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SF on Automatic- Review

Old Dec 18, 2003
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Thumbs up SF on Automatic- Review

O.K., I have had the SF kit for 1 week now, on a 2003 4door auto ex.
It is the basic kit, plus alc. Injection, plus turbo upgrade, plus equal length header.
Other mods (HKSa catless pipe off the turbo, magnaflow cat back). So basically a turbo kit and full exhaust.

Initially set at 5-6psi. The car is great. First I noticed that the car was much quieter and less ruckus then before the turbo (remember full open exh.). Drivability is not affected in any negative way, and the cars manors are just like stock, except for the extra power. The turbo comes on smooth, and is wonderfully usable, especially under part throttle. That is, when going up a long uphill grade, it used to be that I would need to floor it and be at 5500rpm+ in 3rd just to hold my own (not decelerate, or slight acceleration), and any shift into 4th would see deceleration, even if floored. Now with the kit, I could be at only 25% throttle, in low rpm in 4th, and fly up the hill with say 3-4# of boost. So the part throttle driving is way better, especially with all the extra tq.

-Rolling full throttle stabs are great, the trans downshifts perfectly and boost hits fast, the pull is awesome.
-From a stop, it takes to about 2900-3000 to hit boost, but your at full boost almost right away. The lag feels worse then it is(only in first), b.c there is so little power in this car to begin with, and so much more when on the turbo. For racing, a converter may solve this, but I think it is quite livable and normal. From a start is the only place that lag is actually noticeable.
-Trans/shifts- I think the computer pulls timing on shifts, as power kinda drops off for shifts (does not feel like slip, just computer tq reduction). Not a big problem though, and at 5#’s its not bad at all.

Higher boost- I have tried 9#, with alcohol set to come on at 6.5. The pull is very healthy. I have only tested it within one gear and not under the shifts, and it was niiice. I keep it at 5-6 so I don’t put my trans under too much stress for now.

Quality- very high, fantastic weld quality, nice powder coat, looks great.
Fit- SF put it in, while I watched, I saw no fitment issues, and it went together smoothly.
Overall, I totally recommend this kit, the power increase is great, and the OEM quality/feel/drivability of the kit is nice.

Hope this helps others.
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Old Dec 18, 2003
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hmmm. i dont just think i wanna put the money into my auto civic for boost. it would be great though.
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Old Dec 18, 2003
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Wow.......glad to hear that u are very happy with ur kit........i get mine next wk !!!!!
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Old Dec 18, 2003
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Yep. Once it's all in it's jsut so niiice...

I commute to College every day in my turbo vic, running at less than 5 pounds till my mbc comes in, but the ease of driving is nothing. A lil more than just the weight of my foot, and the car keeps pulling and pulling, slowly passing 100. And I still get about 32mpg on my cat-back exhaust EX. Only other engine mod besides turbo and exhaust is the Denso Iridium IX spark plugs, which I strongly reccommend.
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Old Dec 18, 2003
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Damn a turbo auto... I think I'll follow suit but not till next year..
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Old Dec 18, 2003
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Good review!!
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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thats great to hear.
i have a 02 ex coupe auto. and i ordered the turbo about a month ago
hopefully it will ship soon.
basically ill have a similiar setup.
i got the basic kit with alcohol inj. and a tranny cooler.
and ill have a N1 catback exhaust.
very glad to hear you like the kit on the auto.
makes me feel alot better
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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Glad to hear you're happy w/your kit. I never really thought auto tranny's were much good for turbos unless you are ubeleiveably fast. But this seems to work out ok even though the lag is quite a bit I would say...

Any plans for that torque converter?
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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heres another SF turboed automatic. it runs great at 6.5 daily

http://www.cardomain.com/id/sean2sean
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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i plan to race my car on 10lbs(with my alcohol injection and i have a bigger and better tranny cooler) on my hx auto cvt, i am runing 6-7lbs without injecting the alcohol right now
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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the original plan was to stay at about 5-6psi and part out/sell the car after two years, but i like the car so much more now, im thinking about building the eng./trans, and boosting way more, super sleeper style-

as for lag, there really isnt any to speak of, except when starting out in first from a stop... i do not plan on any converter until maybe doing the trans together-
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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if u start from a stop , u'd be inn first. LoL

SO i guess racing from a dig isn't ur best scenario. take it to the track. let us know whatcha do
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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i want one for my sedan too
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Old Dec 19, 2003
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Awesome review. I really wanna get this now, even more than I did before (quite hard to believe, I know)

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Old Dec 22, 2003
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UPDATE:
i spent some time on the dynamic dyno (street), messing with tune (diff. alc. %) and boost levels (cut and 'T'd into the vacume line for more boost).

-With really good air and 70%alc. i pinged at 9# and got off it right away, but found that i could do 7-8# all day long in the cold dense night air, (the same setting made 6.5-7psi in the day).

-With 90% alc. i set the boost at 10psi on the button, and had a friggen blast (running late at night in good/cold air). All i have to say is, this is not like any civic ive ever been in b4. Insane at 10#, feels hella fast and just keeps on pulling. The trans handled it like a champ- with no noticible slip, and the shifts were fairly stout (i lifted just a bit on shifts, and the slowdown was not as bad as when tq reduction kicks in). No ping, no signs of problems. But here is the kicker, after a few back to back 1/4 mile pulls- i felt the inlet before the TB (after the intercooler) and it was cool to the touch. I know the outside air cold to reduce heat soak on the intercooler, but even with punishing the intercooler for an extended time at 10psi, the pipes after the cooler were still cool. Thats rock'n in my book =)

-I set it back at 5psi and plan to keep it there, but it is good to know what the car can do, for when i hit the track next time, or if some busta rolls up =)
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Old Dec 22, 2003
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dude thats sweet, power to the turbo'd automatics lol
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Old Dec 22, 2003
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Originally posted by BoostedCivicZex
dude thats sweet, power to the turbo'd automatics lol
That is what I am saying too...lol. Saving my pennies now for the turbo (and new body kit/new paint job/and new suspension).
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Old Dec 22, 2003
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Originally posted by ericscorpse
That is what I am saying too...lol. Saving my pennies now for the turbo (and new body kit/new paint job/and new suspension).
cool good luck
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Old Dec 22, 2003
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boostedciviczex u are auto?
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Old Dec 22, 2003
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Originally posted by BoostedCivicZex
cool good luck
Thanks man, it was fun getting the car to where it is at now but I am ready for a rebuild.
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Old Dec 22, 2003
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im a hx auto, cvt, continously varible transmission doing 10lbs of boost. my tranny has no gears. its based on pullies
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Old Dec 23, 2003
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im an auto and i ordered the SF kit.
just waiting for it and then ill be part of the auto -turbo group
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Old Dec 23, 2003
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any other cvt autos going to join the turbo group? lol
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Old Dec 23, 2003
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How much HP does 5-6 give you?
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Old Dec 23, 2003
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has any auto turbo been to the track yet. I wonder how fast would they be
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Old Dec 26, 2003
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i love this....us auto's are gonna take over....well maybe someday
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Old Dec 26, 2003
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Originally posted by username03
boostedciviczex u are auto?

yes, he drives a lady car
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Old Dec 26, 2003
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At first the only reason I purchased an auto was because it was a package deal and cheaper. But now I just want to prove to these "haters" that auto deserve respect because there is always human error in manual transmission, with an automatic is it reduced greatly. There is a flip side to that coin in that if a manual transmission is operated correctly it has a great advantage over an auto when you don’t align ball bearings etc. I do not mean to start a flame or a 100 reply post, only my 2 cents.

TX rice
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Old Dec 26, 2003
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hey post some pics of your your ride I want to check out the auto turbo setup...sounds nice good luck with your setup.
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Old Dec 26, 2003
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Originally posted by JDMCIVIC
hey post some pics of your your ride I want to check out the auto turbo setup...sounds nice good luck with your setup.
click on "my ride" to see my CVT auto set up
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