What am I missing?? My 2026 DE5 ITS story/build. Help me write her story.......I've named her, Kandi!

[CANDE5]

Thanks for taking the time to drop by!

I just made a 12 hour round trip to buy my Performance Red Type-S in Vegas a couple of days ago. I've named her Kandi in tribute to her candy red color and because why not give her a stripper name eh?

***'ll edit this post as I go to keep it current***
So far, the tint, clear bra and paint protection stuff is handled. I've added a tint strip since this photo was taken and i've got the Eibach Pro-Kit springs, PRL Intake, TSP Downpipe, PRL Front Pipe, Cobb mount and Wheel spacers (15F/20R) in the mail to be installed early next week. Almost forgot, All black emblems will be here tomorrow. I have a very specific look i'm after. I also don't want this to become a bottomless pit of expense.

Knowing what i've said here, I feel like I should upgrade the intercooler and piping to all the prl stuff and then tune it and call it a day. I'm hoping/expecting to make around 360+ whp with that combo with ZERO reliability concerns.

AM I CRAZY?? WHAT AM I MISSING??

Your help is greatly appreciated!


Jared and Kandi

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[UWU-mancer]

If on stock turbo maybe consider doing the piping much later for the sake of eye candy?

frankly any freaking intercooler is better than stock. So as long as you’re cool with removing the air guide things in the bumper to fit the prl, send it

Dope car btw

 

[CANDE5]

If on stock turbo maybe consider doing the piping much later for the sake of eye candy?

frankly any freaking intercooler is better than stock. So as long as you’re cool with removing the air guide things in the bumper to fit the prl, send it

Dope car btw

Thank you! I am loving it more and more with every single drive!

Love the input on the piping. I do think I should make the intercooler the very next thing I do. I manage a collision repair shop too so getting it installed and fitting shouldn't be an issue. Good call! I'm doing the I/C NEXT!

 

[CANDE5]

Alright. After mulling around on here a bit more I’ve now ordered the Cobb mount and the PRL front pipe too. Seems I should do them all together as I’m right there anyway and from what I can gather, I shouldn’t throw a CEL. I know I won’t see the benefits much until after the tune and stuff but I’m waiting until I do the intercooler and piping to turn it up.

 

[ABPDE5]

My understanding is the charge pipes provide very little (to no) value unless you are running a significant increase in boost over stock, and anecdotal experience on the FL5 / DE5 forums seems to indicate a high % of users have install issues leading to boost leaks, etc. Personally, I'd start with the IC and skip the charge pipes until upgrading fuel / turbo, etc.

Just my 0.02.

 

[UWU-mancer]

My understanding is the charge pipes provide very little (to no) value unless you are running a significant increase in boost over stock, and anecdotal experience on the FL5 / DE5 forums seems to indicate a high % of users have install issues leading to boost leaks, etc. Personally, I'd start with the IC and skip the charge pipes until upgrading fuel / turbo, etc.

Just my 0.02.

on stock turbo the pipes are pretty eye candy tho. The wrinkle red goes hard

 

[Victorofhavoc]

My understanding is the charge pipes provide very little (to no) value unless you are running a significant increase in boost over stock, and anecdotal experience on the FL5 / DE5 forums seems to indicate a high % of users have install issues leading to boost leaks, etc. Personally, I'd start with the IC and skip the charge pipes until upgrading fuel / turbo, etc.

Just my 0.02.

With my custom tuning, reflective gold foil, and turbo blanket (under heatshield) I have no iat issues, even sending it on track for 20 minutes. It stays within 20F ambient. Coolant and iat stay rock solid.

I would argue an intercooler would be a performance detriment because of size (adds to lag) and weight (furthest point forward on the car) unless you're well beyond stock turbo power capability. I realize this is an unpopular opinion around here, and I know many people want the aftermarket ic look. I'd recommend getting auto gaskets and sealing the ic against the bumper either way, but especially if removing the factory seals/guides .

 

[UWU-mancer]

With my custom tuning, reflective gold foil, and turbo blanket (under heatshield) I have no iat issues, even sending it on track for 20 minutes. It stays within 20F ambient. Coolant and iat stay rock solid.

I would argue an intercooler would be a performance detriment because of size (adds to lag) and weight (furthest point forward on the car) unless you're well beyond stock turbo power capability. I realize this is an unpopular opinion around here, and I know many people want the aftermarket ic look. I'd recommend getting auto gaskets and sealing the ic against the bumper either way, but especially if removing the factory seals/guides .

Yes and yes

obviously we need the extra volume. No way around that. But if a cat can keep saving up for the lightest option it will help

I went pwr. Can not recommend. Great intercooler but shit company to deal with.

i heard 27won is developing some kind of water mist sprayer for the stock intercooler? That’s gonna be freaking huge!

 

[CANDE5]

Would we not create more heat via the tuning? Meaning are we not going to lean on the turbo any harder in the tune? And if so would the Intercooler not be a help? If I can avoid the intercooler i I absolutely want to but not at the expense of having to worry about IAT's. I will be autocrossing the car a lot and surely care about the weight on the nose of the car! Pardon my ignorance. I am a previously HIGH power Camaro owner and I'm very unfamiliar with Tuning on Honda platform stuff....

If what i'm hearing is right, then I should just tune now and call it a day then after all my stuff arrives, no? Intake, downpipe, front pipe. Or do i need the inlet also to really open things up?

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Would we not create more heat via the tuning? Meaning are we not going to lean on the turbo any harder in the tune? And if so would the Intercooler not be a help? If I can avoid the intercooler i I absolutely want to but not at the expense of having to worry about IAT's. I will be autocrossing the car a lot and surely care about the weight on the nose of the car! Pardon my ignorance. I am a previously HIGH power Camaro owner and I'm very unfamiliar with Tuning on Honda platform stuff....

If what i'm hearing is right, then I should just tune now and call it a day then after all my stuff arrives, no? Intake, downpipe, front pipe. Or do i need the inlet also to really open things up?

When you do a custom tune, you should ask your tuner for a "motorsports tune". They focus on fueling and timing reliability rather than peak power. Fuel is evaporative and will take some heat with it as it combusts and evaporates. The oem tuning is focused on minimizing net loss for the cleanest combustion. When you tune, in many circumstances, you will have a dirtier combustion. Personally I run a street tune that's cleaner and then swap to a more motorsports focused tune for on track. Best of both worlds in that case.

You're correct the turbo will get hotter! As long as you're keeping its heat contained (why did Honda run a giant intake heatsink on top of the turbo...?) the only major impact is to your oil temp, because the oil cools the turbo. The stronger combustion cycle doesn't necessarily generate more heat; the classic example being how e85 behaves because the higher ethanol content is better at pulling heat out and provides a cleaner combustion overall (ever seen the sootless exhaust of an e85 tuned car?).

 

[UWU-mancer]

Would we not create more heat via the tuning? Meaning are we not going to lean on the turbo any harder in the tune? And if so would the Intercooler not be a help? If I can avoid the intercooler i I absolutely want to but not at the expense of having to worry about IAT's. I will be autocrossing the car a lot and surely care about the weight on the nose of the car! Pardon my ignorance. I am a previously HIGH power Camaro owner and I'm very unfamiliar with Tuning on Honda platform stuff....

If what i'm hearing is right, then I should just tune now and call it a day then after all my stuff arrives, no? Intake, downpipe, front pipe. Or do i need the inlet also to really open things up?

Yes. Due to extra boost + how the boost map looks at x rpm and shit

but like @Victorofhavoc said. A Motorsports tune delays the inevitable by a good bit

even then. I’d still do SOMETHING

Upgrade the Intercooler, introduce meth post maf, something. Just for the sake of being able to run as long as you want and only worry about tires and brakes.

 

[CANDE5]

I see what you're both saying for sure. I checked it out a bit and the PRL intercooler is only about 7.5 lbs heavier than stock. Not ideal to add that weight at the nose but its not as bad as others. Most are 20 lb's+ where the PRL is only 14.4 I believe.

I think to be certain, i'll just bite the bullet and upgrade the I/C. I live in Utah and we get lots of heat in the summer and I LOVE canyons and WOT.

 

[ABPDE5]

I see what you're both saying for sure. I checked it out a bit and the PRL intercooler is only about 7.5 lbs heavier than stock. Not ideal to add that weight at the nose but its not as bad as others. Most are 20 lb's+ where the PRL is only 14.4 I believe.

I think to be certain, i'll just bite the bullet and upgrade the I/C. I live in Utah and we get lots of heat in the summer and I LOVE canyons and WOT.

The only thing to be aware of is that a bigger IC = less air to the radiator. A lot of people defaulted to swapping in large B&P ICs for this platform early in its lifespan, only to find that they caused cooling issues d/t reduced airflow to the radiator.

Look for T&F options (or microtubule if you're willing to spend the $), and be mindful that increased IC area = reduced radiator exposure.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I'll also note, the intake is not the primary restriction, the turbo is. It's opening surface area is teeny tiny compared to every other part before it. If you want more intake sound, then an intake is the way. No tuner will tell you the intake is the limit until your turbo inlet starts becoming larger than the intake tract. There is some heat blocking validity with things like titanium and steel piping, though, the question becomes is it more efficient than shielded aluminum that dissipates heat faster. That's something that hasn't been fully tested or proven one way or the other yet.

Here's a photo of how teeny the turbo inlet is...

 

[UWU-mancer]

In regards to offsetting the lack of airflow to a radiator due to an intercooler that won’t let much air through

it has a shroud. It’s got a fan. And physics is a thing. Jump in Hondata and set fan speeds up 5% faster per temp column. Test. Boost again another 5%. Test. Repeat. Eventually you’ll either get close or better but at least it’ll work

we did this on hptuners for the ion redlines and cobalt ss’s when they upgraded to monstrous air to water heat exchangers. Worked perfectly. We expected a lot of wear on the fan but it never happened. Fans just took it fine

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