Going back to VICS...

Shady469 · Post by **Shady469** » January 28th, 2005, 4:48 pm

I decided to completely revamp my current set-up. For a long time I was unsure about wether or not I wanted to boost the BP, untill I realized that I hadn't popped the hood in two weeks. This may seem like nothing special, but with the old turbo motor I was checking the oil/coolant/plugs every other day or so, not really out of necessity but because I was always so scared something was going to go wronge. So with that realization I'm embarking on a mild N/A build-up. I'm putting the old Intake manifold back on (with a functional VICS system) after some porting/polishing.
I'm keeping the 2.5" hi-flow cat. and canister muffler but switching to 2.25" exhaust piping instead of the 2.5" i have now. This came after i realized the APEXi N1 catback system for a GSR is 60mm (~2.36") and they even state its for high end performance. I like "usable" performance...
I'm getting an intake, and possibly a Genie header as well.
The next things on the list are a port/polish/shave/valve job, valve springs, CS cams, and the flying miata cam gears. Hopefully i can find a BP head in good shape and take my take modifying it with the aforementioned items.
my goal is to do as much as i can without removing the block. i dont expect to have all this done anytime soon either... im taking my time.
Here are some pics of the manifold in its early stages:

Jteezy · Post by **Jteezy** » January 28th, 2005, 6:12 pm

Hey man, how did your exhaust sound with the 2.5 and apexi n1 muffler? I'm looking for a exhaust setup for my bp and i dont want nothing ricey or anything, and i was actually thinking of getting the apexi n1 muffler, so please let me know how it sounds. Good luck on your project, take it easy. Peace

Shady469 · Post by **Shady469** » January 28th, 2005, 6:49 pm

I dont actually have the N1 muffler i was just looking at the pipe size on the catback. I have a friend that has the N1 catback on his Integra GSR and good lord is it loud!! especially when it crosses over... not ricey at all though IMO. VERY, very mean sounding. i'm actually surprised he hasn't gotten any tickets. I have an Arospeed Bomb muffler and its pretty loud but no where near as aggressive as the N1. But then again I got mine for $110 shipped and the N1 are around $200...

Jteezy · Post by **Jteezy** » January 29th, 2005, 3:34 pm

Well what muffler would you recommend for a bp? flowmaster or an apexi n1 style muffler?I'm too poor to afford the real one. Peace

Shady469 · Post by **Shady469** » January 29th, 2005, 4:01 pm

i honestly think that for true N/A performance the flowmaster is the way to go. I say this because its design allows for some backpressure helping with torque across the powerband and the new delta system does a great job of helping scavenge the exhaust gasses aiding in top end performance. However I absolutely hated the sound. Mainly because inside the car it really did just sound like a big aluminum trash can. i think this was mainly due to the muffler being at the end of the exhaust, i.e. after extended driving it sounded better and better because it heated up. i think if it was under the car and had the piping continue out the back it would sound even better because it would get that much hotter. i guess thats why the domestic have their exhausts set up they way they do...
but then again the canister style mufflers have been proven effective time and time again and are the mufflers of choice for many leading companies cat-back systems.
With all that said, i guess i liked the performance of the flowmaster but the tone of the canister.
until some one does an actual dyno of the two i doubt we'll know which is best...