leadtrum

A lot of people have been asking about this so i figured it couldn't hurt to post this on this message board as well.

I finally installed my apexi turbo kit on my 98 civic ex auto.

apexi turbo kit
- intercooler kit
- fuel kit
walbro fuel pump
vortec 12:1 fmu

apexi twin chamber b.o.v
apexi el guage egt and bost
apexi auto timer
10w30 mobil 1 synthetic
ngk spark plugs

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Here's a couple things that I noted on the install:

- The kit actually bolts on really nice and doesn't have any clearance problems even though its meant only for the 92-95 civic ex. We had a little gasket problem for the downpipe. There was a tri hole one that did not fit at all so we had to make a friendly trip to napa to get another gasket. No worries though its all good now.

- The parts of the kit are super high quality and seem to work well. Though for some reason I have two extra pipes from the intercooler kit and they aren't even listed on the parts list for the intercooler so we're kinna baffled on that one.

- The intercooler actually fits pretty well but one problem i see which may be due to the year difference is that the mounting brackets for the intercooler use a hole that in the diagram is threaded and on my car is not...so we had to improvise in mounting the intercooler. We also had to trim the bumper support and front bumper like an inch to accomodate it behind it.

- The apexi b.o.v is different then any other b.o.v i've heard really...it like vrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn whoooooosh...its like a long whoosh too. I still like it very much though

- Having a turbo on an auto civic rocks....the boost just keeps coming and coming between shifts and you just sit back and smile.....smile a lottttttt

- The turbo seems to pull at like as early as 3 and the difference is like night and day before i had the turbo with just i/h/e and with the turbo. I haven't even really pushed the car yet since I"m still breaking in the turbo but I'm assuming a great response. Iono if its the ball bearing or what but it just seems to spool sooo quick...i've ridden in cars with greddy kits and drag but this feels different.

- These apexi instructions aren't so great. If you do the install yourself have a group of knowledgeable friends around to help you because there's little things we had to deal with that the instructions didn't cover so well.

- The fuel kit is not like the greddy fuel managment blue box. On this its a vortech fmu that mounts near the right tower part of the engine bay. Fuel pump was really easy to install.

- Also when it says install your turbo kit indoors...DO IT. We started on mine and it rained on us outdoors. It sucked some major *****. Also organization of all the parts got real messed up when you have to run everything in quickly.



that's bout it actually. Total time including rain...damn rain...was like 10 hrs. I"ll try and post some more updates in a little while. Till then hope this helps some people out there. Especially auto civic...you don't know what you're missing.


[Modified by leadtrum, 10:56 PM 5/21/2002]

leadtrum

also:

- bumper support had to be cut like 1.5" deep as well as the bumper to support the huge *** intercooler. air temp sensor needed to be tapped into the intake piping cause there's an extra one compared to the 5th gen civics.

- had to adjust b.o.v cause it was set on a higher boost setting and was making a retarded stutter sound so now its a hard whoosh.

big thanks to everyone that helped including my boy travis moss located in jacksonville, fl. If you're anywhere in north east florida and need any engine work done I highly suggest him. email me if you want his contact info.


[Modified by leadtrum, 10:57 PM 5/21/2002]

leadtrum

oh yea kill list:

rsx type s
rsx i/e
civic si
civic si i/h/e
integra ls
integra gsr
integra type r [off the line]
neon with nos
stock mitsu gst

lost to:
prelude on highway

remember only runnin 5lbs of boost...upped to 7-8 and i think this kit would wrock

2K_TEG

what IC core are you speaking of? Where can you get the kit? How much? Any pictures of just the IC and the piping? I am interested in getting an apexi IC for my car.

leadtrum

apexi calls it the gt intercooler. its like an entire kit that comes with grey and blue piping. the piping is like the same material i think aem cold air intakes are made of. at least i think.

Charles B.

nice kills list

Etylorcen

How big is the turbo? The kit must be really expensive if it comes w/ a ball bearing turbo.

leadtrum

its bigger than greddy but smaller than a t3t/4. and yea its like almost two times as expensive as getting like a similar greddy setup.

2K_TEG

do you have any pics?

leadtrum

i dont' have any of the intercooler itself off the car because as was mentioned...it rained on us .

2K_TEG

do you have any more pics of anything? I think your setup looks really nice from the "teasers" Thanks for entertaining my questions.

Charles B.

i saw somone walk away with one from the first apex garage sale for 1500 no fuel program. the kit uses an IHI turbo probably with apexi specs, just how greddy uses miitsubishi turbos in their kits.

leadtrum

i've heard bout those garage sales they have....you guys are soo lucky bein on the west coast.

here's some more pics:...if anyone wants something specific lemme know:

turbopanda

its a beautiful intercooler, just a lil' bit too expensive for my pocket..
interested in swapping with my evo3 intercooler? hehe

looks like you are using the same turbo that I was using in my custom setup on my Civic. Is it an IHI RHF5 ballbearing turbo? Looks like it to me - they're great little things.. they use the same turbo on some Impreza WRXs too


[Modified by nathan's boosted civic, 8:50 AM 5/22/2002]

leadtrum

yea i heard bout subaru using the same ones. and considering how it runs and feels its no wonder why.

Midwestrider

i love that look of that intercooler.
if you don't mind me asking how much was that kit total for you? and where did you get it from?
overall are you happy? i too am looking to do something with my ex(2000 with 30,000) i currently have a nitrous system on it(finishing the install), if i am not happy i am going turbo on the sohc.
although most say swap, which i could do, i just can't justify 3k for a swap, then another 3k for a turbo kit and the xtra $$ for needed parts and tuning.

this is my daily driven, i just want it fun

int3gra

i thought the Apexi was only great for looks (or was that the Greddy) ??

b18bvudoo

i like that initial pic u made of yor car w/ specs, etc; looks pro

FredoSP

turbod97ex

Your extra piping is for connecting your turbo to the intake without the intercooler.

I'm glad you like it. Turbocharging is a blast ain't it? I would really like to find out how long your auto tranny will last. Make sure you don't drive it like it was a stick or tiptronic unless you want the tranny to last even shorter than it will because of the turbo. You should run synthetic auto tranny oil from Amsoil or from some other reputable synthetic transmission fluid manufacturer like Red Line. A tranny cooler would help it to last longer too but I have never done it. Ask around. I have heard of the autos going out in as little as 20k miles. Take care of it. Doing a manual swap can be a royal pain in the ***.

leadtrum

With all the little electronics and extra stuff, turbo kit, fuel kit intercooler kit it came out to 4k and some change. Yes you could do a swap for the same price and would eventually with even more money be even faster. But everyone has their own needs and this was perfect for what I was looking for.

leadtrum

I talked to hondatech's and they were tellin me that synthetic auto tranny fluid would eat up my seals and other things in my tranny cause of the extra detergents and what not? anybody hear otherwise.

turbod97ex

Yeah, I know otherwise. It's your tranny so do what you think best.

leadtrum

so you think they're jus bs'in me? not that it would be the first time

and if so...what specific kind of synthetic auto tranny fluid should I use?


[Modified by leadtrum, 7:48 PM 5/22/2002]

escapist13

Beautiful front end. Based just on that, I wouldn't mess with ya!