phirenze

So the TSX will be coming off of warrantee sometime in the next year. So far the only mod I've done is the comptech short shifter.

I was previously considering selling the car and moving up but I have decided that there's nothing out there that I like more than my TSX. I want to drive it as long as I can just like my '96 TL with 150,000 miles.

I'm seriously considering spending the money needed to give me some extra power which will make my car even more drivable for the next 4-8 years. What I'd like to do is drop my car off at the local honda tuner (and hodata dealer) and have him do all the upgrades at once.

I have a couple of questions:

1) Should I go with the same manufacturer for each part? I was thinking about going with comptech all the way because I'd rather have the comptech header than the DC sport one (don't want to worry about it cracking). However, I know the INJEN CAI produces better gains than the comptech icebox.

2) Do I really NEED to get an exhaust? I don't really want my car to sound noticeably different than stock, plus it is the most expensive mod of the four. Will the reflash respond significantly better if I get the exhaust?

3) Since I have decided to keep the car for as long as possible, will these mods cause me some headaches down the road? I don't have any experience working on cars and do not want to have do maintenence on any of these parts myself.

Thanks in adavnce for any suggestions.

rmpage

Here are my opinions and thoughts:
I ran the Icebox for about 3,000 miles. I have no complaints. It is nice and quiet, only slightly louder than stock, and deeper. The Injen (and the K&N) both sound mean as hell. You get above 4k and they really start to roar. With Hondata, post-VTEC noise is even more dramatic of a change. Personally I like it, but some don't. Be advised that I am sort of a nerd for these things, and induction noise is music to my ears.

Performance-wise, I had my Icebox on before and after my reflash. Then I switched to the Injen CAI. The difference between an Icebox and Injen was easily noticeable. Going from bone stock to reflash and CAI would be a nice kick. I say you get the Injen or K&N. They're basically the same thing.

Also, I have the Comptech 4-2-1 header, but the DC breakage issue still seems somewhat overblown. As long as the flex pipe welds are beefed up, I don't see why you would have a seperation problem. The DC makes substantially more power and costs about half of what the Comptech stainless does.

Unless you're replacing the cat, don't bother with an exhaust. They look and sound great, but only produce another 1-2 hp or so. Not worth the money if it is performance that you're after.

Bolt-ons are made to fit the car. In most cases they're made well. If it is from a big name like K&N or Comptech, it is going to fit well and last.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Add the Hondata gasket while you at it. There's a brand new one for sale in the Black Market forum.

GIBSON6594

and the TB bypass mod

phirenze

Thanks for the replies rmpage and JTso

So it looks like Injen CAI + DC sports header + reflash & gasket are going to give me the best bang for the buck. It's OK if the INJEN is loud post vtec, I just didn't want all that noise during normal driving.

edit: thanks also gibson!

GIBSON6594

No bold?

phirenze

ahem..excuse me

Thank you GIBSON



seriously though, this site rocks. been here since day 1 and never looked back. thank you for the help. My TSX will be rollin' with the big boys soon.

Zasker1

I have a dc header and I did have a cracking problem, but DC stood by their product and sent me a new collector pipe. JTso, whined enough that I sent him the old one last week. But with the new one in place the car defianly has some pickup. I used to have the CompT ice box and later switched to the Injen, there is a noticable gain in performance and the growl is rather nice. I have yet to get the reflash but it is on my list.

In terms of ehaust from what I have seen on this board, the gains are very very minimual with this mod, but the cost is huge. If you went FI I would think you would need this but based on what I have read, exhaust is realy only for looks/sound, unless of course you have money just to blow.

If you are going to blow some cash I would probalby get the bolt on's first and than do the reflash, I think if you did it in two steps rather than one you would appreciate the reflash more as if you do it all at once, you would have a major gain but not be able to tell what gave you most. If you do the install all at once it would be great to see a before and after dyno posted.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Hehe... I collect people's broken DC A-pipes for experiments.

excited

Did you ever do the mods and did you notice a big difference?

Thanks

Excited

phirenze

Dude, I started this thread 6 hours ago.

Tsx536

CarbonGray Earl

I was thinking Comptech Complete Tuned as well, however the exhaust is just too minimal a gain. If you think about it this way, the Injen intake+Comptech Header might give you the same gain as Comptech I/H/E, as well as an aggressive tone.

The only problem I have a true cold air setup such as injen is that throttle response might lag and power at lower rpms might be worse in comparison to a hybrid cold air (Icebox) or SRI (AEM), where filtered air has a shorter distance to travel.

rmpage, what do you think of this differnence? Is there a noticable difference between Injen and Comptech in overall responsiveness off throttle tip-in and at lower rpms?

rmpage

Performance with the CAI has been superior in every aspect, as far as I can tell.

CarbonGray Earl

Damn that was a quick response. Thanks.

dzuy

if you wanted to do all that, you might as well get a high flow cat too.

you cant feel ANY diff with the hondata intake gasket - but it does keep the manifold cooler.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

He was just a little "excited".

GIBSON6594

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