csargemg

So, this is my first import, and I'm being a little cautious, because this machine is an absolute beaut. Fun to drive, great power, fantastic practicality. It's like a hot hatch after a course of growth hormone.

So of course I want more. Coming from the Jeep world, I'd never had that desire for horsepower, and when I had a junker old Firebird I was too poor to do anything other than keeping it running (thank goodness for cheap GM parts)

Anyway, I was wondering where to get started. So, it looks like the RDX has cold air induction stock, and that that K&N filter for about $50 that just inserts right there, without that heat shield setup, is actually maybe a bit /better/ than the one that has its intake in the engine compartment, even with the heat shield.

So, I've ordered that filter, and a FlashPro repro kit (it looks like the gains there are just the easiest and most obvious).

Anyway, I was wondering how I'm doing? What might be a good way to proceed from there for a little extra pep? This thing is my daily driver, and I kind of like that it's an undercover warrior, so I would like to avoid massive howling sound upgrades. I'd like to focus on price/performance and only do mods that won't harm the apparently incredible reliability of these things.

It seems like many custom exhaust setups are more about display and sound than performance, which is kind of the opposite of what I'm going for. However, I also don't want to have overpressure problems. I'd like to go for good but not fancy.

Of course the most important performance component are tires, so I threw on a new set first thing, before any of this.

Are air filter and flashpro the way to start? What's next? That ETS intercooler is tempting, of course...anyone got a review of that one?

GSJake

You are off to a great start with the flash pro. You can flash it with the stock performance flash and stop there.. Or you can go all out like a member or two on here. Exhaust does yeald power but also but sounds may increase.
Flash it and then go from there.. If you want more power ETS iC, the exhaust including down pipe, and some larger injections. Then custom tune with your flash pro.
I'm looking to hit the 300hp mark with only bolt ons and a good tune.
Keep us in the loop..

KenB350z

Good start, hopefully you keep on pushing. Most or/some of the RDX owners have retired their cars. Maybe because they seen no future potential in the car. Well I'm here to say a few of us on here have open doors for this little RDX and made some want to keep it.

I would wait on the intercooler, we might have something going on a FMIC.

But, the ETS was ok. I didn't really notice anything, probably because of the other mods have done to the car. It's a good upgrade if you want to spend the money. But, for you I would see what I can get out of it as it is.

Here are some goals for ya. My old dyno.

GSJake

That graph looks very nice Ken.
What was all done at this time?

FMIC.. Do tell..

KenB350z

Bro.... You will have to flip back a few years through my build thread, it's all there. No FMIC yet.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

setting the bar kinda lo with that bogus tune there aren't ya ken

KenB350z

That's all I got for now, until I get the car back on the ground.

KenB350z

Maybe that should be one of the first things I do when it gets back, dyno!!

GSJake

So that dyno pull was with your cams and rebuilt turbo!?

KenB350z

Yes, that was with the cams upgraded turbo. Tune by humble. It was turned more as if it were a civic. Now Vit is tuning it and I can feel the difference between the two.

I will have to get it re-dyno when I get the car back on the ground.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

YES

definitely because the old numbers were crap. and you said that its actually drivable now. what I want to see is the TQ management go away and then see your 60 foot time because your bottom end suffered so much on that old tune.

KenB350z

I agree.

csargemg

So, it's nice to hear I'm off to a decent start. I'm probably going to avoid exhaust mods for now. For serious summer driving wheels, do you recommend going +1 or +2? Or even +0 with P245/45/R18 tires?

csargemg

I took this thing out in the middle of Neptune, by the way. It's a god in the snow. Stopping distance is fantastic if you're not an idiot and use ATAS truck tires

KenB350z

Oh yeah, I loved it in the snow. However, I will probably make it a summer car from here on out.

KenB350z

What is the 18 size? 18x?


This is a thread I made so people can know the offset of wheels. Check it out!

https://acurazine.com/forums/tires-w...tested-921146/

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

I'm running 265/40/18 falken 960 they seem decent they wear faster then I'd like but I'm very hard on tires and brakes.

I'm looking into getting a set of 19x9.5 or 10s for "show" I already have a set of 17x8 that I'm going to get tires mounted for this track season. and the factory 18 I'm going to get a dedicated winter set of tires.

KenB350z

Man, with these 285's my slalom better be sick!!

KenB350z

Look at this sexy ass beast with 275 up front and 315 in the rear!

csargemg

How does that unbalanced setup drive with the SH-AWD?

csargemg

And I don't mean unbalanced pejoratively, just that the front and rear are not the same.

KenB350z

It ran pretty good. Just had to change out the rear tire sooner or get a tire that can rotate side-to-side. Q

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

yeah that was a sick ass setup.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

im going to for a bit

get the RV-6 down pipe and if you know a smog guy that will look the other way get the catless version. this with the stock cat back and the brown paint is the stealthiest version of this car that there is. trust me I know. this combined with a good tune will get you a lot of smiles. the next thing after this would be injectors and then sending the turbo out for a bigger compressor wheel.

Talk to VitViper about a tune know what he's doing and he's cheap. after I get "done" tuning ill go get new dyno numbers with his tune verses my old one and then post them both. mine was safe made damn good power but I didn't know as much as I wanted to know so I payed vit and am learning more.

KenB350z

Haha, just spray already!

csargemg

Looks like my dealer's a touch slow getting the flashpro in, but I have to say, I've noticed a small difference even from the new air filter. Or at least I've fooled myself into thinking I notice it, which honestly is just as good.


This thing sure is nicer to drive than my old Wrangler. But considering the amount of snow I've been having to bull through, I'm seriously considering looking at the lightest, least intrusive bull bar I can find.

cmalex23

Hello,
So I just got a 2012 RDX with 32000miles on it. I've never done any type of modification on any car, but I keep reading about the hondata reflash for the RDX. I emailed asking Hondata if it was available for the 2012, but was told they dont offer any tuning options for the 2012. Is there that big of a difference between the 2011 and 2012? Can I still apply the flash to the 2012? Also, can I just drop in the K&N Cold intake and ETS intercooler without any other modifications?
Any help would be great considering I'm pretty much new to this car and my last car was an Element that I didn't do anything to.
Thanks in advance,
C

Tomtwtwtw

Intercooler can be added without risk to a stock tune, the cold-air intake may cause issues - you may want to search around to see what others have experienced. Flashpro is definitely compatible with the 2012 model, but the ECU part# is slightly different and I don't know if the basic reflash is 100% compatible with it (it should be...but don't take my word for it). Worst case, get a VIT tune and it'll be better than the reflash anyway.

cmalex23

Thanks Tom! I will look in the VIT Tune. In your opinion, what would be simplest mods?
C

rdxchris710

I'm in my 3rd vit tune revision and gets better and better. I just have a intake now and man it would be plently for some people. Its got some go nads now!

Tomtwtwtw

All the bolt-ons are relatively simple (although I hear the downpipe can be a PITA to put on...no personal experience though). Cost-wise the intake is probably the cheapest individual mod, but again you'll probably want a custom tune to get the most out of it, and at that point you're dropping a lot more coin on the Flashpro and tuner. A nice "bang-for-buck" package would probably be intake, I/C and custom tune. After that you can play with the exhaust as well, but at that point should probably also look into upgrading the injectors. Doing all of the above will probably net you 25-35% power and torque gain over stock, and from there further gains will involve upgrading the turbo (either internals or a whole new one).

I personally just have the I/C and a KN filter. I've thought about getting an intake, but at the same time I enjoy having a quiet car as my last one made all kinds of turbo-related noise. (not that it's a bad thing - just time for a change!) For the same reasons, I probably won't be doing any exhaust modifications either.

csargemg

So, I got my flashpro in. Got it reflashed with the stock performance tune. I've got to say, with this tune it feels like you should just forget about D. I'm getting better throttle response in S mode by far, and if I want to drive efficiently, I just upshift, keep the RPMs low and watch the boost indicator, and I'm getting 22 MPG. Just took it down to DC and back, thrashed the whole way, averaged 95 on the Jersey pike (my rule is to follow a speeding Beemer - the cop will always go for him over the breadwagon and he's likely to be running a detector anyway). 21.6 MPG for the trip. Do people who complain about the fuel economy just put it in cruise control and watch the boost climb on grades?


What are people's opinions on the K&N Typhoon intake vs. just a K&N replacement for the stock filter? I was told that there's no power increase on the typhoon over the normal (which is a stock cold air intake), just sound and fury, signifying nothing.


So, right now I'm running new K&N replacement for stock filter, and I've got a flashpro and the stock performance tune. Any recommendations for where to go from here? I'd like to avoid a catless pipe, I'll admit - RV-6 with cat might be next step?


What might be a recommended brake upgrade? 4k pounds is a lot to stop with solid rotors and teeny pads. There a set of ceramic pads/slotted rotors that folks particularly recommend?

Tomtwtwtw

Sounds like a fun ride there. To your point of using cruise...I have noticed better fuel economy on my trips to Payson (100 miles, about 4500 ft climb) by leaving it in 4th gear with the cruise on going up hill. Cuts down on the excessive boosting and shifting, and 4th is wide enough to still get good economy. 5th is basically a flat ground gear. lol

As for future upgrades...intake could be beneficial, but you'll likely want to get a custom tune to maximize the gains. Most intakes skew the fuel trims to some degree by introducing extra air turbulence where the MAF is. Not sure what gains there are in a high-flow cat compared to stock, but I'm sure it'll help. ETS intercooler is also a good upgrade unless you're waiting for someone to come out with a front mount set up. If you go with all of the above, grab a set up high flow injectors as well.

The stock brakes on this are actually quite good, but like most stock systems they will fade quickly if you overuse them (i.e. road course or even riding them on long descents when you should be using lower gears to maintain speed). A brake upgrade will be more looks than anything else unless you actually take yours to a track.

GSJake

My front pads are warn and at 100K im sure I could use some new rotors. SO my setup stops like shite..
I will be looking into options in the spring.
But..
Due to physics - when decelerating the weight and energy transfers to the front of the vehicle, as a result front brakes should larger since they have more energy to cope with.
Question..
When looking the spec's why are the fronts smaller than the rears?

csargemg

That's good information - I'm not really interested in looks upgrades at all. My modification concept is to enhance exactly what this thing was designed to be: an unexpectedly fast luxury SUV. After looking a couple reviews of the undercarriage, it seems there's a narrower part of the exhaust system that's down to only about 2 1/4 inches. I'm going to be an idiot and just ask: is that the downpipe? (It's the part of the exhaust system that conducts the exhaust to the muffler - it looks like the exhaust system going /out/ of the muffler has a pretty decent capacity already.


Has anyone done a comparison of the K&N Typhoon vs. just a K&N replacement for the stock filter?

csargemg

This is the filter that I ended up getting, after advice from my mechanic: 2007 Acura RDX 2.3l L4 Air Filter I needed a new filter /anyway/ so the extra $20 seemed like hardly a gamble anyway. No opportunity cost.

csargemg

Does the typhoon have a bigger bore intake, is that the difference?

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

front rotors are vented the rears are solid big difference in thermal capacity.

Tomtwtwtw

Rotor diameter isn't the only thing at play here. Relative to the rear brakes, the front pads are larger (greater friction area), and the front rotors are thicker (can absorb more heat) and vented (better heat dissipation). They are much hardier than the rears. The reason the rears are larger diameter vs a smaller version of the fronts is likely to save cost. Cheaper to make a slightly larger solid disc than a smaller, thicker vented one.

TheWrench116

iTrader: (1)

in theory ken has the best brakes you can get. cant wait to see what type of numbers he turns up once he's able to test the Ksport BBK. im really looking at this kit hard because brake fade sucks