Where to start with Performance Upgrades?

[Rogues Gambit]

Is all the cooling we’re talking about necessary for street driving?

Sponsored

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Is all the cooling we’re talking about necessary for street driving?

Unless you live in the desert, definitely not.

Street use the only heat issue I've seen is heat soaked intake causing lethargic throttle.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

Unless you live in the desert, definitely not.

Street use the only heat issue I've seen is heat soaked intake causing lethargic throttle.

Still would completely upgrade the cooling system to be safe

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Still would completely upgrade the cooling system to be safe

Depends how you define "safe" and to what end.

Modern cars are designed to run a little warmer and these days with how stable synthetic oils are, cars are meant to run higher temps. Many synth oils can run stable up to 325F and it's preferable to do so with a thinner oil with tighter tolerances. Higher coolant/engine temps also help with cleanliness of the combustion cycle and soot buildup on DI engines.

Every mod has a give and take. The OEMs spend millions to billions designing vehicles to work as a system in their given conditions. That's generally the "safest".

 

[optronix]

Depends how you define "safe" and to what end.

Modern cars are designed to run a little warmer and these days with how stable synthetic oils are, cars are meant to run higher temps. Many synth oils can run stable up to 325F and it's preferable to do so with a thinner oil with tighter tolerances. Higher coolant/engine temps also help with cleanliness of the combustion cycle and soot buildup on DI engines.

Every mod has a give and take. The OEMs spend millions to billions designing vehicles to work as a system in their given conditions. That's generally the "safest".

1000% agree, especially on this platform.

Unless you're chasing PRs every other weekend on a race track in a hot climate, this car is overengineered from the factory. And I'd argue that this wouldn't be the best platform for that type of weekend warrior track car anyway.

Every mod I've done so far has been a compromise in some way. This is not the car to throw parts at arbitrarily. Do what you want to "make it your own", but just know you're probably making it worse in at least one measurable way.

Personally, I thought it could look better from a stance perspective so I lowered it and bought lower offset wheels. I also thought it could sound better so I bought an intake and an exhaust. But lowering the car with just springs ruined the handling until I added more camber with adjustable ball joints. Now I feel like it's better than OEM... but turn in can be a bit twitchy at times and my tires are probably wearing faster.

The intake and exhaust are relatively expensive, not necessary in any way and won't suddenly make the car compete with Supras or M2s in a straight line, but the car will sound better (exhaust gets installed Friday).

I'm not messing with cooling mods at all until proven to be a requirement for my use case. I've had my car on track in relatively hot weather and did not encounter any issues at all. I'm not a pro racing driver and have no intention of trying to take this car anywhere near that level, so for me I feel like I can skip all of that nonsense that @ABPDE5 referenced people are going through in the Civic forums.

 

[bisquick]

Still would completely upgrade the cooling system to be safe

As @optronix and @Victorofhavoc have mentioned, most owners will not consistently reach the limits of the OEM hardware. It’s best to upgrade when you identify a “crutch” in the system. Otherwise you’re just wasting your money for parts you’ll never see the full potential of.

At the end of the day, the car is safe as it comes from factory unless it becomes a dedicated track car.

 

[Rogues Gambit]

As @optronix and @Victorofhavoc have mentioned, most owners will not consistently reach the limits of the OEM hardware. It’s best to upgrade when you identify a “crutch” in the system. Otherwise you’re just wasting your money for parts you’ll never see the full potential of.

At the end of the day, the car is safe as it comes from factory unless it becomes a dedicated track car.

I know, just enjoy the building process, esp as I want to add a little flash to it after seeing this at a show

 

[optronix]

I know, just enjoy the building process, esp as I want to add a little flash to it after seeing this at a show

Yeah that's a totally different use case, knock yourself out. @keAiko18 has done the best with the comprehensive aesthetics I've seen to date on this platform.

 

[ABPDE5]

Following up on this, with a pretty good post from the FL5 forum:
https://www.civicxi.com/forum/threads/all-the-available-aftermarket-fmics-are-bad.55908/post-960982

Note that while the WoT cooling plate + radiator lead to reduced temps water temps (although, one should expect the delta to be smaller given the sample includes reduced ambient temps), the Wagner intercooler -- even at 2 deg lower ambient -- leads to much higher water temps d/t obstructing flow to the radiator. That said, the IC also substantially reduces IATs. The Wagner is, as far as I'm aware, the most obstructive IC on the market.

Good data points re: trade-offs for those interested.

Sponsored