Exhaust and CAI

Aparajith

Well-Known Member
63
17
Hi all,

My wife drives a 2013 Honda Civic Lx A/T. Occasionally I take it on trips on the highway and find the car lacking in highway overtaking. Also the car always seems to be catching up if I set the cruise above 80. Is there any improvement that can be achieved with a CAI such as the Injen SP1571P and an exhaust like the Borla. Would it also be necessary to add a downpipes? Would it be required to retune the engine if I install these?

I am not exactly looking for tire-shredding specs, just something that will be a little bit better for highway overtakings at 80+ speeds. Now, the engine seems to be wheezing beyond 4.5K rpm. And BTW I am from Inland Northwest US (Spokane). So most of the highways around here require navigating passes(which is there the car suffers quite a bit) and winter/rain driving. Looking for experienced inputs. Noise or loudness is secondary. Reliability matters.

Also what is the model of my engine? I see R18 mentioned around a lot. A Wiki search throws up R18Z1 or R18Z4 as 2012 - 2016 Civic. Which model is mine?
 
"R18" is just what people call the non-si. The r18z1 is the engine code for the 2012 civic in the US/Canada and some other markets.

Definitely read through the comments posted in this thread, as it was just discussed by some other members looking for more power, and some users with a turbo chime in. They describe the issues with adding intakes/exhausts without getting gains.
http://9thcivic.com/forum/threads/j...need-advice-on-performance-enhancement.15758/

hondata flashpro is roughly $700. Ktuner is a bit cheaper. You'll still need to find a shop that can dyno tune you, or an etuner that can send you a custom tune.

http://ktuner.com/12civicr18/
https://www.hondata.com/flashpro/flashpro-civic-2012-2015-us-1.8
 
Most people here will tell you to just go with upgrading the suspension and leaving the engine alone since the money isn’t really worth the gains.
 
Or take my other(bigger) car! I will definitely not go for forced induction etc. and make it a project car. As I said - wife's car and involves school runs. I do not want to end up decapitated as the turbo fails and she is stranded in the middle of nowhere with the kid on a winter afternoon.
 
The issue is actually not that TBH. Inside certain places of WA/Idaho/Montana etc, there is hardly anybody around and you can set a much higher cruise speed. I set it to 80 (Speed limit is 70/75). This coupled with mountainous roads makes the car always play catchup. I am forced to set cruise at 85, if I want to do a continuous 78 - 80. It has also got to do with the fact that this car doe snot bother down-shifting or accelerating unless the speed falls to about 3 mph below the set cruise speed. I anyway had to change the air filter and so got a K&N replacement filter (since it works out cheaper in the long run IMHO). I also plan to take the resonator box out. Let us see.
 
After much deliberation, I sold off my Tucson and the civic became our only car. So step 1 was to get rid if the Resonator. Did that today morning. However, I have a doubt - will this setup not suck in warm air from the engine? Do I not need a air filter like the K&N 69-1020TS or the Takeda TR-1020B to compensate for it? Also will they work without wrecking the existing performance? I don’t want the car running leaner....
395c7708aa444d9aca5ae2805ae1aa01.jpg

d8a0991f781d612092b89bc17808688a.jpg
 
After much deliberation, I sold off my Tucson and the civic became our only car. So step 1 was to get rid if the Resonator. Did that today morning. However, I have a doubt - will this setup not suck in warm air from the engine? Do I not need a air filter like the K&N 69-1020TS or the Takeda TR-1020B to compensate for it? Also will they work without wrecking the existing performance? I don’t want the car running leaner....
395c7708aa444d9aca5ae2805ae1aa01.jpg

d8a0991f781d612092b89bc17808688a.jpg
It looks like you have a k&n drop in filter based on the sticker there? You should notice a slight difference with just that in performance and sound.
 
Yeah webby, I do have K&N drop-in. I do hear better sound... performance not sure. What I am worried is, if this setup without the resonator is worse as it may suck hotter air from engine bay....


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It’s really no different from a short ram aftermarket intake. Yes, it’ll be warmer air in sit and go traffic. Once you’re moving, it’ll be getting better airflow just as it would with the oem snorkel attached.
 
Perfect webby.... thanks. You however would recommend against a K&N 69-1020TS or the Takeda TR-1020B without a Ecu tune up, right?


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It is possible you could lose power with an aftermarket intake without a tune
 
Maybe save up some money and get a 2012 and up, Honda si these cars have more torque and the inside is nice, look for a sedan
I would all ways look for the biggest engine in 4cyl that's why the 2012-2015 are nice, I do not like the small turbo in the new civics 1.5, I just don't see that the engine will last very long. Or you could find a used SRT-4 that would really solve the problem LOL, but that's a beast. You lost power with the K+N breathing in hot air and more dirt is now in the oil.:wash::flame:
 
Maybe save up some money and get a 2012 and up, Honda si these cars have more torque and the inside is nice, look for a sedan
I would all ways look for the biggest engine in 4cyl that's why the 2012-2015 are nice, I do not like the small turbo in the new civics 1.5, I just don't see that the engine will last very long. Or you could find a used SRT-4 that would really solve the problem LOL, but that's a beast. You lost power with the K+N breathing in hot air and more dirt is now in the oil.:wash::flame:

I have a 2013 1.8l lx.


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