my friend works at JE and has a skunk 2 intake manifold he can sell to me for $325.
I was going to buy a dc sports 4-2-1 (with 2.5" collector) and a cat-back.
which would be a better choice to do first?

I figured the IM would flow too much for a factory exhaust, but I dunno that much about intake manifolds.
which should I do first?

 

skunk2 IM but only because the header you're getting is DC.

 

You wont see very good gains from either one, this is just a guess though becaue you did not say anything about your current setup, engine, plans... A DC header on an H23 may show up to 15WHP because the H23 header is very restrictive, whereas the same header on an H22 may show up to a 5 WHP gain. Overall the header is a waste of money for the H22 line, but is the best thing offered for the H23.

If you go with the intake manifold you may end up losing power. The Skunk 2 intake manifold is made specifically for turbo applications. The manifold will show large gains for a built/boosted car, and will also show slight gains on a high compression, cammed H22, but for a basic bolt on engine you will lose HP and throttle response.

_Doug

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dougs96SI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You wont see very good gains from either one, this is just a guess though becaue you did not say anything about your current setup, engine, plans... A DC header on an H23 may show up to 15WHP because the H23 header is very restrictive, whereas the same header on an H22 may show up to a 5 WHP gain. Overall the header is a waste of money for the H22 line, but is the best thing offered for the H23.

If you go with the intake manifold you may end up losing power. The Skunk 2 intake manifold is made specifically for turbo applications. The manifold will show large gains for a built/boosted car, and will also show slight gains on a high compression, cammed H22, but for a basic bolt on engine you will lose HP and throttle response.

_Doug</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

DC just brought out a 2.5" collector header for the h22, which is what Im looking at. i get parts at cost from my job, and I want something I can get thru my job, dc is about it for availability.
So the IM is a bad idea he is trying to sell me on it.

Should I even bother with a header at all?
I am going to buy a high flow cat and cat back, so I figured having 2.5" all the way back would be a good idea. can the stock header even bolt up to a 2.5" cat?

I am just looking for basic bolt ons, mostly low end torque.

 

If you're going NA, get your stock IM P&P instead of buying the Skunk2 intake

 

I was only gonna do the IM cause my friend has had one sitting around for years, he said it would give me power and it would help him get rid of it.
If u guys say it isnt worth it, theen I will just stick with my original plan to get the full exhaust.
Im not looking for much more power, I would be happy witha 8-10 hp gain. I already have an AEM short ram intake.

 

give the dc with the 2.5 collector a try...people have seen good results with custom 2.5 collector setups, lets see what the new version can do...

get a 2.5 cat and catback from http://www.kteller.com