Ok. Some of you guys know I had the Skunk2 Intake Manifold and the Cams to be installed.

Shop wanted WAY too much money for the installation, so I asked around some people on Honda-tech if they wanted to help me or do it for me for some $$. A Honda-Tech member emailed me and said he'd do all that for $100.00 bucks!! Inluding a Valve Adjustment and Timing afterwards.

So yesterday, I went over to his house at 3pm (He lives an hour away from me). We had the car cool down for about 30 minutes, then we started working on it. We cracked open the Valve Cover and the Cams.

The Cam Gears were TORQUED on the cams, so we had to go over to the Shop that he works at, and get them zapped off. Then we came back and started taking off the stock Intake Manifold.

This is where all the trouble was. First off, we needed a plug to plug off the Coolent thingy that sprouted out on the Skunk2 IM (Little hose). So we went over to Pep Boys to get the Plug.

Came back and plugged that sucker up. Then we started takin out the stock IM. My DAMN was there a shitload of Bolts and nuts!! We had to take off all the damn sensors and hoses and bolts... oh MY! This took days to get off. We had to lift up the car to get under the brackets, etc. It was SUCH a pain in the ***. After a good 2 hours of working on it, we FINALLY got the bitch off.

**Lunch Break**

Then we went in and took out my GS-R AEM CAI. This was a bitch too because it was TIGHTLY bolted on and the filter was stuck underneath.



After that, we lined up the Skunk2 IM and the hoses and wires, and found out it was too short!! So we took hose connectors and cut it with the saw (It was metal). Then we got connectors and secured them tightly. Too make the long story short, we had to extend a SHIETLOAD of hoses and WIRES for the sensors. This took HOURS. It was horrible.

We used all the Factory GS-R parts, including the Throttle Cable bracket. People complained it wouldn't work because of their strut bar, but I got it to work. The Throttle cable goes OVER my Strut Bar. So I didn't need the ITR Throttle Cable and Bracket. (we also re-used the IM gasket, but replaced the TB Gasket)



Then we FINALLY got the Skunk2 IM on, and the throttle body, but the damn ITR AEM CAI didn't want to go in!! We had to use my Old GS-R AEM CAI TB connector and overlap it with the ITR CAI because the diameter was MUCH bigger on the ITR CAI. (Picture below)




After doing that, we forced it to fit, but couldn't bolt it up. It was slightly off.



It's on tight and won't move, so it doesn't matter.


Cams and Cam gear installation went smoothly overall. We were done in about an hour with Valve Adjustment taking 30 extra minutes. We were officially DONE after 13 hours!!

Here's the finished product. Anthony is the one who did the installation, and he was a GREAT guy. VERY patient and did the work VERY carefully. He made sure everything was on tight and installed properly.



Now for some DYNO TUNING!!

 

 

cool. Glad to see HT members helping each other!

 

Haha, that IM is a bitch isnt it. Took me and a couple friends like 6 hours for just to put that in my old 96 GSR. Its a pain in the *** with the motor in the car, but we finally got it done.

 

looks good ..

 

Tell me about it! FAWK i would NEVER do that again! It was a BIG pain in the ***.

 

What cams?

 

whats up w/ the fugen strut bar? did you get that on ebay? (unless its a first gen mugen which i havent seen, but i dont think it is)

 

Yea it's a Immitation Mugen Strut Bar that I got on eBay, but that **** works GREAT!!! It's VERY strong and I can definately feel it working. It works better than the Stock GS-R OR ITR Strut Bar. (I've been through both)

 

Looks good. You're scaring me, i don't wanna install my manifold haha. You seem to be the only one that really has had trouble installing it (fitment issues i.e. hoses, cai, etc..). So how about a review of the manifold and cams??

 

kool, now all u need an a chipped p28

and buy my harness

 

Whoa Jun -- Did you put in the Stage 2's? If not, how does it feel with that Skunk2 IM - Mine, in conjunction with the ITR TB is going on this weekend with the Hondata IM gasket (yea things got pushed back) --- im pumped for you man. i bought the itr throttle cable and bracket, just to simply things. ill be sure to have a bunch of extra hoses and crap around it sounds like...

 

Skunk2 Stage 1's and I haven't hit Vtec yet so I don't know how its like with the Skunk2 IM.

I'm gonna cruise until I hit the Dyno. I don't want anything to be messed up.

I'll let you guys know.

Oh, and be SURE to have extra hoses and wires. Some sensors cannot reach the Intake Manifold, so we had to get extra wires and use connecters to extend it. But after you do that, you won't get any CEL's so its worth it.

 

and the Intake was made for the Type-R Intake Manifold, which is a bit longer, so that's why the ITR AEM CAI wouldn't fit as nicely.

Also, the Throttle Body was MUCH smaller than the ITR AEM CAI (3" inches).. that's why we had to use my old GS-R TB Connector and overlap it with the ITR TB Connector. The 3" inch connector was too big for the stock GS-R Throttle Body.

 

great to hear it's all on! didn't see your post about installing it, otherwise I would have offered to help you out! when you gettin' it dyno'ed, skunk2nr?

 

Probly this week or next week. MAYBE 2 weeks later... but surely soon.

 

Nice review. Too bad it took sooo long for the install. **** like that can be unexpected and annoying, but the world is still spinnin'.

Anyway, I'll be in SoCal (909) come saturday for a week and I was wondering if anyone in the general area was down to perform a valve adjustment on my car. I'm willing to drop some dinero and/or go catch lunch. I really want to learn how to do this adjustment myself and not succumb to the Acura dealerships sky-high prices but I don't have the tools (yet of course ). Watching someone who has done the adjustment beforehand would be great experience for me for the future. Anyone willing....? IM is waiting.

BTW, I'm also getting my 98+ bumper/lip painted and slapped on this coming weekend as well so anyone interested in a 94-97 front clip (headlights, bumper, bumper lenses), IM as well. Pics are here: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290693907

 

The skunk2 is a replica of the type r manifold (as i'm sure you know this) and its throttle body position should be the same, if not very close to where it should be negligable. I think the reason why you're having trouble fitting it perfectly is because you overlapped your GSR AEM Cai connector. The difference between the two throttle bodies is 2 mm, 62mm vs 60mm. The 2mm DOES make a difference, but if you clamp it down real tight, it can make a good enough seal. Let us know when you get that tuned

 

when my engine was OUT of my car, it tooks me over an hour at disconnecting the gsr intake manifold.

the skunk2 is easier at taking in/out if you need to.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=336451

and people think that they didnt need the extra parts

well you dont, but it sure makes everything easier to work on.

 

I agree... Anthony was a very experienced Mechanic and builds Honda's everyday. If it wasn't for him, I couldn't have installed the Skunk2 IM on with all the Stock GS-R parts.

 

Sweet deal man. Sorry to hear it took so long. I know how it goes. Me and my dad work endlessly on his 300ZX TT installing the hardest of parts. Not fun but you really appreciate it more later on knowing you did it yourself. I'm really eager to hear what kinda nuumbers your putting up after tuning. Keep us updated...

Tim

 

alright good job.. I am about to do this next week.
However I have a 95 GSR

does the 2000 come with the 2nd butterfly in the IM?
if so did your comp react diff. with not having it there?
this is my only concern with mine.
and how does it feel?
I am adding the STR 68mm TB too.
Cant wait
good luck with the tune
Chris

 

Here's some stuff that are up for Grabs!

OEM GS-R Intake Manifold -
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=447061

OEM Honda Intake Manifold Gasket -
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=447060

Integra GS-R AEM CAI (red) -
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=447056

 

Ok. I just took out my car and tested it out.

First thing I noticed was the sound of my car. Sounds much more mean with the Skunk2 Intake Manifold in. More throaty.

I gunned first and second gear, and it pulls really Hard. I can't wait to Tune it.

 

You went from that to this:
Hahaha. Couldn't hold it in could ya? Don't worry, neither can any of us.