CAI Finished

**halxi** · 06-10-2005, 07:54 PM

Well today i decided to finish my CAI and ive been driving it quite a bit. Ive noticed that i definatly accelerate faster, and i can get going faster on the highway (65-70 acceleration passing a car or what not)

Here are the pics:

Its a very tight fit, but overall im happy with it. Ive noticed that the top pipe gets really hot after driving for awhile, but the rest stays cool to the touch. Should i step up from 500* paint to 1200* paint or just lay down a couple more thick coats of the 500*? All help is appriciated.

**halxi** · 06-10-2005, 11:42 PM

d'oh, mind blank... forgot what TB was lol

no, its not touching, in fact theres about a 3/4-1" gap there... ill check tomorrow and see if its touching anything anywhere else.

Im a little concerned about those lines going to the black box though (Vaccum lines right?), if they are touching the pipe when the pipe is too hot to touch, will they melt or anything? if so i really need to fix the pipe.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 12:32 AM

actually, you WANT vacuum applied to your crankcase. DO NOT put a "valve cover" vent on, for ANY reason. the reason you want the PCV system intact is to evacuate the crankcase so there should be less pressure, thus it takes less force to move the piston down because there is less pressure in the crankcase. full-race cars have seen 6-10 WHP gains consistantly by providing a healthy dose of vacuum via a pump. tapping the exhaust is a good source of vacuum, as well.

but whatever you do, keep your PCV system working, or maybe even upgrade it. the vent filter that cke suggested is a downgrade that can potentially decrease power (although very marginally).

and by looking at that picture, you have the valve cover vacuum being tapped in the wrong place. it should be tapped from the large port on the top front of the intake manifold plenum

**halxi** · 06-11-2005, 09:00 AM

that is where the stock vacuum line was, and it led down into the intake. I looked it over and thats the only opening on the valve cover.

But about this question:
Im a little concerned about those lines going to the black box though (Vaccum lines right?), if they are touching the pipe when the pipe is too hot to touch, will they melt or anything? if so i really need to fix the pipe.

an answer ASAP would be helpfull, since i have to go to work here shortly.

**88Accord-DX** · 06-11-2005, 09:25 AM

I just want to say, run that coil wire under that pipe if your worried about melting wires. Vaccum lines tend to get brittle quicker if exposed next to hot objects.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 09:30 AM

you might want to shield the vacuum lines... just put them in some wire loom or something...

that's where it's supposed to attach

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 10:30 AM

exactly, that's part of the PCV system

***carotman*** · 06-11-2005, 04:01 PM

In fact, the EFI cars do not have a filter on the top of the valve cover. It's connected to the intake system. The PCV valve is plugged in front of the intake manifold directly.

**halxi** · 06-11-2005, 04:52 PM

ok, im a little lost... do i need to put a T connector into the hole i drilled out on the intake, then run some vinyl (spelling?) hose from the upper hole in the manifold, or the lower?

Sorry its just with all the different posts kind of adding information to the last makes it confusing.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 09:38 PM

well, the headcover vent never goes before the TB, it is after the TB. even on cars with 200,000 miles on them, the buildup is negligable.

if you really really want to keep the oil out of the manifold, tap the exhaust system for vacuum. see the link at the bottom for more details.

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1197655

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 10:13 PM

i know, it shouldn't go there. it should go to the port i posted a picture of.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 11:22 PM

that's where it runs to on my parts car. it is possible that it changed betweein 87 and 88. i don't have access to an 88 manual, and it's too dark to check the vacuum routing diagram underhood

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-11-2005, 11:24 PM

looking at hondanet, you're right. i would get myself a y-connector and run the valvecover vent into where the PCV runs.

**halxi** · 06-12-2005, 11:44 AM

yea when i was removing the stock intake setup, i looked inside the TB and its REALLY dirty, gunk everywhere, i cleaned the outer part of it but i havent got around to cleaning the inner part (behind the butterfly). Should i just shoot some carb cleaner in there or what is the best thing to do?

Its never been cleaned out before, theres 243xxx miles of crap inside of it so its probably hindering performance.

Ill look into a Y or T connector and some additional hose to run from the TB to the intake when i go in to work tomorrow.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-12-2005, 01:00 PM

IMO, if it's that high of mileage, i'd pull the intake manifold and clean it properly. i know it's a bit of work, but i'm willing to bet you have a pound of sludge built up, and that your secondaries aren't functioning properly because of buildup. at the least you should seafoam the engine and shoot carb cleaner in behind that butterly. i know the manifold i took off of a motor with 180,000 miles was full of crap, and i know that you're will be worse. it's really worth cleaning up.

and by the way, you don't want a t connector, you specifically want a y.

**racerx** · 06-12-2005, 04:32 PM

i would put a valve cover vent on the stupid thing and leave it alone.

i had my valvecover vent going into the tube (which is wrong, i know) and then my throttle body started STICKING OPEN!
there was so much oil and carbon buildup crapped onto the butterfly plate, it wouldn't shut all the way anymore.

so, after some carb cleaner, i removed the hose and put on a breather filter.
do this first, and after 2-3 months, take it off, look inside, and tell me if you really want that crap building up inside your intake manifold.

putting the hose to the other location won't hurt your butterfly, of course, but it WILL still build up sludge all over your valves, valve stems, etc.
THIS is why you need fuel system cleaners.

and, on a race car, a high powered vacuum pump sucking air of the crank of a 700whp car might gain 6-10hp, but on a 120hp accord, you'd be lucky to see 0.06-0.10 hp.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-12-2005, 04:37 PM

well, if you're having problems with that much oil, you're having engine problems bigger and worse than that.

**racerx** · 06-12-2005, 04:56 PM

yeah, i know, but he's got 234xxx some miles on it, so i think it would be safe to say his valve guides/valve seats are probably not in the best of condition.
"engine restorer fluid" seems to help that problem a lot.

even so, there's always some oil vapor in the valve cover, which over time will build up, no matter what condition your engine is in.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-12-2005, 05:02 PM

if it's that big of an issue, put in a catch can.

**halxi** · 06-12-2005, 09:19 PM

lol well ive thought up a solution to keep the pipe cool, it may not look the best but it should definatly work. Header wrap the top part of the pipe. Im also now reasearching a small hood scoop and some vents. Some of you may say rice, but i think what im planning will look clean.

**halxi** · 06-12-2005, 09:44 PM

thats what i was thinking, the first time i ever ran it with the short ram. It stayed cool the whole time, get the CAI and it gets hot

I dont know why its getting so damn hot, i was told the TB and manifold shouldnt really get SUPER hot. Maybe thats not true or something? I do know that the intake pipe is NOT touching the TB directly, just touching the clamp that mounts to the TB and intake pipe.

Ive even layed down more coats of 500* paint, this one peice now has the majority of 1 fairly large can on it... wtf should i do? the other 2 peices are staying fairly cool.

**halxi** · 06-12-2005, 10:41 PM

yes, its running from the dist. to the coil. And its now under the pipe, ive taken the system out and put it back in a few times since those pics were taken.

***Vanilla Sky*** · 06-13-2005, 01:22 AM

since you're comparing the temp of the pipes of both of your intakes, what materials are both of the pipes made out of? are they a different material? i'm thinking that the intakes are routed slightly differently, with one closer to a heat source. it's either that or you're getting a lot of hot air from your valve cover vent.

**halxi** · 06-13-2005, 08:26 AM

i was thinking the same thing, maybe the vent is dumping warm air into it. I was going to plug the hole and let the hose just dangle in the engine bay and do a test on it tonight on my way home from work.

Every peice of the CAI is made from the same peice of 180* bent tubing i bought, all of it has 2-3 coats of 500* engine paint. I think the 2 lower peices stay cooler paritally because they are behind the battery, and because alot of cool air comes in right there in that area. Its only the top pipe thats getting hot, its weird.

**racerx** · 06-13-2005, 10:03 AM

wait, this is mandrel bent steel, isn't it?

your short ram was probably made out of aluminum.

if you can, take the aluminum pipe from your short ram, cut it if needed, and use that as your top piece.
as far as the source of the heat goes, it could be coming from heater lines which run under the 1st piece, or air from the radiator fan, or heat from that upper radiator hose that's almost touching the first coupler.
i'll highlight the areas in a picture.