Well guys, i installed my icebox tonight like i said i would and just thought i'd share with you my first impressions. These are just my impressions on the comptech, until i get my dyno (which is tomorrow) i'm not going to say anything in terms of if it's better than or worse than the AEM or injen intakes. I'm only going to mention what i found out so far.

Installation
Installation took me about 3 hours because i wasn't fully familiar with my car's stock intake. so getting to certain bolts and removing certain items took me some time because i wanted to make sure i did it right. but overall the install wasn't too difficult. The only thing i would say I liked about the install is how the comptech intake fits so nicely into the factory intake spot. it uses the factory bolt locations and everything. The only thing i would say i didn't like was that some items were confusing in terms of where they went. For instance, there were 5 clamps, 3 that were the same size, and no where in the instructions did it mention where you use each clamp so i had to just make educated guesses, there are other things that weren't up to par, but overall i'd say i give it a:

Performance
When i started the car i didn't notice any difference in sound at all. But when i reved it i could here a slightly deeper tone, but not so much compared to many other intakes. Off the line in 1st gear I immediately noticed a very nice improvement in throttle response. throughout all the gears there was quicker pickup and the acceleration was a lot smoother. in the lower gears, 1,2 & 3, if you were to open it up to WOT you can hear a nice deep hum, but in the higher gears it's not as noticeable. But the kick in 3rd and 4th gear is amazing or at least i thought it was. I could noticably feel more of a pull than i did when it was stock. For your tests after you install your intake, put it in 3rd and drive about 70mph and floor it and you'll see what i mean. When the VTEC kicks in there isn't the loud growl that you hear with the AEM. You can hear the VTEC kick in, but it's not loud at all.

Overall
I'm happy with the intake. I can noticably feel the power difference, and now it makes me want the headers because i think the two of them in combination could make some serious dents in other car's ego's.


I'm getting my dyno done tomorrow, so i will try to get the dyno's scanned and posted. I already had my dyno done with the stock setup, so i will post that one with the dyno of my car with the icebox tomorrow.

Here are pictures of my Intake & i threw in some pictures of my Autometer tach that i installed last weekend.

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290638719
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290638701

 

looking forward to the dyno

 

A BIG thank you for going forward and becoming the first six speeder to install the Ice Box. I know that my decision to buy one will be at least partially based on this review. Thank you for being the trailblazer.

I look forward to your dyno results.

What was the deal with the coolant line change? Did you bleed your coolant system (and how does one do that)?

 

Wow I knew this mod. would be the best for this car just cause it keeps it a sleeper . All the power without the all the noise Very nice writeup thanks I can't wait till I get mine it is in transit.

 

I am so glad that you didn't notice a big noise change. I have my Icebox (for the Sport Shift) on order but I was worried about making the car too loud. After all, it is a daily driver! Thanks for the info on the install and thanks to Comptech for a quality part!

 

Thanks for doing a great job on reporting about the Icebox. I'll be looking forward to your dyno results. By the way, what a great tach. What is all that gadgetry within the face of the tach, and what brand is it. Thanks, Pappy

 

Looks great and I’m looking forward to the DYNO numbers.

The Comptech should prove to be more powerful, but you mentioned the main reason I don’t plan on replacing my Xephyr intake with one.
The 10 or so Horsepower that a CAI provides is nice, but I think it’s the BANSHEE SCREAM it makes when the VTEC kicks in that I love the most.
I’m not positive, but I think the Xephyr is actually a bit LOUDER then the AEM too.

I also think the IceBox looks a little too much like stock.
I wish they had made it look a bit different then the stock airbox.

Shawn S

 

congrats
curious to see the dyno results!

 

I think it was their intention to keep it stock looking on the surface, but ya, it would be nice to have a carbon fiber lid on it

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by slyraskal
I could noticably feel more of a pull than i did when it was stock. For your tests after you install your intake, put it in 3rd and drive about 70mph and floor it and you'll see what i mean.

You think it pulls hard now, you should buy the headers and then you will really feel it pull. I can't wait to get my intake from Dean on Wednesday.

 

Nice....can't wait to see dyno results.

Re. your tach: Is there a reason you need that? It would really bother me to see the two needles in different places when I'm revving my car.

 

Great write-up... I'm going to make a copy of your post and put it in the Extremely Useful Topics archive for future installers.

Looking forward to the dyno!!

 

I'm with you Shawn, I love the way the AEM sounds. And i like the not-so-stock look of it too.

 

I wish that it looked a bit different but if I get the same hp gains, I don't care about the wailing. With headers, the VTEC sounds louder to me anyway. I wouldn't want it THAT much louder!

 

Nice write up.

What is the purpose of the additional tach? The stock tach is pretty large and I don't think accuracy is an issue?

 

Ya, mine is ordered/in transit, cant wait to get it and see the dyno.

 

Damn Thats HUGE!! Can you see pedestrians and make left turns safely with that??

 

Thank you for all the good comments you guys gave back, it's nice to know my work won't just help my car but hopefully give you guys some insight as to what the intake can really do. I'm leaving work a bit early today to get my dyno completed so check back either later tonight or tomorrow morning to see the dyno charts.

 

Actually i didn't bleed the coolant system, some coolant did leak out, there's no way to avoid it because of the positioning of the coolant lines in conjunction with the stock intake pipe. Comptech provides new coolant and breather hoses to replace the stock lines because the stock bracket doesn't fit with the new intake pipe.

Is there any way to remove air from the system without bleeding the system? I've heard of people simply opening the radiator cap, and running the engine for like a minute and then just capping it again but i don't know if that works or not.

 

The tach is an dual stage autometer tach, #6856, and the gadgety thing is the tach "cpu" if you want to call it that. It allows you to see what the highest rpm you acheived was, and allows you to set dual shift points for the shift light.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 6spdCL-S

Quote:

Originally posted by slyraskal
I could noticably feel more of a pull than i did when it was stock. For your tests after you install your intake, put it in 3rd and drive about 70mph and floor it and you'll see what i mean.

You think it pulls hard now, you should buy the headers and then you will really feel it pull. I can't wait to get my intake from Dean on Wednesday.

oh i totally believe you that's why i can't wait to get my headers!

 

For myself and the way i drive, it's one- hard to see the stock tach because i drive with my left hand on the top of the steering wheel, and with all the noise reduction crap in our cars, it's hard to hear the shift point. So I added the tach so i can see the tach clearer and now i have a shift light to go with it.

 

You're right, accuracy is not an issue, it is simply a helpful item so i can keep my eyes on the road and not have to worry about looking down at the tach to see when i should shift. like i said earlier, it's hard to hear when to shift in our cars cuz they are so quiet sometimes. so it's mainly for precise shifting. i have my shift light set up (at the moment) to go off at around 6600rpm. Until i get out to the track i won't know exactly what the optimal shift point is.

 

lol, that made me laugh.

actually it's not that big when you see it in person. and when you do, it can be a little intimidating, but not for my car since it's not even lowered yet, but give me a week and i'll have my zeal kit in so beware! hehe

 

Thanx, hopefully other's will find this useful, i know i learned alot about my car from doing the install myself.

 

I totally agree with you on the sound issue. On my integra my DAC Intake sounded mean as phuck when the vtec engaged and i loved the scream that scared people It really made the driving experience a little better hearing that.

I do think the intake looks way too much like stock, But fitment is a big plus for me. I want it to perform and fit snug. I've heard and experience this myself, of a lot of people that have had intakes installed and they aren't secured properly and the pipe starts rubbing up against other peices causing damage. My DAC intake in my integra had this problem. It caused a small tiny hole to develop in my ac line and then i had to have the line replaced and the system recharged! cost me an extra $300 So in the end i learned my lesson and i'm going to "try" to stick with setups that closely match stock fitment.

But then again, if greddy or hks develop a turbo for our car, i'm gonna jump on that like white on rice.

 

I see that now, it is more of a close up shot.

Sounds like you are doing everything at once on you car, good work

 

nice write up.

how do you like the unifilter foam filter. how thick is it? any other details?

 

 

The filter is pretty thick, at first glance it looks rather cheap, but it's pretty durable and surprisingly it does the trick. I'm gonna have to run it a while and see how it does and compare it to how my k and n filter did in my integra.

 

Are you going to ave a before and after dyno???

 

Yea, i did my stock dyno two days ago, so after i get the dyno done today we can compare the two setups.

 

I want to see that dyno. Also, having some air in your collant system is not a big deal, right, it will take care of that itself? I figure that it would...or do you need to bleed it and how?

 

nice. can't wait until tonight.

 

I'm hoping it will take care of itself. I'm still waiting for someone to chime in about that. People have said some air in the system is ok, comptech said it should be "ok."

I looked through my helm's manual, and didn't find anything on "bleeding" the system, onlly draining and replacing the fluid.

if anyone has info on this, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

From looking at my helm's manual, there is a drain bolt at the bottom of the radiator where you drain the coolant. And the helm's manual has a through description as to replacing the coolant as well. (there's a procedure to follow for it)

Is this the same as bleeding the coolant?

 

Below is an email i just got from Joe at Comptech, I wrote to them to check out this thread so they could get some feedback and see what things they need to improve on and here is what he said, he addresses the coolant issue!

 

slyraskal...did you have to remove the bumper to install the icebox?

 

I know i asked this same question before because so many of us were wondering how the hell is it possible to install it without removing the bumper!

well guess what, it is possible to install the kit without removing the bumper.

here is what i wrote to someone else that just asked me that question:

I suggest having your ratchet set handy, and having a multiple size rachet set, small and medium sized ratchet's are required to make things easier espeically if you plan on not removing the bumper.

 

Question. Does the Icebox for the 6 speed have a bypass valve? Does it need one?