gurus please help! street/racecar coolant hose routing!

ASSISTANCE Hybrids & Advanced Aftermarket Engine Performance
1

Im trying to finish the install of my skunk2 intake on the new b20b motor. all i have left is the coolant hoses. this link shows a picture of a stock 92 ls integra cooling system setup…
http://www.acuraparts247.com/sunnyside/jsp/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=INTEGRA&catcgry2=1992&catcgry3=3DR+GS&catcgry4=KA5MT&catcgry5=WATER+HOSE+(1)&ListAll=All&vinsrch=no
notice how hose #9 goes from the passenger side of the head to the tb inlet. now here is a pic of a 2000 itr setup…
http://www.acuraparts247.com/sunnyside/jsp/prddisplay.jsp?inputstate=5&catcgry1=INTEGRA&catcgry2=2000&catcgry3=3DR+TYPE+R&catcgry4=KA5MT&catcgry5=WATER+HOSE+(4)&ListAll=All&vinsrch=no
notice how hose #11 goes to the same inlet on the tb, but into the small hose on the intake manifold. the port on the side of the head doesnt appear to exist on the vtec head ( i dont have one so im not sure). it seems as if these two ports serve the same purpose. i believe they are “fluid feed” ports and after the coolant makes its way though the tb and iacv, it goes back into that long tubular manifold in the back, which im assuming is a “fluid return” port. the way i currently have it run is more like the integra ls setup. however, the hose that would be #11 in the itr diagram, the small one coming off the intake is completey neglected, and would spill coolant everywhere. what is the proper way to solve this problem? where do i connect this hose? the two solutions i have found are as follows, (and i am open to more)…

  1. install a T coupler inbetween the LS #9 hose and the ITR #11 hose and have them both feed to the tb. it seems the two ports do the same thing (feed into tb) so i dont see how that should be a major problem. does anyone see any legitimate cooling issues arising from this? the only thing i can see is now i have two “fluid feed” ports moving coolant through the same diameter hoses into a T, which then becomes a slight restriction as the hose going to the tb is the same size, trying to move double the volume of coolant. i will be boosting and using spray and do not want hot spots. im affraid the hot coolant might back up and stay in the head and not circulate properly (around #3 cyl). this is a concern for me. im not sure if it is legitimate though.
  2. run the hose from the tb like the ITR #11 hose and straight to the little hose on the intake manifold. this would leave the passenger side head port open. ive done much research and some have said that you can just cap it off and have no problems. this method would eliminate the potential T-restriction described above, assuming its legitimate, but at the same time could potentially cause a hot spot on the #4 cylinder if coolant need be evacuated from that port and its now blocked off. if i can cap it off problem free and use it for a coolant feed to turbo some day that would be great, but i need to know if it is ok.

so g2ic gurus i ask you to help me decide which method is best: the T, or the Cap-Off.

2

i can tell u this man, doing a T wont hurt at all.

3

thats excellent news. i have purchased a hard plastic T that should fit fine. i am prepared to go this route but i want to know if there is, at the very least, another, possibly better way to do it before i take action. i want to know some real world pros and cons to either setup. somebody has to have experiece with this. how many skunk2 intake/nonvtec guys do we have? i relentlessly search the threads on many boards and have not yet come across the exact information i need. a few years back, when i installed this intake and never did the hose work, i found a website with nice colored diagrams of the four different ways to setup honda cooling systems, street to race. does anyone remember these or have these saved somewhere? if so please post them or post a link to them.

so far the way its looking is that im going to run the tb hose straight into the T and straight out to the intake manifold like the itr, then run the coolant port on the side of the head into the perpendicular port on the T. i think this will be the cleanest looking setup, but im still a little curious if it will work right. any input anyone?

4

nobody knows this? u mean really, no one has a ls with a skunk2 intake manifold? no one has capped off the port by the head? someone has to have tried some of these methods… chime in!!!

5

well i T’d the hose and its still leaking from the same spot. what did skunk2 actually intend for the smaller hose outlet on the intake manifold to be for other than a pain in the ass? does anyone functionally use this? ANYONE???