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and i've received several PM's about how i did my install so here it is again. keep in mind all this is in layman's terms, since well ... i'm a layman. before i owned my S, i could count on one finger how often i had changed the oil in a car i owned. so here goes.
pic of the final result:
believe it or not, this is one of the easier installs i've done. it took about 3 hours total, and my friend and i were taking our time to make sure we did it right. this especially applied to the cutting on the console. i did have a spare console just in case things went south.
and special thanks to my lovely assistant marty for his help with this install. the man's a life saver. and to the misses as well. props to her and her help with installing the brackets to finally get the thing to stay in place!
tools
soldering iron -- you figure it out
solder wire stuff -- that fancy stuff you melt on to do your thing
electrical tape -- tape up your stuff after the solder and to tape your screwdrivers up when taking out trimming
shrink wrap -- another solder insulation option
VAFC harness -- not necessary but makes it soooo much easier
dremel tool -- to cut the console
scriber tool -- to outline for the cut (pic below)
lock tite, blue -- if you're a fellow voodoo knob owner like me
high grit sandpaper -- to clean up your cuts afterward
various screwdrivers -- interior trim removal and such
2 hinges -- to hold your VAFC in place
2 self tapping screws -- to hold your hinges in place
lopsided drill -- to drill in your screws (pic below)
zip ties -- to zip up your wires to keep them out of the way
a dictionary filled with cuss words since you'll be using your share of them
here's your scriber tool. we had one on hand, but you could replace this with something as simple as a razor:
and here's a pic of the drill. fortunately, my grandfather had one on hand cuz i'd never seen one like this until then:
Installion steps
here's the quick down and dirty of how to get the job done. i'll hit on some specific afterward.
- paint your VAFC face black (if you so prefer) to match your center console. you should let it dry for at least 48 hours before you go to the next step. you may also put this off til after you've finish as to not chip your paintjob during the install.
- take off your shift knob and remove your center console completely.
- take off your radio door panel trimming.
- take out the foam padding around your gear shifter for easier access.
- on a work bench, solder your harness into the VAFC wiring. this is easy stuff since all the wires to tap into on your harness match the color of your VAFC wires (one exception applies for comptech ESM owners -- more below).
- unplug your ECU plugs and replace them with the harness plugs.
- plug your ECU plugs into the bottom of the harness.
- unscrew the screws holding in your radio and pull it out (don't disconnect it. you just need it out of the way).
- take your VAFC wires and feed them by your emergency break, to the right side of the shifter and back behind the radio and connect it into your VAFC wiring (pic below)
- find your VAFC directions and follow the steps to set it up.
- fire up the car and make sure all is well and working properly.
- go find your center console, remove the coin holder (i think it's just held in by one screw).
- pull out the dremel, outline the area with a scriber, and get to cutting. you'll have to cut out the coin holder assembly and about a 1" x 1" area behind the emerency brake.
- place your VAFC in the center console and ensure your fit.
- use the sandpaper to clean it up a bit.
- place your center console back on and figure out where your screws need to go to hold up your VAFC.
- screw them in and then adjust your height as necessary. notice how i took the bottom off the brackets so i didn't have to take the screws all the way out.
- zip tie up all your wires out of the way and out of sight under your steering column and such.
- admire your work cuz you're done. WOO HOO!!
Installation Pictures
here's a pic of how i got my wires up to the ECU
a pic of the harness actually in the computer:
a pic of uncut console (for reference for the below):
a pic of the dash cut for the VAFC:
a pic of the brackets and how i installed them. notice the bottom cut off for easy installation. and note how i can easily adjust it up or down as necessary:
pic of painted VAFC face (lil greasy from my arm lying on it when i drive ):
Frequently Asked Questions
why the VAFC1 instead of VAFC2 or a full ECU upgrade?
honestly, cuz the VAFC1 just looked cool installed there. sad, ain't it? much more gains by a AEM unit (and also more costly), but oh well. and the VAFC2 ... i wasn't sure if it would fit in that center console area so VAFC1 it was.
what paint did you use to color your face? and how did you paint just the face?
here's what i used:
primed it, then put two coats of the black paint. i also chipped a corner of it when i was fitting it during our cutting process. to fix that, i used a tooth pick, painted it, and before it dried, use the tooth pick as a paint brush to fill in that nick.
to remove the face, it's easy enough. just unscrew everything on the back of it, and go to town.
how do you take off the center console?
came off quite easily. just start at the back where the perforated padded part is, unpop it with your hands and move your way up. just make sure you've already taken off your shift knob first.
how about the radio door trimming?
just as easy. open your radio door to about 45 degree, then tug on it til the bottom pops out. then, using a screw driver wrapped in electrical tape, pry out the top parts til they unsnap. plan to scare the piss out of yourself cuz you're going to think you'll rip the radio door off before it unsnaps, if you've never done this before.
will i still be able to use my cup holder?
you must make sacrifices to be as cool as me. so, no. no more cupholder. you can remove your VAFC, then open your cup holder. i personally keep mine in the closed position.
instead of running it right under the radio, why not run it under the trimming behind your back and then to the ECU?
that was my first option since i've ran a lot of wires back there for one reason or another. problem is ... you're about 2" short of wire.
i'm a paranoid bastard like you. how's that wiring go again?
see the purple wire on the harness? match it to the purple wire on your VAFC gear. see the red wire on the harness? ...get it? got it. good.
and for the comptech ESM deal. here's the pic that i stole from someone else on the boards, but i don't remember who it was. it'll be just like this:
you'll be able to do all the soldering, minus the one above, on a work bench. be careful not to light your floor mats on fire for that last bit though.
i'm too cheap to buy a harness. what do i do?
until i started doing my install, i didn't realize the beauty of the thing. there's no splicing wires, working under the dash, or guesswork into which wire you should cut into. on top of that, if you wanna go back to stock, it's as simple as unplugging the harness and taking out the VAFC. do it already! feed the kids raman and dry bread for a week to make up the cash! but do it!!
but what about my dead pedal? won't i lose it with that bulky harness?
did you just see the pic of how busy that area is in my car? i have my harness, alarm wires, my V1 hard wired, power for my aftercooler, power for my yellow box, my gauges ... umm ... and probably a dead mouse back there for good measure too, and i'm still using my dead pedal. i think you'll be alright.
i'm real paranoid about screwing up my center console. help!
as was i. the important part is to take your time. it's better to cut too little than too much. if you didn't cut enough, either go back at it with the dremel or use sandpaper to make it a bit bigger. but look at the pic of my center console. it certainly isn't perfect, but with the VAFC in place, you don't notice some of the smaller marrings.
besides the hinges, how else can i mount the VAFC?
the million dollar question. i've heard a xenadrine bottle is just the right size. seriously. i'm sure there's a 1,000 different ways. play with it, and you might come up with something. one problem i did have is that the emergency brake trimming likes to catch in the groove of the VAFC and move it down. before i used the brackets like i did, that's usually how the sucker came loose and fell in my hole.
if you have any questions, feel free to post them. i'll update the thread with the info if need be.
The only thing that worried me about going this route instead of really stepping up to the radio door, is going back to stock. I really see no way of reversing the process, aside from purchasing a new center console, and they are as much as the doors right?
Not a bad deal. Out of curiosity, how low do you have VTEC set? I read on the Hondata page that a big difference inbetween it and a VAFC concerning VTEC was that a VAFC only changes the the VTEC fuel map, and not the ignition map. Does that have any effect on performance?
Also, is it easy to drop the VTEC engagement point on the fly? Or do you really need a dyno?
actuallyy, i haven't touched it yet. i don't plan to until i head out to cali to visit ultimate lurker since he's the man when it comes to tuning.
so, everything in the VAFC is on its defaults. on changing on the fly ... i wouldn't do it. it's easy to really do some damage to the car if you don't know what you're doing so i'll leave it to the experts to set up and i'll leave it be.
03-16-2004, 12:01 PM
