So here is the situation: I have a 2005 Civic VTEC that has a D16Y8 intake manifold, throttle body, injectors, and fuel rail. It also has a custom air intake, catless downpipe, DC Sport 4-1 header and 2.25 inch exhaust. I am wondering if getting rid of the pulse damper in the D17 fuel rail will be a problem for performance, fuel efficiency or injector longevity since I have no return system. A friend said that I should get an AEM fuel rail since it has a much larger bore and will therefore flow better and dampen pulses better. Would an AEM fuel rail even gain 0.1 HP? It seems to me that the rail would not be anywhere near a bottleneck, but if that is the case then why do people waste $125 on them? Should I get a pulse damper, AEM fuel rail or save my money? Thanks for your help in advance.

 

Just to make things look pretty. Unless you cross the 500 HP mark, it is unlikely that the fuel rail is a restriction.

 

A fuel rail is not going to give you horsepower.

It's a supporting modification, a fuel rail, or like upgraded valve springs, they don't gain anything on their own, but with them being upgraded parts, allow you to be able to have more fuel at your disposal for tuning, or handle a more aggressive set of cams, which net you more horsepower.

 

refer to both above comments, they are true.

think of it this way: if you don't lean out from too small of a fuel line, then you definitely don't need to change the rail. the only purpose for an aftermarket rail besides looks, is to provide sufficient fuel flow when your setup actually requires larger fuel lines. stock lines and rail almost always flow well enough to have zero negative effects up to 400hp on e85 and up to 500hp on pump gas. and it's not to increase flow, because it does not increase the flow into the engine. it just removes the restriction that occurs at that high of a power level