this was posted on speedonline.com and i couldn't have said it better. Or had the patience to type it out<img src=/images/forums/snitz/oogle.gif width=15 height=15 border=0>
This post is meant to address some of the specific issues caused by racer undereducation. This is not a complete list, these are my pet irritations.
The “Intake”
It is common nowadays to replace the portion of the intake track between the manifold and the filter, and the filter itself, with an aftermarket “intake”. This irons out several weaknesses that were designed into the tube and filterbox. This in itself is reputable but there are several misconceptions that thrive around this mod. The “intake” tube and cone filter will not yield a large net increase in power. Trust me boys and girls, Honda is not letting 20 hp just slip through their fingers! Common claims that these intakes have tuned volume or length may be true but the action of the third airspring or intake mass is very small. The increased flow of the filter will only help if the engine is revving further than stock or if other significant FLOW changes have been made AND THE FILTER IS WELL TAKEN CARE OF. Make sure the filter sucks cold air otherwise this mod is mostly for looks.
Muffler
For god’s sake now that every kid, and his sister, and his grandmother has one of those giant unrealistic and low toned mufflers can’t we move on to something else? Get the message people the real restriction in the exhaust system is the honeycomb catalytic converter. After you fix that, try to improve the actual flow of the engine so that you have a real reason to call your muffler “restrictive”. I’m currently searching for a muffler that will leave just my turbo whine, anybody know of any such muffler or have any feedback on the “megs” style mufflers? Expensive mufflers are jewelry for the ass end of your car.
“Rims”
Expensive rims go in the same category with intake and muffler. If you buy a set of stock width large rims and low profile tires don’t expect a large handling improvement, also you should probably expect a measurable decrease in off the line traction because the torque “footprint” of the tire is decreased (note the profile of dragster tires is often 100+%). From personal experience, and what I have heard from better SCCA drivers, I would say that low profile tires are only more predictable than their high profile brothers and may offer less cornering traction in many situations. on the street I would not go deeper than 55 series. Instead of buying an expensive set of rims, go wide instead of light and save the money for new tires. (ya know what I mean)
Lightweight Flywheel
Do your tires make hp for you? Then neither does you flywheel and don’t be fooled by anyone who tells you otherwise. A light flywheel is a drive-ability mod. The designers put a large heavy flywheel on your car for several good reasons. without that weight your engine will freewheel (with the clutch depressed) accelerate at hyperspeed. This is very convenient if you like to equalize downshifts or double clutch, it also comes with the ability to over rev the engine in half a second, without warning, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH TO SAVE THE ENGINE IF YOU MIS-SHIFT. Since the driveline will now rev much more quickly than you can possibly accelerate you will spin your tires more easily and for a longer period. The flywheel also absorbs much of the engine vibration, without it the transmission takes a much harder beating. I likem but they aren’t for everyone.
Cheap Lowering Springs
Either admit that you are lowering your car only for looks and you don’t mind that it’s handling and feel will be much worse or do the reasonable thing: leave the variable rate springs in your mattress, leave some wheel well so you don’t look like a puss crossing curbs and dodging shallow potholes, get shocks to match your new ride height and spring rate, and get a real swaybar to actually improve your handling.
Why put yourself through a bouncy scrapey hell if you don’t get better handling?
“Cam Gears”
Why folks? Do you have a dyne at home? Do you think you can turn an economy cam into a power cam? Sounds like a fun experiment but if you end up leaving it at the stock timing mark, or worse yet, at a setting that lowers your overall power then why waste your money. Save it and spend it on a new camshaft or better yet a leather shiftknob, at least that’s a mod that you will be able to feel and use.
“port and polish”
This is my current pet peeve. If you don’t know what it is PLEASE DO NOT CLAIM YOU HAVE HAD IT DONE. Most modern engines do not benefit from extensive porting unless larger valves or a taller cam are going to be installed. Surface roughness prevents fuel condensation and is so minimal that I would only do it on a full race engine where I was trying to yield every possible fraction of a hp at peak revs. if you have had this done for real and your engine is otherwise stock consider yourself robbed by the cylinderhead shop that did it.
Wires, Coils
Did we forget something? HELL YEAH the part that actually makes the spark. Without significantly upgrading the functional part of the system (igniter, ignition box) that excess capacity you add with expensive wires and coils only goes to waste. Buy an aftermarket ignition first, then a coil, then consider new wires. Some of the best wire sets for price and dependability are the OEM ones. The good o.e.m. brands (BOSCH!) are exactly the right length, have tight fitting connections, and are of ample capacity.
If the stock ignition is working well and you do not plan on increasing the compression or upping the rev limit, than a complete ignition upgrade may provide the most expensive 4-5 hp that you can buy.
Nitrous.
Great stuff, REALLY. Only problem is that it is expensive and can really test the limits of your cars systems. If you get it, plan on expending the first tank just tuning the system. nitrous can provide tremendous power, while at the same time taking your engine into the dangerous land called LEAN. This might be caused by lower than required fuel flow (not necessarily pressure) a weakness somewhere in the system (like a faulty injector asked to do more than it can) or mis-jetting of a wet nitrous system. A faulty fuel solenoid will turn your engine into a live munition in seconds flat. Don’t install it on your car and never use it, that’s like walking around with a loaded gun and thinking you know how to use it without practice or training.
Expensive plugs.
Plugs are a tuning tool. Plugs do not make power. Normal tuning of stock and modified engines often requires replacing basically new sets of plugs because they do not have the right properties or have become irreparably glazed or fouled. I like to look at my plugs, it lets me check on each individual cylinder and on the combustion in general. There have been several improvements in plug design in the last ten years but the old standbys of temperature range and plug reach still hold sway. If you have a set of twelve dollar plugs I have to assume that you either really hate to change your plugs and want maximum life (60K+miles) or you think that having rare earth metals in your combustion chamber is going to help your engine. One frill that I can advise traditional arm Platinum plugs. They last longer, stay cleaner, and resist erosion from high intensity sparking. I have tried platinum plugs with frills and didn’t discern any difference other than inability to check their gaps and the fact that they were impossible to read.
<hr noshade width=60% size=1 align=left>Viva la Evolution.
This post is meant to address some of the specific issues caused by racer undereducation. This is not a complete list, these are my pet irritations.
The “Intake”
It is common nowadays to replace the portion of the intake track between the manifold and the filter, and the filter itself, with an aftermarket “intake”. This irons out several weaknesses that were designed into the tube and filterbox. This in itself is reputable but there are several misconceptions that thrive around this mod. The “intake” tube and cone filter will not yield a large net increase in power. Trust me boys and girls, Honda is not letting 20 hp just slip through their fingers! Common claims that these intakes have tuned volume or length may be true but the action of the third airspring or intake mass is very small. The increased flow of the filter will only help if the engine is revving further than stock or if other significant FLOW changes have been made AND THE FILTER IS WELL TAKEN CARE OF. Make sure the filter sucks cold air otherwise this mod is mostly for looks.
Muffler
For god’s sake now that every kid, and his sister, and his grandmother has one of those giant unrealistic and low toned mufflers can’t we move on to something else? Get the message people the real restriction in the exhaust system is the honeycomb catalytic converter. After you fix that, try to improve the actual flow of the engine so that you have a real reason to call your muffler “restrictive”. I’m currently searching for a muffler that will leave just my turbo whine, anybody know of any such muffler or have any feedback on the “megs” style mufflers? Expensive mufflers are jewelry for the ass end of your car.
“Rims”
Expensive rims go in the same category with intake and muffler. If you buy a set of stock width large rims and low profile tires don’t expect a large handling improvement, also you should probably expect a measurable decrease in off the line traction because the torque “footprint” of the tire is decreased (note the profile of dragster tires is often 100+%). From personal experience, and what I have heard from better SCCA drivers, I would say that low profile tires are only more predictable than their high profile brothers and may offer less cornering traction in many situations. on the street I would not go deeper than 55 series. Instead of buying an expensive set of rims, go wide instead of light and save the money for new tires. (ya know what I mean)
Lightweight Flywheel
Do your tires make hp for you? Then neither does you flywheel and don’t be fooled by anyone who tells you otherwise. A light flywheel is a drive-ability mod. The designers put a large heavy flywheel on your car for several good reasons. without that weight your engine will freewheel (with the clutch depressed) accelerate at hyperspeed. This is very convenient if you like to equalize downshifts or double clutch, it also comes with the ability to over rev the engine in half a second, without warning, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REACT QUICKLY ENOUGH TO SAVE THE ENGINE IF YOU MIS-SHIFT. Since the driveline will now rev much more quickly than you can possibly accelerate you will spin your tires more easily and for a longer period. The flywheel also absorbs much of the engine vibration, without it the transmission takes a much harder beating. I likem but they aren’t for everyone.
Cheap Lowering Springs
Either admit that you are lowering your car only for looks and you don’t mind that it’s handling and feel will be much worse or do the reasonable thing: leave the variable rate springs in your mattress, leave some wheel well so you don’t look like a puss crossing curbs and dodging shallow potholes, get shocks to match your new ride height and spring rate, and get a real swaybar to actually improve your handling.
Why put yourself through a bouncy scrapey hell if you don’t get better handling?
“Cam Gears”
Why folks? Do you have a dyne at home? Do you think you can turn an economy cam into a power cam? Sounds like a fun experiment but if you end up leaving it at the stock timing mark, or worse yet, at a setting that lowers your overall power then why waste your money. Save it and spend it on a new camshaft or better yet a leather shiftknob, at least that’s a mod that you will be able to feel and use.
“port and polish”
This is my current pet peeve. If you don’t know what it is PLEASE DO NOT CLAIM YOU HAVE HAD IT DONE. Most modern engines do not benefit from extensive porting unless larger valves or a taller cam are going to be installed. Surface roughness prevents fuel condensation and is so minimal that I would only do it on a full race engine where I was trying to yield every possible fraction of a hp at peak revs. if you have had this done for real and your engine is otherwise stock consider yourself robbed by the cylinderhead shop that did it.
Wires, Coils
Did we forget something? HELL YEAH the part that actually makes the spark. Without significantly upgrading the functional part of the system (igniter, ignition box) that excess capacity you add with expensive wires and coils only goes to waste. Buy an aftermarket ignition first, then a coil, then consider new wires. Some of the best wire sets for price and dependability are the OEM ones. The good o.e.m. brands (BOSCH!) are exactly the right length, have tight fitting connections, and are of ample capacity.
If the stock ignition is working well and you do not plan on increasing the compression or upping the rev limit, than a complete ignition upgrade may provide the most expensive 4-5 hp that you can buy.
Nitrous.
Great stuff, REALLY. Only problem is that it is expensive and can really test the limits of your cars systems. If you get it, plan on expending the first tank just tuning the system. nitrous can provide tremendous power, while at the same time taking your engine into the dangerous land called LEAN. This might be caused by lower than required fuel flow (not necessarily pressure) a weakness somewhere in the system (like a faulty injector asked to do more than it can) or mis-jetting of a wet nitrous system. A faulty fuel solenoid will turn your engine into a live munition in seconds flat. Don’t install it on your car and never use it, that’s like walking around with a loaded gun and thinking you know how to use it without practice or training.
Expensive plugs.
Plugs are a tuning tool. Plugs do not make power. Normal tuning of stock and modified engines often requires replacing basically new sets of plugs because they do not have the right properties or have become irreparably glazed or fouled. I like to look at my plugs, it lets me check on each individual cylinder and on the combustion in general. There have been several improvements in plug design in the last ten years but the old standbys of temperature range and plug reach still hold sway. If you have a set of twelve dollar plugs I have to assume that you either really hate to change your plugs and want maximum life (60K+miles) or you think that having rare earth metals in your combustion chamber is going to help your engine. One frill that I can advise traditional arm Platinum plugs. They last longer, stay cleaner, and resist erosion from high intensity sparking. I have tried platinum plugs with frills and didn’t discern any difference other than inability to check their gaps and the fact that they were impossible to read.
<hr noshade width=60% size=1 align=left>Viva la Evolution.
