Dyno Day :)

Once the header installation was done, I took Black Mamba for a retuning session the following day. Initial plan was to get it retuned by Tung Chun, however due to the limited time for me to travel around, I opted to get it done by Desmond of N1 Racing.

Tuning was done succesfully on a cloudy Saturday afternoon where it was not too hot, not to humid. Obviously the end result below made me smile the whole day but most importantly the a/f ratio were perfectly tuned to suit my daily driven engine. Prior to the tuning, the car was run couple of times on the dyno to get the base reading and surprisingly Desmond mentioned that my a/f ratio was already optimum from the last tuning with Tung Chun. I am sorry for not being able to put on the full graph as I lost the paper, so once I manage to retrieve back the graph I will share wity you.

Strapped on the treadmill :)

Tuning of K100 in progress

Mappingssssssssssss

The final figure.

Post Tuning Comments:

1. Powerwise the car feels much livelier than before. The header does release extra power from the engine since the excessive gas has been smoothly released compared to the stock header. Low and mid range power has been improved and I enjoy seeing the revs climbing faster than before. VTEC point has been maintained at 5500rpm as I can't afford to have it engaged earlier on a long distance drive. Furthermore I am running on 5.1 final drive so it's not very wise to lower down the VTEC engagement point haha.

2. After the tuning, my secondary O2 sensor decided to die on me. No choice but had to disable it temporarily. Now I need to get a complete primary and secondary O2 sensor as my fuel consumption has increased! If you remember on my post last year, my primary O2 has been disabled when I installed the Hondata.

3. As I have mentioned in earlier post, there is a rattling sound coming out from underneath the car as if metal plates are hitting on each other. Will make a check and possibly fix this next time.

Cost:

1. Tuning @ N1 Racing: RMXXX (contact Desmond Yee to discuss)

Brisk Plugs

Realizing that my Greddy spark plugs were never changed since 3 years ago, I decided to get a set of new Brisk plugs for the next service. As recommended and claimed by some friends, these Brisk plugs can give few extra horses on the dyno compared to other plugs. Since I am going to get the car dyno-tuned after the header installation, why not try this?

The 3 years old plug. LOL.

Cost:

1. Brisk plugs: RM350

The Header

As I have briefed in my earlier post, the custom TedcoSport header has been ready for installation for sometime. Appointment was finally set and Mamba was sent to the good hands of TedcoSport technicians for the header replacement.

I'll let the pics do the talking (coz I'm terribly tired now). Will edit this and that tomorrow hopefully. So here you go..

The custom test pipe, made way back in 2009.

The 2-1 part of the stock header.

Complete parts of the stock header

The head/bottom looks pretty neat without any leaks.

Would you look at this sexy thing!!

Flawless welding done by Tedco.

Another great view of the workmanship.

2.5" collector.

Stock VS Tedco.

The test pipe.

Fits perfectly!

The fitment of this header is clear for the big ass Cusco 25mm ARB.

Test pipe needs to be extended by half an inch as the S2 Megapower system is slightly shorter than other Japanese exhaust.

Mid section of the exhaust has slanted a bit, but it resolved the rattling of the rear pipe with the ARB.

Final touches by the experts.

Done! Look at the manifold color before the engine being fired up.

And now after few minutes of warming up and drive-arounds. Don't you just love stainless steel?

Post Installation Comments:

1. Installation that was supposed to be 2-3 hours took slightly longer as my Skunk2 exhaust pipe is shorter and couldn't be fit to the test pipe. The test pipe required to be extended by half an inch to make everything perfect.

2. As how the redesigned header should be, there is ample clearance of the bottom 2-1 part with the 25mm Cusco anti-roll bar. No issues of the header hitting the ARB when launching the car etc. However after the car was dyno-tuned I notice there is an intermittent rattling sound like piece of metal sheet touching with the header when the aircond is turned on. Not really sure what it is but it's not a big issue as the sound goes off when the rev starts to climb.

Cost :

1. Header complete with test pipe and spring bolts: RM1,980

2. Extension of test pipe with stainless steel pipe: RM70

2011 Raya Goodies - Part 5

One of the things I've been waiting to get for Black Mamba is an aftermarket header. After observing for sometime I reckon that most of the Japanese aftermarket headers have relatively smaller collector (2.3inch) compared to American brands like SSR, Skunk2 & HyTech (2.5inch). These brands are expensive due to the exceptional build quality and Malaysia's killer import tax regime. Some of them like HyTech/SSR are even made to order, hence the sky-high price.

Thankfully though, we have a few creative creatures around this world who actually took the opportunity to make money by replicating things average joe like me couldn't afford. Hehe. A good example is the header. I'm referring to the KiddRACING header from the States (Most K-series owner would know it come from Taiwan anyway haha). It was replicated from HyTech header, produce impressive power and cheaper by almost half from the price. Here in Malaysia I have seen more than 10 DC5s and FD2Rs using this header and also TDM (another Taiwan made header under same manufacturer of KiddRACING). As far as I know none of them DID NOT MAKE any power after installing it. So, who wouldn't want a cheap header that produces power right?

As I was pondering on getting the header from Singapore, fellow DC5 owner Andrew offered to customised a header based on KiddRACING/TDM but with improved built quality and welding  finish. Most importantly the design is revised to clear the bigger front anti-roll bar (Most DC5 owners with aftermarket anti-roll bar (>23mm) might experience the header touching the bar due to it's size). Deposit was given and few months later the header is ready. Honestly, I couldn't comment further as Andrew will be doing test fitting on his car soon before distributing the headers. But would you just look at how meticulously-awesome the thing is? I seriously couldn't wait to receive the call from Andrew soon. For now on, drool on the pics and keep following this blog. Haha.

Skunked, again.

I've always been a fan of Skunk2 products due to its flawless build quality and reasonably-priced products. The result from it's performance handling/engine products also has never failed to impressed me. Just look at Prasath's 250whp DC5 that's equipped with some Skunk2 engine parts. The car is crazy fast.

After utilizing the 2.3 inch APEXi N1 exhaust system for 2 years I decided to go bigger. The initial plan was to custom a 2.5 inch stainless steel 304 system on Black Mamba, however I received a call from John, another DC5 friend who wanted to sell his car. Since he plans to sell the car in stock condition, he asked me whether I'm interested to get any aftermarket parts on his car. Knowing that he has the Skunk2 Megapower R 70mm full exhaust system on his car, I asked for a swap with my APEXi with some cash. He agreed right away and we set a date to meet at Tung Chun for the swap.

APEXi final moment with Black Mamba

Check out the difference of both mufflers

S2 installed!

S2 pipe attached to the decat pipe. Note the size difference of 2.3" and 2.7"

Settled!

This is how it sounds like.

Post Installation Comments:

1. Power: The car now feels rather torquey as compared to before on mid range. Perhaps the additional mid box helped to give better back pressure to the exiting gas. Tuning was not done as I am expecting to have an extractor installed for the next project. Most importantly, the fuel consumption remains wallet-friendly as before.

2. Sound: This is the best part. I'm pretty much enjoying the serenity of this S2 exhaust note. It is bassy but far more comfortable as compared to the straight flow APEXi. This exhaust made my long drive less-stressful as I could clearly listen to the songs on the radio haha! But then again, this civilized setup might not be for long as the other side of me is screaming for a louder exhaust. After all VTECs should be loud right? Hehe. I can just remove the mid box easily as it is just connected with 4 bolts and replace it with a 3 inch straight pipe..

3. Other Issues: Due to the enormous size of my rear anti-roll bar and the exhaust pipe, both of them decided to touch each other during idling. It's pretty much irratating but I'm very sure that it will solved by wrapping heat shield around it.

4. Web Reference: http://www.clubrsx.com/cr/SK2-413-05-5110.html

Merry Xmas Black Mamba! (Part 2)

Part 2 of this Christmas shopping is the most interesting event to date for Black Mamba. After almost 2 years I finally decide to upgrade the brain of this car to the most preferred aftermarket ECU for Honda - The HONDATA!

Before I go further I would like to let you know that Mamba has been running on stock ECU for almost a year, after selling off the E-Manage Ultimate and V-Manage. The last power dynoed was 194whp and 18.6kg/m torque as opposed to 207whp and 20kg/m torque on the E & V-Manage. It was quite stressful to drive the car for almost a year in stock condition with the VTEC point at 6000rpm and 180km/h speed limiter.

Anyways, back again to the Hondata. I went to Tung Chun Motorsports JB to get a set of the Hondata K100 ECU. Considering the fact that I am not going to tune the car on my own, I decided to get K100 instead of the K-Pro. It's cheaper by almost 40% than a K-Pro and works the same way. The only downside of the K100 is that it requires a K-Pro circuit board to be put inside the ECU to allow it to be tuned. And yes, it also has no datalogging; which I dont think is important to me as a casual driver. :)

Installation was very quick and completed in matter of minutes. Tuning was then done by Ah Han and after almost 2.5 hours on the dyno and on the road, Mamba has unleashed few evil ponies and torque! Hehe. VTEC point is now lowered to 5500rpm, rev cut is raised from 8400rpm to 9200rpm, 180km/h speed limiter is removed together with optimized air, fuel and igniton. The figure on the Dynomite dyno machine was 218whp but since I do not have any baseline graph on the machine, I went to JC Racing last week to compare the old and new power. And the result after tuning? Additional 15.4whp and 1.8kg/m of torque made me drive the car like mad for almost a week! Haha.

3rd gear 140km/h ok laa kan?

The revs feel lighter, and 20.5kg/m of torque made higher gear change more fun, especially from 4th gear onwards. Fuel consumption are still maintained and I could still drive 250-270km with RM60 worth of RON97 petrol. Oh yes, the CEL error has also been deleted. The only issue I am having is the blinking immobilizer light. This is due to the immobilizer being disabled in the ECU, but the immobilizer unit is still active. Common issue for 2005 DC5 Type-R (older pre-facelift model doesn't have immobilizer). As long as it's not CEL, I'm good with it.

So that's all for 2010. Mamba is going for a hibernation until the next mod (aftermarket header and bigger exhaust pipings). Looking forward for a better and prosperous 2011.

Cost: RM2,XXX (Brand new)

Where: Tung Chun Racing, or any other Hondata distributor in KL. Price doesn't differ much.

Web reference: http://www.hondata.com/

Dyno Run Part II

I had the opportunity to dynorun my car two weeks ago. Since I haven't done any reading after removing the catalyctic converter, I went to Sunway to satisfy my curiosity on any gain/loss of power. Infact, I have removed the mid box of my APEXi N1 exhaust couple of weeks ago so with full of anticipation on the new straight flow exhaust setup, I left the keys in good hands of Jacky from JC Racing for the runs.

It was 12pm in the afternoon, it was hot, 4 runs were done but the result was quite impressive. Additional 10whp and almost 1kg/m of torque were born from this setup. I grinned, but at the same time concerned on richter-scale-lookalike graph. Again, I decided NOT to fine tune the ignition and others with the Emanage Ultimate and Vmanage this time. Let's have another bolt on stuff plugged on to the engine and give it a one shot tuning. One thing that I love to see is that there's no longer a dip on power and torque during vtec engagement. The A/F ratio at 13.55 can also be considered good for daily dose of 8500rpm revving.

Still being curious over the graph, I decided to post it for a professional feedback and comment and this is the reply from Paul Hughes, the Managing Director of Buddy Club UK (they own one of the badass DC5 track car in the world) :

Hi Meor,

I have studied your graph, The very high Humidity reading in the second test could knock the power down, so you can not compare the two readings as an improvement for a specific change or addition of a product.

Your Vtec change over point looks like it needs optimising,as it might be coming from secondry to high cam too soon or too late. ,and fuel will need re doing on each cam angle.That is causing a big torque flat spot, (we had this problem last week but sorted it with a few hours on the dyno).

regards,
Paul,
BCUK

Few hours on the dyno....What more can I say? :-P

Thanks to Paul for the brilliant respond.

Hook up with Buddy Club UK @ www.buddyclubuk.com

De-cat.

I have already bought my air ticket to Europe during MATTA fair. And I thought I can spend on my Black Mamba once I have bought the ticket. I was wrong. I have to save up them doughs again since I will be travelling to Czech, Italy, Spain and Scotland. Not fair. Instead of getting those DC Sports ceramic header or Toda, I decided to choose the cheapest way to release another 2-3 horses from the engine - by removing the catalyzer.

I sent my car to JFA Exhaust (Al-fatihah to the late Saudara Jaafar) in Sunway as they are one of the best exhaust customizers in town. Took me about an hour to get the cat removed and the de-cat pipe installed by Dino, one of the specialists in JFA.

This is the catalyzer. Quite heavy

2.5" De-cat pipe being welded

Job well done.

The restrictive and environmental-friendly webbing of the catalyzer. They just have to go.

Post-Installation Comments:

1. Power - There is not much difference in terms of power deliverance (I believe that the Type-R catalyzer is already a high-flow catalyzer), but I reckon that the revs are much smoother before and after the vtec engangement. The sound of the exhaust has not much changed either, but I do have fire popping at the back sometimes. Haven't done any dyno yet tho.

2. Fuel Consumption - I still managed to clock 455km with a full tank of Shell green petrol worth RM72 (Decent driving, shifting at every 3,500 - 4,000rpms with occasional vtec engagement). That is already considered economical for a high-revving 2,000cc engine.

3. Cost - RM150.00 for mild steel. Quite reasonable. Purposely ditched the idea of using stainless steel as the aftermarket header is waiting for me once I return from Europe. Price could be cheaper if I bring another Jawa to nego with Dino.

At the same time I am also sad that with this setup will release the CO2 gases to the air. With the earth getting warmer everyday, I think I should be playing my part in conserving our beloved planet earth.

Forgive me Mother Nature for contaminating the air with DOHC iVTEC gases, but horsepower is very vital to me at this present moment. :-P

The Day Sunway Stood Still (for a while)

I was supposed to dynorun my car on a weekend. Not on a bloody Wednesday after work. Since the boys are damn free to get to know their latest ponies on a Wednesday evening at a bargain price of RM60/car, I decided to go through the massive traffic on MRR2 and join them at JC Racing, Sunway for the event.

The dyno result of a stock K20A engine with simple bolt-on mods of:

1. Pretuned E-manage Ultimate & V-manage
2. Open pod air filter
3. 2.3inch APEXi exhaust system (with catalyser still intact on the OEM header)

I didn’t expect the power will be 3 ponies shy of 200whp and torque of 19.6kg/m as I have seen lower figure before on a 2005 DC5 with same mods. The air-fuel ratio reading is also quite smooth thanks to the supplement of E-manage/V-manage combination. Yes the pre-VTEC mode is a bit scruffy and there’s a slight drop during VTEC engagement (note that the VTEC point has been lowered from 5800rpm to 5200rpm by those piggybacks) but the power generated wasn’t disappointing. One thing for sure I’ll make full use of the E-manages and V-manage to fine tune the graph and subsequently tweak few more horsepower from the engine.

The first step shall be: de-cat the exhaust with test pipe before getting an aftermarket header!

The verdict: K20A is amazing.

Skunk2 Engine Bay Botox

Gifts from Ram for my engine bay. Very kind of him. I feel so content to see S2 products for DC5 available everywhere. Unlike of those for Civic EF / CR-X where you have to kill and bury your best friends to get the Pro-Series adjustable camber kits from Chris of Pentagon Enterprise. Ha ha ha ha.

Oil filler and 1.3 bar radiator cap:

Brake / Power steering fluid reservoir cover:

No decent shots of the engine bay for now. So its gonna be next time.