McB345

I was hoping to remove the intake resonator but I've never done any mods to my car like this and don't want to screw anything up. Does anyone have basic instructions on what bolts I should be undoing on the bumper and specifically what I should be taking out within the car / intake manifold itself? I'm OCD about following directions and stuff like that so if someone could/would really spell it out for me I would be EXTREMELY grateful! Also, has anyone tested their modified (no intake resonator) 09 TSX in hot weather, does it perform as better or worse? Thanks.

(By the way, new to Acura and this site but loving both already)

09TSXTech

Welcome to the forum, here's the link for installing the sports bumper ( just follow the removal instructions in the beginning) so that you can reach the resonator. http://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/AI/BII39056.pdf

You may not need to remove the front bumper to get to the resonator, but it will be easier with it being removed.

Check out mucter thread, he has photos on the removal of his resonator, https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-photograph-gallery-144/meh-new-pwp-tsx-w-sport-bumper-722159/

HeavyDuty

Edit: Thanks Tech, there you go OP.

McB345

Awesome. Thank you so much. This really makes this easier. I'll make sure to post the final results when I get it done in the next week or so but I'm pretty pumped to get some more sound out of this engine. Thanks again.

mucter

You won't be disappointed by the sound, its WAY better. And I have to say that I haven't noticed any detriment in hot weather. The weather's been in the high 80's here the last week and she's still torque'y... It ends up drawing air from the wheel well area, so it really just becomes more like a CAI anyways.

McB345

Great. Do you see any potential problems taking it off a immediately before a 400 mile trip? I read on other posts something about the chip needing to reprogram itselft from the increased airflow and was just wondering if city driving would be better for this as opposed to a long haul on the highway. Would it be better just to wait until I'm back in the city after my trip perhaps?

HeavyDuty

You're thinking about the ECU reprogramming itself which it will do eventually, but it won't cause any issues to just drive it. If you want to give it a head start, disconnect the ground cable on the battery when you start the resonator removal (which is a good idea anytime you're doing work under the hood anyway.) AKAIK, that will reset the ECU.

Make sure you get your radio code out of your owners manual b/c you'll have to reset it and all the functions related to it after reconnecting the battery.

McB345

Will do with the battery for sure. Thanks. Anyone think upgrading to a K&N air filter or another after market filter would do anything much in terms of power or sound after removing the resonator? Is it even worth spending $50 when this mod could be 100% FREE???

HeavyDuty

K&N had no application as of...5-6 months ago? You'll get all sorts of opinions on dry filters vs K&N oil types. As long as you're blowing apart the front end, get a CAI. I think TakedaUSA.com is the only one that has a listing at the moment.

McB345

I may go with the CAI after this further down the road though. I just wanted to see what kind of difference the resonator removal alone makes. From there I may want a little more sound so perhaps I'll continue on to the Takeda.

Question for MUCTER, did you remove everything, all piping leading up to the filter box? Is it pretty much just a filter box with an opening or is there still some sort of pipe going down further in to the wheel well to draw air from down there? I was looking down in to the wheel well when it was dark outside so I couldnt really tell what I would be left with after the resonator removal.

mucter

I removed EVERYTHING, all piping under the battery and the resonator. I had to loosen the battery tie downs to scoot the battery over an inch or two so I could get the bolt loose on the bracket beneath it. I had to remove that bracket to make space for pulling out the piping under the battery. Even then I had to really pull hard on the piping to get it past the radiator fan, but it eventually popped out. None of this was difficult, just a few steps. You could just remove the resonator and leave the other piping in place, it won't hurt anything, I just like have as clean of an engine bay as possible so I took it all out.

The piping coming out of the air box stops a couple inches short of the wheel well. I went out and snapped a pic for you to see:



the battery is to the left in the picture, the top of the picture is the air box. I left the little rubber boot attached to the bottom of the airbox opening as that added a couple more inches of airflow direction, I just figured it might help a bit with keeping the flow coming from the wheel well.

McB345

Picture speaks 1000 words, Ttanks a bunch... That makes things easy right there.

Is this something that the dealership will frown upon when I bring the car in for oil changes and such or should I just avoid bringing it back to my dealership at all costs? I assume they would notice the lack of EVERYTHING coming out from the air box right? It's a lease so I'm not sure what I can and can't get a away with in terms of warranty and also the lease restrictions / limitations.

mucter

They won't notice, its really hard to see down there... I had to get the light just right to take that picture and get any clarity at all.

If they do notice, it won't affect anything. Warranty or Lease, completely nbd. If you think it'll matter, just put it back when you give the car back at the end of your lease. I leased an S2000 and made all sorts of modifications and they didn't care.

biggamejk

I did this mod over the weekend. Wife and I are loving the sound. MUCH better than stock, MUCH louder esp at WOT even at lower revs. It made me awefully throttle happy, WOT happy over the weekend.

I did panic at one point trying to yank the front bar out... it really required a strong pull tug... i was scared it was going to snap or bend too much... but it came off ok.. putting it back on was much easier than i thought it would be.

McB345

I assume this is a mod that really has to be done under very good lighting? I was tempted to start it after work but I'd probably have to let the car cool down for a while and then it may be too dark. Weekend project I assume?

biggamejk

you do need good lighting to locate the 12 or more clips that are under the front bar and to disconnect the fog lamp, headlight washer connections. It took me 1hr to do this, longer than i thought, it would probably take others much less considering this was the first time i had ever taken off a front bar of any car, let alone my brand new baby...

McB345

Thanks for the help on this everyone. I'll make sure to post the results after this weekend.

chibianh

Did this mod yesterday and am enjoying the new sound when you're on the throttle. Was out in the hills and twisties today enjoying the new sound and the bigger rear sway bar.

I do wonder how much debris will get into the air box though. Guess I'll have to check the filter every now and then and see.

McB345

I just finished the mod as well and I really like the sound a lot. I live in downtown Chicago so the engine sounds bounce off the buildings, really nice and will definitely turn some heads when hitting the gas. The best part though is that when you're not on the throttle more than 50% or so you can't hear much of a difference at all, I'm a big fan of that because I still want the engine to sound as if it's a luxury car sometimes.

Everyone should perform this simple mod. It took me no longer than 1hr by myself and I actually just pulled the right side of the bumper back and didn't even have to unhook the fog light, extremely simple. Thanks to everyone who threw in their insight on this.

mucter

WORD!

onitsudo

last night i took out the entire intake piece and removed the resonator. also, the end piece actually makes a U shape and draws air from the engine bay. so i went ahead and cut this piece, was able to refit it to the bottom of the bay where the filter is, and the tubing slipped down into the wheelwell. BAM! DIY cold air hahaha. wish i took pictures but i was in a hurry (did it at midnight LOL) but sounds great, don't really hear it significantly until about 4.5kRPMs

MrOtocinclus

I, too, performed this mod with assistance from my wife over the weekend. I live in a condo and it was kinda funny when people walked by and saw a car with a detached bumper!

I am a complete noob when it comes to cars (first time I ever took anything from a car apart) but thanks to 09TSXTech's PDF and Mucter's thread we were able to perform this mod successfully. So, if you're curious like I was and also new to car modding, you might want to give this a try.

One word of advice: when putting the bumper back on, make sure the bumper encloses the "plastic sheets" that are on the bottom of the car. I put the bumper back on and then realized they were hanging outside the bumper when they were supposed to be within it.

Oh, and yes, I love the sound, especially when overtaking a slow poke on the freeway!

mucter

Congrats! Glad to be of help.

DerwoodEE

I'll be removing mine this weekend.

Luchin

Surprised you haven't already done it. You'll love the sound but if you love it too much gas mileage drops a little as it sounds best at WOT.

You'll understand what I'm talking about after you remove it.

chibianh

anyone who's done this check the air filter in their airbox yet? Looked at mine a couple days ago (I did this mod a few weeks back) and so far so good..

HeavyDuty

If I can just finish this damn 350Z in my garage, then install a HVAC control unit in the I35, *maybe* I can install my Eibachs & pull the resonator on my TSX this weekend.

09TSXMN

I was able to pull out the resonator box in less than 20 minutes by removing 8 fastener plugs and 2 bolts and 1 screw. Put the front tires on ramps, pull two fastener plugs inside the wheel well (middle front and middle side). Remove the screw that is on the inside of the fender lip at about 10 o clock. Remove the 3 fastener plugs that you would remove to access the fog lamps. To the left of those, remove around 5 more in the surrounding area.

Gently pull the fender where the screw was and there will be a slight "pop" where there are some tab clips from the bumper to the fender. Pull back the fog panel, push the inner wheel fender toward the tire. One bolt to the box is accessable from the fender, the other you will see when you are looking up through the fog access panel. Gently rock/twist/pull the box and it will work itself right out.

It does sound a lot throatier, especially at full throttle. I will drive it a couple of weeks to see if it is annoying during everyday travel and impact on milage.

I did not want to mess with taking the grill/front fender off, but when I read it could be done without that, it was worth the go.

Luchin

There has not been any gas mileage difference between my car which has no resonator and my wifes car which still has the resonator.

DerwoodEE

I pulled mine off last night and damn it's loud.

09TSXMN

^^^^ Are you putting yours back in? I am going to drive it a couple of weeks and decide, but I agree, it is louder in normal throttle than I anticipated, almost too much for this type of vehicle. I am not sure if a CAI would be muted as much or not?

DerwoodEE

I don't know yet. It might be a little too loud for my liking but I haven't had it done long enough to decide yet. Tomorrow I'll be driving down to the office (45 min drive) so I'll get a good experience with it. I don't want to sound like a little rice boy, I still want the car to be a luxury sedan.

Luchin

I'm confused. Unless I drive WOT or heavy load I can hardly tell the resonator is missing...In fact if I'm driving normally and shifting at 3K there is VERY little difference in sound.

It does sound great when the sound is bouncing off the buildings while driving hard in the downtown core.

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

hmph.. so this just increases the sound huh? no real performance upgrade noticeable?

hmm I shift at 3500 :-P

DerwoodEE

I normally hear mine the most in 2nd gear above 3K and before the car shifts to 3rd.

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

pfft learn2drive manual :-P

Luchin

This makes sense. Anything above 3K with the 6MT and things get quite a bit louder. I don't mind the sound though, it's much better then the constant 'drone' of an aftermarket exhaust which you always hear.

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

he has an automatic !! what a lossaaa

HeavyDuty

Uh, it's not a great idea to e-fart in a room full of people with a comment that in all likelihood you wouldn't make in person.

Derwood will punch you in the throat.

There's many reasons a person might have a need for an automatic.

Tishkevich

iTrader: (3)

i'm playing anyway, i'm pretty sure he knows been giving him shit for a few months about it when he made a comment about us having the same car a while back. I dont' really have anything against automatics