VTEConly

I went out and bought one and didn't do much research.

The race shop I went to have it installed, said that I would lose a lot of low end power because they 've dynoed many cars before & after with the Skunk2, and always see a large dip in low-mid range power and torque. So besides the fact that I needed a new intake to complete the job that day (my GSR CAI wouldn't fit because the throttle body of the SK2 sits much higher like the ITR's), I got scared by what they told me and decided not to install it.

I 'd like to hear from those with the Skunk2 intake manifold and what they think about power gains/loss or anyone who has dynoed their car before & after.

tilt

buttdyno tells me it gave me 5-10hp from mid to high end. the lower end feels about the same. i didnt notice any loss in power down low. well worth it, provided youve done some mods.

i noticed you run dsp. this mod doesnt help you that much for autox. well at least for me it didnt. the track here in austin is too small and i never redline 2nd gear so i dont really get the benefit of the higher end powerband. if your courses are bigger, you prob could take advantage of it though.

patdemps

ok, answer these questions and ill let you know exactly what I think and know.

1.) what other supporting mods do you have
2.) what future mods do you plan on doing to the car
3.) what are you goals for the car


k, if you have other supporting mods your going to see gains with each thing you do. The skunk2 IM is going to open up your midrange/top end. If you have just a stock GSR its not going to do you any good at all (which is the reason why its not on there from the factory). You'll probably actually lose power if you put it on there when your GSR is stock. Now to some other things....If your car is modded (I/H/E/Cams) your going to see some great gains and it'll be very beneficial. Like stated above your going to need an ITR intake which is no big deal, intakes are cheap. If you want your car to be heavily modified or you want just around 10-20whp more over stock then this is a very good mod for the price. You'll need to get it tuned to get full effects and having Cams will really help (ITR/CTR, etc). I mean its all about your supporting mods and building your engine to all flow as one. If you open up air then you need to throw power in there to force that air around....get my drift?

If you have any questions at all just post ill help you out. Also, answer those questions for me.

VTEConly

Tilt:
Thanks I didn't think it would help in auto-x, especially because both SCCA clubs I go to, I don't usually redline 2nd either. We do however have other non-SCCA clubs with much bigger lots that I do redline 2nd and even get into 3d gear sometimes.

As long as I don't lose any power down low I should be ok with the Skunk2 because I like the fact that it weighs less. If anything it's a decent weight reduction and I wouldn't mind the power in the mid-high range either. HOWEVER, my buttdyno has been wrong many times so I 'm sorry to say I can't take what you 're saying to be very accurate. The realy dyno (dynojet & dynapack) has proved me wrong a couple of times, so I can't go by my butt anymore

I have the usual I/H/E (CAI) plus 8.9lb flywheel & LSD. Plan on doing it crank pulley and free flow CAT but that's about it. The car puts down 157.3whp right now (dynoed last wknd on an 87.5 deg. hot day).

BTW, I was shown a '99 Civic Si dyno curve where the guy lost about 8whp in the low to mid range! He didn't start making power with the SK2 mani until after 6200 RPM.. I do NOT want those results for my car, especially the loss in the low-mid range. Don't know what other mods the Si had, but he wasn't putting down a lot more than stock (141whp peak I think, stock is usually 130-133).

tilt

yeah, buttdyno - take it for what it's worth... not a whole lot

i believe skunk2nr has a before and after dyno of the skunk2 manifold. you might want to pm him or do a search on the post.

patdemps

If you slap no some ITR cams (around $300-350) then you'll see gains and you'll be very happy with this mod. It'd be great for your auto-x or drag. You'll see gains all over the powerband with ITR cams and the midrange you need in auto-x will be a ton better with them. You also can't go wrong with OEM quality...

Now with GSR cams and the power you have. You might be better off sticking with your stock manifold its built more for torque with the secondaries. The mods you have right now are just waiting for some extra ponies to really thrive. What type of header do you have? If you've got a nice header back setup then maybe you can get away with it on the GSR cams. That cat your looking for (carsound cat) will help out a bit too. How big is your exhaust?

VTEConly

Patdemps: thanks! I guess I answered most of your questions when I was responding to 'tilt'.

You probably don't auto-x so you wouldn't have noticed my signature. In DSP class, I can't install CAMS. Only I/H/E, pullies, intake manifold, TB, and ECU. That's pretty much it besides lsd, flywheel & suspension stuff.

I have a CAI & DC 4-2-1 header with a lighter flywheel (& LSD). Running 18deg. timing.
Made a mistake earlier. Don't have an exhaust yet but plan on putting one soon (Apexi N1 or Thermal Research), plus crank and accessory pullies, Carsound CAT and that's about it.
The car was on the dyno last wknd and it puts down 157.3whp from 139.0 stock (had it dynoed when it was bone stock with 15k mi.).

So I already got 18+ whp (and 8 ft-lbs of torque) more with not too many "power" mods, just simple bolt-ons. I 'm sure the flywheel freed up some too..

My problem is that I need more mid-range power for auto-x, not high end.. because I 'm not in VTEC (2nd gear) that much. I need power between 4K and 6K. I 'd love to do some Hondata tuning (200 unit) but I was told that I need to get an OBD1 ECU...

VTEConly

our posts keep crossing... but I seem to answer your questions before I read your posts

VTEConly

thanks Tilt for the contact info!