JDM header, SMSP cat, ground kit install...my .02

98cwitr · Post by **98cwitr** » November 19th, 2003, 6:41 pm

Well the rain finally let up and it's a beautiful day outside. So I take the R out of the garage and am on my way. To make a long story short midrange torque was noticeably improved. I still haven’t hit VTEC yet but i'm loving the mid range torque increase. My exhaust really didn’t change sound, maybe got a little deeper. When I cranked up the car this morning though a lot of whitish (w/ a hint of blue) smoke came out. I figured it just needed to break in and warm up. When I got to work I had my manager rev up the car a bit and hardly any came out (none at idle). NO MORE BLACK RESIDUE!!! This is a big plus. I have some new exhaust rattles and tiggy noises but they aren’t bad. I popped the hood and to my surprise the stainless steel header is PURPLE...now I was expecting so discoloration but DAMN! It was only discolored on the primaries coming straight out of the head. Weird? I figure ill check the color again when the car cools down. The rest of the header looked normal. After I get off work i’m really going to see what she can do. The red grounding wires are a really nice touch and I think they leaned the car out a bit (aiding in an overall better ignition function). All in all, blood and sweat and bitching well worth the install...and I still haven’t ventured into VTEC yet. I can’t wait. EDIT: pics will be up shortly
Ok finally hit VTEC last night...woo hoo! All I can say is it smoothed out A LOT...the switchover is no where near like it used to be. the 'butt dyno' said it felt slower (since the power band is smoother and pulls better, yes butt dyno sucks) but then I bounced off rev limiter in 3rd damn? 3rd gear ended that fast? Wasn’t expecting that... The exhaust isn’t as loud as it used to be and is a bit deeper (sounds a lot better IMHO). Thanks to SMSP for a great fitment on the cat. But once again it’s going to be raining for the next couple of days so the R is staying in the garage for a while. Just my .02

5-Lug · Post by **5-Lug** » November 19th, 2003, 11:08 pm

Sounds good man, what brand exhaust are you running?

98cwitr · Post by **98cwitr** » November 20th, 2003, 10:44 am

header is a JDM DC stainless steel and im running a 5zigen catback...damn 2.25" piping

5-Lug · Post by **5-Lug** » November 21st, 2003, 2:47 pm

Any updates on the discoloring of the header?

98cwitr · Post by **98cwitr** » November 21st, 2003, 3:15 pm

yeah, even though it has heat cycled a lot its still a dull purple color on the top of the primaries. the rest of the header is nice and stainless, but thats the part you cant see...i cleaned the header before i drove the car, so i know its not my dirty hands that made it happen. oh well...i like the power gain and thats why i bought the header...

BAD NEWS: The black residue that i thought was gone is now back in force. the only difference is that the black shit isnt sticking to the exhast tip any more (clean exhaust tip at least) and it all over the passenger side rear bumper, hatch, and part of the spoiler...i have to clean the clear coat everytime i wash the car with Formula 2001 to get it out

I need a vafc BAD! thank god for x-mas. I know what im spending my money on: tires, a vafc2, and 2 hrs of dyno time

Post by **Trey** » November 25th, 2003, 10:43 am

2 things.

5Zigen is 60mm and that is 2.35" so as long as there are no bottlenecks that isn't a bad exhaust. (At least no worse than many others).

YOu don't need even a whole hour of dyno time to tune just a VAFC so don't book too much time and get stuck wasting money.

Good luck with the mods.

98cwitr · Post by **98cwitr** » November 25th, 2003, 11:52 am

thanks for the good advice