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-   -   Apexi SRI install w/pics (https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-tsx-performance-parts-modifications-126/apexi-sri-install-w-pics-671005/)

nnh768 12-28-2006 10:49 AM

Apexi SRI install w/pics
 
Ok so here is my install write-up and review of the Apexi short ram intake. Don’t flame me too much, it’s my first write-up. The install was fairly simple, all you need is a ratchet, razor, and phillips screwdriver.

pic of the stock air filter:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845200.JPG

You need to remove 2 bolts and a piece of plastic tie holding wires to the filter box (that’s what you need the razor for).

The first bolt:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845214.JPG

The second bolt can be a pain to get to, to make it easier you have to remove the air filter cover. It’s held on my 4 screws, once you get that off the 2nd bolt is reachable by hand.

The second bolt:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845222.JPG

After the cover taken off:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845236.JPG

Once the entire filter is taken off, insert the metal tube, it has a little ridge at the end of it so when you put it in it snaps in place. Then place the clamp on the rubber part and tighten, be careful not to over tighten, I screwed it up and had to go buy another one from the hardware store.

Metal tube in place:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845245.JPG

Next install the filter, I recommend installing the brackets first, the long bracket connects to the battery stand and the short bracket connects below the box on the opposite side of the filter. Both brackets connect to the 2 bottom bolts of the filter. There are 3 different sizes of bolts that come with the intake, even though the instructions are in Japanese, the bolts are numbered, just match them up to the corresponding holes in the diagram. Connect the 2 top bolts and make sure everything is tight.

The brackets are kind of hard to see, but it's pretty easy when your doing it in person, there only one possible hole the brackets can be bolted on:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845265.JPG

Next install the weather guard on the side sill, this is very important because later in the day my car got egged so I took my car to one of those touch-less car wash, after the wash I opened the hood to find the weather guard soaked but it did its job and prevented the water from getting into the filter.

The weather guard:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845288.JPG

There was some left over so i put it at the top of the headlight:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845294.JPG

Finished product:
http://show.imagehosting.us/show/184...-1_1845298.JPG

Driving impressions have been mostly the same, i feel that the car is a little more responsive. I have mixed feelings about the sound, below 4000 rpm it sounds more like a whine but over 4000rpm is when the low growling sounds comes in.

Reach 12-28-2006 11:18 AM

Whats up with all those wires next to the filter in the last picture, and the green one sneaking up toward the winshield??

nnh768 12-28-2006 11:45 AM


Originally Posted by Reach
Whats up with all those wires next to the filter in the last picture, and the green one sneaking up toward the winshield??


It's my drl, i live in DC and after a few close calls with psychotic DC drivers i decided to install them.

Reach 12-28-2006 12:26 PM

Gotcha. I'm in the area, no need to tell me about it.

rza49311 12-28-2006 01:03 PM

I don't see any pics :ninja:

8civic 12-28-2006 02:50 PM

I can't see any pics either. Good job on the write up though, Apexi usually makes great products :thumbsup:

godfather2 12-28-2006 07:11 PM

^ ditto

aaronng 12-28-2006 07:49 PM

Host your pics on imageshack.us. That one doesn't the silly bandwidth limit.

nnh768 12-28-2006 09:09 PM

wtf happened to my pics!!! it was working fine before!

nnh768 12-28-2006 09:34 PM

this took forever but here it is again
 
Ok so here is my install write-up and review of the Apexi short ram intake. Don’t flame me too much, it’s my first write-up. The install was fairly simple, all you need is a ratchet, razor, and phillips screwdriver.

pic of the stock air filter:
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/2149/dsc00574sq7.jpg

You need to remove 2 bolts and a piece of plastic tie holding wires to the filter box (that’s what you need the razor for).

The first bolt:
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2006/dsc00575kd8.jpg

The second bolt can be a pain to get to, to make it easier you have to remove the air filter cover. It’s held on my 4 screws, once you get that off the 2nd bolt is reachable by hand.

The second bolt:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8493/dsc00576xy1.jpg

After the cover taken off:
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3153/dsc00577oc2.jpg

Once the entire filter is taken off, insert the metal tube, it has a little ridge at the end of it so when you put it in it snaps in place. Then place the clamp on the rubber part and tighten, be careful not to over tighten, I screwed it up and had to go buy another one from the hardware store.

Metal tube in place:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5004/dsc00579fl3.jpg

Next install the filter, I recommend installing the brackets first, the long bracket connects to the battery stand and the short bracket connects below the box on the opposite side of the filter. Both brackets connect to the 2 bottom bolts of the filter. There are 3 different sizes of bolts that come with the intake, even though the instructions are in Japanese, the bolts are numbered, just match them up to the corresponding holes in the diagram. Connect the 2 top bolts and make sure everything is tight.

The brackets are kind of hard to see, but it's pretty easy when your doing it in person, there only one possible hole the brackets can be bolted on:
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/7145/dsc00580tc9.jpg

Next install the weather guard on the side sill, this is very important because later in the day my car got egged so I took my car to one of those touch-less car wash, after the wash I opened the hood to find the weather guard soaked but it did its job and prevented the water from getting into the filter.

The weather guard:
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2879/dsc00581ai3.jpg

There was some left over so i put it at the top of the headlight:
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/5267/dsc00582mn4.jpg

Finished product:
http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/3362/dsc00583pu4.jpg

Driving impressions have been mostly the same, i feel that the car is a little more responsive. I have mixed feelings about the sound, below 4000 rpm it sounds more like a whine but over 4000rpm is when the low growling sounds comes in.

nnh768 12-28-2006 09:37 PM

the pics of the brackets are kind of hard to see, i'll post better pics of the brackets tomorrow

aaronng 12-29-2006 04:56 AM

https://img184.imageshack.us/img184/...sc00583pu4.jpg

You have a kink in the joint. Readjust it so that it is straight like mine:

https://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3241/3sidevu7.jpg

Reach 01-31-2007 10:37 PM

aaronng, can you take a picture of what the longer bracket attaches to? I've just installed this intake on my car, and I couldn't quite figure out where this one was supposed to go. My japanese isn't so great either.

Its well secured with just the shorter bracket, but if I know where it goes, I'll install the other one later.

nnh768 01-31-2007 10:54 PM

here

http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/121/dsc005791be9.jpg

Reach 01-31-2007 11:02 PM

Oh, thank you. I'll try it tomorrow. btw nnh, it sounds great!

KapVu 01-31-2007 11:29 PM

nnh768, I figured you to have a lot more mods. Hmm, go figure?

DRL..is that daylight running lights?

SRI looks good. Good write up.

waTSX 02-01-2007 12:57 PM

Nice install.

xjohnkdoex 02-01-2007 01:14 PM

is that weather guard necessary w/ all SRI's? how is that held into place?

aaronng 02-01-2007 09:08 PM


Originally Posted by xjohnkdoex
is that weather guard necessary w/ all SRI's? how is that held into place?

It's held by sticky tape. If you don't mind your intake getting wet or have an enclosure around the filter, then leave it off.

SteveTSX87 03-22-2007 04:31 PM

Sorry about resurrecting an old post but I have a question for aaronng. I saw in one of your other posts a custom made heat shield that you designed for your apexi intake, my question is could you maybe give me some measurements or atleast some instructions on how you went about making your heat shield. I would just like to know what materials you used and how you bolted the heatshield together, maybe what mounting locations you used on the car to secure the heatshield, and a what you used for the cold air feed that channeled air from your driver side foglight trim to your filter.

SteveTSX87 03-22-2007 04:31 PM

I would just PM you but since I barely use my Acurazine account I don't have that privelige yet.

aaronng 03-22-2007 05:33 PM


Originally Posted by SteveTSX87
Sorry about resurrecting an old post but I have a question for aaronng. I saw in one of your other posts a custom made heat shield that you designed for your apexi intake, my question is could you maybe give me some measurements or atleast some instructions on how you went about making your heat shield. I would just like to know what materials you used and how you bolted the heatshield together, maybe what mounting locations you used on the car to secure the heatshield, and a what you used for the cold air feed that channeled air from your driver side foglight trim to your filter.

Sure. Over at our Aussie forums, I have a DIY written up. But I think you have to register to view that section. I can post it up here in its entirety, hopefully the mods will allow it. I'll also link the original dimensions that I started with, but what you do is to make a template from cardboard using those dimensions plus 5mm on each edge so you can trim to fit. I made 2 cardboard templates because the 1st one was butchered up. The 2nd one was based on the 1st butchered template.

aaronng 03-22-2007 05:41 PM

Here is the DIY. Pardon the odd writing style. I was trying to make this DIY sound very dodgy, yet still being very good in terms of fit, durability and performance (hopefully).

Disclaimer: The following is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself nor tsx.acurazine take any responsibility for the outcomes of someone else doing the following. You follow these steps at your own risk! If your car explodes or your engine ingests a huge chunk of aluminium or you get defected because your airbox looks so dodgy that the cops can't believe it's made from aluminium, it is not the fault of tsx.acurazine or me.:cool:

Aim: To make an airbox for SRI. Everyone loves a CAI. So I wanted to be different. So I got an Apexi intake. While it is a dry filter, cops in NSW don't care about that. To them, exposed pod = defect. The only SRI + enclosure that I've seen commercially available is the GruppeM. Do I have $1000 to spare for it? No. I guess you don't as well. Also, you probably like dodgy ghetto™ DIYs. So those are the reasons why you are reading this ghetto™ DIY. Messing around with ghetto™ stuff is always good. :thumbsup:

Required: Sockets that fit the bolts you want to take off. Cardboard, pen, measuring tape, chicken scissors, tin snips (the larger the better), rotary cutting tool with cut-off wheels and sanding bits, rubber mallet, hammer, hole punch, riveter (what a weird name), piece of wood, sheet aluminium (I used 1.0mm thick), 2-3mm thick aluminium bar, aluminium rivets (size 4-1 and 4-2, must be aluminium if you are using sheet aluminium), 1/8" washers, 5mm tubing, glue, masking tape, sandpaper, permanent marker.

Optional: Sheet rubber (1.5mm), high temp spray paint or engine enamel, aluminium vent piping.

Steps:
1) Take off your existing airbox (and resonator) and fit your intake. Follow one of the other DIYs for this.
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9...dintakeep6.jpg

2) Measure out the dimensions for your custom airbox. It helps to make a sketch of it. Then to impress people, transfer it over to powerpoint. Different intake brands require different airbox dimensions. Note: duplicate the bottom left piece but with slightly smaller outer dimensions so that you can seal the part directly beneath the intake arm.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/419...keplanswe7.jpg

3) Do a sketch of it in life-size on cardboard. I used cardboard from a box, so I had to use super kitchen chicken scissors to cut it (thanks Ahmie!).
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8...uctionsrq5.jpg

4) Cut the cardboard parts out while leaving a slight 5mm margin on all the sides so that you can trim it down to fit your chassis perfectly. Fit the pieces in as you go along and use nice masking take that matches your chassis colour to hold the parts together. Don't be afraid to make a 2nd cardboard template. Usually, the first one gets butchered so much that it doesn't fit well. My cardboard pieces shown below are "2nd generation".
Side 1:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3241/3sidevu7.jpg

Side 2:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/9...mpletedxo1.jpg

Top cover:
http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/7968/2coverdj2.jpg

5) Take a deep breath as you put all the pieces together and show off your dodgy "mi goreng" airbox to everyone! You can try starting your engine too, but keep a fire extinguisher or a bucket of water nearby just in case.
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4932/5assembledja5.jpg

6) Now, decide which parts of the airbox will be joined as 1 piece for better sealing. Also, the larger the piece, the more difficult to install and remove. I decided to have the side pieces joined together, leaving the top cover and the piece that seals the underside of the intake arm as separate parts.

7) The fun part begins.... giving your hand blisters. Trace the airbox shape onto your material of choice. I used 1.0mm aluminium. It's too thick for tin snips. I used the dremel for hard to reach places and to cut the curved edges. Trim to fit in your car.

8) Now it's time to join them together. Mark the points where you want to rivet with a permanent marker (you should know by now that a ball point pen doesn't work well on a smooth surface). Use the hole punch and hammer to make an indent that stops your drill bit from sliding around when you drill. Put the piece back in to your car so you can mark where the holes should be made on the 2nd piece that is to be joined to the 1st. Hopefully you get everything done right. For 2 pieces of 1.0mm aluminium, you can use the 4-1 sized ones. For anything thicker, you're looking at using the 4-2 sized rivets. To prevent the aluminium from scratching your paint, split the 5mm tubing on one side using a small pair of sharp scissors so that you can attach it to the edges of the aluminium. Use Tarzan or UHU glue (you'll get glue on your fingers, so don't use something too strong) to keep it in place.

Once it fits, cut a piece of the 2-3mm thick aluminium bar and do the same once you locate it for the top cover. It will hold the cover to your chassis using the airbox mounting hole.
Top cover:
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/5...opcovernm8.jpg

Side:
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/6...decovertx5.jpg

Put into the car:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5...mpletedxr8.jpg

9) If you had followed my example and used aluminium, you would quickly find out that aluminium is a great conductor of heat. Also, it is very quick to release heat into the air that is trapped in the enclosure. So I used sheet rubber from Clarke Rubber. For my dimensions, 20cm x 150cm was more than enough with leftover to spare. Arrange the rubber sheet on the inside of the intake box. I chose to place the rubber on the inside because air that comes into contact in the rubber would heat up less. If you put it on the outside of the airbox, you'd have the aluminium surface eventually heating up to the same as without having insulation and you'd be back at square one.

Using the hole punch, hammer and drill, repeat to make some holes to rivet through. Start from one end and make holes in the rubber using the drill. Rivet using the 1/8" washer on the rubber side so that the rivet doesn't tear through the rubber. Trim off any excess using a good sharp knife without cutting your finger off.

Doesn't the intake look like a Hard Gay intake now?
Top cover:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/5...rrubberee1.jpg

Side:
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6...rrubberer4.jpg

Another close up because it's so kinky:
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/6...rdetailhk3.jpg

10) Because the rubber increases the thickness of the airbox, pray that it still fits in your car. If it fits the apexi, which has a wide but short pod, then it should fit other brands that are narrower.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/4...ingsidery5.jpg

11) The top cover will require some adjustment to the edges of the lid so that it fits in with the rubber insulation. Once that's done, put it together and admire your new airbox
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/9...sembledzr7.jpg

12) Doesn't the airbox look so stealthy?
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/3...ginebaywz5.jpg

13) The next step will be spray painting the airbox black with engine enamel and routing a pipe from the hole in the chassis to the fog light cover. Don't you think the location of the hole is so convenient?
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/6...akeholefo2.jpg

I'll update this thread further down the road once I have painted the airbox and added the piping. For now, enjoy new Ghetto™ airbox!

Update:
I have installed the ducting pipe to from the fog light cover to the bottom of the airbox cavity.

1) Here is where we left off. This is the hole which we want to connect to the bumper, in the most dodgy way.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7...ithsidetz8.jpg

2) To be dodgy, we will do this without removing the bumper. Not sure if you haven't realised it yet, but if you have foglights or have an 06 model you're either out of luck or you can do a modified version to the side of the front bar intake or the tiny little cover at the corner. I have an 04 base model, so I get to do some dodgy cutting to my foglight cover. Now, jack your car up, use stands if you want or risk your car going down to the ground. Since I wasn't underneath the car, I just used the jack to hold the car up, checking it up every 10 minutes and jacking it up more if necessary.
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6...ndlinertf6.jpg

3) Now, get the mice 10cm aluminium piping, stretch it out and put it through the hole from the bottom. I had to squeeze it a bit to get it through, so it looks ultra dodgy.
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/941...ithpipedj5.jpg

4) Before I forget, put your hose clamp around the tube before you cable tie the end to the foglight mounting hole. Use your favourite tape (mine is masking tape) and do a little band around the end of the pipe at the bumper side. Then using a sharp screwdriver, poke a hole through the pipe so that you can slip a cable tie though the pipe. The tape will prevent the cable tie from tearing your soft aluminium pipe. In the pic below, you can also see the headlight grounding point. You can use that to mount a thin piece of aluminium that will be held to the pipe through the hose clamp.
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/5...thepipenb7.jpg

5) Now, go back to your engine bay and look at the dodgy crushed pipe. I cut the pipe around the edges so that I could fold it back on to the chassis. Since I didn't have my aluminium ring to secure the pipe to the chassis, I just used masking tape as a temporary solution. As dodgy as this mod is supposed to be, using masking tape to hold the pipe down exceeds all levels of dodgyness that even I would not use long term. It looks so bad that I am even hesitant in posting the pic below.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/3...tapedupdc3.jpg

6) Take a step back and check everything. Check the position of the pipe at the bumper, check the tightness of the hose clamp and press out any indents that you might have inadvertantly left on your soft pipe.
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/9...oglightpa3.jpg

7) Put everything back together, making sure that the clips and screws underneath the front bumper actually catch on to the wheel liner piece as you tighten. My fog light cover had holes cut through it using a dremel. A word of advice, use a low speed setting. The plastic melts and readheres to itself if you use too high a speed. Look how stealthy it is!
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/6...thylookge3.jpg

2nd update:
Due to the nice weather, I painted the airbox with black engine enamel. Here is the final product (still needs a touchup here and there).

Let's play "Spot the airbox":
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/4...paintedqs4.jpg
8) Here's a closer look of the dodgy intake pipe.
http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/7...closeupnz2.jpg

Impressions: With the piping, coolant temperatures drop about 2ºC when I am driving and go back up to normal when the car is stopped. So cold air is getting in. I just need that scantool. Hurry up and arrive!!!!!!!!!!

b4ceen 03-22-2007 05:51 PM

what about a CAI?

Audioserf 03-22-2007 08:35 PM

That is positively awesome. Great thinking, and great DIY. :)

SeanS627 03-22-2007 10:01 PM


Originally Posted by b4ceen
what about a CAI?

that would put the filter in the wheel well, which i'm guessing he didn't want to do

the comptech icebox is similar to this set-up

SteveTSX87 03-22-2007 10:12 PM

hey thanks so much for the DIY, I couldn't have possibly asked for more, you even gave the dimensions of the box and everything :thumbsup: This makes my choice of going with the Apexi so much easier now as I can have the comfort of knowing my filter is out of harms way by not being located in the fender well, and still getting cold air to my filter. Going to order my intake tomorrow probably

bighead411 03-22-2007 10:32 PM

nice stuff. do you have dimension of the pipe?

aaronng 03-22-2007 11:03 PM


Originally Posted by bighead411
nice stuff. do you have dimension of the pipe?

Hmm, it's the standard pipe used for kitchen hood vents. It has a 10cm diameter, about 3.9". Just get 4" stuff.

SteveTSX87 03-23-2007 07:11 AM

thanks again aaronng, im ordering my Apexi today

aaronng 03-23-2007 06:55 PM


Originally Posted by SteveTSX87
thanks again aaronng, im ordering my Apexi today

No problem. Glad to be able to help. :)

bighead411 03-24-2007 11:31 PM

i need the dimension for the metal pipe between the plastic factory pipe to the intake. i try to go the local store purchase the extention. however, they either come with 3 or 4 only.
is that need to be 3.5 inches?

aaronng 03-24-2007 11:33 PM


Originally Posted by bighead411
i need the dimension for the metal pipe between the plastic factory pipe to the intake. i try to go the local store purchase the extention. however, they either come with 3 or 4 only.
is that need to be 3.5 inches?

That metal pipe between the plastic factory pie and the pod filter comes with the Apexi intake (if you buy the kit for the TSX). If you are using a different brand of filter, then I guess you'll have to measure the dimensions of your intake pipe (mine's AUDM, same as the 04-05 TSX diameter).

aaronng 03-24-2007 11:40 PM

And, if it isn't 3.5", it won't fit into the pipe. :)


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