toddrhodes

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Hi all. Getting HFPCs tomorrow and Tein SAZs in the next week or so. I had Heeltoe use the type S mounts and will set them all up so we can drop them in (I'll be installing both with a buddy). We're both well-versed in this stuff, having swapped multiple engines so neither of us is thinking this will be a big job.

But, I have something gnawing at me - my car has 125k on the clock and I can't help but think it might not be a bad idea to replace the 4 O2 sensors by the engine while we're at it. I can afford to, but was wondering what you guys thought about that. Should I just go with OEM? I would think so, but knowing what actual part numbers those are from Denso (IIRC they OEM them?) is eluding me and those are a tiny bit cheaper than OEM, I guess.

Any tips on the HFPC install that might save us some time? I believe we need to take out the radiator so I'll need to pick up coolant.

At this point the car has a KTuner (old style), XLR8 j-pipe with 3rd cat delete, and a K&N drop-in filter. Car feels great as-is but I know the HFPCs will let everything else breathe a little easier.

I've read loads on the Tein install. Shouldn't be too bad unless we get some stubborn bolts. Taking out the rear seats and working with two of us, we figure we can do those in half a day.

Thanks for any advice!
Todd

Rancher2005

Not sure but I thought only the radiator fan had to be removed. If so that will save you a lot of time over the entire radiator.

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

I really need to go back through the install guide on here. Hoping you're right, that would be a huge time saver. Truthfully? I probably need to flush the coolant, though... maybe while we're in there.

Good news is, this guy's tools have their own tools, so getting into tight spaces and getting off frustrated bolts is so much easier in his shop than in my garage.

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

I found this, and it pretty well covers what's needed. We should be fine, but it's so nice to have folks who've soldiered through this before. That said? We may break this up into two installations; HFPCs one day, coilovers the next time.

https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-p...pc%92s-963420/

Rancher2005

Nice! If you have any additional tips or time savers, please update. The HFPC's are in my future.

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

My HFPCs arrived today already. Granted RV6 is only a couple hours away. I think I may reach out to them once these are installed, drive over there and have them tune my Ktuner...

Since I'm not in a crazy rush at the moment, should I send these out to get ceramic coated? Looks like it's $100 for both, which just getting wrap for them looks like it'll be around $50 plus the hassle of actually wrapping them (which I'm not very good at).

Any thoughts?

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^looks like your mind is already made up...send them out for a coating.


and the only reason why to remove the radiator; is so you dont accidentally slip and damage it while taking out a hunk of metal.
if you are careful you can keep the radiator in...making sure not to slip and punch a hole into it...
a card board box broken down covering the radiator might be enough cover

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

I searched around and it seems the only reason not to do the coating is that holding those temps inside a CC could lead to premature wear. That said... my car doesn't get a ton of mileage these days. I'll mull it over.

Thanks for the heads up on the cardboard, I have definitely done that while doing turbo work on my old EVO. And I have a crap ton of cardboard around here from recent purchases :

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

exhaust wrap comes with the same warnings. traps in heat and damages the weld.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

I watch a lot of car channels on youtube.
an ex-writer from Jalopnik has his own channel. Tavarish.
Recently, Tavarish bought the worlds cheapest lamborghini and has been putting it back together...cuz he bought it broken.
anyway; all this to say.....he used gold foil wrap to reflect heat away from critical components...a la Mclraren F1


Just an idea.

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

Very interesting. Thanks sir!

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

As far as O2 sensors go, I replaced my upstream ones at about 120K just for good measure. They can sometimes get a little "lazy" over time. Admittedly, I never noticed a difference with the new ones but I have no regrets. Got OEM's for about $80 a piece.

Downstream however - you can go cheap. I got one on eBay for $18. All they do is measure catalytic converter efficiency. From everything I've read and looked up, they have nothing to do with any ecu parameters such as fuel, air or temperature (like upstream do). The sensor was reading 1.3V continuously so I knew it was the sensor, and not the cat. The cheapo $18 one has worked great for about 6 months now. I wouldn't bother changing them unless they're giving you problems. Changing them later is rather easy.

Good luck on your HFPC install. With your experience, they won't be bad at all. Still kind of a pain to do the rear since it's a rather small working space. I found I had to take the heat shields off the stock cat before it would come out. 3 or 4 bolts holding them on if I remember correctly. And justn is right about the radiator. I didn't remove mine. I should have put some cardboard like he suggested since I ended up bending a few fins. No biggie though.

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

Thanks! Am I right in thinking there are actually 4 sensors, 2 on each bank in the pre-cats? O2 sensors near the head and LAF sensors near the j-pipe connection? Those LAF sensors are different from the downstream O2 sensor, right?

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

You might have them swapped, if I'm understanding correctly. Yes, there are two sensors per cat. I'm not super familiar with the different types, but I do know that the top one is the wideband O2 sensor responsible for AF mixture and what not. I suppose that's the same as an LAF (lean air fuel)? The "standard" O2 is after the substrate (bottom, near the jpipe) to measure cat efficiency. The latter one is the one I cheaped out on. I didn't go cheap on the O2 wideband sensors though. Obviously those are pretty important so I stuck with OEM.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I was second guessing myself so I looked it up. The LAF is on top. O2 on bottom. #'s 14 and 15:

https://www.oemacuraparts.com/auto-p...converter-scat

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

Got it - thank you!! That makes total sense. Still up in the air on swapping them out. I did decide NOT to get these coated or wrap them. I don't drive long distances where heat soak might be an issue and if it does happen, I'd rather deal with a little loss in power as opposed to the possibility of the materials rusting under a wrap or coating.

Was hoping to get these put on this weekend but life got in the way (in a good way, though). Will hopefully do these and the Tein SAZs next weekend.

losiglow

iTrader: (1)

I wrapped mine but I'm not sure it's absolutely necessary. I was more concerned about potential damage to other components from heat. I'm assuming Acura put heat shields on the stock cats for a reason.

Whether wrapping helps at all I can't say. But the car hasn't blown up in the last year since they've been on and nothings melted so I guess I'm good

toddrhodes

iTrader: (1)

I'd say you found success, then