Skunk 2 Cold Air Install w/ few pics ... hints to install

RippSpeed

RippSpeed

Well-Known Member
86
32
Cerritos , Komifornia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
sedan
Lets start of by doing a little review on the kit...

Personally the install was a monster !!! never had I seen a cold air intake install requiring the removal of tranny mount bolts and extending a few wiring harness...

The instructions was done very well except it lacked a few more detailed instructions on some of the steps... But overall it worked and can be worked around it ... The parts were complete. Only gripe here is I wish they cut the wires up already instead of having me to cut up the wires to the proper length. Either like I said you can work around it ...

Here the Hints
Removal part of the instructions:
-Remove the front bumper completely


20131212_094649[1] by rippspeed1, on Flickr


20131212_094531[3] by rippspeed1, on Flickr

Once the front bumper is removed:
-Remove the intake system and resonator chamber. This is much easier once you take the front bumper off...
-Then you can gain easy access to the bolts on the battery tray ...


Step #1 of the instructions:
-After securing an jack under the transmission.
-Unbolt the ecu's mounts and move it out of the way to gain access to the transmission bolts. ( this was not stated on the instructions)


20131212_094610[3] by rippspeed1, on Flickr

-Once you mount the Skunk 2 Battery tray ... You need use a rubber mallet to shift the tranny mount to align the bolt holes and the bolt it down ... ( I wish they had the torque specs of the bolts on the instructions but they did not... I just ran a impact gun on it )


20131212_102130[1] by rippspeed1, on Flickr

Step #4 of the instructions:
- Before dropping the battery into the Skunk 2 Battery tray ... Bolt down the negative terminal before placing the battery correctly in the Skunk 2 battery tray and locking it down. Because theres hardly any room for a ratchet wrench or an open and close wrench.

-Before moving on... I would strongly suggest to wrap the positive terminal with electrical tape just incase some wires will touch it while your rewiring ...


20131212_115437[1] by rippspeed1, on Flickr
 
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RippSpeed

RippSpeed

Well-Known Member
86
32
Cerritos , Komifornia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
sedan
Step # 5 of the instructions:
- You have to use the green and black wire for this one and cut them to 12" lengths. I personally soldered mine connections and heat shrink wrap them and then wrapped the wiring in electrical tape.
The reason for this ... I've personally seen and experience the problems of mickey mouse electrical connector problems in the past.

Step # 6 of the instructions:
- If you look closely on the pics they routed the positive terminal wiring harness under the radiator hose. They did not go into detail on how to do this. I didnt know how either... So I unbolted the harness from a clip by the radiator support. And then another clip under the intake manifold. This gave me enough slack to maneuver the positive terminal to be connected to the postive post on the battery...

Step # 10 of the instructions:
-You need to use the 60" black wiring for this one. And cut them into 5 equal lengths. Once again I stronly suggest soldered here only because this is your maf sensor. I wonder if theres any difference in voltage now ??? Because the oem wiring is 20gauge and the supplied wires are 16 gauge.

Finishing :
I wish they went into more detail on placement of the filter ... I feel like the filter itself is too close the frame ...

and heres final pics of the finished install ...


20131212_142154[1] by rippspeed1, on Flickr


20131212_142159[1] by rippspeed1, on Flickr


20131212_145539_Richtone(HDR)[1] by rippspeed1, on Flickr
 
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black9th

black9th

Well-Known Member
48
28
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
Here is the PDF version. Color photos as well.
 

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  • 343-05-0200 - AIR INTAKE SYSTEM CIVIC Si 2012+.pdf
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black9th

black9th

Well-Known Member
48
28
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
Just like to add my two cents worth about this intake.

As far as the intake and quality goes, this thing is awesome. You can tell from when you take it out of the box that this thing is well built. The power gains were noticeable and the sound is addicting.

Now as far as everything else (install, battery relocation, etc.). The install itself is really a pain as far as intakes go. Extending and splicing the wires for the MAF sensor was a pain! I ended up getting them soldered because of just how sloppy all the wire connectors looked. The battery location in my opinion is also awful. There is virtually no clearance between the top of the negative connector and the metal above it. I also found that taking the battery out is virtually impossible because of that lack of clearance. The relocation to this spot is so bad IMO that I am in the process of trying to get PRL's relocation kit.

The intake is great and well built, but it seems like Skunk2 went cheap on everything else in the kit. I would love to recommend it to others, but at this point I think PRL's is the way to go.
 
RippSpeed

RippSpeed

Well-Known Member
86
32
Cerritos , Komifornia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
sedan
black9th said:
Just like to add my two cents worth about this intake.

As far as the intake and quality goes, this thing is awesome. You can tell from when you take it out of the box that this thing is well built. The power gains were noticeable and the sound is addicting.

Now as far as everything else (install, battery relocation, etc.). The install itself is really a pain as far as intakes go. Extending and splicing the wires for the MAF sensor was a pain! I ended up getting them soldered because of just how sloppy all the wire connectors looked. The battery location in my opinion is also awful. There is virtually no clearance between the top of the negative connector and the metal above it. I also found that taking the battery out is virtually impossible because of that lack of clearance. The relocation to this spot is so bad IMO that I am in the process of trying to get PRL's relocation kit.

The intake is great and well built, but it seems like Skunk2 went cheap on everything else in the kit. I would love to recommend it to others, but at this point I think PRL's is the way to go.
Click to expand...

I personally like the composite intake tubes better less heat transfer. And since the maf tube is oem size it doesnt require a tune to run.. Just needs alittle fine tuning to get more power out of it. Because for sure I know this thing ( even with the hondata reflash on the flashpro) is running alittle on the rich side... I'll hold off on that when I get my down pipe and intake manifold in...


And as for the placement of the battery is better in my opinion because it moves the weight right over the front wheels and further back than oem. This should help with weight distribution and corner balancing my coilover suspension once I get them installed... I plan on road racing this car so weight distribution is more beneficial in my case...
 
black9th

black9th

Well-Known Member
48
28
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
RippSpeed said:
I personally like the composite intake tubes better less heat transfer. And since the maf tube is oem size it doesnt require a tune to run.. Just needs alittle fine tuning to get more power out of it. Because for sure I know this thing ( even with the hondata reflash on the flashpro) is running alittle on the rich side... I'll hold off on that when I get my down pipe and intake manifold in...


And as for the placement of the battery is better in my opinion because it moves the weight right over the front wheels and further back than oem. This should help with weight distribution and corner balancing my coilover suspension once I get them installed... I plan on road racing this car so weight distribution is more beneficial in my case...
Click to expand...
Flashpro was the first thing I bought with this car and I am acvtivley tuning right now, it runs great. I am sure if you are that concerned with racing then this is probably the better option because of weight. However, like many on this forum, this is my daily driver and there is a fine line between practicality and performance. I just do not like the spot and I think having it where PRL and other companies put it is the better option for those who think that a cold air intake should not mean this much work or inconvenience.

P.S. Did you get any pics of how close the filter is to the frame with the bumper off?
 
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Macki08

Macki08

E-Sports R real!
16
11
Jax. FL
Vehicle Model
si
Body Style
sedan
Very nice write up I also installed my skunk2 cai and hondata fp this week. It was indeed a much more aggravating install then I had imagined it being, but I am very please with the over all quality, look, and performance of this intake. ITS SO LOUD and I love it!!! oh and imo taking off the front bumper is a bit of overkill but never the less nicely done RippSpeed :thumb:
 
RippSpeed

RippSpeed

Well-Known Member
86
32
Cerritos , Komifornia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
sedan
I had my first check engine light right after doing a run going up a slight grade... It was a check emissions ... I cleared it before getting the actual code ... How do I check codes on this car ????
 
black9th

black9th

Well-Known Member
48
28
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
Check the help menu in the flash pro manager software. There is a way to get codes. Also, run a datalog and then watch your a/f ratio and see if it runs lean or rich.
 
RippSpeed

RippSpeed

Well-Known Member
86
32
Cerritos , Komifornia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
sedan
I just learned to datalog with the flashpro and did a couple WOT runs as expected 10.7:1 near redline and about 13 to 12:1 just normal driving...

Had like 9 knocks and air intake temp was pretty stable at 72 to 77degrees never going above 77... I wish I could do a comparison of polymer intake vs powder coated metal intake
 
black9th

black9th

Well-Known Member
48
28
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
RippSpeed said:
I just learned to datalog with the flashpro and did a couple WOT runs as expected 10.7:1 near redline and about 13 to 12:1 just normal driving...

Had like 9 knocks and air intake temp was pretty stable at 72 to 77degrees never going above 77... I wish I could do a comparison of polymer intake vs powder coated metal intake
Click to expand...

Yea it was 40 degrees the other day and throughout the whole drive my IAT was only about 45. Sooo nice.

I got a custom tune on mine, so I guess comparing A/F wouldn't help. I would highly recommend getting a custom tune btw.
 
RippSpeed

RippSpeed

Well-Known Member
86
32
Cerritos , Komifornia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
sedan
black9th said:
Yea it was 40 degrees the other day and throughout the whole drive my IAT was only about 45. Sooo nice.

I got a custom tune on mine, so I guess comparing A/F wouldn't help. I would highly recommend getting a custom tune btw.
Click to expand...
Yeah I should but I'm going to wait for me to get the down pipe first. And I'm debating between getting vit to do a tune for me or go to a local tuner. I have few famous tuners around me...
 
black9th

black9th

Well-Known Member
48
28
Norfolk, Virginia
Vehicle Model
Civic Si
Body Style
Coupe
RippSpeed said:
Yeah I should but I'm going to wait for me to get the down pipe first. And I'm debating between getting vit to do a tune for me or go to a local tuner. I have few famous tuners around me...
Click to expand...

You'll probably get the same quality tune from both. Vit is cheaper but it takes a long time. You probably can't go wrong with either
 
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