acuratsx03

finally did it myself!!

and i did it without taking off the wheel or bumper!

ill go drive and see how it goes...

Xtremespeed2102

how did u manage that? i barely had enough room with both halfway off.

acuratsx03

well, first i took off the foglight cover, which was a little different than yours, cause it was a real foglight. that itself had two screws i had to remove.
once i took that out, i messed around with that damn bolt for about 30 minutes. i found that it was a lot easier to use a mirror when trying to remove that bolt.
at this point, i was ready to take off the wheel, but since i got a different set of wheel locks, the key wasnt working with the wrench, so i had to find an alternative to taking the wheel off.
in any case, i jacked up the car, and took out the main clips of the wheel well. just the ones that would allow me to pull it back so that i could see the resonator
i took off the remaing two bolts and had to remove some clips from the bumper so that i could kinda pry it open. then it took some wrestling to get the piece out.. i didnt realize how big it was. but after enough jiggling and wiggling it was off!!!

i am verry pleased with the new throaty sound i get everytime i accelerate, even moderatley. thanks for the write up xtremespeed, helped me a lot!!

Xtremespeed2102

heh no problem, here to help. w.o this forum i dont think half the stuff i did would even get done

HoRRo

OMFG, after reading through this thread at work, I decided to do this mod quickly before it rained. After 30mins or removing the driver side tire, getting cut by the fog light cover and spasms from the PITA bolt, I can say that this mod is SOOOOOO worth it. First gear pulls so much nicer and the sound is just beautiful. I forsee my mileage going down for the next couple weeks

For anyone that hasnt done this yet, DO IT NOW!!!!

GIBSON6594

Now go out and get a CAI and you will be even happier

HoRRo

hehehe, yeah, gonna order an injen soon, might have to wait til Christmas though. Already got too many things on order, kinda strapped for cash

S14 n Tsx

My question is...Is it dangerous to remove that resonator? Is there way the water can get into? I was thinking about getting the CAI but in seattle, there is alot of rain so not sure what to get.

HoRRo

There looks to be sufficient holes in the area where the resonator used to be, so it doesn't look like water can even build up in there. So yeah, like everyone else says, unless you decide to drive through a "body" of water that 16inchs or so high, you're pretty safe.

Redfish

iTrader: (2)

I did this same mod on my 1993 Integra (years ago)...removed the resonator in the wheelwell and enlarged the opening in the bottom of the airbox. In addition, I removed the tube that connected in the front of the airbox for a small 'ram-air' effect behind the headlight. Never had any issues with rain or snow. I used a K&N drop-in filter. I liked the sound and it was a clean, stock setup.

Jay

JDMculture

I must say, I didn't think it would make a diiference at all. A little bit of sound & alot better throttle response. I am pretty impressed, just waiting for the K&N CAI to come in now.

scheißterhöffer

Help me out here, what is the intended functional value of a resonator? Why is it there if it can just be taken off? From what I have gathered, it seems that it is used to keep the car quieter. But there are recurring questions from people as to whether removing it will increase the chances of hydrolocking, and I sort of get the impression that the answer is "yes but only negligibly". So does it keep the car quieter, decrease chances of hydrolocking, both, either, and/or do other things too?

HoRRo

Keeps the car quieter, yes.

Decreases chance of hydrolocking, yes. (Hydrolocking is almost impossible with resonator intact).

By doing the above though, it will restrict the airflow to the car, that's why it's slower with it installed.

scheißterhöffer

So it's basically a mechanism with a tube that goes down somewhere below the air filter, and connects it to the filter? If this is the case, I don't understand how it decreases the chance of hydrolocking. With it removed, would you not have to go into water that reaches all the way up to the filter in order to hydrolock? With it installed, it seems like you wouldn't have to drive into quite as deep of water before it would start sucking it in, since the uptake level seems like it would be lower with resonator installed. I guess I'm not getting something.

moda_way

In both cases, the air intake, with the resonator in, is at the top of the grill behind the light. With the resonator out, the intake tube is just about at the same level. Having said that, in both cases you'd have to have water near the level of the lights. If you drive into that, you deserve what comes with it. Of course there are tube connections in a few different spots, so water could get in there too. Point behind, hydrolocking WON'T HAPPEN unless you are a complete idiot.

I've had my resonator out since August of 2003 and been in some SERIOUS down pours... NOTHING... I repeat NOTHING that even resembles water got into my intake.

Sorry for the rant, but this is such a dead question because of how impossible it is to do.

afici0nad0

subscribed...

GIBSON6594

Thanks

Schizm

After taking it out I noticed that the engine is much louder under heavy load between ~2-3.5k RPMs.

Personally I think it's too loud. But the wife doesn't mind & enjoys the little extra HP. How's that for backwards?!

dom

Anyone have a dyno with just the resonator removed and maybe K&N added. I still haven't put my Injen in and not sure I want to.

GIBSON6594

Just do it, it's only loud when you have it at WOT above 4K

kennungesser

Ok, now I want to do this. Is it gonna be the the same on '06 tsx? I couldnt tell what years you were talking about. But I just pulled four 12 hour days, and another to go, so I may have just missed it. ( hell, I may have just fell asleep while scrolling,lol)

Thanks,
Ken

Schizm

To me the sound level is about the same in that range. I've read other ppl say that it's only in the upper band under WOT too. Personally, I thought it was always that loud.

I could be wrong, but the engine has a lower and louder tone a couple of k before that. Also the loose ends in my not an ashtray seem to rattle at 2.5-3.5k RPM.

kennungesser

Come on guys, It Sunday, I have time, will this work on a 06?

Dan Martin

Why wouldn't it?

JShamoon

I removed the resonator from my 06 6MT (w/3k miles on it) this weekend, took about 45mins. Removed the driver's side wheel, removed the wheel liner, popped out the air inlet cover, removed the PITA bolt (that wasn't as bad as some people say, or it's just easier to remove in the 06's) by sticking a socket wrench with an adjustable neck through the air inlet cover in the front bumper, removed the second bolt from the resonator on the rear side of it, muscled the resonator out. There were only 2 bolts to remove to get the resonator out. Also left the rubber hose connected to draw more cooler air.

Impressions: Right off the bat when I cranked the car for the first time I noticed it fired up easier! The car now revs more freely, MUCH better throttle response with a nice grunt to the engine now. Love it, love it, love it. Great (free) mod.

Newplay1

But does it get really loud? When your on the highway do you get that "BBBBZZZZZBUZZZ droning sound?" I removed on my beater 94'accord and that shit is loud now..

JShamoon

Not at all. No droning at any speed, you don't even notice the noise unless you are WOT or putting heavy load at low RPMs.

Schizm

kennungesser

I know there are slight differences in the 05 to the 06, so I was afraid to tear into it and find something different. Back to 12 hour days again, so I'll do it this weekend. Gotta remember, I know a heck of alot about the Dodge 4.7, and almost NOTHING about the Acura. But I'm tryin!

Have a good one
Ken

1ST 4DR

I've done this on my 05, and also added a K&N drop in. I do notice a difference in pull, but not much.

Power1Pete

I removed my resonator yesterday! I love to do WOT now.

aaronng

My turn. I took mine off yesterday as well. Took it out through the wheel well. Good thing mine is an 04, so the foglight cover is big enough to access that last bolt.

I feel a loss of power from idle to 1500rpm. At 2000-3000rpm WOT, there is a low booming noise, and above 3000rpm, it just pulls!

WECoyote13

Ya I have two obvious questions that I am sure have been posed:

1) Does the no resonator solution sound very similar to a CAI? (for those of us that are afraid a CAI is too loud and want a free preview)..and...

2) Does a CAI offer a significant performance gain over this free mod???

Someone has to Dyno this scenario! I've only had the car for three weeks so you can't count on me yet!

aaronng

1) A cai sounds much cleaner. I'd say from the inside, the no-resonator is louder. The CAI noise is something that you like. The no-resonator noise is just noise. I've driven an 03 with a CAI, and it's much quieter and smoother. Once I hit WOT, it sounds so sweet. You can hear the air pulses. Without the resonator, it sounds like a buzzsaw, and there are vibrations in the cabin.

2) I think a CAI offers more power at the upper RPM range than just removing the resonator.

If you are getting CAI, you can remove the resonator first, dyno, then put the CAI on and then dyno again. Remember to do the learn idle procedure.

afici0nad0

^

are the vibrations in the cabin that noticeable w/o the resonator? can it become annoying?

aaronng

I can feel it through the steering wheel and through the footrest. If you are wanting a comfortable car, then don't remove the resonator. Noise-wise, it is only loud if you use full throttle. Light to 1/3 throttle that is usually used for normal driving sounds similar to stock. If you have a 5AT, don't take it out... usually when driving 5AT, you do use more throttle and as a result, it will be more noisy.

Comparing to the Icebox, the Icebox gives a cleaner sound over the stock box. I will be getting an Apexi SRI later on (order this week and receive it in 2-3 weeks) and I'll give an update then. I will also be fabricating my own enclosure using sheet metal. So that should "enhance" the sound. For better or for worse, I have no idea.

aaronng

I can feel it through the steering wheel and through the footrest. If you compare it to a fully stock TSX, it's a bit of a difference. Personally, I prefer the resonator to be left on. But I'll be ordering my Apexi power intake and it should arrive in 2-3 weeks. That's why I took my resonator out to feel how it runs without it. If I were not getting an aftermarket intake, I would leave the resonator on.

acn684

Does installing the cai or sri eliminate the vibration? I'm assumign no-res causes vibration due to a huge massive force of random air just hitting your filter

junktionfet

This is probably the only modification I will make to my TSX. I've never liked the complexity of the intake sound suppression used by Honda and Toyota especially.

I haven't taken a look at all the plumbing to see how it is configured, but I'd like to retain the overall effective length of the intake system--because that is part of the intake system's tuning.

However I want to remove the resonators. In other words, I'd use part of that "J tube" to keep the actual intake point where it is behind the driver's headlight, but replace any interruptions in that line down and up to the airbox. This would also put my fears of hydrolocking to rest.

When it comes time for my first oil change, I'll probably tear into it to see what can be done.

junktionfet

Well I couldn't resist... I took the gigantic resonator box out of the car and just left the tube that runs from the airbox to the driver's side headlight. I'm not interested in having the air inlet any lower than stock. With my luck I'll run through some puddle and somehow suck in enough water to kill the engine.

I don't think there's any real change in performance, though potentially there could be since the big resonator box isn't there is cancel pulses in the pipe (i.e. there might be more of a ram/velocity effect?), however there is a slight increase in sound at 3/4-full throttle and it is actually pretty nice.

I might end up putting the resonator back on. As nice as the sound is, I don't think the sound fits the character of the TSX, and the performance gain (if any) is not noticeable in normal driving. The added sound might be more appropriate on an RSX, Prelude, or VW GTI, but the TSX demands a more refined treatment IMO. I imagine a really low pitched but subtle exhaust note would be a good way to go. Seems even that is hard to come by--most aftermarket exhausts include a higher quantity of exhaust noise.