Honda Civic Type R Boost Tubes – Design Pt. 1
The FK8 Civic Type R is a phenomenal driving machine that has proven to be a force to reckon with in the automotive world; however, the CTR is not without its pitfalls. At stock power levels the Type R performs but when pushed past those boundaries it’s easy to find room for improvement in key areas.
This is where the team at 27WON Performance steps in.
As we dig into the 2017+ Civic Type R we are finding components that leave a lot of performance on the table. First on our list: Intercooler Piping Boost Tubes.
OEM FK8 boost tubes
While working on the development of the 27WON Intercooler Upgrade for the FK8, we found that the OE rubber intercooler (boost) tubes are rather lacking. More on this in a bit, but first we want to make sure you know what these are. These are the rubber hoses/tubes that connect the turbo compressor outlet to the intercooler inlet and the intercooler outlet to the intercooler piping that routes to the throttle body and intake manifold.
So, why would you want to upgrade the Boost Tubes on your FK8?
At stock boost levels the OE components appear to have only a small amount of expansion but with increased boost levels this expansion will get worse and worse. Every single time you get on the throttle these OE boost tubes are expanding with boost pressure affecting throttle response and contributing to boost lag.
This expansion is occurring due to the design and manufacturing of the OE boost tubes.
There are two major issues/opportunities with the OE design:
1) Single ply of reinforcement braiding: With just a single ply of braiding to resist expansion the OE boost tubes are just weak; plain and simple. Go out to your Type R and give the cold side boost tube a squeeze and you’ll understand (It’s right under the intake system).
2) Rubber, the main ingredient. OE boost tubes are constructed with rubber and single-ply reinforcement. Eventually the rubber will fatigue and begin to break down. Cracks will form and eventually the tube will burst, probably at the worst time possible.
At 27WON Performance, we are tackling this problem in a fresh way. There are a few piping kits already available to replace the OE rubber boost tubes but they use aluminum piping. This drives up cost and eliminates a critical design feature…flexibility.
The engine moves a lot during operation but the front-end of the car does not. The use of a flexible material such as rubber or silicone is critical for proper flexibility between the engine and other non-moving components of the CivicX such as the intercooler.
We are developing a performance part that does not have the pitfalls of the OE rubber boost tubes while still providing the necessary flexibility the system needs. In the images above you can already see a sneak peak of the 27WON design over-laid on the scanned OE boost tubes.
Stay tuned with 27WON Performance for the next update on our FK8 Performance Boost Tubes as we continue testing and validation.