Tools Required:
CT provided tool for removing the white ball at the end of the shifter
Phillips Head screw driver
hair dryer
pliers
Vaseline

Step 1: Removal of the center console. Open the top pocket just below the radio, then place your hands on either side inside the console and pull straight back, once the pocket is free remove the LED clipped to the top and set the pocket aside.

Using your hair dryer warm the outer edges (top, left, right, bottom) of the center console trim, this will make the plastic more supple and less prone to cracking. Once the plastic is warm open up the bottom pocket then press your fingers against the top ledge of the center console and pinch in towards yourself and gently pull up. Once these clips pop free slide your fingers down the side of the console gently releasing the rest of the clips. Now reach under the front and disconnect the seat warmer harnesses.

Remove the shift knob, you’ll need to use your pliers to hold the lock nut still while you twist the shift knob. Be sure to wrap the ends of your pliers in a few layers of duct tape to make sure you leave no unsightly scratches behind. Now the center console with the shift boot should slide right off, you will need to disconnect a small metal clip at the base of the e-brake boot to get the boot off with the console.

Using your phillips head screw driver unscrew the 4 screws holding the bottom pocket in place, then all 6 of the screws holding down the center console. Now open the bottom drawer of the armrest, remove the non-skid insert and unscrew the two phillips screws holding it down. Once all of the screws are removed slide your fingers under the back of the armrest and pull up and back towards the passenger seat and the center console is now removed.

Step 2: Removal of the shifter. Refer to the CT diagrams for this step, however you will most likely have to cut the zip ties holding the cables to the side of it, just user regular zip ties to attach those cables when you reinstall to prevent little rattles. Also the large U shaped bracket at the front of the shifter will require you to use your pliers, remove it while gently pulling up and wiggling side to side.

Step 3: Removal of the white ball and install of the CT short shifter adapter. Now that the shifter is sitting in your lap you need to remove that white ball at the base of the shifter. Heat the ball with your hair dryer and then use the CT provided tool for its removal, careful it could just pop off into the air and if you loose it you’ll need to get a new one. Now to install the CT adapter, wipe down the stock shifter with the Loctite that CT provides, now slide the CT adapter on to the end and push until you hear a little click, then tighten the hex wrench screws with the hex key CT provides. Now heat the white ball again and apply vaseline to the ball on the end of the CT adapter, now snap the ball back on.

Step 4: Re-install. Just follow the CT instructions and these in reverse and you’re good to go, enjoy your 38% reduction in throw.

If you have questions feel free to post up a comment, I’ll do my best to answer all of your questions. If you found this pose useful or helpful please use the social bookmark links below and share this post with your friends!

*CT Engineering rear sway bar will only clear the OEM or CT Engineering exhaust. Progress will clear ANY aftermarket cat-back and will install the same way as this DIY shows

Tools Required:

• Metric and standard socket set
• Metric hex key set
• Metric crescent wrench set
• Floor jack with stands
• Silicon grease if needed

Step 1:
Raise the car up and position it on stands. There is a jack point in the middle of the car I believe either just before or just after the gas can, I can’t remember at the moment. Look under the car and you can’t miss it. Use the OEM jack points on either side of the rear passenger for your stands.

Step 2:
Now under the car remove the endlink nuts. You’ll need your hex key set here, simply insert the proper sized hex key into the bolt, then use your crescent wrench to twist the nut while holding the bolt secure with the hex key. The nuts could be pretty well siezed on if you have a high mileage car or live in a climate where they use salt or other de-icers. Just use some WD-40, PB Blaster, Silicon spray lubricant, or whatever to free up the nuts.

Step 3:
Remove the two bolts that hold the driver side muffler in place, this is what will allow you to clear the exhaust when removing the OEM rear sway bar and installing the CT rear sway bar. Be careful not to strip the nuts/bolts and not to damage the gasket. Make sure the exhaust is cold before attempting this.

Step 4:
Remove the OEM brackets that hold the sway bar in place and let it rest on the exhaust. Be sure to keep these bolts because you’ll be reusing them.

Step 5:
Slide the rear sway bar to the front of the vehicle, then down the passenger side, then angle it and slide it between the exhaust where we detached the driver side muffler. I cannot explain this in much greater detail, but trust me it works. It would help to have a friend with you on this to keep the muffler and the exhaust pipe seperate while you slide the sway bar through.

Step 6:
This is the same as step 5, only opposite and with your new rear sway bar.

Step 7:
Re-attach the endlinks to your new rear sway bar but do not torque them down yet. Lube up the bushings supplied by CT engineering and use their supplied brackets and the OEM bracket bolts and attach the rear sway bar to the mounts. Do not torque these down yet.

Step 8:
Make sure the bar is even between the brackets and side to side (with Progress there are two washers welded to the bar so you don’t have to do this part) and torque down the endlinks to the specs provided by CT.

Step 9:
Torque the brackets and re-install the driver side muffler. Double check the torque on your brackets and endlinks then lower the car back to the ground.

Step 10:
Gently bounce the rear of the car to ensure there are no squeaks and your all set.

ALWAYS refer to the supplied instructions when installing any parts.

• Box intakes
• Cold Air Intakes (CAI)
• Short Ram Intakes (SRI)

All three have their key advantages and disadvantages, CAI is good for high end gain but tends to lack in the low end and can lead to hydro lock, SRI’s are good for low end response but lack in the high end and are prone to heat soak, and box style intakes sit right in the middle of the road, good low end response, better than SRI high end gain, and not as prone to hydro lock. There are plenty of each style intake on the market for Japanese autos, so in this write up I am going to focus mainly on two brands and styles, the CT (formerlly Comptech) Ice Box and the Injen SP1431 SRI/CAI intake. Both are based on results found on a 2006 Acura TSX and personal experience. I’ll also be using the “butt-dyno” as a feel for tangible response and all other dyno charts and/or graphs will be from the manufacturer.

We’ll start with the Injen SP1431.

Injen SP1431 Intake (TSX Application)

What makes the Injen special is the fact that is a hybrid of sorts offering you either CAI or SRI applications. As shown in the picture there are two tubes and they connect together with a rubber-esc coupling. This can really make your day if you live in a wet climate and want to run a CAI in the dry season but would prefer to run SRI in the wet season to prevent hydro lock.

Injen claims that their MR technology gives you maximum performance gains all while staying within the factory safe air/fuel ratio and they back up that claim with a dyno chart showing a baseline of 162.79 horsepower compared to 169.91 horsepower equipped with the SP1431 with MR technology. The vehicle used for the test a 2005 Acura TSX six speed manual. You can view the chart by clicking here. Injen claims a full 7.12 horsepower gain over your standard OEM intake which is pretty good for an intake alone.

I ran the Injen SP1431 in SRI mode on my TSX for about 6 months and I didn’t feel a whole lot of improvement horsepower wise, I did notice some improvement with throttle response. Granted this may have been because by nature an SRI allows the air to travel less distance into the throttle body and thus the engine gets air faster, but I like to think the intake was doing it’s job. The Injen does offer that fairly loud and distinct throaty sound when you really step on it, but at cruising speed or under light driving conditions the intake is as quiet as OEM.

Install was fairly quick and painless and if you plan on leaving the intake as an SRI you don’t need to mess with removing the front bumper to get to the air resonator, simply remove the OEM intake box and tube. You will need to move some coolant lines around however and for this get some needle nose vice grips wrapped with duct tape to pinch off those coolant lines so they don’t spill. All in all to install the Injen SP1431 as an SRI should take less than an hour and most mechanics could complete the job in a half hour or less.

The CT ice box intake is exactly as it sounds, a box style intake which will re-use the bottom of your OEM intake box.

CT Engineering Ice Box Air Intake TSX Application

A key advantage of the CT Ice box is it’s design, in place of your OEM air resonator CT places a cone molded to have a bit of a velocity stack built in, the nice thing is that once this cone or horn as CT refers to it has passed through into the fender it makes a 90 degree turn facing the headlights. This keeps it out of most wet conditions and greatly reduces the chances of hydro lock while offering some of the benefits of sucking air outside of the engine bay. The lid on the ice box looks alot like your OEM intake lid with a few differences, one the ice box lid is taller allowing for more air volume and two the are no ridges on the inside top of the lid to make air transfer less turbulent.

With this design the ice box is able to deliver good low end response and decent high end gain, call it a compromise of sorts, you don’t get all of the benefits of an SRI or CAI but you get a good middle of the road of both SRI’s and CAI’s and a whole lot more than OEM. The ice box doesn’t offer that deep throaty sound though, there is additional sound but not a whole lot over stock, just enough for you to faintly hear it in the cabin and for the pedestrian to hear it as whine up off of the stop light.

Maintenance is a breeze since the ice box is a bigger and better OEM style intake. K&N OEM replacement filters fit the ice box easily and can be found at many local auto parts stores. To change, clean, or replace the filter simply unscrew the lid just like OEM and replace it as you typically would. Install can be a bit more tricky than an SRI, you’ll have to remove the front bumper to access the OEM air resonator and to mount the horn. The rest reuses existing parts like the OEM intake bottom and tube to the throttle body.

After driving both I prefer to ease of use with the CT Ice Box but I still lament for that throaty whale of the Injen. Which intake is better for performance? I can’t tell you that, each application is different and it depends on what you’re after. With either intake you wont regret your decision.

For more information on the Injen SP1431 click here.

For more information on the CT Ice Box click here.