Give Me Head(er)

So i've been searching high and low for a good deal on a header to complete my i/h/e mods. Singapore forums didnt seem to have any for sale, and the Malaysian DC5 scene is absolutely dry when it comes to 2nd hand parts.

I came across a local manufacturer Super Circuit that had a DC5 header for sale (brand new) at RM1,600. Pretty good price, and the guys at Jaafar did mention it... (at RM1,800 however... probably includes the price of the install).

I've never been a huge fan of local made exhausts or headers for that matter. Tried a HotBits extractor for my Satria back in the day, and it really didnt make any difference at all.... So being skeptical, I searched and read more about headers.

I had a few options.

TODA Race Header
Good quality, and looks extremely sexy. Its branded and everybody in the Honda/tuning scene knows the name TODA. Its synonymous with performance. 60mm collector meant that it would mate perfectly with my RM01A catback piping.

I was hooked.

Never knew pieces of pipe welded together could be pornography.

However, after much more reading on the clubrsx forum (great info and great reads there... love the smack talking as well! Amusing), there seemed to be another header that outperformed branded raceheaders, Buddyclub Race Header in particular.

It measured a +6whp difference UNTUNED over the Buddyclub and from reviews had better build quality and no flex pipe that needed replacing.

I needed to know more. This was amazing. Great performance for a great price. It could only have been...

CRSX/Kiddracing Header

Look at those FAT ASS primaries.

Price was USD$450 which is roughly RM1,500 without shipping.

The only problem was that shipping to Malaysia cost $125 on top of that, and I would need to pay taxes when the kit arrived... bringing the price to a whooping RM2,100!!

I heard some news that Tung Chun Racing in Johor brought the header in, so I called up and to my amazement, Ah Siang, (what a typical workshop guys name) quoted me RM2,200 for it.

So guess what.... ROAD TRIPPPPPPP...

2-Months

It's only been 2 months since i've owned the car... and already it's had about RM5k spent on it and been on the dyno twice.

2nd Dyno

I don't understand this urge to modify when it comes to Japanese cars. I never got this with my previous Alfa Romeo 147.

Addiction or not, I'm not going to be satisfied till I hit 220whp. Only Header & Tuning to go and I should be there!

Also, I've got a strange inclination towards getting my hood sprayed black.

Lowered with Black Hood. Perfect.

Fujitsubo RM01A Catback Install

So the catback was sitting in my room for 4 days, and i'm itching to get it installed to hear & see how it will be like on my car.

I've watched TOO many youtube clips, so its time to experience the real thing.

Manager wasnt around, so decided to take a nice long lunch break and head to the professionals at Jaafar to get it installed.

They previously did the de-cat on my car.

If you still have your stock cat on, get it to an exhaust shop and HACK it off.

It cost me RM50 to get the system put on, and the actual INSTALL was only 30 minutes.

The bitch part was there was a Porsche Cayenne getting his exhaust finished up which was causing the hold up.

No matter. Heres pictures:

PIPING:
Stock piping is 2.1" and as you can clearly see, extremely restrictive.
Less bends as well on the RM01A piping.

MUFFLER:
Stock muffler is BIG and functions as an S-flow at low rpms.
Due to a built in valve, it switches to a semi-straight flow upon load.
RM01A muffler looks gooooood.

FINISHED PRODUCT:
Initial thoughts was that it was rather quiet. I knew it wasnt going to be loud, but damnnn, this was extremely silent. At idle, it was like stock.

But at WOT (Wide Open Throttle), it sounded good. Not raspy, and solid. Just the way I liked it.

I'm growing to enjoy the non-boomy-ness of it, and the scream it makes at high revs is to die for.


I was gunning for 215whp from just the intake and exhaust mods. I now realize how naive that was.

I got this notion/target after watching a Dyno shootout of a few UK DC5Rs not realizing theirs was on a dynostream, which registered higher numbers.


Final numbers were rather disappointing however. Only 195whp.

Sure, it was a +15whp over stock, but I expected more to be honest, I was expecting 200whp at least.

EPICFAIL: Vios in Sabah

This is why some people should NEVER be given cars AND money.

Trip Down South

So its a week later, and I've decided I can't wait anymore for the midpipe. Been aching to get the catback on, and staring at the muffler sitting by my bedside (yes, I give it good night kisses before I go to bed), makes things worse.

So we packed our bags (myself, Ghetto Chek, and Yi Mun aka Wifey), and started out bright and early on a Saturday morning.

We had some dim sum first after picking G.C. up from Cheras, and set out with our tummies filled.

The trip was in my mother's Naza Ria. Nice, big and spacious, but a pain-in-the-ass to maneuver.

4 hours later, we arrived in Johor Bharu. Deciding not to waste time on food since we weren't familiar with the area, we proceeded straight towards customs to get into Singapore.

Who needs tow trucks? Dump trucks work just as well...

It was almost 3pm by the time we cleared customs. I called the douche-bag seller and he said to meet him at Ikea.

The bitch ass thing about Singapore is the highways are horrible!
You can be driving straight (and i mean straight, no left, no right turns, STRAIGHT) for 10 minutes on their idiotically named highways (CPE, NPE, GRO, etc... ETC could even be a highway name goddammit) and suddenly you're on a different one.

So needless to say, directions from Wifey's Singaporean friend led us in circles and we ended up at a petrol station outside Orchard Road, LOST.

In the end, we decided the easiest way was to head to "Char Siew's" house and he would guide us to Ikea in his car.

Char Siew's place was actually quite quaint. Expensive as heck for such a small ass "house", but definitely cozy.

So by the time we reached Ikea, it was already 5.30pm. We were hungry, I was exhausted, and on the verge of punching the seller if he made any other smart ass comments.

We headed to grab some grub after picking up the midpipe. We had seafood, which was alright... I guess the hunger made everything taste good.

Char Siew's daughter. z-0 wants to munch on her arms.

We waved goodbye to Char Siew, kissed his daughter on the forehead, and headed back to Johor after the hearty meal.

On the way in, we spotted a sign that caught our attention: "DUTY FREE ZONE".

Rang a friend and he said thats where all the bars and clubs were. It was called "The Zon".

THE BEST PART: DUTY FREE ALCOHOL!

We had a blast drinking up and recovering from the exhaustion, and Johor sure has some weird ass toilets...

Girls Lavatory. Squat on the metal bits, and pee/poop into the hole between!

So was the mid pipe worth the trip? Or should I have just saved the balance SGD100 and money for the petrol and toll and got a custom 2.36" piping done in KL.

On hindsight, yes, it might have been a better idea... but then having a full RM01A catback is always a bonus. Trusted company, trusted item, definite results...

So heres how it sat coming back from Singapore.

Necessary Gaskets were all included.
Unfortunately, there were slight dents on the piping from bottoming out.

The lovely couple back together.

Smells Like Trouble

So after 2 weeks of "running in" the air intake... (Yeah right... its a used intake... what run in?), I decide the engine needs to breathe more.

A test pipe was already welded on to get rid of the enormous cat that came with the stock header. But the engine needed more air... and the only way to get more air IN, is to let more air OUT.

Listening to youtube clips of every single possible off-the-shelf option available, i set my mind on the Fujitsubo RM01A. Looked good, made by a reliable company, and definitely one of the better sounding exhausts - not too loud and most importantly... not raspy.

I've heard so many custom setups being either TOO LOUD, or TOO RASPY (due to a lack of resonator) that i decided not to take ANY chances.

Again, the trusty Singaporean forums had one available for sale. Emailed the guy and settled on SGD600 as the price ~ RM1380 (@ 2.3 exchange rate).

The only problem now was getting the actual exhaust.

The seller was abit of an ass, and the worst part was, he was Malaysian living in Singapore. This douche bag insisted that i drive all the way to Singapore to pick up the system, but i thought meeting halfway in Melaka was the fairest.

Apparently, he has a family, and travelling North with the whole litter, he couldnt accommodate the midpipe. So he only brought the muffler.

FINE. So i rang Ghetto Chek (this continues the saga of my adventures with G.C.), and we made a trip over the weekend to Melaka. Thought it would be a fun road/food trip anyway...

So we met him at the local Hypermart and I passed him SGD500 in Ringgit. This sonofagun has the nerve to tell me off for paying him in Malaysian currency. He's Malaysian for fucks sake, and we're dealing on Malaysian soil.

Picked up the axle back and told him i'll pay the balance when i pick up the midpipe from him in Singapore. He didnt seem pleased but to hell with what he thinks.

We hit Melaka for a late lunch - Chicken Rice Balls for the win! Had some Chendol and started back on the 1.5hour drive.

The muffler was in OK condition. No dents whatsoever, just dirty from use, and had a weird paint stain on it.

Looked horrible when I first picked her up.

Cleaned it up and polished for that extra shine.

Amazing what some elbow grease and Autosol will do.

So now we sit and wait for the next weekend to pick up the midpipe.

AEM V2 Install

So its 5pm at work, and i'm aching to get my intake installed....

Filter is all dried up. Arms are ready to go. All i need now are tools, and a helping hand...

Who you gonna call? Ghetto Chek!

So i make the 30 minute drive to his place around 830pm and we get to it...

Removal of the stock airbox is a snap since we've had experience from the Hondata Airbox Mod. So we get that done in 15 minutes....

I did some reading on the DIY process and it was relatively straightforward. Both me and G.C. (Ghetto Chek) have done DIY engine swaps before on Hondas from our time in the states, so this should be easy peesy no problem.

Some lame dude actually said it took him 3 hours. Pffftttttt... who needs 3 hours for a simple intake install, especially since we took 15 minutes to get the stock one out.

Well....

We were semi wrong.

It was a bitch getting the thing to line up properly, especially since the idiot that sold me the intake didnt include the spacers and bolts needed. So we had to ghetto rig some spacers out of some nuts that he had lying around the house.

We had to move my alarm horn as well because it was in the way of the intake. Relocating that son-of-a-bitch was a pain in the ass.

So after 2 hours of dropping nuts, scorching our fingers on the warm engine, and elbow greasing the intake about, we got it together...

Snug, tight fit. Looks dope too.

Took her out for a spin as we headed for some much needed refreshments. Wasn't expecting much, but MY GOD, was I amazed at the performance and sound of the intake in Vtec.

EPIC.

The only word to describe it.

Left a smile on my face.

Took G.C.'s advise to take off the fuel rail cover over the weekend, and this intake is definitely one of the more "WOW" mods i've had on a car.

Definitely would recommend it to anyone looking for a relatively cheap intake that outperforms regular SRIs. The AEM V2 with its dual sized intake chambers makes up for it being positioned right above the header.

Totally rocking the "non-standard" look.

AEM V2 Intake

You know what i love about the Singapore forums... you can find all the branded crap you're looking for there because the poor kiasu-rians can only use "legal" parts for their cars.

I picked up a 2nd hand AEM V2 intake (also known as the hot-air intake) from a Singaporean whose name I can't remember. Set me back roughly RM450.

No, i'm not an idiot for choosing a "semi" SRI over a CAI....

To me, aesthetics do play an important role in my "feelings" towards a car. A CAI would leave the engine bay empty as heck, being it has to be in the front of the car where the bumper is....

So for Aesthetic reasons, and because i'm a sucker for marketing (YES AGAIN!), I chose the AEM V2... It fills up the engine bay nicely, and the guy in the youtube promo video said i'd get 18horsepower up from it.

"WOW! GIMME ONE OF THOSE!" the redneck in me said....

So heres how it looked unpacked after my buddy Aaron lugged it cross borders back for me.


Looked like a real beaut.

No dents, just some minor scratches on the body, and air filter looked intact - no crushed panels which is a good thing.

Filter was abit dirty, so I decided to google some cleaning instructions.

Step 1: Wash in Simple Green... (W.T.F is Simple Green?! Some sort of crack?)

I looked for the closest thing at home and found the floor detergent.
It was green, and had GREEN TEA elements.
Detoxing the damn filter fool!


I did a good job, but the weather was pretty cool out (maybe because it was 12am moron...), so the filter didnt dry...

Had to get mother to bring it to her factory (yeah i live in a third world country, what is it to you?) and place it behind one of her machines to dry it up.

Install info will be in the next post because this is turning out to be a long winded ass write up.

Hondata Airbox Mod

So I got to reading, and found out I could gut out my stock airbox for an extra 3-4hp.

Heck, I get to cut shit up and free up a few extra ponies along the way... WHY NOT!

I rang Ghetto Chek and he came over on a Saturday with a hand saw and a toolbox full of useless crap. "Dude, we're gutting an airbox, not building a damn fort!"

Hondata website suggests a handsaw.
Forums suggest a dremmel.

I had to work with a puny ass hand saw with a thin blade attached to it that would make the creaters of SAW, the movie laugh in their panties....

Hondata said it would take 30mins to get done. We took 2 hours because we're geniuses.

When we finally got semi-done, this is how it looked.

Don't mess with Ghetto Chek's neon green shorts

We did a crappy ass job of getting the edges smoothed out, and almost chopped off a few fingers while we were at it.

No matter. We did out best, and thats what counts! (thats what the losers in some Proton Satrias said when I smoked them too).

Took it out for a spin, and it definitely felt more rev happy with higher airflow.

Itchy backside of me to buy a replacement K&N Air Filter for it over the weekend because I thought it would make more power. I was wrong.

I'm a sucker for marketing.

The World's BEST Air Filter Apparently....

So thats RM350 down the drain.

p.s. Thanks again to Ghetto Chek for picking up the bill because I was short on cash.

All in all, if you dont plan to change your air intake system, go for the mod. It's worth the throttle response you gain. If you have the slightest whim of getting a SRI or CAI, dont bother. Not worth the hassle.

Facelift?

RM100 well spent on sticker based plates.

Matt silver finish, with small ass font sizes... only the best.


NOTE:
Sure i've revealed my plates to everyone on the interweb.
Lets see some punks try to pull some grand theft auto shit and i'll show you the real meaning of going postal on your ass.