I have a 97 R. I have a DC JDM header and carsound cat with AEM CAI. I recently got my Edelbrock VictorX intake manifold installed with a VAFC. The car now runs like crap.

When I picked up the car the car seemed OK, I drove the car home (10 miles) and as soon as I hit the highway and got to 6K RPM it was like I het REV Limiter. The check engine light came on and it ran rough.

I had a friend of mine take a look at it and he adjusted a few things. The car now will rev past 6K RPM but it feels slower. Check engine light is off now. He told me I should have it DYNO Tuned by this guy he knows and if I had plans to do a cat back to have that done before tuning and I should invest in a Fuel pressure regulator as well as the VAFC 2.

What are the differences between a VAFC and VAFC2 ?

What king of HP gains will I be looking at after professional tuning with the mods mentioned?

any feedback and or suggestions are appreciated.

 

IMHO, I would not worry about the possibitly of gaining 2 or 12 hp I would worry about getting the car to run correctly with out doing damage.

there are no differences in the VAFC hp power wise (from what I have heard) but the II makes it easier to have different settings. like Hiway cruising and track max power.

 

In my opinion, do not install VAFC without it being tuned. And don't mess with it yourself unless you know what you're doing.

 

I had it installed by a local garage that looked to have a good reputation. It was not tuned correctly. I am trying to avoid driving the car now. I will be getting a VAFCII and fuel press reg with a cat back and DYNO TUNE in the middle of this month.

I am thinking about a Thermal Exhaust. Any suggestions??

 

yea i heard great praises for the thermal exhaust
i personally like the look of the OEM exhaust
im also trying to keep my car as stock as possible hehe

 

Now the car smells like gasoline... Really bad.. To to point where you can't drive. I took it back, hopefully they will find the gas leak.

This Sucks! BTW check engine light back on.

 

Sounds like the VAFC is installed and/or set up incorrectly...check every connection and for proper wiring. Then check the setup, make sure it's set up for 4 cyl and you have to calibrate your tps voltage too...read the instructions and follow them step-by-step

The VAFC 2 has higher resolution maps (not much though), and some different display screens..

Be careful, you can easily damage your engine by ****ing around with the VAFC...be prepared to pay your tuner for checking the installation (wiring and connections) if you are unable to check it yourself.

 

I got the gas leek situation taken care of. I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and get it tuned by a pro.. The last thing I want is to F*** up my R. I will upgrade to the VAFC2 fuel pressure regulator and do a cat back. I will get it all tuned and do a light weight flywheel with a clutch. I will let you all know how I make out.

The gas smell by the way was a bad seal near one of the injectors.

 

make sure your VTEC switchover point isn't at the VAFC's default position (~5800)...bring it to the stock point and all should be well (at least this is what was my problem).