Page 37 - Engineering

Just from looking at the Civic Type R, you can tell that it's built to perform. The exterior styling is aggressive, yet functional. Every grill, opening, and spoiler incorporated into the design is there for a purpose, and that purpose is speed. Even with the amount of legwork that went into making this Civic the cream of the crop, everyone is still after increased performance.

When most think about the performance of any vehicle, they think of how fast they can make it. Dreams of tunes, intakes, intercoolers, and exhausts are what drift through every enthusiast's mind when it comes time to start modding. Performance should really come from the car's ability to keep performing every time you push the start button. Making sure all the components under the hood are doing their job is a good first step.

The Type R badge is something that's had a significant history under the red Honda emblem. Since the adoption of anything Type R in the US, the release of the FK8 was almost like the modern reboot of a cult classic sports flick. This time around we get one of the Hemsworth brothers instead of Patrick Swayze much like an added turbo and over the top aero styling. Some things stay the same though. We still get the conspicuously red seats and Foreigner makes an appearance on the soundtrack.

Check it and See

By most accounts, the FK8 is in fact hot blooded. It's strange to see a car that was engineered both on and for the track unable to take the heat of a few laps. Even just the swelter of a summer day on a spirited drive is enough to cause the engine oil temps in the K20C1 to rise.

As the temperature drops and the leaves begin to change, we start to enter prime boosting season. That's correct, as the weather gets spookier, the efficiency of your charged air system improves. The cooler, denser outside air is much easier to cram into your GTI's cylinders than the thick muggy summer air. However, just because the outside temperatures are dropping, that doesn't mean the heat is leaving your stock intercooler.

If you recall from our review of the stock components, VW shrouded the base of a good intercooler design in the support system for the creature comfort we all enjoy, and put it in close proximity to the radiator. To make matters worse, mostly in our case and not so much for climate change, the adaptation of the PremAir system limits the build envelope even further. We have our work

By now the pedigree of the Volkswagen GTI is widely known. It's been around for what feels like forever in a handful of different variations, and more or less invented the hot-hatch segment. Now that we're on the 7.5th generation, and rapidly approaching the 8th, the MK6 is quickly becoming the poster boy for the VW enthusiast scene.

The MK6 ended up being more of a visual improvement over the MK5. The facelift that came about in 2009 added some edges to the rounded and bubbly styling of the GTI's younger generation. The interior was rejuvenated and given the success of the TSI series' engines over the FSI, the engine bay more or less remained the same as the later MK5s except for a slight bump in power. Now that this generation is going on its second cycle, many are increasing the power even more by means

Turning into a badass isn't something that happens overnight. It takes time to build up that sort of reputation. People like Chuck Norris or Bear Grylls seem to have always carried that persona, but it took so many seasons of roundhouse kicks  and survival stunts for them to be fully recognized. Honda has had 42 years to build up the Accord's reputation from everyday econo-box to subtle bad boy, and while some of that stigma lingers, we're doing our part to make the "Bad Boy" part less subtle.

Just like building up street cred can take some time, so does developing a performance intake. Luckily though, we have a plan in place to break the 2.0T Accord out of its shell. Before we can dive into what our new intake is going to look like under the hood, let's take a look at the master plan.

Big MAF

Every superhero has a weakness or villain thwarting them at every turn. Superman has those glowing alien rocks. Batman is constantly putting out fires both figuratively and literally set by some deranged clown, and the internal combustion engine has its respiratory system clogged up by its own lifeblood. Yes, we're talking about blow-by. Granted, carbon buildup from blow-by might not seem as serious as the threat of a supervillain, but it's an affliction that affects every engine out there, even your new Honda Accord.

The 2018 Honda Accord 2.0T might not be flying around Metropolis or Gotham punching criminals in the face, but this generation of Honda's full-sized sedan is taking the heroics of daily driving to a new level. Utilizing the K20C4 derived from the heavy-hitting Civic Type R, Honda ditched the