Skunk2 Intake Manifold & Injen CAI combination on a DC2/B18c2

Hey guys,

This is just a bit of a write-up/review on using the Skunk2 Single Stage Intake Manifold in conviction with an Injen CAI in a DC2. As most of your will know, the VTi-R Integra comes with a variable length (dual stage manifold) intake system. What this basically means is that at a set rpm (6000 to be exact), butterflies within the manifold are activated, closing off one set of intake runner leading to the head, changing the length overall length of the intake. The aim of this OEM design is to provide torque low in the rev range, without having to sacrifice power in the top.

Personally, I am after abit more in the mid-to-high rpm range (for mountain runs etc), so I did sone research and decided to overhaul the entire intake set up on my motor. During my research phase, I read alot of different things regarding the Skunk2 product, both positive and negative. Here is my personal experience with this combination.

As for the new intake setup: VERY happy with it. The Injen CAI alone was money well spent. It's very noticeable in the top end. The change to a single-stage manifold has also been very good. I really can feel that it's breathing much easier and it builds revs easier. It's a good feeling when it pulls harder and harder closer to redline. Next on the list after coilovers will definitely be some good quality header.

For those considering/wondering if the Intake + Manifold option is worthwhile, I can give you a firm YES. I myself was pretty skeptical about the manifold mostly, I read abit about people saying I would lose lots of power down in the low/mid range. Sadly I've only driven the car at like this for a couple days, as i'll explain further on. Here is what I can say from real-life, personal experience:

Pro's:
-Much more haste to reach higher revs when you give it some
-Car is a whole heap more responsive above 2500rpm, pedal feel is very nice
-It's definitely quicker (no, it's not just the sound making me think it's quicker. I can feel there is more power)
-VTEC crossover remains very smooth, but once in VTEC, it really takes off.
-The stock intake is so twisty and just looks so restrictive. It's a good feeling knowing your motor has a plentiful supply of fast flowing cool air.
-Fuel consumption is better. I'm not joking.
-Last but not least, who can go past the sound of VTEC through a CAI? The sound is incredible, it literally screams it's nuts off above 5000rpm. Not to mention the sound of single-stage crossover, it's just soo good. It's also nice to be able to hear the engine ticking away, it's almost like the larger intake chamber amplifies the noise of the engine

Con's:
- Yes, there IS a slight flat spot in power just after VTEC crossing over, from 4600-5500rpm. I'm guessing this is due to the fact that the stock tune was for the completely different OEM manifold. The stock ecu has VTEC engage at 4600rpm. I'm guessing that if it was higher, at say 5500 or 6000rpm, this wouldnt happen. Personally, i'm not bothered as Hondata + a tune is on the way for me.
-Yes, there is a little less response down very low in the range, i'm talking <1500rpm here, nothing really to be worried about. This is inherent with the CAI.
-It's so LOUD! Not that I see that as a negative though, some might but. Just be aware lol...
-It's a CAI. You have to be careful of those deep puddles.
-Be very careful during installation of your knock sensor. Due to the deletion of the Dual-stage Butterfly setup, there is a plug that is let unplugged as the butterfly system is deleted with this new manifold. This plug is on the same wire as your knock sensor. Somewhere along the line, I've stretched my loom (specifically the cables attached to the knock sensor) and pulled/snapped the knock sensor right off. Be careful if you do this, Honda ask $260 trade price for a new one. I luckily found one from Adrian at Toda for MUCH less than that. But yes, with no knock sensor you will get a CEL and after doing the DIY paper-clip OBD scan, I found it was code 23, so I looked in the bay and found my sensor just hanging by the cable. Once that CEL comes on, goodbye performance lol. The ecu has started retarding my ignition, therefore making the car annoyingly gutless. This should be fixed by next week though, and it shouldn't do any harm to your motor.

That's my honest opinion of this combination. It is VERY worthwhile, I myself consider it money well spent. The knock sensor issue is of my own making, so it's not really a negative of the doing the swap, it can be avoided with care.

What may interest some is that I am currently still using the stock VTi-R throttle body! Unfortunately I didn't have the foresight to realise that the Type R TB I was planning on putting on opens the other way of the VTi-R one. To install the bigger throttle body you will need:
-Long Throttle cable from pretty much any other B/D series. The B18c2 one is very short due to the unique intake manifold design on this enginem, and the ITR TB requires a different mounting point and bracket. I will elaborate on this later when I post up some pics. But yes, back to the point that i'm still using the smaller throttle body. I think that after switching to the bigger one I should expect even better throttle respnse and maybe if I'm lucky even a bit more in the top end.

I can't really think of much else other than that... I've driven through a couple QLD storms and I havnt had any problems with the Injen yet lol, although I am alot more mindful of deeper puddles now. And apart from the knock sensor issue which bugs me, I'm very very happy and satisfied with the gains from the parts i've added. I can only imagine how much better it would be with a good tune though...

Pics to come :) Thanks for reading! Hopefully this provides some insight for those who are contemplating the same set up.

Any other questions, please feel free to ask!

VIDEO AND PICTURES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guQmbM5Fd1A

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hey man, great write up, i was in the same boat as you a while ago and i did the same mods as you but with a 68mm tb on my c2 along with full headwork etc. I highly recommend the tb in conjunction it will fill in your flat spots

Joe

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Originally Posted by joe.teg

hey man, great write up, i was in the same boat as you a while ago and i did the same mods as you but with a 68mm tb on my c2 along with full headwork etc. I highly recommend the tb in conjunction it will fill in your flat spots

Joe

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Thanks Joe! I appreciate it mate :)

As for your throttle body, which did you go with? Im tempted to go the Skunk2 68mm route, but its just so exxy! What did you use/recommend? I can DEFINITELY feel that there is a bottle neck in my set-up right now, and it's the 60mm throttle body. Before 4500rpm its great, then comes VTEC and it's sluggish sluggish sluggish then BANG power! Really need to open up the breathing a bit.

And for headwork, mate I'm heading down the exact route myself. Plans are Buddyclub Spec III cams along with supporting retainers/springs etc. How much did your head shave, valve job etc set you back? Actually mate, I'd like to know ALOT more about your headwork, you will have PM from me in a sec lol.

nice writeup bro , very useful as i want a b18c2 swap and will change to a single stage intake manifold and using stock ecu !

post a video!! :)

i like this. +1 rep

Thanks guys!

I have a video on YouTube, I'll post the link in a sec :)

i have done the same thing on my b18c and im also getting code 23 knock sensor, how do i fix this?

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Originally Posted by Vvvtec

Thanks Joe! I appreciate it mate :)

As for your throttle body, which did you go with? Im tempted to go the Skunk2 68mm route, but its just so exxy! What did you use/recommend? I can DEFINITELY feel that there is a bottle neck in my set-up right now, and it's the 60mm throttle body. Before 4500rpm its great, then comes VTEC and it's sluggish sluggish sluggish then BANG power! Really need to open up the breathing a bit.

And for headwork, mate I'm heading down the exact route myself. Plans are Buddyclub Spec III cams along with supporting retainers/springs etc. How much did your head shave, valve job etc set you back? Actually mate, I'd like to know ALOT more about your headwork, you will have PM from me in a sec lol.

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No worries man, i went the skunk 2 68mm tb and it actually took some getting used to but its great, if you get the 68mm tb all you need to do it run a custom bracked to mount the cable to and you can retain your vtir cable length etc. The reason i went skunk2 tb is because i was going to run the skunk2 manifold and most aftermarket parks are designed to work in conjunction with other mods of the same manufacturer so i thought id keep the whole intake system skunk2 except for the injen i already had. My headwork all up cost me 900 only because i needed new valve guides so i opted for kelford guides. A tip for you (guys feel free to comment if you dont eblieve in what im about to say), If your going to do headwork, keep the parts in the family so to speak, so if your going buddlyclub cams keep all your supporting mods buddyclub and the same for your exhaust and intake system.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JDM-EGG

nice writeup bro , very useful as i want a b18c2 swap and will change to a single stage intake manifold and using stock ecu !

post a video!! :)

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Glad you enjoyed it dude, I wish I had something like when I was doing my research... But its turn out I made the right choice anyway ;)

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Originally Posted by lsvtec

i have done the same thing on my b18c and im also getting code 23 knock sensor, how do i fix this?

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So your engine light is on constantly once the engine is warm? THat's what mine did, means the car is in limp mode and will run pretty shit and chew ALOT of fuel since its running so rich.

Well the first thing I recommend you do is go look uinder your manifold and see if your knock sensor is physically broken, if it is you'll see this...



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That's exactly how I found mine, gave me a shock. That should be plugged into the block directly under the manifold and above your oil filter. If you find yours like that, its game over for that particular sensor. You'll have to source out a new one to replace it. They are pretty tricky things to track down... I got mine from Adrian and TODA *hint hint*...

To replace this sensor, you'll need to get under the car, remove the oil filter and with the longest deepest socket you can find undo the bolt portion of the sensor that will still be screwed into the block. It's a very tight and tricky job. Make sure your exhaust isnt hot otherwise you'll burn your arm off lol..



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This is the knock sensor. What happened to mine (and probably yours too) is the black plastic part broke off from the metal bolt (its only glued in). So the thread part will still be in the block.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by joe.teg

No worries man, i went the skunk 2 68mm tb and it actually took some getting used to but its great, if you get the 68mm tb all you need to do it run a custom bracked to mount the cable to and you can retain your vtir cable length etc. The reason i went skunk2 tb is because i was going to run the skunk2 manifold and most aftermarket parks are designed to work in conjunction with other mods of the same manufacturer so i thought id keep the whole intake system skunk2 except for the injen i already had. My headwork all up cost me 900 only because i needed new valve guides so i opted for kelford guides. A tip for you (guys feel free to comment if you dont eblieve in what im about to say), If your going to do headwork, keep the parts in the family so to speak, so if your going buddlyclub cams keep all your supporting mods buddyclub and the same for your exhaust and intake system.

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Thanks so much for that. I feel i'm probably going to be asking you a bunch of questions in the near future haha! I think I've decided on the skunk2 tb, like you say it's been designed to work in conjunction with the manifold. and I do agree with what you say about keeping parts 'within the family'. Im going to do that, im looking at either Skunk2 or Buddyclub cams. Both can be had for about $600. From memory you used Blox? Do you recommend them?

Also, can you please post up a pic of the bracket you came up for the throttle cable? which way does the skunk2 tb open? I found the ITR and Vtir TB's opened in opposite ways...

i changed my knock sensor today and still getting CEL 23 ??? i dont know wats wrong

Did you reset your ecu to clear the code? That's very odd, maybe also try just something simple like take the plug out and then plug it in again?

how do u reset ecu>?