intake

Ever since the mid-1980s, the Si has had a reputation for adding just the right amount of flavor to the standard Civic. With a tablespoon of suspension upgrades, an ounce of body kitting and interior trim, and just a dash of extra power, the Si follows the same recipe that Volkswagen set with the MK1 GTI. As the Civic has grown and evolved overtime, so has the spiced-up version, and while the Si hatchback might not be around anymore, the formula is still the same.

The newest Si sets itself apart from the standard EX-T. The aggressive new styling, 18" alloys, and sporty interior let everyone know that you're not driving just a Civic. The improvements don't stop there. Along with the enhanced styling, the Si also gets a helical limited slip differential to evenly distribute the extra 25 horses and added torque to the front wheels. Under the hood, however, one might take note that the L15B7 powering the updated Si is the same powerplant that can be found throughout the Civic line, which begs

At some point early on in our car obsessed years, we've all dropped in a cone filter, with a shiny tube, possibly with some flimsy heat shielding and called it an intake. We've also claimed we could feel the unharnessed power now bellowing out from under the hood. We've all been guilty of it. Really, it was just louder, and maybe with the right combination a few extra horses were added to the pack. Here at Mishimoto, we've moved way past that, as you can see from the amount of fabrication going into developing our initial intake prototype, not to mention the sheer amount of testing that has lead us to our first production sample.

Opinions of the latest generation CTR's styling can be quite polarizing. While the massive rear wing and aggressive looking body kit aren't for everyone, Honda has made sure that it's all installed in the name of aerodynamics.

Much like the FK8, function over form is the direction that we headed in with the development of this kit. Even though the CTR has some

Intakes are typically the first modification that any automotive enthusiast would recommend in the name of quick power gains. It's really no surprise either. If you take a look at any modern vehicle on the road today, including the Civic Type R, stock intakes are full of silencers, restriction points, and accordion-style hoses. Those are three things that I know every gearhead doesn't want, and in fact it's quite the opposite when looking to add some power, so we've been researching solutions to get rid of them.

To start, let's briefly revisit our stock air intake. While the Type R is based on the return of the Civic hatchback to the US, it's no regular Civic hatchback. The beefed up aerodynamics on the exterior, and bright red racing seats, have the 305hp K20C1 to match, which includes a well-thought-out intake system. From the factory, Honda included a cast aluminum runner which not only accounts for 2/3 of the stock system, but also does most of our jobs for us. We only needed to focus

Downpipes are a choke point in many turbocharged vehicles when it comes to exhaust flow. As opposed to naturally aspirated cars, less serious thought needs to go into the size of the exhaust piping. In most cases the system just needs to be bigger in diameter, maximizing what you can within the alotted design space.

The downpipe on the Camaro 2.0T's LTG engine is a restrictive point in the exhaust system, a conclusion brought about by our testing. The point of emphasis is the rate at which exhaust gases are expelled out of the turbocharger. That flow is very important to how well the turbocharger can do its job. If you can flow more exhaust gases, the turbine can spin faster, leading to more boost. It is now time to test the prototype and figure out what our downpipe design can do for this LTG power-plant.

Production sample of our downpipe!

There is a noticeable difference in sound. Even with our catback and intake on the car, you can hear a much throatier and raspier exhaust sound. This

Get a silicone induction hose for your LTG powered Camaro or ATS today:

Mishimoto Camaro/ATS 2.0T LTG Silicone Induction Hose PreSale

The quality of the airflow is essential for any vehicle boasting a forced induction system. You would think with a compressor literally sucking volumes of air that it would sort itself out, but that's not always the case. Turbulence, and the resulting inconsistent airflow, is the enemy. Any sort of change in the airflow can cause pressure differentials and ultimately keep your turbocharged engine from rising to its full potential. As laid out in the stock review of the Ecotec LTG induction hose, between the couplings, bends, and the muffler, the stock hose isn't exactly the most efficient design. If you recall, GM engineers have certain criteria to meet in their design process and have to consider a broader consumer base, even if that means sacrificing airflow, those pesky turbocharger sounds, and anything visually stimulating under the hood. We here at Mishimoto

Our Performance Intake kit is now available on Presale! Act fast to take advantage of the special pricing! 

Chevrolet Camaro Performance Intake Kit PreSale

It certainly has been no picnic to get to this point. However, working on this unique, factory-turbocharged application from Chevy has brought to light the importance of the type of testing we do for our intake projects. We've gone through many configurations, spent countless design hours and logged hundreds of miles of road testing. This isn't overkill at Mishimoto, we deem it a necessity.

The amount of time that passed by was no mistake. We spared no R&D expense with this kit. Being as thorough as possible with every aspect of how it looked and the type of performance it delivered was a priority. In the last update, we went through why we encountered a few hiccups during testing, but we took our time in working through the problem instead of rushing a less-than-perfect product to market.

Top to bottom: 90˚ bend, 50˚ bend, and design

Research and Development (R&D) - Work directed toward the innovation, introduction, and improvement of products and processes.

The research and development process can get tricky. Sometimes, at a moment when you think you have a perfectly working product, that's ready for the masses; something just goes awry. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. We welcome situations like this, especially during this late in the development stage, because we're able to catch unexpected issues early. It's not like we want you to deal with them. That's why we do so much testing. As the definition states, this work needs to be directed, in part, toward the improvement of products and processes. We take this attitude with each and every design that leaves our R&D facility for production. As an example, we implemented some modifications to the last design you guys saw for this Camaro 2.0T intake project, even though those changes were minor. I still want to walk you through why we amended the promising previous