How to fit a GSR AEM into a B18C1/EG Hybrid

With so many people putting B18C1's into Honda Civics (including us), we decided to find a way to install an Integra GSR AEM intake into a Civic coupe or hatchback. The intake is the best bolt on aftermarket intake on the market, and it matches to the B18C1 motor beautifully, making plenty of HP. However once you remove this motor from its Integra home and drop it into a Civic, the intake no longer fits in the engine bay. There are clearance issues with the coolant reservior, as well as the front transmission motor mount. We also wanted to remove the lower bend from the AEM, as the angle of the bend is too tight, it's sure to be restricting flow to the motor. So we found an EG and an AEM, used a little imagination, and went to work.

Set Up

Since this modification will require cutting your AEM intake, don't do it if your not positive you want to permanently modify your AEM. We don't sell glue to put your intake back together. To complete this project, you will need a hacksaw, another pipe fitting and necessary hose clamps. Be sure to get the proper diameter to match your intake pipe. The GSR AEM is 2.75" piping. A drill will also be required for the intake mount/bushing relocation.

First, jack up the passenger side of the car. Remove the front bumper and passenger tire. Tear out any old intake system you might have. We want to open things up so we have a good working space. Be sure to have your mascot cat aroud to keep things going. Andy C's mangy cat does a wonderful job.

You'll want to unpack and lay out your AEM intake so you can find pieces as you need them. We removed and reinstalled ours for this article, so a few items are already installed in the pictures.

Modifications

You will also need to cut a 45 degree elbow out of the lower bend. This will allow the filter to curve foreword and clear the tire and mud guard. Cut the elbow so it has a 45 degree angle. We used the top half of the 90 degree bend. We found this to work best. This means you won't use the lower 1/2 of the bottom bend and a 2-2.5 inch piece between the mount bracket and lower elbow. These pictures show the scrap pieces, as well as the new elbow and which part of the AEM it came from:

Here you can see how the new elbow fits into the system. You can see how much milder the bend is when compared to the original design. Also note that we had to modify the length of the AEM mount bracket. We cut the length in half and redrilled the hole. This will allow it to use the original mount/bushing assembly that came with the intake.

Next, you will neet to re-route some wiring in the engine bay as it is in the way of our new intake routing. Simply move the ground unit (big white thing) up higher on the sidewall and pull the wiring up as well. Pull-ties work great for this. These pictures show you the stock location of the wires and the relocated paths (yellow boxes).

The final modification lies in the AEM intake mount/bushing. This piece came with the intake kit. It holds the AEM in place and allows it to flex with the movement of the engine. We need to drill a hole into the civic sheetmetal to install the mount. Use a large washer and self locking nut to secure it to the car.