I have had my type R for 4 years now. I'm not a racer, I just drive it every other day to work (just not like all the other commuters). I've been thinking about trading up but I just can't part with the car, nothing else drives like it for even twice the money. So I'm looking to spice it up a little. What performance mods would you recommed I do to the car if I were willing to spend 2k per year ? (I added clifford, alpine and bazooka last year, and am looking for relatively simple mods to add and remove)

 

Intake, Header, Exhuast, (possibly an ECU).

They make your car sound nice, minimal power gains, and little to no maintenance.

Y'feel me?

 

(Not feelin it yet.) Any specific Intake ? more cold air ? doesn't the type R already have a modified intake ? I read a few posts that claim they really don't do much on their own. I certainly respect your opinion, so if you had 2k to spend one your trusty little commuter, what one or two things exactly would you buy ? (thanks in advance and sorry If I'm repeating anothers post, this question is basically what's the best 'bang for the buck')

 

HmMM.... I would definately get a Skunk 2 ECU or a VAFC.... not getting a cold air intake is useless to me..

 

So that's be one Skunk 2 OBD1 harness and one skunk2 ECU P72 mod ? If I send in my core then it can't exactly be undone, right ? can I get that mod with a new chip so I can return to 'stock' in the future ?

regarding the VAFC, in an Apexi ok, or is an AEM or similar required ?

Got any vendors you would reccomend ?

 

For $2000 US dollars i'd buy a Mugen intake, a good header with a 2.5" collector, and 2.5" high flow cat. If you want to get a good header get something like the Toda header, it usually goes for $980 US, or if you want the best bang for your buck, get a DC JDM 4-1 stainless steel header, which goes for around $350 US.Or you could go for the best out there and spring $1400 US for a Hytech, but i think in your case it might not be the best choice. The Mugen intake is $650 US and it's by far the best intake made for the R. A good high flow cat will run you around $150 US. Depending on the header you choose, you may have some $ left for a good 2.5" exhaust. Then, next year i'd buy a Hondata S200, maybe a fuel pressure regulator, and some adjustable cam gears and take the car to a good tuner and have all that stuff tuned. All this stuff is pretty much maintenance free once installed and tuned and should net you around 15-30 hp at the wheels, maybe a little less, maybe a little more, depending on exactly what you buy; but the power curve of your engine will be much improved.

 

How about stuffs that good for both of you and the the R itself...HID??

 

In my opinion, most intakes do not do much for the ITR unless you are also dealing with other serious modifications that it sounds like you're not about to undertake.

An exception seems to be the Comptech Icebox, which offers some little improvement even on otherwise stock ITR, and the benefits of the forced cold air, while controversial and largely unproved quantifiably, enjoys a good reputation among the track fiends and racers.

As far as a header goes, it's hard to dispute the relative, economic worth of the DC JDM 4-1 header and the header it copies, the OEM JDM 4-1 header. Both of those headers provide a discernible oomph while also not costing much (especially the DC). We're talking about the DC JDM. There is also a DC USDM that you don't want.

If you buy the OEM JDM 4-1 header, you can even get heat shields that will make your car look entirely stock to the casual observer. Nobody would even know the header were there.

Exhaust...there are any number of good systems out of the box, and it could be a matter of taste and what kind of name you want on your car.

I have had two different versions of the SMSP 2.5" exhaust and cat on my car, and both performed very well. (As the years go by, my car gets built a little more and more...I have an SMSP header now, too.)

On the other hand, you could save a bundle and get a-hold of Mkteller8 and buy one of his pre-bent systems. They're very cheap, and he provides good service. You'll save a heap of money this way and you'll have just about the same power as anything with the Mugen name on it. LOL... If you can deal with having the power but not the name.

I respectfully disagree with the advice about a plug-in pre-programmed ECU.

With the recent prevalence of decently trained tuners, I'd advise you spring for at least the cheap version of the Hondata like I have. It's almost infinitely tunable and you will not have to replace your computer again, regardless of almost whatever changes you make to your motor.

Lastly, I'd like to presume to warn you that you are opening a Pandora's box here. Once you start modifying, one thing leads to another, and you will almost never be satisfied.

 

:shock: Wow. An informed opinion. LOL...

Why the Mugen header over the alternatives? I don't recall ever seeing an improvement on a basically stock motor that'd be worth the price...but I certainly don't know everything.

 

What about a very simple mod like TIRES? what do you have on the caR now?

Maybe...?

Also what about the brakes, do you have better pads, fluid and lines?