Project CB9 : All Motor All Day
The current goal is to crack 240 whp and 200 lb-ft without the aid of boost. Bench racing, I'd really like for my N/A station wagon to be able to at least keep up with a stock Evo or STi. Below is what I'm working with, but I'll be experimenting with other parts later on. Long-term, I'd like to roots supercharge to bring it up to around 300-350 whp.
Electronics
I made up a custom bezel (from plexi glass, wrapped in tweed) to stealth-mount some gauges in the glove box. AEM dials monitor wide-band air:fuel ratio, exhaust temperature, fuel pressure, and oil pressure. A custom dash cluster will be made later on to include oil and water temp, as well as battery voltage. The engine will be tuned on Hondata S300.
FUEL
> Walbro 255 lph pump
> Rosko Racing rail
> Acura RDX injectors
> AEM pressure regulator
> AEM electronic pressure gauge
> Rosko Racing rail
> Acura RDX injectors
> AEM pressure regulator
> AEM electronic pressure gauge
Intake
I was able to find a Honda Accord Euro-R (CL1) intake manifold with all the Rosko Racing mods I wanted already done to it - well, technically Rosko found it for me, after he told me these manifolds are impossible to source new anymore; such awesome customer service! These are the specs on the manifold itself, and what it came with:
> Inlet ported to 68mm
> IACV relocated to rear of plenum
> EGR runner & block-off plates
> USDM IAT sensor
> OE Acura RDX 410cc fuel injectors & connector pigtails
> Rosko Racing fuel rail, specific to this manifold-injector combo
> left-hand drive throttle cable bracket
> Ports machined to accept USDM injector spray pattern
> Flange machined to clear 'base' H22 head.
Other parts:
> K&N Apollo enclosed intake filter
> AEM aluminum piping, 70mm (custom routing)
> Professional Products DC2 Integra Type-R 68mm throttle body
> Hondata thermal flange gasket
> DIY polished
> Inlet ported to 68mm
> IACV relocated to rear of plenum
> EGR runner & block-off plates
> USDM IAT sensor
> OE Acura RDX 410cc fuel injectors & connector pigtails
> Rosko Racing fuel rail, specific to this manifold-injector combo
> left-hand drive throttle cable bracket
> Ports machined to accept USDM injector spray pattern
> Flange machined to clear 'base' H22 head.
Other parts:
> K&N Apollo enclosed intake filter
> AEM aluminum piping, 70mm (custom routing)
> Professional Products DC2 Integra Type-R 68mm throttle body
> Hondata thermal flange gasket
> DIY polished
Top End
> Machine work by Heads By Drew
> Ishino/Stone (OEM) complete gasket set
> ARP head studs
> Skunk2 Pro 2 camshafts
> Skunk2 Pro Black Series adjustable cam gears
> Supertech valve seals
> Supertech machine hardened valve locks
> Supertech titanium retainers
> Supertech 79lb valve springs
> New OEM valve spring bases
> GSC Power Division valve guides, at machinist's recommendation over Supertech (the seals weren't grabbing them tightly enough)
> Supertech black nitrided dish valves
> New OEM spring-style lost motion assemblies
Appearance mods:
> "Skunk2 Inside" VTEC solenoid cap
> Skunk2 cam seal
> Ishino/Stone (OEM) complete gasket set
> ARP head studs
> Skunk2 Pro 2 camshafts
> Skunk2 Pro Black Series adjustable cam gears
> Supertech valve seals
> Supertech machine hardened valve locks
> Supertech titanium retainers
> Supertech 79lb valve springs
> New OEM valve spring bases
> GSC Power Division valve guides, at machinist's recommendation over Supertech (the seals weren't grabbing them tightly enough)
> Supertech black nitrided dish valves
> New OEM spring-style lost motion assemblies
Appearance mods:
> "Skunk2 Inside" VTEC solenoid cap
> Skunk2 cam seal
BOTTOM END
> Fel-Pro complete bottom-end gasket set
> Re-sleeved w/stepped sleeves
> Rotating assembly balanced
> Wiseco 11.5:1 pistons
> Eagle H-beam rods
> ATI street damper w/power steering pulley
> ARP main studs
> OEM S2000 PCX oil filter (larger body helps maintain oil pressure past 8,000 rpm)
> KS Tuned manual timing belt tensioner & Walk Blocker (factory balance shafts still in place)
> OEM balance shaft seal retainer added
> K-Tuned oil pressure sensor adapter, teed into factory pressure sensor
> OEM block heater
> Powder coated oil pan with Skunk2 magnetic drain plug
> Exedy stage 1 clutch
> Competition Clutch 11.56 lb flywheel
> Mounts are currently a combination of rubber driver side and rear mounts filled with 50-55A 3M urethane, and Explicit Speed Performance 70A auto-to-manual conversion transmission mount, plus ESP front traction bar w/torque strut.
> ESP low profile rear T-bracket
> Re-sleeved w/stepped sleeves
> Rotating assembly balanced
> Wiseco 11.5:1 pistons
> Eagle H-beam rods
> ATI street damper w/power steering pulley
> ARP main studs
> OEM S2000 PCX oil filter (larger body helps maintain oil pressure past 8,000 rpm)
> KS Tuned manual timing belt tensioner & Walk Blocker (factory balance shafts still in place)
> OEM balance shaft seal retainer added
> K-Tuned oil pressure sensor adapter, teed into factory pressure sensor
> OEM block heater
> Powder coated oil pan with Skunk2 magnetic drain plug
> Exedy stage 1 clutch
> Competition Clutch 11.56 lb flywheel
> Mounts are currently a combination of rubber driver side and rear mounts filled with 50-55A 3M urethane, and Explicit Speed Performance 70A auto-to-manual conversion transmission mount, plus ESP front traction bar w/torque strut.
> ESP low profile rear T-bracket
Exhaust
The exhaust system for this engine is designed based on the theory that everything after the header is a restriction, but at the same time I'm trying to keep it as quiet as possible. It will be catted, because Colorado has emissions tests required every two years, and I don't believe in needless pollution. The factory exhaust routing is a straight shot from the engine to the gas tank, but from there it bends twice at 90-degree angles before exiting at the rear. My system will be 2.5" from the header collector to the end of that straight, but stepped up to 3" for the (now mandrel) bends so as to not slow down the flow. At the moment, I have two different resonators to try out, and will be experimenting with different parts over time to get the car sounding just right.
The Spoon Sports header I'm actually pretty proud of. It's incredibly rare on its own, but I believe it's also the only part Spoon made specifically for the H22. It was slightly oxidized when I got it, so I took it in to get all the welds redone, and I hand-polished it myself.
- PLM Try-Y (HyTech knock-off) header
- Vibrant EGT bung, stainless (part no. 1197)
- Vibrant "turbo" flex pipe, 2.5" stainless (part no. 60804)
- Vibrant O2 sensor bung x2, stainless (part no. 1194A)
- Catco cat, stainless 2.5" (part no. 6906)
- Vibrant bottle resonator, stainless 2.5" x2
- Summit Racing 2.5" V-band clamps x3
- Vibrant 2" to 3" step-up, stainless
- Kteller piping, stainless & mandrel bent 3"
- Vibrant Street Power stainless muffler 3"
The Spoon Sports header I'm actually pretty proud of. It's incredibly rare on its own, but I believe it's also the only part Spoon made specifically for the H22. It was slightly oxidized when I got it, so I took it in to get all the welds redone, and I hand-polished it myself.
- PLM Try-Y (HyTech knock-off) header
- Vibrant EGT bung, stainless (part no. 1197)
- Vibrant "turbo" flex pipe, 2.5" stainless (part no. 60804)
- Vibrant O2 sensor bung x2, stainless (part no. 1194A)
- Catco cat, stainless 2.5" (part no. 6906)
- Vibrant bottle resonator, stainless 2.5" x2
- Summit Racing 2.5" V-band clamps x3
- Vibrant 2" to 3" step-up, stainless
- Kteller piping, stainless & mandrel bent 3"
- Vibrant Street Power stainless muffler 3"
Aesthetics
I figure, I'm putting all this work into making the car faster, there's nothing wrong with making the engine look good. Besides, I want to take the car to shows and have it attract attention rather than be a car people walk right past, and a good looking engine will get people to linger and maybe see what else is going on with the car.
I had already shaved a good deal of my valve cover and painted it to get it looking stealthy. It didn't turn out so hot. So in January 2013 I decided to send it off to a fellow CB7Tuner member to have it professionally done. This guy took it to a completely different level. Shaved smooth as glass and finished in matte black. Here's a comparison of a very stock cover that I simply resprayed, to the shaved cover. You saw at the top of the page that I've got three options for this thing so far; the ones with the timing belt cover still in place will be on the car most of the time just to protect that belt from possible damage.
I had already shaved a good deal of my valve cover and painted it to get it looking stealthy. It didn't turn out so hot. So in January 2013 I decided to send it off to a fellow CB7Tuner member to have it professionally done. This guy took it to a completely different level. Shaved smooth as glass and finished in matte black. Here's a comparison of a very stock cover that I simply resprayed, to the shaved cover. You saw at the top of the page that I've got three options for this thing so far; the ones with the timing belt cover still in place will be on the car most of the time just to protect that belt from possible damage.
A 'free' mod: I painted the fuel rail to match my black valve cover. I'm in the process of polishing the intake manifold, and the rail it came with was originally polished. It was just a bit too much "shiny" in one area for my taste, I think this will set off nicely. I used 800 grit wet-or-dry to rough up the surface and some satin black brake caliper paint I had laying around, and it turned out great, the match is insanely close! You can see the black valve cover, fuel rail, and cam gears mocked up together above; I'm loving the look.
This next one might look a bit odd at first but bear with me, I'm planning long term here. Eventually, the car will be re-sprayed in a metallic dark blue (OEM Cobalt Blue or BMW's Monaco Blue, I haven't decided), but I still want a light-colored bay to make working on the engine a bit easier while also looking good. White, I think, would look a bit tacky, and "battleship grey" was played out this last decade. I decided on Toyota's "Quicksand" because it will offer that light reflection in the bay, and it compliments the blue very nicely. Think about a dark-colored car with a tan leather interior, and you'll probably understand the look I'm going for. Whether the car's actual interior will be tan isn't decided yet. The car came with the factory maroon, which I don't like, but then again a similarly colored leather with black accents has looked fantastic in some higher end cars. We'll see what happens there. But I took the Explicit Speed Performance traction bar and the oil pan to a powder coater and we got as close as we could to Quicksand, and then I laid some DEI gold heat tape over part of the pan to try to protect the oil from exhaust heat. When I get to building the car's chassis, the suspension hard parts (knuckles, etc) will be coated in the same color.
You'll notice that the center torque strut was left polished; I just thought it would look odd to have a tan bar sticking up in front of the engine.