Ever since learning of the Mugen intake, I knew I wanted one, but had heard stories of it being for cars w/o A/C only. I really didn't want to give up my A/C for an intake, so I put off getting one for #460.

After following a few posts about this intake over the year, I learned of a few of you on this board who had this intake AND kept the A/C intact.

I'd like to thank Wes and Brian for their input and encouragement for me to do this. Also, thanks to David at R&D for the awesome deal and to Craig for hosting the space for these pics. to all of you.

First off, some comparisons to the Icebox that came w/ my car when I bought it and the newly acquired mugen...












Notice how humongous the mugen air snorkle is compared to the Icebox! That feature leaves VERY little space during installation as I was about to find out. Total installation time was 3-4 hours... with most of that time spent figuring how to stuff that snorkle portion down into the little itty, bitty hole that the comptech came out of.

A word of caution, if you are thinking of doing this and are even a little bit squeamish about stressing your R, you might want to not install this intake. It essentially involves spreading the 2 ac lines as far apart as you think they can be spread and sticking the intake down between there into the hole into the fender area... sort of reminds me of Prom night.

here's a pic w/ icebox removed and ac lines to contend with...



lines spread with tie wraps to make room for the intake...




A/C line bottom bracket removed and trying to stuff intake down into fender hole. See scratches on intake housing being caused by engine mounting bolt...




couple of shots of engine mounting bracket bolt removed and intake slid into place...





pic of passenger side A/C line going around intake. I've since used some pipe insulation on the line to keep the hard parts from rubbing...




installed bottom portion of intake in the fender area...




finished install....





And what you most likely wanted to know... was it worth the change from Icebox to this?

At first, I thought I had made a mistake and that it wasn't all that noticeable. After driving it for a week w/ the new intake, I can say it is worth every penny and headache this mod has cost/caused.

Low end has been much improved. Step on the gas at 3000 rpm and the car will pick right up and start climbing w/ ease. Once it hits VTEC, it just plain snarls and pulls hard! Top end seems much improved. Like others have reported, throttle response is excellent from midrange (4000rpm) on up. Compared to the Icebox, this is a definite improvement, though gain/$ I'd have to give the nod to the Icebox.

Sorry for the long post, but if you're anything like me, thought you all would be curious as to if this mod is at all doable and what type of gains it would make. Sorry, no dynos other than what I'm sitting on.




[Modified by kkim, 3:09 PM 1/4/2003]

 

Awesome write up

I've been thinking of the Mugen myself, too bad we couldn't have had a back to back dyno of the two

 

Cool.

It makes me wonder though...

Would it be any better without using the stock air tube?

I might be interested in this.. but I really don't care to have a stock air tube. Maybe I could cut my AEM ITR into a short ram, and connect it to the Mugen airbox.. and paint the AEM a different color..

Whattaya think of that?

 

nice job kkim! nice post and pics!
you may be the ONLY one in kaua'i with a genuine mugen dc2 intake

i would personally check your ac lines in a few weeks. they may be prone to shifting around in there and a refrigerant leak is no good .

oddawise, maika'i no bruddah

 

What's wrong with the stock ITR hose? 3" to 2.75" tapered design with minimal bending and no metal heatsink effect. The hose is great for a stock TB at least.

 

nice post
love the info
now you got me thinking about getting one my self
hey how you keep your valve cover so bright red?
looks good
nice kaa

 

Nice review

 

Looks nice... however - an air intake thats 650.00.... Holy *****.

 

nice pictures and write up

 

That is one clean engine!!

 

yea very exepsnive but u get wut u pay for.. u want top end gain and throttle response then Mugen is probarbly the best

 

that looks awesome. if i had the money, i would so buy one.

 

Thanks for the review and installation guide.

I just installed my Comptech Icebox today. All I have to say is, you get what you pay for.

I've seen a Mugen box in person before and have actually held it and inspected it very closely. It looks like there is alot of R&D in the design and quality.

My Icebox looks like a contraption figured out in a couple of hours and finally running to home depot to pickup some parts. It's cheap!

When I save enough money I will pickup the Mugen box. Has anyone ever thought of running a different A/C line configuration instead of bending them? I was thinking, the way the pipes connect and so forth, that you could probably make your own line with your own bends and connect them to the factory connectors and make a lot of needed space for alot of things.

 

Dyno! Dyno! Dyno! Lets see some numbers if its really made a difference!... j/k Good reivew and pictures

 

very good pics! Looks good..

 

looks good man. if there were no AC would your time be cut in half??

oh and a little OT, u sellin yer icebox??

peace

 

wow excellent post

1.) What is the filter element like (could you snap a pic of it?)
2.) What is the weight difference between the two?

 

Nice pictures and write up. Going to get the Mugen Intake this summer. Thanks for posting the pics.

 

here's a few of the filter and part #'s






sorry, haven't weighed the intakes, but I'll try and get some estimates for you tomorrow. Mugen is pretty light, though. relatively thin laid fiberglass.

 

see my sig

 

thaks, kepani. Yeah I was sort of worried pulling those pipes apart so much. I will keep an eye on them. Best way to tell is when the A/C doesn't blow cold, I guess.

Anybody ever tell you you look a lot like Akebono?

 

wow you really have to spread those ac lines apart. i hope you dont end up with an ac leak...

looks nice though. are you planning on getting to a dyno soon?

 

Two awesome reviews in one day
first the lowdowns and then the Mugen intake

 

Again, good info and nice pics... wish I had the money to even think about getting one myself.

 

There is a trace dye you can use to find leaks in the system. It comes with special glasses that you put on and you can find leaks real easily that way. This is the second step after the A/C doesn't blow cold air.

len