street?"3.21 How do I break in an engine?
Ken Woods says : "Here's what I do, and recommend. 1. Use regular oil, not synthetic, during break-in. 2. When you first start it up, let it COMPLETELY warm up, not just kinda warm, all the way warm. 3. While it's still hot, check and see if the head needs to be retorqued. 4. Check the timing again, as well as the valve adjustment. 5. Very slowly and using the lowest rpms as possbile get to about 65mph. Put the car in 4th gear. The coast, in neutral, to about 30. 6. Go from 30 to 65, in 4th gear about 20 times. This allows the rings to seat, so do it right, and do it 20 times. 7. Drive EASY for about 150 miles. Change the oil. Still just the regular oil. 8. Drive easy for another 150 miles. Change the oil again. Still just the regular oil. (yeah, I realize that steps 7 and 8 say the same thing. Do it twice) 9. Drive it kinda easy (no trips to redline) for another 1500 miles. 10. Change the oil again. Now you can use the expensive synthetics if you want to. 11. After that, the motor is pretty much broken in, so go run the dang thing to see how fast it is!!!!"3.22 Why is there a difference between USA and JDM engine power outputs?
It is unlikely that you can simply retune your car to JDM levels if it's built to a particular Export Specification/ES. Myself, WongKN, Alan Tang, and Kaz Mori have discussed previously trying to detail what differences are there to ES compared to JDM specifications, and no clear answer came from it. E-EG and E-EK ES Civic VTi has 160ps @ 7600rpm, JDM Civic SiR has 170ps @ 7800rpm. Interestingly the Compression Ratio for JDM is 10.4:1, apparently it's the same for ES, but the USA version has CR 10.2:1 I've personally had a JDM 1990 E-EF9 Civic SiR Dynoed that I was looking at buying to check its performance, and the car came up short showing only 153ps, not the JDM specification 160ps. My Dyno Shop only has the ES for same engined Civic 1.6i-VT which has 150ps, and according to them the 153ps is all this particular Civic would give in its current specification. Both JDM and ES B16A1 engines have CR 10.2:1. I showed them the JDM specifications, and they were a little confused as to where the other 8ps was. The car dealer said it was because the JDM have 99 octane fuel, but my Dyno Shop says that 99 octane over 96 octane as sold here in New Zealand, will not give you 8ps. I've driven a good number of these SiR's and this particular SiR's engine did not drive very well, very poor performance until 5500rpm compared to my SOHC 123ps Civic GTi, which is not how it should be. This was confirmed on the Dyno with the power curve looking like someone had taken a huge bite taken out of the middle. I declined on buying it, and had intended to buy an E-EG or E-EK JDM Civic SiR but as I'm looking to move to Singapore/Hong Kong, these plans have been shelved. Instead I'll be looking out for the Civic Type R and Nissan Pulsar VS-R when I arrive there. I hope this helps answer some of your questions, though I feel I might have wandered a little with my SiR experience. Feel free to contact me with any questions/comments you may have, or forward me anything that clears up the differences between ES and JDM."3.23 Why do you give those valves an angled seat?
"I work doing heads at a machine shop maybe i can explain how seating helps. BTW JG recommends 5 angle's on the intake and 3 on the exhaust side. Well anyways. If you give your heads a small 45 degree angle (which is where the valve sits) and make the 30 bigger and the 60 move it up alot higher (in other words make the valve sit higher on the seat), then yes you can actually get more air comming into the cylinder. I'd have to actually show you but i think you can understand it."3.24 Any cures for a rough idle due to a camshaft(s) swap?
Usually aggressive camshafts cannot move enough air at lower rpm's in order to pacify the engine breathing through the camshaft-motivated valves. Be sure to inspect your camshaft and ignition timing and make sure it's dead on. You can try to use adjustable cam sprockets to pacify the idle @ some expense of power. Also, an enlarged throttle body helps the idle out.3.25 Comparison of B18A/B to B18C Integra engines
"From what I can sense reading your comments, you are talking about Normally aspirated engines. A fully built (bottom and top) race B18b engine will produce around 195-205 at the flywheel. Mugen used such engines (B18A) in their Integra Race cars compaigned in the Group A series back in 1990-1991. A built B18b street engine will put out around 185 hp at the flywheel. Most built street B18b engine have cams, ported head, cam gears, TB, ECU, and valve springs along with the usual airflow enhancements. For Comparison: A fully built race B18C will produce 235 ps. This is a great engine, as Honda demonstrated by increasing its power to 200ps from 180 ps, while maintaing factory reliability and quality (type-R) . Most built street B18Cs will put out at max about 190hp at the flywheel. Most street built B18C are set up with the usuall boltons, a TB, Cam gears, ported head. The race prepped B18C has approximately 233 hp, runs 13:1 compression, idles at 2500RPM, only uses the high lobe of the cam, and makes its power at higher RPMs. There are some firms that have been able to extract 250hp from the B18C, but those engines require a minor rebuild at 300 miles and a major rebuild at 600 miles. In other words they are pure race engines. It is a matter of preferance and budget. Both the VTEC and non-vtec are great engines. They have different characteristics and powerbands. It is also a myth ( and B.S.) that VTECs dont respond to modifications. This is a rumor started by people who tried to apply techniques developed for regular engines to VTEC engines. VTEC will respond to the right kind of modifications. People who dont feel a difference on their B18Cs with DC headers should note that the DC header was designed for the non-vtec engines that produced 130hp, not 170 as in the GS-R. The people who tried to port thier heads and lost power should note that DPR has found the proper porting technique. Also Honda and Mugen are able to extract 12hp with head work on the B18C. I think they are both great engines with different characteristics." "Both motors are about the same size, about the same valve and ports, same car, I would same they have about the same HP potential. B18b is slightly bigger, GSR has slightly better breathing, slightly less mass or the rods, pistons, crank, and slightly less friction on the bearings. VTEC goes not contribute to ultimate top end HP, it provides two cam profiles for flexibility but the same HP can be generated from a none VTEC motor of identical configuration (no low speed vtec lobe). If we are going to limit our built motors to no bottom end work (which is realistic) because of expense, here is what I think can be achieved: B18B ported head, slight larger valves, TB, header, exhaust, air intake, milled head for 9.5+ CR, slightly larger cams (you still want it to idle right), cam gears (because of the milled head), ECU with a 8000 RPM limit. You can get 170-180 HP at the crank @ 7200 RPM 15.6 to 15.2 1/4 on street tires in an Integra. B18C ported head, stock size Type R intake and Stainless steel exhaust valves, TB, 4 to1 header, exhaust, air intake, Type R cams, (VTEC will idle no matter how big the cams), ECU with a 8600+ RPM limit. You can get 195-205 HP at the crank @ 8200 RPM 15.0 to 14.6 1/4 on street tires in an Integra. Type R 200 HP @ 8000, slight weight/gearing advantage 15.0 to 14.6 1/4 on street tires Both motors will have about the same torque of 130 to 135 foot lbs, the b18b will have its peak 1000 RPM lower than the b18c. The b18b with hi-comp pistons and huge cams should be able to put out the 195-205 HP numbers, and move its torque up 1000 RPM, but these cams would not be able to idle below 1200 or so. What is HP? It is torque X RPM. Same size motor with Same CR and about the same VE you'll get about the same torque. I won't go into stroke vs bore and rod length ratios. The above is should be true for the comparison (within reason). The B18B is bigger -vs- B18C has more CR, and less friction/ internal mass. What can the stock bottom ends take? NOS or Turbo The B18C bottom end is WEAKER than the B18A bottom end! I have seen so many post to the contrary. I have both rods right here at my desk. The B18C rod is 540 grams with a very thin beam. The B18B rod is about 580 grams with much thinker beam and rod shoulders. The B18C has higher CR so can't take as much NOS or boost. Say 6 PSI boost and 80 HP NOS. Sure some people get more HP and some people tow their car home, The B18B has a way stronger rod and lower CR so you should be able to get 7.5 PSI boost and 100 HP NOS. B18C have a knock sensor....much safer. B18C has a stronger block, oil cooled pistons, and a bridge for the main caps. None of these seem to be weak points in the B18B. NA The B18C bottom wins here. It has a higher CR, It has lighter weight rods, way better rod bolts (at least the look better), stronger block, oil cooled pistons. RPM limit of 8600 no problem. I think even 8800 RPM is safe. I've had mine to 9200 RPM + many, many time over the last 4 years. The B18B's head can be milled for higher CR. The B18B's rods are too heavy and bolts are too weak for high RPM. I have had my 1990 rev up to 8000 RPM. I would not take it higher on stock rods/bolts."4.0 Intake System
4.1 Why do I need a cold air intake?
For every 11 degrees (F) drop in temperature, expect a 1 horsepower gain. Expect performance to be worse if you're sucking in hot underhood temperatures. Colder air makes the motor run cooler as well as being more dense (remember Chemistry? PV = nRT?) For every 10 F drop in temperature, expect a 1% (PERCENT, not horsepower) increase in power. For every 10 C drop in temp, expect a 3% gain." Editor : Does anyone absolutely sure which is it? 10 or 11 degrees?4.2 What's ram air?
A "ram air" setup is an intake method where the force of the car travelling through the air is used to literally ram air into the intake (a hood scoop is usually a good indication) "A "ram air" setup is an intake setup where the input end of the intake system is placed facing towards the front of the car such that it can take in air that is at a higher pressure than that in the engine bay when the car is at speed. At 60 mph, a ram air setup can provide up to 1 psi of boost, and at 100 mph, 2 psi of boost. Thus, a properly setup ram air acts like a small turbo system at high speeds (and is "free"). Keep in mind that extending the intake hose to make the ram air setup introduces pressure losses (albeit minor) as the air now has to flow through more pipe. Thus, keep the extension as short as possible."4.3 What air filter is the best? Will more dirt be let in?
There are many concerns about aftermarket performance filters working, and which yields the biggest horsepower. Some people swear by foam intakes (while dissenters say yes they yield more power, but let a lot of dirt in) Others are simply satisified by K&N or S&B filters. An oiled cotton filter. The idea being the porous cotton allows the air in, the oil traps the dirt. The K&N uses electrostatic charge to attract and capture dirt and dust. The oil is positively) charged, and therefore attracts dust and dirt, which carries a (negative) charge. Bottom line, a performance filter is better than the restrictive air box found on stock cars. IMHO, if tuner cars (Saleen, etc) come from the dealerships with exposed K&N filters, that means something about it's performance and filtering effect.4.4 What intake system is the best?
Much like 4.3, a very heated issue. Apparently Honda motors respond very well to cold air velocity stacked setups. Other intakes to check out are AEM's Cold Air intake as well as the Racing Sports Akimoto Funnel Ram2 (filter made by K&N now, not S&B) "The Iceman is made out of some plastic polymer and has a joint (connected by rubber) near where the OEM airbox goes. It has a gradual increasing diameter away from the TB so there is no need for a velocity stack. The pipe continues from the OEM location and goes down into the passenger side fender well, near where the stock resonator was located. A tight turn and the filter is angled almost parallel to the ground. Dont know what size filter but it is constructed by K&N. You can get flashy colors, and convert the kit to a non cold air setup by connecting the filter where the rubber joint is instead of at the extreme end of the pipe. The AEM is made of coated aluminum to resist heat and is a 2.5-3" pipe I believe. There are no joints on this system. It simply curves down to the fender well, near where the stock resonator was located. A "turbo air horn" velocity stack connects the filter to the pipe. Both systems should give similar dyno results. I would expect no more than 6-8 hp from either. Some people swear by ICEMAN, but I prefer AEM's design myself. Both cost around $210...but can probably be had for cheaper. ICEMAN is nice because of its versatility (dry land setup or wet land setup). The AEM system is a full time dry land setup." You may also want to DIY and make your own effective intake kit with dryer hose for your cold air. Be careful with cold air systems as they may allow the engine to suck in water (in wetter areas) Excessive water in the engine will damage the engine seriously.4.5 What's a bored out throttle body?
The throttle body is the device which regulates air into the engine via the gas pedal. By enlarging it's size you can allow more air to flow through (hence more power) Be careful removing too much material. Currently JG Engine Dynamics, RC Engineering, Bullfrog GUDE, and AEM perform the boring. Expect a gas mileage decrease too. A bigger throttle body helps aggressive cams idle better. In fact some cams require a bored throttle body. Throttle bodies allow more air flow across the board, so you should see an increase in power across the RPM board of about 3-5hp. Throttle bodies should lean out air/fuel ratio so you shouldn't have a smog problem.4.6 What's the coolant bypass modification?
Radiator fluid is passed through the throttle body to keep it from freezing shut. This also heats the air going into the motor. By removing the lines from the throttle body and connecting them together, you avoid the air heating up. So expect more power. Don't do this if it snows in your town. Another easy modification to cool things off is locating the coolant pipes that lead to the throttle body, and using a "Straight T" attach them. This will bypass the throttle body and keep it cool. After all these modifications, I used an air temperature meter to compare this system and my AEM cold air system. The AEM system runs 72-152 degrees, while my system runs a cool 58-110 degrees. WARNING! You may not want to do this trick since it may cause your car's warming up idle to fluctuate! Somehow you need to warm up the fast idle thermo valve (which mounts on the underside of the TB and the hoses connect to). Once someone figures out how to keep this happy, it should be a streetable modification.4.7 Why does my car idle bad after a t-body swap?
"Thanks to everyone that tried to help me out with my JG Throttle Body problems... I have solved it! When I installed the throttle body, I disconnected the battery as to reset the ECU. For some reason it didn't reset I guess. I went out and purchased a Chiltons manual and tried what it said to disconnect the "BACKUP" fuse "HAZARD, BACKUP) <-for Canadian, in the underhood relay box. I then restarted the car, and it idled great! I adjusted the idle screw back UP! The opposite of what I thought. I don't know why the first ECU reset didn't do it, but the second time around solved it." "I had the same problem when I did my TB. I couldn't figure it out for months. It was fluctuating, and surging. Finally, DPR suggested this and it worked. The throttle position sensor is behind the TB and secured by two allen head screws. Simply loosen them, and rotate the sensor up or down until idle is smooth. Tighten the screws and you're done. My idle is now perfect and it only took 3 months to figure out and 5 minutes to do."4.8 Why do I need to port match my intake manifold?
The throttle body mounts to the intake manifold. Honda also places a gasket to seal these two parts together. By enlarging the throttle body opening, the intake manifold and the gasket no longer match the throttle body's opening. Imagine trying to flow air through a 5 inch opening then suddenly run into a 4 inch section. This situation may hamper air velocity more than the added value of allowing more air through the throttle body itself. Be sure to get your intake manifold match ported.4.9 What is extrude hone?
This is a process of pushing an abrasive mud-like compound through engine parts where air, fuel, or exhaust flow through. The parts become very smoothed out and to some extent enlargened. Speedline's DRAG turbo-equipped Integra showed a ~5++hp gain across the RPM board after an extrude honed intake manifold was added on. Probably doesn't make much of a difference on cars that aren't supercharged or turbocharged.4.10 What's a resonator? Why should I remove it?
The resonator is a plastic box that is mounted below and joining to the stock air intake box. It's purpose is to silence the air entering your engine. By removing the resonator box you open up the engine to more cooler air. For all manufactured cold air intakes, you must remove the resonator. A good trick to do is to remove the resonator and put some dryer hose in it's place to further channel cooler air into the engine.4.11 Why should I adjust my throttle cable?
As your new car breaks in, so does the throttle cable. It may develop slack over time that actually may prohibit you throttle body from ever seeing WOT. This is bad for power. If you have a friend press all the way down on the gas pedal, you can then verify the throttle cable is indeed opening the throttle body all the way.4.12 Is there hope for a 88-91 Civic 1.5 SOHC with the lousy intake?
No. If you need reasons talk to JG Engine Dynamics. If you need a solution, swap in the Si intake manifold and computer. For that much trouble just go hybrid.4.13 What is the Tornado and how does it work?
"To those who don't know, The "Tornado" is some aluminum or tin circular doo dad wth angled fins that is placed in the air intake tube. It's supposed to make the passing air swirl to better mix with the fuel for more power and efficiency. They cost something ridiculous like $70+, and here is my experience. First of all, it was given to me, I wouldn't pay that for something claiming 10%+ or something in power (too good to be true). I put it in my '90 integra, just behind the K&N filter. All it did was made a really neat sound. Next time I checked on it, it had slid all the way to the throttle body and was sideways, so I got some tin and extended it, plus added a fin (yep, you can make your own). I put it back in, I think in front of the TB, and went on a long trip. I matched my previously best milage, 600Kms by the time the gas light comes on.??? Coincidence??? I had even wasted some gas on that trip racing a VR6. Since then, there were no noticable gains, so I took it out and put it in my brothers civic and he didn't notice a thing. I think it's still there, probably sitting sideways."4.14 How do I clean a HKS filter?
"Most foam or gauze filters are washable. First step is to check for damage - holes, rips.. Hold'em up to the light to find rips. If they're ok, then move on to cleaning. I think the best way to clean them is to shake them up at first to get the bigger chunks off and then proceed to use a hose to spray the filter from the inside out. Spraying it from the exterior would push dirt into the interior side of the filter, an undesirable result. Also, set up your hose to not spray water at full blast but at a flow that will clean without breaking apart the material. If the filter's a foam one, don't use the K&N cleaning kits as those will dissolve foam. The cleaning kits are good for gauze/cotton reusable filters, which usually require re-oiling after cleaning. Foamies just need to be air dried before being reinstalled on the intake.. For the anally retentive, cleaning out the intake pipes might not be a bad idea since they sometimes get a thin coat of dirt. Just make sure you dry the thing out before reinstalling. It's not so hard to do so why not do it when you clean the filter too... After spray"5.0 Exhaust Systems
5.1 How loud do exhausts get?
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Or should it be : "Loudness is in the ear of the listener"? Some get really loud, some drone during cruising, some aren't really loud at all. It's very subjective and it's hard to judge without sound measuring equipment. Best thing to do is to listen to systems and note the pipe diameter and the muffler used. If you can hear the car coming from 10 blocks away, I'd say that's pretty loud.5.2 Which manufactured cat back system is the best?
Much like the intake system, a very heated issue again. Current popular systems are Trust, Tanabe, RS*R, DC sports, and IMP.5.3 I wanna save money and get a custom exhaust. What do I need to get?
Good for you! First you need to find a reputable custom muffler shop. 2.25" inch pipe is desirable for NA setups. For turbocharged think 3" piping. Mandrel bent (smooth bends) are ideal to ensure minimal back pressure. The muffler shop should be able to recommend a straight through muffler (Borla -- considered the best, Ultra Flo) correctly sized for your engine to minimize noise. And tips are your option. Remember stainless is better for life (salt on roads?) but much money. And to quiet down exhaust noise, a resonator is highly recommended. Make sure you get a properly sized resonator so as to not hurt your power.5.4 What are headers?
These are the pipes leading from cylinder head down to underneath the car to the rest of the exhaust system. By replacing these restrictive pipes you can decrease backpressure and get more power.5.5 Who makes the best headers?
Currently, DC Sports is felt to make the best horsepower header. Some say Lightspeed makes a better broad range header. 4-1 (4 pipes into 1) headers are the best design for high revving horsepower engines, but they give up so much bottom end power it's not practical on the street. Thankfully most/all manufactured systems are 4-2-1 designs.5.6 How much power will I get by removing my catalytic converter?
Expect an increase, but it won't be earth shattering unless you're running some mean engine mods or a forced induction setup.5.7 What are the legal consequences of removing my catalytic converter?
If you get caught in California, it's a pretty hefty fine. $2k? Don't play, if you can't pay.5.8 Should I get a ceramic coated or stainless steel header?
Maybe both! ;D Stainless steel costs a lot of money. A good coating would cost another $100-$300. So you can see why manufacturers don't coat their stainless headers (and some people regard the purplish color of heated stainless headers as pretty) Stainless tends to be regarded as a longer lasting/stronger material, while mild steel can corrode/crack and fatigure under many heat stress cycles. A few owners of DC headers have had problems w/ the welds cracking on the stainless units. Anyhow, I would recommend ceramic coated headers to keep the heat inside the headers as much as possible. I've noticed the engine bay/hood areas pick up a lot of ambient heat from uncoated headers. Choose wisely! Remember, if you don't have a cold air intake : you could be picking up heated air from your aftermarket non coated headers! Oh BTW, use a lacquer thinner or similar solvent after installation, this will get all the crap/oil from burning into the header finish forever.5.9 Should I buy a high-flow catalytic converter?
A high flow cat will outflow a stock cat. However, I doubt any cat can truly outflow a straight pipe in its place. ;D So do high flow cats really clean up the exhaust but let more flow through? An Integra with no cat @ idle shows about .220 ppm. Failure in California is .100 ppm. Average passing is .003ppm. The same Integra with a Random Technologies Cat put out about .120 ppm. So you're still emission wise illegal in California. BTW, the Integra ran perfectly clean anything above 2k RPMs. If you've got money to burn and only want to pollute the environment half as much for a little more power, then by all means buy a high flo cat.6.0 Nitrous Oxide
For more nitrous oxide info read http://www.primenet.com/~punchie/NOSfaq.htm Also check out http://www.gate.net/~shonline/nos.html.6.1 Assorted Nitrous Oxide Information
Subject: NOS jet sizes Now correct me if I am wrong but I thought that a dry system only fogged nitrous into the intake. Maybe I am wrong, well NE way here is the jet size for a wet system, maybe it might help you NOS FUEL 43 28 80hp 41 26 70hp 39 24 60hp 37 22 50hp Subject: Re: HP: NOS jet sizes jetting for a dry manifold NOS kit: 40hp 34 nitrous/44 fuel 50hp 37 nitrous/42 fuel 60hp 38 nitrous/42 fuel 70hp 41 nitrous/36 fuel 80hp* 44 nitrous/34 fuel+ 90hp* 46 nitrous/34 fuel+ (*)Larger fuel pump reccomended/(+)requires a .040" shim be placed in the co2 regulator.(this is the large apparatus between the two solenoids the top will unscrew from it) you also may have to experiment with leaning out the fuel jet for maximum performance. Also make sure the line between the Stock fpr is hose clamped or that you are using the NOS fuel pressure safety switch otherwise you might break something you don't want to fix. later. Be careful with the dry system, the jet numbers go backwards from the wet/direct systems. (Ie. the higher the fuel number jet the LESS it flows). See turbo mag, May 96 issue for all the jettings to start with on all systems. I'm putting in a single fogger 60hp shot in my prelude today, I'll let you know what jettings we end up using.6.2 How much NOS can my stock engine take?
1996-on Civic DX motor "Not much. A 50hp system such as the 5122 dry manifold NOS kit would be safe on a stock block." B18 series motors : The upper limit on NOS capability seems to be around 80-120hp shot (direct port of course) You will need to add the appropriate fuel of course!6.3 What kind of gains should I expect with NOS?
"I've dropped about 1 full sec in the 1/4 with a 50hp dry system. It really depends on the type of car." Weyland Jung has performed in the mid to high 13 second range using a direct port setup on his (90-91) Integra GS. Off the giggle gas it's reported to run solid 15s.6.4 How much does a refill of NOS Cost (15 pounds)?
"In Seattle, Nitrous oxide goes for about $3.50/lb. 15 lbs is the weight of the bottle empty. There is 10 lbs of nitrous oxide in the bottle. So a full bottle weighs 25lbs, 10 lbs being the gas itself."6.5 What causes NOS backfire? Why should I use a purge valve?
"I had a backfire out of my filter once []. I was told by NOS that there was probably an air bubble in the lines. You can sometimes trap air when you are removing and installing the bottle. If you add a PURGE VALVE to your kit this will eliminate the chance of another inicident. I [] squeezed all night. I later had my mechanic check the car and he said it was o.k."6.6 Real World NOS Damage Stories
"I was wondering if anyone out there can help me out. I have a 90 Accord running a NOS dry kit. Well today I was doing some test runs and the car didn't feel too good on nitrous. Bad smell too when on the bottle. I was running a 80shot. I know, I know, too much for a dry kit...but with an inline fuel pump and A/F gauge reading rich I thought it would be ok. So I checked the plugs...damn, looks like detonation. Then I checked compression. Cylinders one and four are low. Two and Three are fine. I know that the dry kit has bad distribution of nitrous in to each cylinder, especially #1, but why #4 also?" "For those of you who remember that i destroyed my engine cuz of too large of a jet with my dry manifold kit, i got my car back a few weeks ago with a bone stock 1.8 non-vtec motor. well, the speed bug has re-bit my ass once again.. i called NOS tech and they said the reason i burnt my motor was cuz i was spraying way too close to the intake manifold. and the fact i was jetting close to 100hp didnt help either! but the tech guy says to me, "if you wouldve tapped your intake pipe further from the TB, you wouldve been fine..." so i asked, "how far?" and he told me that the ideal placement for the nozzle is as far as you can get it from the TB! wait a sec, from the direction and instructions, and from what ppl have been telling me, its good to keep your nozzle tapped in FRONT of the butterfly in the TB. the tech guy says that in his personal installations on hondas, he would snap the nozzle in half so that the jet would shoot straigh, and tap the end of of the k&n element... he said the reasoning behind this was so theat the nitrous would have ample time to mix with the oxygen and have a more dispersed shot rather than pure nitrous hitting the back of the intake manifold and just getting it into 2 cylinders instead of all 4... makes sense right? he also said that the directions are made to look like the recommended tap was in the TB cuz they couldnt show the whole intake tract..."7.0 Supercharging
7.1 What is it like ordering a supercharger from Jackson Racing?
Although it's not really a performance question, I'd thought I'd put a customer experience in just to see the hassle you get when using one of these things. Let alone the installation and use. ;D "Okay.. I've gone up to bat for Jackson Racing and their supercharger.. I stuck up for them and advocated their blower even though I don't have one... I even put in an order around end-Feb early-March... but dang it, after over a month of calling and waiting, I keep getting answers like "it will be ready in a week" or "call back in seven days"... That's all I've been getting for the last month from them! and oh no... today, I called them and after they told me the supercharger wouldn't be ready yet, I did the unthinkable.. I criticized them for being slow in delivering the product I ordered... "So.. why is this taking so long? I'm getting really impatient here.." and what do they do? They act like total assholes on the phone! "You know, I'd be more than happy to cancel the order if that's what you want.." great service guys. As a matter of fact, yes, if that is the kind of common courtesy you give to paying customers, then yes, I will cancel that order. Shoot. Maybe Ken Woods was right after all..." "I read your mail message this morning and contacted Larry at ENDYN who called Oscar Jackson at Jackson Racing. He stated that he had been in the orient and had just returned and that the reason for the delay is as follows: The supercharger has an accessory drive system for the alternator which must be relocated to install the kit. Previously the idler pulleys on this assembly and the bolts associated with it were SAE. They ran out of units and decided to redesign the unit using metric nuts and bolts - a good idea. And while they were at it they decided to modify the design so that you could install a variety of different sized pulleys on the supercharger to alter the boost levels - another good idea. There were some production problems (CNC milling machine broke down) as well, but Oscar assured us that kits would be available next week. Oscar also looked up your order and said that you had cancelled it yesterday. During this conversation it was implied that you would be worth your time to call back and discuss your order after May 1st. Good luck on whatever your decision is, Ozzie" [Ed : Boy don't you love it when the company sells the product to the public and uses the 1st wave of buyers for R&D?? To be fair, a lot of tuners are guilty of this]7.2 Are there any customer testomonials for the Jackson Racing supercharger?
"I had the JR blower installed in my 92 Civic two weeks ago. Up here in Canada, that's about $4000 with labor, taxes, etc. so it's a pricey deal. As to whether or not it's worth the dough, IMO it's a definite YES. The car pulls very strongly throughout the powerband in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gears (1st gear is so-so, but I guess that's due to the stock gearing). I do not have exact numbers, since the car has not been dynoed. In addition, I don't know how it compares to the Greddy turbo kit, which is your most likely alternative in this price range. You should be aware that it is quite noisy, esp. noticable at idle (noise and vibration). Once up to speed, the noise is less noticable. When you floor it, you can hear a great howl from the blower -- sounds great! The only gripe I have is that the package seems to have aggravated a rough idle problem (I am due for a proper tuneup anyways). Otherwise the 145K km engine is running fine. The engine is stock except for a DC SS header, Trust BL catback exhaust and Airinx intake (which I will replace with the factory airbox, sans resonator). The stock clutch is beginning to slip, so expect to eventually replace that with a stronger one (any recommendations?)." "I had the JR blower installed in my Civic (D16Z) for almost a year. The 1st time I installed it, my engine was heavily modified; head/valve-works, ECU upgrade, cam, ignition (HKS twin power & GCC) etc. Sad to say, I blew-up my engine within 2 months! There was a big hole on piston #3 and the reason was probably due to a lean mixture (& not to mention my inexperience!). The weather was pretty hot here (avg. low 90's) but I thought using 98 octane gas was sufficient for 6 psi boost. I was also " playing" with my ignition timing (with the GCC) at different rpm so that could be the problem too! Spent a bomb rebuilding my engine with another stock head/block, JE low compression pistons (8.5:1), stronger rods, had to replace my crankshaft as well, back to stock ECU & cam, and upgraded injectors. Things are great now and so far after more than 10,000 km, everything's fine. The question is: I've bought the 8.5 psi upgrade kit (comes with pulley and replacement fuel pump) and I'm wondering if my engine can take that kind of boost?! Anyone out there ever tried that kit yet? And is it difficult to replace the fuel pump and where can I get a good service manual? Thanks in advance."7.3 Why do I have to use a stock engine with a Jackson Racing supercharger?
From: Supra97321@aol.com JR says to use it on a stock motor because allot of people have been using them on motors with a cam and an ECU upgrade. The ECU upgrades advance the timing which you dont want, and some cams change the manifold vaccum compared to stock. Thats why people have been ruining their engines, and thats why JR recommends a stock engine.8.0 Turbocharging
Greddy offers a pretty good basic picture of how a turbocharged engine works : http://www.greddy.com/turbo.html Remember, Honda engines are normally aspirated engines. They tend to run a more aggressive compression ratio than an OEM turbocharged engine. So you're limited to how much boost you can spool. Justin offers some engine and boost advice : "It is not recommended to run over 7 psi of boost on stock pistons. Stock Integra rods can take up to 10 psi of boost on a daily driver GSR and the occasional 12-14 psi. Any more boost on a day to day basis or the occasion 14 psi at the track, you better get better rods. The safest turbo applications generally follow these rules: 5 psi : intercooler 7 psi : pistons 10 psi : DFI or something to look after your fuel and timing 12 psi : rods DFI is a little extreme, but then again, how often do we want to take apart our motor."8.1 What's in a DRAG turbo kit system?
"Just called DRAG, and this is the information they gave me over the phone for a '92-'93 VTEC GSR: Exhaust manifold [Ed : Last I saw, was welded, stainless optional] Garrett T4/T3 hybrid turbo Remote wastegate [Ed : Last I saw, was HKS] Exhaust downpipe Air-to air intercooler Chrome intake pipes HKS sequential blowoff valve High-pressure / high-volume fuel pump Boost dependent fuel pressure regulator Boost gauge Braided steel oil lines Water lines for turbo MAP sensor bypass All silicone hoses and clamps Works w/ABS and A/C 10 psi, 300 flywheel hp $3995"8.2 Does VTEC work well with turbocharging?
"Normally aspirated cams, especially high RPM oriented such as DOHC VTEC's have longer duration and overlap. when you use force induction, you don't need all this duration and overlap... a properly engineering VTEC cam for turbo applications would offer KILLER torque curve and power." Overlap is used as a way of exiting exhaust gases to actually suck in the intake charge. This is partly what VTEC does, kind of a wanna be turbocharger. So imagine if you have a lot of overlap on a turbo. Under boost, the compressed air would blow right through the cylinder. You wouldn't get all that quality compressed air to stay in the cylinder! This is why B18A/B motors respond so well to turbocharging with cam sprockets and JG Engine Dynamics #1001 camshafts. The camshafts are used to maintain peak cylinder pressure and sprockets dial it all in. The turbocharger can cram all of it's boost into the cylinder. So far no one has good turbo VTEC cams. It is questionable whether or not sprockets can dial enough overlap out to use 100% of the turbocharger's output. VTEC motors do respond well to turbocharging, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.8.3 How much horsepower will a Greddy Bolt-On Turbo Civic make?
Some 95 or so Civic had the Greddy kit on the dyno over at Dynamic Autosports. Made like 145 +- 3HP.8.4 How is boost regulated?
A turbo's boost is typically regulated by a wastegate. A wastegate reroutes some exhaust flow around the turbo, thereby not allowing the turbo to spin any faster. Some wastegates can be adjusted, others cannot. Whatever the case, the wastegate's signal to open comes from the compressor side of the turbo itself. This air pressure signal is linear and gets stronger as boost increases. Performance wise, this kind of regulation is bad because the wastegate always stays open under boost. Only electronic boost controllers are able to keep the wastegate shut as long as possible (thereby reaching max boost faster).8.5 What's the difference between a manual and an electronic boost controller?
A manual boost controller either bleeds off or restricts the air pressure signal going to the wastegate. In effect, the wastegate is fooled into staying shut longer (thus allowing more exhaust to spin the turbo, thus making more boost). MBCs aren't very precise but they're really cheap and do work. They are prone to boost spiking because they aren't very complicated devies. Normally as boost builds, the wastegate creeps open. However w/ a MBC in the middle, when the pressure signal does indeed become strong enough to open the wastegate, the MBC doesn't allow the wastegate to open completely. Call it wastegate delay if you will. A resulting boost spike happens (as the turbo happily spins unregulated). It doesn't last long (by human standards), but hey funny things can happen when you don't have enough fuel for the boost. "Like I said, manual boost controller tend not to be accurate since they do not account for weather, temperature, barometer pressure etc. etc.. You really do get what you pay for and for the DSM guys who keep telling me that the 10-11 sec DSM cars are using manual boost controllers, good for you... but you do not have experience with turbo hondas... all I gotta say is that the damn deltagates and the TVVC's or the VBC's don't work that well. well good luck..." Electronic controllers differ in that they usually have a small microprocessor using an expensive air pressure solenoid. With such sophisticated technology, they can regulate the wastegate more precisely. The wastegate stays shut long enough, and the EBC can effectively open/close the wastegate. EBCs can also precisely maintain a boost level (so your motor never does exceed that fine line of running great and a blown up motor) They also handle environmental changes quite well.8.6 What's the best boost controller?
The HKS EVC III/IV is considered to be the best damn unit. However, A'PEXi's AVC-R makes a strong bid to upset the EVC's title. There are many reports of problems with Greddy's Profec. Interestingly enough, they've released a Profec B w/o fuzzy logic.8.7 What's a blow off valve? Do I need it adjustable?
A blow off valve mechanically performs similarly to a wastegate (a pressure signal causes it to open. Whereas a wastegate reroutes exhaust around the turbo, a BOV reroutes compressed air into the atmosphere or back into the intake side of the turbo). A BOV vents compressed air during upshifts (when the throttle plate slams shut) If the BOV wasn't there, the compressed air has no where to go but back into the turbo (bad bad bad). People usually associate turbocharged cars with BOVs (cool sound!) A BOV compares two pressure readings (one after the throttle plate, and one before) If the pressure pre-throttle plate is greater than the post throttle plate pressure, than the BOV opens and vents the pre-throttle plate air. So a BOV performs three things 1) Prolongs turbo life 2) Increases turbo response (when vented to atmosphere, sometimes venting back into the intake hurts response), and 3) Sounds cool. You need it adjustable because at part throttle under boost, the pre-throttle pressure may be greater. So you need some degree of flexibility so as to not have the BOV open under part throttle while on boost.8.8 Does a turbocharged motor really need no backpressure?
When exhaust gases pass through the turbocharger, they become swirled. This swirling motion needs to be broken up as soon as possible (18-24 inches post turbo). One way to do this is to use a larger pipe post turbo, then gradually taper it down to a more reasonable size. This is probably the reason why turbocharged cars get larger downpipes. Actual exhaust pipe diameter will still depend on the application. For 4 cylinders planning greater than 15 psi, I've been told 3" pipe is a must.8.9 Does a turbocharger add a significant restriction in the exhaust path?
"Many people think this exhaust-gas energy is not free because the turbine wheel causes back pressure on the engine exhaust system. This is true to a certain extent, but when the exhaust valve first opens, the flow through it is critical. Critical flow occurs when the cylinder pressure is more than twice the exhaust manifold pressure. As long as this condition exists, back pressure will not affect flow.8.10 Is boost all that matters, what's CFM have to do with it?
Ken Woods : "Again, the most important thing is not the amount of boost, but rather the VOLUME of air that the turbo produces. 100PSI out of a really small turbo will produce the same amount (volume) of air that a turbo off a passenger bus will push at 2PSI. This is why poeple say the stock bottom end can't handle 7psi from a t3/t4." CFM stands for Cubic Feet / Minute (I think!) Anyhow, PSI and CFM are kinda like voltage and current. So just because you have a lot of PSI doesn't mean you have a lot of air. PSI and CFM describe characteristics of the air charge, but do not dictate alone how much air there really is. Remember, it's the amount of AIR that makes horsepower. You really need to think of it as : Mass (kg) = Density (kg/m^3) * Volume (m^3) (courtesy of Turbo September 1995) So what happens if you have more boost? Well if the temperature change of the compressed air increases less than the amount of additional air the increase pressure induces, than you will make more power. This is why good intercooling is really important. It's worthless to boost @ 3psi, if the air charge gets so hot very little mass of air gets into the intake manifold. Remember PV=nRT! CFM is important as you can tell from the Mass formula above, but it fails to take into account just how dense the volume of the air itself is. Again, you see why good intercooling is a must. Because even with a high CFM, w/o good air charge density you will not make much power.8.11 Do turbochargers really lag that much?
A properly chosen turbocharger will amplify the engine's power output. So imagine, if you have a small displacement, high-revving 4 cylinder engine that makes reasonable power only at 3k RPMs and above. When do you think a properly chosen turbocharger will make more power on this motor? You got it! At 3k RPMs and above. Like I said, if you want low RPM power... either adjust the cam sprockets or get a bigger engine (a different car)8.12 Why use an intercooler, if the intercooler itself creates a restriction?
Remember your ideal gas rule (PV = nRT). As pressure rises so will density, all else being equal. However, as pressure rises so does the temperature. Hence intercooling becomes critical. Using (for example) an air-air intercooler isn't free. An intercooler core does present a pressure drop (aka restriction) in the air charge. So remember when intercooling, the restriction you impose must be less than the positive effect of cooling air. Choose your intercooler core wisely.9.0 Ignition
Remember the spark plug gap allows only a certain amount of energy to jump. More energy won't jump across unless you also widen the spark plug gap. The gap distance determines the voltage requirements for a spark. There's a reason why OEM plug wires are very resistive, you don't need a huge amount of current to fire the plug, you need a great deal of voltage (V = IR, typical plug wires are in k Ohms, voltage is really high, current is really low) The voltage (V) is constant in your ignition system due to the physical properties of your ignition coil. Keep this in mind when you read the following sections.9.1 Will changing my plug wires give me more hp?
Recall that Current = Voltage / Resistance (I=V/R), as resistance goes down, current goes up. For you math inclined types : The limit of I as R->0 = infinity. The least resistive plug wires will transmit more of the available current to the plug electrode (ensuring that a consistent good spark will happen). If the plug wires are prohibiting full power transfer of your ignition system in turn causing a weak spark for the combustion process, then changing them out will yield more power. Otherwise plug wires alone cannot give you more hp. Nology manufactures wires with capacitors inline. Theoretically they lower the discharge time thereby increasing electrical power. Do recall the above information before purchasing Nology wires. 9.2 What kind of plugs should I use? Stick with the OEM NGK plugs. If you're running forced induction or nitrous oxide you may want to consider switching to a different plug. You may elect to run a colder plug (see owner's manual for part numbers) if you're modified since your car will be running a bit hotter. Since the motor is running hotter, your plugs will be running hotter. A hot plug may cause the air/fuel mixture to auto-ignite (detonation) Anyone wanna submit their favorites for these respective setups?9.3 What does a colder/hotter plug mean?
These terms refer to the operating temperature of the plug. The ceramic portion of the plug is longer allowing less heat transfer from the plug to the cylinder head (increasing the plug's operating temperature) In other words : a longer ceramic makes a longer path, a longer path means more resistance to heat flow, more resistance to heat flow means less heat loss, less heat loss means higher temperatures. In this case it's a hotter plug. A colder plug works the opposite way. For heavily modified cars, you always want to run a colder plug in order to avoid detonation from extreme operating temperature (see glow plugs in diesel engines. Explanation : Glow plugs in diesel engines are not actually spark plugs. They are merely heat coils that auto-ignite the air/fuel mixture. No spark. So when running heavy duty modified engines, check your exhaust gas temperature and then select your plug heat range accordingly.9.4 Why do I need to upgrade my ignition system?
The more air you pack into a cylinder the more difficult it is for a spark to jump across the plug gap. An ignition upgrade is a must for forced induction setups as well as big nitrous oxide shots. This is to ensure that your (OEM) coil is quickly and electrically capable of consistent high voltage outputs with a good chunk of current.9.5 How does advancing timing improve power?
From my understanding, engine ECU's advance the timing to the max spec allowed at higher RPM's. So expect advanced timing to only help at lower to mid range RPMs. Advanced timing tends to make throttle response crisper and bumps up the power a bit down low (since you're igniting the air/fuel mixture sooner) However if you advance the timing too much, you may get detonation at lower rpm's. What happens is the air/fuel ignites, but the engine speed is way too low. These two opposing forces meet and your engine starts making lovely knocking sounds. So be careful when advancing your timing, and listen at lower RPMs for detonation.9.6 How do I advance my timing?
For detailed instructions check out http://integra.vtec.net/timing.html9.7 What does indexing plugs do and how do I do it?
This is one of those every little bit helps modifications. Don't expect a huge increase, but it does help a little. I believe Ken Woods mentioned it was probably good for a .5% increase in hp. It originates from those hardcore drag racing machines which translates into a bigger chunk of horsepower for their motors. Ideally the plug should be facing the the intake valves. What that means is the open side of the plug (opposite of the electrode prong) faces the intake valves. This promotes a much better air+fuel burn. Sometimes when tightening your plugs, they will be positioned correctly. For those times they do not line up, you will need to purchase spark plug indexing washers. These work by varying the thickness of the washer, allowing more or less threading rotation; thus aligning the plug towards the intake valves.9.8 When should I widen my spark plug gap?
If you have upgraded your ignition system, you may want to consider widening your gap by just a little bit (not too much!). Consult your ignition's manufacturer for gap recommendations. With the added punch of an upgraded ignition system and plug wires, you now have more electrical power to jump the gap. But remember, this extra power can only be put to use with a wider gap. Don't get gap happy though, because there's a point of diminishing returns. It's probably not worth gapping larger unless you have an upgraded coil.9.9 Why should I examine my spark plugs?
By examining your spark plugs, you can determine how your engine is runing air/fuel ratio wise. You don't want to run too rich or too lean and your spark plugs are a good indication of what's happening. "A light tan is good, and what you are aiming for. Black means too much fuel White means not enough fuel." My Diamond Star Motors friend says the best way to check your air/fuel ratio under W (ide) O (pen) T (hrottle) (pedal to the floor) is to put in a fresh set of plugs. Make a WOT pass and immediately shut down the car, and brake to a stop with engine off. Then check your plugs. Although this maneuver may be highly illegal on a public road, it guarantees a good plug reading.9.10 What good is an ignition unit rev limiter?
Not much. Your Honda engine ECU already has a built in rev limit you cannot exceed. If you do desire to kick in your rev limit earlier, than an aftermarket ignition unit with a rev limiter can do so for you. Usually, the ignition unit will offer a drop sparks in a more gentler manner for the the motor.9.11 Do Nology wires deliver horsepower improvements?
This is another heated issue. Some people claim they saw horsepower gains, others claim they do not. Some say the wires cause interference with on board electronics. Others claim they need upgraded engine grounding wires to reap their benefits. "Anyone that had physics in college knows the formula for power. In this case we're referring to ignition spark power. Power equals work divided by time, (P=W/t). Thus, to get more power, you have to do the same amount of work in less time. Manufacturers of conventional ignition systems though, want you to believe that it is possible to increase the power of ignition systems by lengthening the spark duration. This is not true! Lengthening the spark duration actually reduces spark power, as we already know, (P=W/t)." Nology offers a very convincing argument why their product should make engines produce more power. Although I have a few problems with their electrical/engine argument, I definitively don't know enough to dis/prove their claims. I would like to point out that : 1) Nology has a very low resistance plug wire (too low for street use?) 2) Must use special expensive Beru plugs 3) Besides shortening the time of discharge, the wires do nothing to bolster the energy side of the equation. 4) Interestingly enough, Nology now sells a coil to complement their wires. 5) In car stereo circles, capacitors are used to stabilize power fluctuations when amplifiers are driven hard. These capacitors in no way make the amplifier generate more output wattage (power). How do Nology capacitors differ?9.12 [VTEC] Should I run stock platinum plugs or switch to copper?
First off, platinum is an inferior conductor compared to copper. Platinum does however hold up against corrosion and in terms of life far better than copper. Usually it comes down to, do you want to replace copper plugs more often or platinum plugs once in a while? "In searching for 60k tuneup parts for my 93 Prelude VTEC, I spoke with the NGK-California technical rep. My stock plugs are the NGK-platinums which can cost as much as $19.74/ea from a Honda dealer to $12/ea at NOPI. After speaking with Craig at NGK-CA, he had indicated that I am only getting longer life out of the NGK-plat. He highly advised me to purchase the regular NGK-resister plugs because the copper tip is a better thermal conductor and would perform better under hard acceleration. The life of the NGK-resistor plug is around 15K-20K miles. The normal NGK-resistor plugs are for $2.99 at Car Quest. I'm going to get the NGK-resistor plugs and keep a log of the gas mileage for every fill up to see if there's any difference. If there's no performance difference and decrease in gas mileage, I'd stick with the less expensive resistor plugs. Otherwise, I'll have to go back to the ultra-expensive platinums."10.0 Transmission
10.1 Why does my transmission crunch during shifts? How do I fix it?
Persistent crunching during shifts may be an indication of bad synchros in the transmisson. Sometimes a rough tranny needs a simple transmission fluid change. Many racers have had success with using Redline MTL transmission fluid in their Honda gearboxes. Redline also has a new ShockProof transmission fluid now. Also, be sure you're always rev (RPM) matching when shifting. This is especially so during downshifting. The 2nd --> 1st gear shift tends to be stiff at times. A careful blip of the gas pedal in neutral to bring the tach to about 5k RPM may be required to get the shifter to slip into 1st gear. For those with hydraulic clutches, make sure your master cylinder's seals are good. Otherwise your clutch may not be full engaging/disengaging when pressing on the clutch pedal.10.2 What's clutch chatter?
This phenomenon results from a clutch that repeatedly grabs hold of the flywheel and then loses it's grip. You will notice clutch chatter the most in 1st gear accelerating from a complete stop. The whole car will shudder as the clutch slips and then grabs... then repeats. Eventually the clutch should catch, and off you go. Typically performance/racing clutches have some to severe clutch chatter. To some extent you can avoid the chatter by riding on (aka slipping) the clutch.10.3 What's a good performance clutch to get?
Again, another heated issue. Some recommend Centerforce, others warn that for some FWD transmissions they use rebuilt aftermarket clutches and neglect to use the weights. Current clutch players are : Bullfrog, JG Engine Dynamics, Centerforce, Clutchmasters, RPS Turbo Clutch, and Dynamic AutoSports/Action Double D.10.4 Why should I lighten my flywheel?
The idea behind this is to reduce the amount of weight your engine uses power to move. One heavy item to shave weight off is the flywheel. For street, it's recommended to shave off about 5 lbs. For racing, you may consider removing even more. The negative effect of lightening your flywheel is the loss of rotational mass inertia when accelerating from a stop. Without careful clutch and throttle work you may stall the engine more often. Be sure to rebalance your flywheel after lightening. "My friend had his B17A flywheel (18 lbs) machined down to 12 lbs. The materials were taken off the back of the wheel, and mostly just the rough castings removed." "What you have to consider is the rotational inertia [when lightening], as that's what's important here. My stock flywheel weighed in around 18lbs, and I removed about 5.5-6lbs. The thing to look at though, is where did the weight come off? Notice that there is an outer 'ring' on the back of the flywheel and that's where a good chunk of material comes off. I machined the back side flat, and just skimmed off all the rough casting surface on the rest of the back so I don't think I compromised the strength in any way. For the extra 2-3 lbs you'd save, I don't think a billet flywheel is worth the insane price. Just take it to a machine shop you trust, and have them cut the back of the flywheel. Please don't drill any holes in it though. If you're really worried, an SFI scattersheild would be the answer." "use a light flywheel for "spirited" driving. Entering a corner when road racing, normally you heel-and-toe downshift. Since you're matching transmission rpm to engine rpm, the flywheel weight would have no braking effect. Yet if you have a big heavy flywheel, it will want to keep spinning, which means as you slow down, your brakes have to also slow down the flywheel. So a heavy flywheel actually _hinders_ your braking, not helping it. Your note about braking power isn't right. When road racing, you're supposed to brake with the brakes, not the engine. The reason for the shifting is to get you into the proper gear for the exit of the turn, not to slow you down. That cool sounding downshifting noise came from the early days when cars had very small brakes and they HAD to use the engine compression as an additional brake. If you've ever let the clutch out without matching tranny/engine speeds, while braking hard, you know the problem with trying to use the engine for braking, instant spin. For road racing, there is _no_ reason to have a heavy flywheel. It makes the car heavier, the engine cannot accelerate or decelerated as quickly, and it makes the brakes and engine work harder. The only positive thing it does is allow starting from a dead stop easier (especially on a hill) and helps when drag racing." "OK, here's the story. The flywheel is used to store energy specifically for the purpose of evening out the the rather lumpy power output from a reciproacting engine. (Like one push every 180 degrees of crank rotation for a four banger.) Heavy flywheels require more energy to change their speed. Light flywheels require less. Advantages of the heavy flywheel: engine rotation, particularly at low rpms is smoother. Less gentle or skilled drivers are less likely to stall from standing start. If one is dumb enough to want to use the engine for braking (ie downshifting to reduce speed rather than use the brakes) the heavy flywheel is more effective because it requires oh so much more energy to increase its angular momentum. Advantages of the light flywheel: #1, it's lighter. there's no such thing as good weight. More accurately, there is no such thing as good mass. Period. #2 because it has less mass, less energy is required to change its angular momentum (less mass, less angular momentum) thus the motor will rev freer.10.5 What's a limited slip differential (LSD) ?
Conventional transmissions have an open differential. This allows both wheels to spin independently. Under certain conditions, having them spin independently isn't ideal (launching). At the same time, having them both spinning at the same rate isn't a good solution either (a welded differential doesn't take turns gracefully). Enter the limited slip differential. This mechanical device replaces your open differential and allows your wheels to spin independently. Once a certain threshold of wheel slippage happens, the LSD causes power to be transferred to the wheel with more traction. This allows engine power to be put down during huge torque launches or powering through a turn. "A torque sensing (TorSen) and torque biasing (Quaife) LSD, which [both] operate on the same principle NEVER lock. When one wheel starts to slide, torque is progressively transfered to the wheel with more traction. Under most circumstances there [is] no wheel slippage. Under certain conditions wheel slip will occur slightly." "There are three popular types of LSD available for Honda's : - Torque sensing/biasing; worm gear type - Honda Type-R, Quaife, TorSen... These units use complex (some say surprisingly simple) gears to automatically adjust the torque split. It will give more torque to the wheel with more grip. It works as we computer dudes called "automagically". Reputed to be excellent for street use. Will not work with one wheel in the air. [Ed. note : see warning about LSD care] - Clutch packs - Mugen, Cusco, CRE... The most popular LSD used for road racing/autox applications. Clutch pack type uses multiple friction discs to limit the slip. They do wear out but they are rebuildable. Locking percentage depends on the builder. Will work with one wheel in air. Response time is quick. One way LSD - locks under acceleration only. Two way LSD - will lock under acceleration and deceleration. 1.5 way (Cusco) - ?! I saw an article in Japanese but I dunno how to read it. :-) - Viscous coupling. Honda Real-Time 4WD. Used as the center differential in the Honda Wagon. Also used by other cars such as Porsche 959 (center diff), Nissan SR20DE (NX2000, SE-R, Infiniti G20), Diamond Star Motors Eclipse/Talon/Laser AWD (center diff). Uses special fluids that thickens quickly when one axle starts to spin. Response is slightly retarded but works great as the center diff. As a FWD diff it works okay, better than a open diff any day! Dave from Nevada sez : "about parking a straght axel honda: did anyone see some of the cars at the Battle trying to turn around ? yeah, i watched one car do a 12 point turn, just to turn 90 degrees..." "I have a CRE limited slip in my 94 GSR, when I got it (the first GSR limited slip that Chuck made). Many LSD "experts" were telling me "clutch type LSDs wear out" you will be lucky if you get 10,000 miles on it. Well now that I have 80,000 miles I have found no wear. It locks up as well as always. It has just enough slip to run well on the street. Gets a little drift in the wet, especially at WOT if I hit any slippery white paint makrs on the road. My car does real nice twin burn out marks with my 205 comp TAs. Lots of wheel hop with my autocross race tires (stock springs and shocks). I can rebuild it by changing out the clutch packs (got two extra packs from Chuck). The whole setup was like $550 and took me about 3 hours to put it into the trans. I think clutch type LSDs are stronger than gear or cone types and you can rebuild them. I have seen broken torsen gear LSDs and I have gone through many cone type. My current 440 + CID 30 year old mid 12 second family car has an clutch type LSD and I have rebuilt it only once for about $60.00. I love thoses Dana 60s. The other cone type LSD seem to only last 20,000 mile of hard driving. I do change fluid often and run Redline MTL and I drive very hard. Gear type LSD seem weaker and you can't rebuild them, they cost way way more. They can delivery true no slip performance. I don't know if they can go 100,000 miles but they should. They share the same oil as the trans and have very small gears, thus they must be prone to wear/damage due to broken trans parts and dirty trans fluid. Please send me one from a Type R and I'll let you guys know. I would still take a gear type of LSD over a clutch type for my application. To sum this up: any LSD is better than none, get a clutch type and wait for a Type R torsen gear type to come your way, you should be able to sell your clutch type for close to what you paid for it, find any other performance part that you can say that about."10.6 Should I use a Type R LSD or Quaiffe?
"Unlike clutch type LSD's, Quaife/Torsen units do not wear out. Torque split is continously variable. About the only drawback on Quaife/Torsen units is the higher cost when compared to clutch pack and/or viscous LSD's. Quaife/Torsen's work very well for FWD applicaitons, because the torque transfer is very smooth, unlike clutch packs which tend to be very abrupt and tends to cause undesirable steering effects... but it still comes down to driver preference and track testing results. Most BTCC cars use clutch packs, as serious FWD race cars often lift the inside front tire on corners... Quaife/Torsen's do not work when a wheel becomes unloaded in air. As far as which one to get, that depends on how much Honda will sell the Type-R Torsen's for. Quaife's are about $1200. If the Honda units are cheaper, then I'd go for that. LSD, Clutch/Flywheel, Gearbox are all interchangable between B18C/B16A."10.7 If I have a LSD, do I need to care for it differently?
Yes you do! Otherwise you may actually damage the LSD. Straight from Honda, here are things you shouldn't do on a LSD equipped Honda : 1) Never mix wheel/tire combinations from side to side (DO NOT USE A SPARE TIRE if you get a flat in front, use one from the back!) 2) Do not run the engine to on-car wheel balance your wheels&tires. Your balancer must be self-driven and both wheels must be completely of the ground. You may damage the LSD if you don't follow these directions!10.8 What kind of aftermarket flywheels are out there?
"There are few companies selling the 3.5kg/7.7lbs flywheel made by Toda Power. However, few companies also have their own. HKS has their 11 lbs units, Trust has their own, Mugen has their own, Feel's offers a aluminum unit and a steel (still lighter than stock) units. Spoon's flywheel are in house too. Most of these flywheels have a steel friction face that can be replaced if it's worn out. The flywheels that are available here right now are HKS, Spoon, and Clutch Masters (only 3.2kg/7.04lbs). All flywheels for B16A, B17A, B18A/B/C should be interchagable. I'll add some more pix later (http://www.ccnet.com/~fmlin/pbh)."10.9 Is my speedometer accurate when I am gunning for a top speed run?
Speedometers are notoriously inaccurate at high speeds due to tire deformation and speedo calibration etc. So no they're not very accurate. And please don't endanger people on public roads shooting for a top speed test of your vehicle. Someone writes : "My speedo was showing an honest 148 once on my gs-r suh-dan. That may actually be possible with a downhill grade and a tailwind - but even so, it's not likely accurate. And my Prelude is showing right at 100mph or so when I hit the traps but the slips always say 91-92ish. So far the most I've seen on the Prelude speedo is 130ish, though."10.10 How hard is it to convert an automatic transmission to a manual one?
Pretty damn hard, but it's been done. If you can stomach it, buy a manual version of your car.10.11 How do I make modify my own shifter to have a shorter throw?
Relatively simply, usually it involves re-welding the location of the pivot point of the lever. Again, a cheap method is to examine an aftermarket shifter and duplicate it's setup but on a much cheaper level (less flash, less cash)10.12 What's all this about gear ratios? Why mix and match trannies?
The advantage doesn't exclusively lie in the combination of non-vtec engine with GSR tranny. The advantage solely lies in the nice gear ratios of the GSR tranny. In other words, you don't necesarily have to have the non-vtec motor to take advantage of the GSR ratios. They, along with the RS/LS (94+) and Type R tranny ratios are as follows: RS/LS GS-R Type R 3.230 3.230 3.230 1.900 1.900 2.105 1.269 1.360 1.468 0.966 1.034 1.117 0.714 0.787 0.850 FD 4.266 4.400 4.400 Let's compare the GSR and RS tranny. The first two gears are the same. However, 3rd and 4th gear are about 7% shorter, and 5th gear is 10% shorter ((0.787-0.714)/.714). Let us assume that the final drive is the same for now. In 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears, you will get noticeably improved acceleration. It's _almost_ like having 7% more torque in 3rd and 4th at any given time (it's not _quite_ like this, and I'll get to that in a moment) and 10% more torque in 5th. This comes at the sacrifice of top speed in any given gear. Now, with a 7000 rpm redline, my top speed is about 220 km/h rev limited (it's still got lots to go... it literally 'slams' into the limiter) with the GSR tranny. Personally, I don't need to be up that high on the race track. On my home track, I hit about 170 km/h down the main straight. On this particular track, I'd ideally like to increase FD to get even better acceleration at the expense of top speed, which brings us to the next topic: FD. FD is exactly what it says... the final reduction through the tranny before the driveshafts. It affects all gears. The total reductions for the gears would be the gear ratio multiplied times FD. Thus, if your engine is at 5000 rpm, and you are in 4th gear using a GSR tranny (total reduction of 4.4*1.034=4.55), the driveshafts would be turning at 1100 rpm (the calculated speed using 577 mm as the nominal tire diameter would be 120 km/h, which pretty much corresponds to my speedo). FD increases the overall ratio for all gears without affecting gear _spacing_. Gear spacing determines how much engine speed drops between shifts. For 2-3,3-4, and 4-5, gear spacing is very good on the GSR tranny. However, from 1-2 the gap is a factor of 0.59. Thus, if you shift at 7000 rpm, you'll end up at about 4100 rpm (I always seem to end up much higher than this when I powershift :) ). I suspect the reason Honda did this is to give good starting power in 1st gear in a car that doesn't have much low end torque. Anyways, looking at the Type R ratios, one can see that the gap between 1-2 is 1.54, which is much better. The gaps between the other gears remain the same as on the GSR. Honda has basically just moved gears 2-5 'closer' to 1st gear. If we ignore 1st gear, a Type R tranny is essentially a GSR tranny with a 4.7-4.8 FD. Now back to the issue of why improving a gear by 7% isn't quite the same as getting 7% more torque. When you do this, the top speed in that particular gear will be reduced and thus you'll have to shift sooner. Thus, you'll be spending the 'extra' time that you would have been in the lower gear with the poorer ratios in a higher gear with the better ratios. Even though the better higher gear has better ratios, it still won't be as good as the poorer lower gear. But overall, the effect is improved acceleration and lap times. There is a limit though. Shifting takes time and thus you don't want to have a zillion gears spaced 0.99 apart with an engine with a big SPIKE for it's powerband :). That is why Formula 1 and Indy cars are generally limited to 6-7 gears. Ramanan has gone the other way by using a non-vtec tranny and GSR motor in hopes of being able to stay in 3rd for his 1/4 mile run. With his particular setup, that may just be the way to go for a 1/4 mile run. However, with my 7000 rpm redline, the shorter gearing I can get the better. I have to make 4 shifts during my 1/4 mile runs (I get into 5th), but all are pretty quick and I'm definitely getting better times due to the gearing." mailto:kjmori@geocities.com11.0 Brakes
11.1 What's brake fade?
There's a couple kinds of brake fade. Brake fade is the inability of the car's braking system to function properly due to overuse of the brakes. Heat is the main culprit. There are many things to upgrade to prolong maximum brake performance.11.2 What performance brake pads do I buy?
Again, another heated issue (is this getting to be a cliche yet?) You need to determine whether or not you car needs race brake pads or street enthusiast ones. Racing brake pads tend to leave a very stubborn dust on wheels and the body paint. This requires constant cleaning lest it bonds permanently. Some race pads are extremely noisy and may even destroy rotors in a few days/weeks/months (depending on how you drive!) Many people have had good success with Repco/Axxis MetalMaster pads. Other brands to look into are Hawk, Performance Friction, and Porterfields.11.3 Why should I use cross drilled/slotted rotors?
Theoretically, the extreme heat build up between the brake pad and the rotor causes gases to be released from the brake pad. The pad is then riding on this thin layer of gas and is not able to fully contact the rotor. You push harder on the brakes but even more gases are released and so the braking effectiveness is decreased. This is known as pad fade. A cross drilled or slotted rotor provides a channel for the gases to evacuate. Be careful using drilled rotors since they may cause uneven brake pade wear and sometimes are prone to cracking (the drilling causes weakness in the rotor) It should be mentioned by drilling the rotors, you will actually create less surface area to dissipate heat. Your mileage may vary with cross drilled rotors. Other shops slot their rotors. This involves creating a groove (slot) into the rotor. The idea behind this modification is to allow an edge on the rotor for the brake pad to bite into. By slotting the rotors, you can ensure even brake pad wear as well. Theoretically the slotting of rotors would increase surface area, so you might be able to expect a cooler rotor. IMHO, I upgrading your rotors may not be a worthwhile effort. I would only do so if you have a severe brake fade problem. Most street enthusiast driving does not punish the brakes hard enough.11.4 What kind of brake fluid should I use? What's wet and dry boiling temperature?
When brake fluid gets hot enough it boils. Like many other aspects of automotive performance, high temperature brake fluid has its compromise. In order to make a brake fluid withstand high temperatures, it tends to absorb water very quickly. Thus all brake fluids are rated at two temperatures, wet (absorbed water) and dry (no water). WARNING! High performance brake fluids tend to absorb water quickly, and some need to be bled before each race. Bleeding your brake fluid is important to your master cylinder life. On aged hondas, its common for the Master Cylinder to go bad gradually. If you notice that the brakes are mushy and start to fade in traffic or on hot days, especially if it you've just bled the brakes, then you've got a bad Master Cylinder. Your local big parts store should have rebuilt master cylinders with a life time warranty for not too much money. Fix it fast or you may regret it. We don't want to have to tell your next-of-kin that we told you so. Again a lot of people have their favorites of fluid to purchase. Motul, Castrol Heavy Duty, Wilwood 570, Lucas Girling DOT 5.1, and Super ATE.11.5 Do aftermarket brake lines improve stopping distances?
In a word no. Aftermarket lines improve the feel of the brakes; offering a firmer, more positive feeling of control to the driver. A low buck tuner way to make the brake lines firmer feeling is to use zip ties around the softer OEM brake lines.11.6 Who makes brake lines? And is DOT approval necessary?
"When Z.Speed looked into getting DOT approval for their stainless lines, they found that there is no certification process. There is a spec for brake lines however. Z.Speed's lines meets or exceeds the DOT standard. When SMC first started selling lines (early 96), they were selling Goodridge lines (which claimes to be the 1st DOT approved lines). I'm not sure if SMC sell their own lines now. Stillen also recently started to market Goodridge lines."11.7 How are brake fluids classified?
DOT3= 284 DOT4= 311 DOT5= 356 But these are MINIMUM standards. Thus Adam is correct in implying that Motul (Motul Racing Brake Fluid 600) actually meets the boiling point standards for DOT5 since it has a dry boiling point of 585?F (307?C), wet 421?F (216?C). And they COULD call themselves DOT 5.1 but not DOT 5, which is what they call SBBF, or silicone-base brake fluid. If you read the Federal regulations closely (TITLE 49, PART 571, Subpart B, Sec. 571.116, Standard No. 116; Motor vehicle brake fluids.), it says that DOT5 must be labeled as either SBBF or as DOT 5.1 non-SBBF. There are other requirements for DOT5, too (such as color - purple). I suspect Motul (and most other manufacturers) find it easier and less confusing to call themselves DOT4 than to refer to their fluid as DOT 5.1 and take the risk (proven here) that people will THINK they are the silicone-based DOT5 fluid. So as it turns out Adam was right that there are boiling point standards for each DOT grade of fluid. Live and learn. I found this out about it at the DOT website at http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html where I found the reg noted above.12.0 Wheels
12.0 Wheel basics (offset, diameter, width)
Diameter : This refers to the diameter of the wheel. Most people regard a large wheel as attractive. Remember larger wheels tend to weigh more. Offset : This refers to the distance in mm between the centerline and the mounting surface of the wheel. If you're unsure of what this means check out http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/wheeltech.htm for a diagram better illustrating this. Width : This refers to how wide the wheel is. This determines what tire widths the wheel can accomodate. The general width rule is that the wheel width should be no less than 70% of the tire width.12.1 I wanna get a set of wheels, how do I make sure they're gonna fit?
When choosing wheels and tires, it's a good idea to ensure that the overall diameter of the new combination is +/- 2% of the OEM configuration. Your speedometer will be changed as well as your effective gear ratio. You may want to rethink your car's shift points. Once you've determined what wheel diameter you're interested in, and what tires size will make a good combination ... it's time to measure your inner clearance. I'd recommend turning your car's front wheels completely to the left and right and checking clearance. Also jack up one corner of the car at a time to compress the opposite corner of the car. Doing this you can get an idea of what kind of clearance your car has under hard cornering or loaded down.12.2 How do I buy the best set of wheels for handling and acceleration?
For handling, the widest width for the tire and lightness are desirable. The wider wheel ensures a stabler tire contact patch and minimizes tire sidewall flex. You're sure to get as much of your tire rubber down on the pavement where it needs to be. Having light wheels reduces the amount of unsprung weight. Unsprung weight is an area we'll neglect to mention, but suffice it so say less is good. For acceleration, you want lightness and perhaps a shorter wheel/tire combination than the stock setup. With lighter wheels, the engine uses less power accelerating the wheels' mass. With a shorter tire/wheel combination, you can effectively change your gear ratio for the better. Don't go too short, otherwise you'll have to shift every 20 feet. ;D "I had the opportunity to weigh a couple of 16" wheels when I had my new wheels & tires installed this past week. I decided to do this after an inspiring discussion with Jerome on "weigh reduction" at our last "rained out" drag meet. I weighed 4 different wheels that were available to me -- all were 16". The results were: TSW Blade 16 lbs each $280Cdn TSW Hock R 18 lbs each $290Cdn Inter Milano 13 lbs each $300Cdn ASA FS-6 16 lbs each $160Cdn For further comparison, I weighed my stock tires & wheels to compare them to the new 16" wheels. FYI, I have a 1990 Integra GS 4-door, so the factory wheels were the full face style that had about 21 unidirectional slits around the edge. The results were: 33 lbs each Factory 14" mag + Yoko AVS U+4 in 195/60-14 36 lbs each ASA 16" mag + Toyo FZ4 in 205/45-16 My conclusions from this: - Expensive mags are not necessary the lightest. - The more open the mag's style, the more likely that it's lighter. - Larger size tires weigh more. Especially performance tires that has a firmer construction (in plys and belts)." [Ed : Generally bigger wheels will weigh more than smaller wheels. Think about it. Also, I'd expect a tire and air to weigh less than solid metal itself. Don't you think? Remember don't go with too heavy wheels! Some Japanese wheels are made to be light SSR Type X wheels for example. 11lbs each I think.]12.3 What's a hubcentric wheel? Why do I need hubcentric adapters?
OEM wheels are hubcentric. They are produced in such a way that they fit snugly on the hub (wheel mount location). The hub has a ridge on it that mates to the backside of the wheel. This is done to ensure proper centering of the wheel on the hub. Aftermarket wheels are usually overbored on the backside for different car applications. Special adapter rings are manufactured for individual cars to ensure their wheel is hub-centered when mounted. If not properly centered, you can have a steering wheel shimmy.13.0 Tires
People look at tires primarily in these ways : cost, life, noise, wet performance, and dry performance. Manufacturers take all of these factors and more into account when making tires. Currently there is no miracle tire that will do everything you want the best. So choose your tire carefully within your budget.13.1 Will I really sacrifice my ride comfort with low profile tires?
It's not so much the low profile tires, it's more of the volume of air you have now. If you've chosen a wise tire/wheel combination and haven't reduced your volume of air much, expect your ride quality to be the same.13.2 What's a good tire pressure to set?
For cornering, you usually want enough air pressure in the tire to avoid tire rollover. Tire rollover is indicated by the scuff marks you see on the sidewall after some spirited driving. Here's an easy test to figure out how much rollover there is : Put some chalk across the outer edge of your tire until 1 - 2 inches onto the sidewall. You can use shoe polish too. Go out and take a turn hard. Wherever the tire met the pavement is where your marks will be missing. So you can determine how much rollover you're experiencing! Start with recommended tire pressures from the factory and add or reduce air psi until you like the ride quality and cornering attitude. Remember FWD Hondas usually understeer by design. You usually want more tire rollover in back in order to make the rear end turn better.13.3 How do I pick a good tire?
It all depends on how you define "good" Usually the best gripping tires wear out in less than 30k miles, some even as little as 10k miles (any NSX owners out there?) If you choose a reputable company's top notch Z rated tire, you won't be disappointed although you will notice a hefty price tag on them. Budget accordingly. Some good high performance tires are Dunlop Sp Sport 8000, Yokohama AVS-i, Bridgetsone S0-1, etc etc13.4 Why do my tires wear out fast on my lowered Honda?
Engineers design the suspension of a car to perform certain alignment changes when under compression (weight transfer, bodyroll, cornering, etc) Usually a typical Honda suspension experiences toe in/out(?) as well as negative camber under cornering. This is done to ensure the car maintains as much tire footprint as possible under cornering. So when you lower the car, the suspension becomes partially compressed causing your suspension to think you're cornering 24 hours/day. While this is great for cornering, this is bad for tire life for long distance driving. When driven in a straight line, the tires ride on the inner most edge causing extremely short tire life. IMHO, it's the combination of toe and negative camber that causes rapid tire wear (see NSX owners' tire woes) To correct the camber, you usually need to purchase some kind of camber kits.14.0 Suspension
Stiffer isn't better. Be VERY careful when modifying your suspension. Make sure you understand what you're trying to fix by switching out parts and changing alignment settings. Make sure your familiar with the principles of weight transfer as well as understeer and oversteer. Keep in mind your vehicle's weight distribution and drivetrain layout.14a.0 Springs
14a.1 How low can I go?
This is a very personal question you should ask yourself. :D There are hundreds of hopped up Hondas with ground clearance of no more than a few inches. Some say this is attractive looking and good for cornering. Although a lower center of gravity is desirable, the struts on these cars are usually riding on the bumpstops. This results in suspension bottoming very frequently (not a very comfortable experience) With the limited range of travel, you may actually hinder the suspensions ability to put down the maximum tire contact patch on uneven roads (which road is ever perfectly clean and flat eh?) Be careful not to go too low, especially when travelling over various environments (snow, mud, flood, grass, dirt, and even big potholes) I've had a friend who put a huge dent and gouges into his oil pan from a large pothole when he dragged (at this point I wouldn't call it driving) his lowered car over it. Finally the last concern is tire wear. Lowering a Honda results in a some negative camber (an alignment change). The negative camber makes the top of your tires tilt inwards. When driving in a turn, the tires sit up straight which is great for cornering. However in a straight line, they ride along the inner edge of the tire, resulting in heavy uneven tire wear. Conservative lowerings are usually 1-1.5" A heavy street enthusiast lowering is 1.75"-2.25" inches. A race car lowering is 2.25" or more. Keep in mind, race cars get hurt frequently and racers don't mind hurting them. Would you mind hurting your street car frequently?14a.2 What's the difference between a progressive versus linear rate spring?
A linear rate spring has the same stiffness throughout its compression. A progressive one is wound in such a way that as it gets compressed more, the spring rate (stiffening) goes up. This is a good compromise for the cornering demons out there who want a really stiff spring but need a more compliant suspension during regular street driving.14a.3 Do I need new struts if I get lowering springs?
IMHO, any lowering spring will wear out OEM struts faster. But a conservative lowering (~1 inch) should be okay for the OEM struts. Stiffer springs and the extra shock compression from lowering tends to put a big strain on the struts. So be sure to save yourself headaches and do the struts at the same time.14a.4 I want to cheap out and cut my springs. Why shouldn't I?
Well if you use the formula for spring rate, know how much you want to lower your car, and have shocks the can compensate for the increase in spring rate, then you should have no problems doing so. It remains to be seen whether or not cutting OEM springs down for a 1.5-3 inch ride height drop increases the spring rate hideously. Aftermarket springs do offer : progessive rate winding, lowering with a tested spring rate, and the option to return to stock springs in the future. And usually are very reasonably priced.14a.5 Do I need to realign my car once lowering springs are installed?
Can you afford it? :D A good alignment is recommended for tire life, not necessarily for cornering. You may need camber kits, and your toe should be adjusted too. If you've done a very mild drop, I think you can forgoe the alignment until necessary.14a.6 What's for the formula for spring rate?
"Here is the formula to calculate spring stiffness: Spring rate = (Gd^4) / (8ND^3) G = torsional modulus for steel = 11.25 x 10^6. d = wire diameter N = Number of _active_ coils. D = Mean coil diameter in inches 8 = Constant The important thing is, since someone [here on HP-list] just want[s] to cut their existing springs, all the above values remain fixed, except for N, so the equation reduces down to: New (shorter) spring rate = original spring rate * (original turns / new turns) So if you decrease the active turns by half, the spring gets twice as stiff, not softer as has been discussed. How about we do a little more engineering and a little less "I think it's this way". This stuff has known for years, let's use it. It's not like these books are hard to find, just call MotorBooks who's ad is always in Road and Track." "Yes, and it's really very simple with straight-rate springs (like the one in your ball-point pen). Unfortunately, with progressive rate springs, the number of active (or "free") coils is not constant as they are compressed. Each free coil will compress the same amount (x/N), but the coils that are closer together will meet (reducing N), making the spring progressively (get it?) stiffer. Even worse, I notice that the lower ends of the springs (where they seat in the shock perches) have a smaller coil diameter, so D doesn't really remain constant (probably close enough, though) if a stock-type spring is cut or compressed. If you're trying to be precise, don't forget to adjust N for the spring end treatment (cut, ground, flattened)! The wheel rate may not be a simple function of the spring rate as the suspension is compressed! I'm just trying to show that although there is a very simple formula for calculating spring rate, there is a lot more to consider in suspension design. Although most people probably cut their springs without regard for the change in rates, they may or may not have undesired handling effects. The rates will be higher, though, and stiffer shocks should be used. Personally, I feel that springs are the cheapest (less than good tires) handling improvement you can make, and given that you need stiffer shocks anyway, it's not worth trying to save a few bucks here by chopping your stock springs." GrassRoots Motorsports has an extremely well written in-depth tech page regarding the equation and real world scenarios.14b.0 Struts/Shocks
14b.1 What's compression and rebound?
Compression refers to how a shock compresses under load (spring compressing the shock). Rebound refers to how fast the shock returns to its original position (spring allowed to return to its original shape). It would make sense to fine tune both of these to improve handling.14b.2 Should I get adjustable or non-adjustable struts/shocks?
Some non adjustable shocks tend to be unbearingly stiff. Choose your shock wisely. Adjustable shocks are definitely worth the extra money because of the flexibility with suspension tuning and daily comfort. It's been reported that Tokico Blue shocks are equivalent to a setting 4 on Tokico's Illuminas.14b.3 Should I cut my bumpstops if I lower my car?
Bumpstops are cheap but effective way of halting suspension travel. Bumpstops sit on the strut/shock shaft and prohibit the spring from fully compressing the strut/shock. Thereby limiting the amount of suspension travel. When you lower your car, you decrease the distance of suspension travel (because your car's suspension is partially compressed) What some spring manufacturer's recommend is to cut the bumpstop to lengthen your travel. This can have some possible negative effects (like arranging a blind date between your upper A-arm and your engine bay) Follow the spring manufacturer's tech advice. Most recommend trimming the bumpstop. This helps provide more suspension travel especially for lowered cars. FWIW, all lowering springs should increase the spring rate in the correct proportion to the amount of lowering. What this means is, the spring should be stiffer to make up for the lessened suspension travel distance. You shouldn't need to cut your bumpstops if your spring has been engineered right in the first place! What this also means is this, do not expect a OEM ride with stiffer springs! You wanna go low, pay for it with ride quality. I won't come right out and bash any particular spring companies, as most of them do make high quality springs. But some of these "performance" springs are really springs just to lower your car; and trimming the bumpstop keeps you from bottoming the suspension out which in turn gives an illusion of a halfway decent ride quality. And if you're bottoming out, well the companies figure half of these young Honda owners don't even know what it is anyhow.14b.4 Why do my Tokico Illuminas bottom out so much on my 3rd Gen Integra?
WARNING! Do not purchase Tokico Illuminas with aggressive lowering springs for 3rd generation Integras. Konis are a good match with Neuspeed springs. The Integra Web Page Editors are still investigating this issue, more information to come.14c.0 Swaybars
14c.1 How do sway bars work?
When weight comes down on corner of the car, the sway bar actually twists in such a way that it forces the opposite side's tire down and bringing the acted upon corner up. This also prohibits weight transfer to the end of the car with the sway bar. So with a sway bar you can further reduce body roll, keeping the chassis flat. By reducing bodyroll, ideally the tires are allowed a better contact patch. Typically the removal of the weight on the sway bar end of the car removes traction moreso than the gain in traction by the elimination of bodyroll provided. In other words, the end that has the sway bar will have less traction. If you wish to only eliminate bodyroll, be sure to select a matched sway bar set if you don't wish to upset your car's weight transfer characteristics too much during cornering.14c.2 Should I disconnect my front sway bar?
An easy trick to get a FWD car to turn better is to disconnect the front sway bar. Problem is you will suffer from more bodyroll in front. Typically this is done in stock classes of autocrossing as the rules disallow rear sway bar changes.14c.3 Should I only get a rear sway bar?
It would seem the best thing to do to make a Honda FWD car corner better is to simply upgrade the rear sway bar. Unfortunately no one sells just a rear sway bar tuned for an OEM front bar setup. Most of the companies will sell their rear sway bar individually, but use caution. These rear bars come in a matched set. So expect the rear sway bar to overpower a stock front sway bar. The car will get particularly tail happy when lifting while turned or braking while turned. So make sure you know how to handle oversteer. I've been informed that Neuspeed does offer a rear bar tuned for the front sway bar on 1992-1995 Civics and 1994-1997 Integras (although they do upgrade the bushings up front too)14d.0 Chassis Braces/Roll cages/bars
14e.0 Misc suspension components
14e.1 I've heard of camber kits to correct my lowered Honda's negative camber problem. How do they work and who makes them?
Most recent generation Honda/Acura cars have Honda's double wishbone (unequal length control arms) configuration on the front suspension. This uses a shock and spring configuration in which the camber line is NOT determined by the angle of the shaft of the shock. Strut type suspensions require camber plates in which the angle of the shaft of the strut can be adjusted to dial in the needed camber. On the recent generations, the high upper A-arm is responsible for determining the camber of your front suspension. A camber kit for the front suspension consists of an entire replacement upper A-arm with adjustable links in the arm. The adjustable length arms can be extended or shortened. If you pull off your front tires and look at the upper A-arm, you can see that shortening the arms will give you more negative camber and lengthening the arms will give you more positive camber. In the rear, the recent suspensions have been of a rear trailing arm with two lateral links. Again, pull off your rear tire and notice that the larger lateral link is what determines the camber of the rear suspension. The camber kit for this involves replacing this larger lateral link with one that is adjustable in length. Extending the link gives you more positive camber while shortening the length gives you more negative camber. Currently ZSpeed and Specialty Products(Jackson Racing, Lightspeed, perhaps Eibach distribute the latter) make camber kits for Hondas. I've had problems with the SP front camber kits and would not recommend them although they are much cheaper than ZSpeed's rebuilt front a-arms. It should be noted that in my experience any reputable alignment shop should be able to order Specialty Product camber kits. So you don't have to buy through the expen$ive middleman speed shop. Shop around to save money. A low buck tuner method of correcting rear tire camber is to use some washers in back to lengthen the lateral link. By having more positive camber in back than front, you also reduce the amount of understeer. "Some info that you may find useful. I found a company that just made available adjustable camber kits for honda\acura vehicles. They are Ingalls Alignment Products. The kit we need is p/n 3570. They can be reached at 800-641-9795. They don't sell direct to the public but can refer you to someone in your area who does. Here where I live they run $40.00 to $50.00...much cheaper than the z.speed control arms. Hope this helps."14e.2 Why should I upgrade my bushings to poly-urethane ones?
The OEM bushing material is generally rubber. Bushings go in between suspension joints to allow the suspension to move freely without having metal on metal contact at the joints. Performance bushings generally are made of a harder and longer lasting poly-urethane. The harder bushings allow the suspension to react much quicker under load and transfer its movements to other suspension components quicker. Since the poly bushings deform less than rubber ones, the suspension is much more nimble feeling and precise. The obvious compromise here is that the ride quality will suffer.14e.3 What kind of alignment settings should I get?
Every driver has their own preference for how a car handles. So you should understand what handling characteristics you want. Do you want oversteer, understeer, neutral? And remember these usually change for different vehicle speeds. Typically on FWD Hondas, you want more front end bite with a lot less rear end bite. So you want more toe-in, and negative camber in front. In back more toe-out and positive camber. Remember these settings DO affect tire life considerably. Consult your local performance minded alignment shop for recommendations.14e.4 How does lowering one end of the car affect weight distribution?
"Let's say you have a 1600 lb box with equal springs (let's say 200 lb/in) at each corner of the box. Let's also say you have 4 scales of negligible height, like those ones built into the floor that you find at Airports. Since each spring has to support 400 lbs, each will compress 2" in the static state. If we put a scale under each spring, we will get a reading of 400 lbs at each scale. Now let's say we replace one spring with a 1" shorter spring but with the SAME spring rate of 200 lb/in. As we SLOWLY lower the box on to the scales, each of the other 3 springs will compress 1" and ALREADY have to support 200 lbs BEFORE the 4th corner even comes into contact with the scale (this is analogous to the rear of the car coming into contact with the ground first). ONCE the 4th corner comes into contact with the scale, it shares the remaining load with the other 3 corners. Since there is still 1000 lbs of total load left to share (1600 - 600 already taken up by the 3 corners), each will compress a further 1.25". Thus, the first 3 springs compress a total of 2.25" while the 4th compresses a total of 1.25". The weight distribution at the corners are as follows: 450 lbs at the 3 corners, 250 lbs at the 4th corner. Thus, you can see that lowering one corner actually REMOVES weight distribution at that corner and puts it at the other corners... it's the same thing with cars. Lowering the front will put more weight on the rears. Most of this stuff is covered in very basic books on performance handling. I'm surprised that you work for a racing team and don't know this. Perhaps you and your team members would benefit from reading a couple of books on suspension tuning for race cars. This is not a flame... just trying to help.15.0 Drag Racing Results
15.1 So what 1/4 mile times can I expect for [xxx] mods?
Depending on driver, running condition, and environment here are some ranges of times to expect. Typical Bolt On Mods (tbody, ignition, headers, exhaust, intake, chip) Accord 16.0s-->17.5s Civic 15.8s-->17.5s CRX 15.3s-->16.5s delSol 15.1s-->16.0s Integra 14.8s-->16.2s Legend ?? NSX 14.0s-->14.5s Prelude 14.5s-->16.5s TL, RL, CL ?? Vigor ?? Frank Lin has been compiling a list of 1/4 mile times for quite some time now. When looking at some of the quick times, remember that some of these cars have been gutted to reduce weight.15.2 How do I read my time slip? What's trap speed and what's E.T?
When you get your time slip, you should look at three numbers. Your reaction time, your E.T., and your trap speed. The reaction time DOES NOT factor into your 1/4 mile time. Do not subtract your reaction time from your E.T. Maybe this is why everyone claims they're doing fast fast fast 1/4 miles w/o much modifications! ;D The E.T. is your official 1/4 mile time pass (elapsed time, I think) Trap speed indicates what kind of horsepower you're pushing (or if you were sandbagging) (I put this in here for you Ken!)15.3 I wanna go to a real drag race track, what kinds of things do I need to know? Drag Racing 101)
Ken Woods and Dave H. wrote up a series of emails detailing what to do and not to do and how to prepare yourself for a day at the drag strip. Great info, and highly recommended reading.15.4 What's speed shifting and what's power shifting?
Powershifting: Don't lift the throttle, just barely touch the clutch, and slam the lever into gear. Speedshifting: Lift the throttle, just barely touch the clutch, and slam the lever into gear. Which one to use??? Depends. If you powersfhit and the wheels spin, then don't powershift for that gear change. ie...if the 1st to 2nd shift spins when you powershift, then speedshift the next run. "15.5 How do I calculate horsepower from trapspeed?
"HP=((trapspeed/234)^3) * weight Anyhow, here's the chart. Weight 2000 2400 2800 3200 3600 4000 MPH 90 114 137 160 182 205 228 95 134 161 188 214 241 268 100 156 187 218 250 281 312 105 181 217 253 290 326 362 110 208 250 291 333 374 416 115 237 284 332 379 427 474 120 270 324 378 432 486 540 125 305 366 427 488 549 610 130 343 412 480 549 617 686 135 384 461 538 614 691 768 140 428 514 599 685 770 856 145 476 571 666 762 857 952 150 527 632 738 843 949 1054
3rd Gen Low Ludes 2001