nism0o3

3 things to note here:
Number 1, this is for a 2007 and 2008 Acura TL base.
Number 2, my pictures are crap. My camera sucks and I didn’t take enoughpictures, so I reused some of them. I apologize for that. Myphone would have been better but, you know, hindsight 20/20 and all that.
Number 3, if you can find someone to help outit will go much quicker on the install.


What you will need:
* P2R Intake Manifold Spacer (# P392) with hardware (included)
* 2 P2R Thermal Gaskets (# P145-00)
* Metric socket set
* Ratchet
* Torque Wrench
* Screwdriver for intake hose
* 3 Cans of Throttle Body Cleaner (if you plan to clean IM)
* Soft wire brush (I used brass)
* Paper towels (I didn't use rags with the IM, paper is safer)
* ~6 inches of 7/32" vacuum hose (Advance Auto# 5192900)


Steps:

• Disconnect intake tube and all 4 vacuum linespictured (yellow). Also disconnect allsensor connectors including the TB wire harness and the harness for the vtecsecondary intake valve on the passenger’s side (all in red).
• Unbolt purge solenoid from driver’s side of theintake. 10 mm.
  
• Unbolt throttle body (optional but it will makeinstallation easier).
• Remove top plate bolts and carefully pryup plate. Try to do a little section ata time around the corners. Be careful becausethe plate has the valve motor and secondary butterfly attached to it.
  
• Loosen all 7 bolts and 2 nuts on the manifoldthen gently rock it and pull it straight up. 13mm
  
  
• Remove the two remaining studs from the lowerrunners.
• I cleaned the lower intake runners but lightlyspraying them with throttle body cleaner and wiping them out with a papertowel.
• I then doused the intake manifold and throttlebody with throttle body cleaner. I usedalmost all 3 cans doing so. I then letit air dry before reinstalling.
• I then placed the gaskets and spacer on thelower runners. [stolen picture fromP2R] Picture shows the stock manifoldstuds on there. You can’t use themunfortunately. No bolts are placed inthe lower runners to hold the spacer and gaskets in place. You must set them down and line them upperfectly.
  
• There are 7 13mm bolts and 2 hex (Allen key) bolts that comewith the kit. The hex bolts replace thestuds used on the stock set up. I placedthese two hex bolts through the manifold where the studs once resided.
• I then lowered the manifold and guided then through the bolt holes inthe spacer and gaskets, getting them partially treaded into the lowerrunners. A real pain in the *ss but Ieventually got it. This is where you could use the help.
• I then got the remaining bolts started by handbut only about half way to allow wiggle room.
• I then hand tightened them all in this order:
• I then torqued them to 16ft/lbs in the sameorder. Then again at 18ft/lbs. I figure with the extra materials between themanifold and lower runners it could use a little more “snug”.
• I then used the rest of my Throttle Body cleanerto clean the top plate and butterfly, being careful to keep the cleaner awayfrom the motor for the butterfly valve.
• After the cover dried I installed and torquedthe bolts to 8ft/lbs in this order:
  
  
  
• I then reconnected the throttle body, TBharness, vtec motor harness and all the sensor connectors. I had to replace the one vacuum line with alonger 7/32” vacuum line. Advance Autopart number: 5192900.
  

Finishing up:

• I thenpulled the front wheel, repositioned my intake to reach the throttle body andthen reconnected the intake tube to the throttle body.
• Onceverifying everything was tight and reconnected, I replaced my wheel, loweredthe car and started it. I pulled it outof the garage and let it warm up, giving it a couple of LIGHT revs to make sureall the cleaner got burnt off by the engine.
• Then Ireinstalled my original tune via FlashPro. If you don’t have a FlashPro you most likely want to reset the ECU bydisconnecting the battery for ~15 minutes.
• I took it out for a drive and I was very pleasedwith the results.

PERFORMANCE (I paid more attention to the revs this week):


I figure my wife's car was the best benchmark forthis modification. Her car is a 2008 Accord 3.5 V6 with slightly less miles onit. By comparison my Acura feels very close to her Accord.


off idle to 2500 rpm – Accord has a little more grunt but the Acura iscloser now.

2500 to 4300 rpm - Car pulls just like my wife’s Accord.

4300 rpm and up - Acura feels like it still has its top end. My wife's car runs out of steam close to redline but my Acura felt like it could keep going...if that makes sense.

Her car has slightly more pull below 2500 rpm but beyond that it’s comparableuntil 4300 rpm. The difference is the top end is a little better on the Acuraso I feel the HP didn't suffer.

This is the best modification I’ve done so far. I’m anxious to try and adjustthe tuning and see if I can’t improve it even more.
When doing a WOT pass on the highway I notice the engine isn't as smooth as it used to be around 4300K, so my tune definitely needs adjusted. Its not bad though. My vtec "kick" is almost non existent which doesn't really bother me.
-Thanks-

nism0o3

I cropped and shrunk the hell out of the pictures via the instructions on this site and they still won't work. Not sure what to do here.

NJALLDAY57

iTrader: (1)

im was looking into getting one of these mainly as an excuse to put a performance mod on the TL but i just don't see how this could possibly improve performance.. basically spacing the intake a little away from the TB

so you're saying you have a noticeable performance gain with this?

nism0o3

Its not the TB spacer which is what I think you are describing here. Its an intake manifold spacer which goes between the lower runners and the upper intake manifold. It basically makes the intake runners an inch longer. The Honda/Acura V6 SUVs use spacers on their engines to produce more torque (among other things) but they are slightly thicker than the one I have. The spacer I'm using is thinner but will allow you to shut the hood after the install.


This explains it pretty well.....


From AutomotiveForums.com (I removed some unimportant details):


"(with longer runners)... As RPMs increase, the velocity of airflow will increase in the runners. ...so, as the velocity increases, the more inertia it carries with it. Once the piston reaches the bottom, the column of air will use its inertia to cram a little more air in there before the valve closes.

A long ... runner will hit that peak velocity early in the powerband and use its inertia to cram extra air in the cylinder down low in the RPMs where torque is favored...."


Now I think the spacer and manifold provide a good 'combo' with the stock cams that allow the improved torque without choking off the higher RPMS. So no high end power loss. If there is a loss, its very minor and I haven't noticed it. It basically makes the TL a little easier to drive because you don't have to rev the engine as much to accelerate and pass. The torque gain is especially noticeable on the highway.


I hope that helps.

mau108

not sure what the heck you did with the pics but I edited your post and removed that crap as it was just pages and pages of letters instead of an image which was causing the page to load like crap.

Please send me the photos you would like to post.

Thanks

nism0o3

OK. Thanks! I'll send the pics when I get home to my PC. I did this with my work-supplied laptop which is probably the reason why its so f'ed up.