ARC Induction box x renegade titanium arm
Author: Kai Her - Nov. 23rd, 2023
Let’s just take a minute and reminisce about how automotive content has evolved over the last few decades. Magazines were once an extremely viable, sought out, and dependable resource to acquire flashy new automotive products. To add, the featured vehicles really set the standards on what it takes and means to be a part of JDM culture. It was pleasant to see how much value and time were administered from enthusiasts indulging themselves into such content. Let’s not forget about the beautiful models that posed next to the featured vehicles as well. I believe what was absorbed from the magazines had really paved the way on how the car culture is seen today across the globe.
Once the internet became more easily accessible to society, the “RISE” of forums really took off! It was nice to build a community across countries as people share their experiences and knowledge about automotive content. Furthermore, it become a lot easier for new and old enthusiasts to research and look up content online because of the thousands upon thousands of users that get on each day! Abbreviations and acronyms were made up (TTT, Bump) and the forum took up a new life of its own. You’ll eventually figure out whose new or old to the forum. Cyber bullying and being called out on the forum made an appearance, so being diligent what you asked or inquire for on the forums because it can either start up a fire or surprisingly become information that is helpful to someone else who may be in the same shoes as you. I know immensely well because I have my fair share in my olden days of being on forums. Aside from the pros and cons, it really set up a new wave of automotive builders and enthusiasts to be connected around the world.
Now there’s almost too much information online as you can easily access and share content via social media platforms and everything is just so much easier to obtain. Let’s not forget about how easier it was to purchase parts, right? I remember overhearing the older guys talking about how difficult it was to order parts decades ago. You’ll have to drop by an aftermarket vendor or carrier and place your orders and it’ll take forever to get it. However, all of that has altered for the good, and now anyone can easily access and purchase parts via mobile smart devices. So convenient that even kids can do it! Some incidences where you can easily blame your kid to your partner about mistakenly ordering parts you have intentionally ordered! LOL!
Anyway, I guess what I am trying to say that aside from all that has transpired and being a part of that automotive resource adaptation and advancement, you learn so much! Learning so much that you can easily recognize a car part by heart just looking at it! You get to see fresh newly products produced by big aftermarket companies, automotive reputation, and sadly, parts and companies that goes bankrupt and their products discontinued. Quite upsetting, actually. Especially when the part becomes extremely rare and difficult to find. AND when you eventually do find, whether used or new, it costs much more than when it was produced years ago. But I guess that’s just how the economy works!
The ARC company went out of business (correct me if I’m wrong) and till this day, if you find a used ARC product online, it’ll fetch you a pretty penny to get your hands on it. Luckily, the ARC Induction Box I will be giving an “Xplicit” review on in this series was sold to me by my brother Kong (Kongo_NSX) He was saving it for a S2000 build in the far future. However, after seeing how much I have progressed with my build and knowing he couldn’t keep up (I’m joking), he has decided to help me out and sell me the box!
Let’s get to it, shall we!
Right off the bat, a used mint condition ARC box goes for about a bit over $1,000. I’ve seen it as low as $800. The box Kong sold to me was in decent condition, so I remembered purchasing it off from him for $1,100.
Here is a view of the box with the famous red foam centralized in the middle. The ARC logo is lightly printed or sprayed onto the foam to give that crisp look! Everything else that surrounds the bay compliments the box very. The KOYO radiator, Spoon accessories, Cusco cooling plate, the Renegade titanium arm (which I will dive into more later), and miscellaneous burnt titanium hardware. Can you also spy the Honda M&M engine torque damper just right behind in the the “bright light purple.” It will be another JDM product to do an Xplicit review on in the future.
Just in case if you didn’t know, the box does angle downward just a bit! It rises from the rear of the box (closet to the valve cover) and as it strides towards the front, it travels down almost perpendicular to the cooling plate. You would think that the hood will come into contact with the box when closed, however, there’s plenty of space and wiggle room that will allow breathing room between the box and bottom part of the hood. I would also like to point out at this time, and not pictured here, the box was well fabricated that each of the brackets will just mount onto any preexisting 10mm hole inside the engine bay. Take off the old brackets from the stock box, replace it with the ARC brackets and try not to break your back. It’s actually quite easy to put on and take off. The box utilizes three different brackets that keeps the box secure and in place.
Another cool feature specifically about the S2000 ARC Induction box is the two separate filters it comes with. The common one you see on top, and another on the side. This feature varies from chassis’. I have seen a few boxes with just one filter and then like the S2000, a few with two separate filters. You may think that with the two excessively huge filters, the ARC box will bring a noticeable power band gain when bolted to the throttle bottle of the F22. However, like what you have heard and my own personal experience, the ARC box is notorious for losing horse power. Comparing it to the various intakes I have throughout my ownership of the S2000, the Password JDM: Power Chamber comes first and is most distinguishable, the stock box and Schmuck Built titanium short arm are equivalent, then the ARC box is placed last. BUT I don’t give a two sh!t about horse power since it is not something I seek for in this build. So I’ll run this set up until the day I decide to get a turbo or supercharger kit.
You can see how much room the box still has when it is securely mounted onto the engine bay of the S2000. Observe more closely, and you can see a bracket that is held by a 10 mm bolt. This is the secret to how you ARC was able to tilt the box towards the radiator support of the S2000. The bracket not only holds the box down tightly, but it also allows the box to dip to provide more clearance from beneath the hood and it coming into contact with each other.
The box is fairly easy to disassemble for cleaning and polishing purposes. It is held by 15 allen wrench bolts. Loosen them and the filters will just pop right off and you can easily remove the filter separately from the box to clean the inside of the box or separately polishing out the box in pieces for that final touch! I didn’t get a chance to weigh the box, however, it is as light as a feather compared to the huge stock box! Check out the welds on the box! They just look so good and it’s been holding up so well after all these years!
I just love how the ARC sticker is still intact onto the box. It really does bring out the authenticity of the product. From here, you can easily spot how the Renegade titanium arm stretches to meet the box. Renegade has my upmost respect in fabricating a titanium arm specifically to modernize the appearance of the engine bay whilst still being able to utilize an old ARC product that has been discontinued many years ago!
Details are everything! You can easily see how much detail a simple decal or sticker brings. I guess a comparable reference would be to a pair of shoes. A shoe will just be another pair, however, if there is a Nike logo embroidered or printed onto the shoe, the price and authenticity is there; like this piece of metal, without the ARC label on it, it’s just a regular piece of aluminum. However, the ARC sticker really calls out the genuineness of product itself.
Take a quick second and read what ARC has to say about their product: “contribute to environment.” What does that mean to you? In my opinion, was it a product to help lower green house gas emissions and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere? Who knows? An induction box that does not only look good inside an engine bay, but also serves a friendly environmental purpose as well, that’s pretty badass to me!
Finally, we can discuss about the Renegade titanium arm! You can effortlessly see how nice and subtle it looks attached to the ARC box. The arm comfortably hooks up to the throttle body and then bends to a 90 degree angle to meet the box at the side. What was needed was just an extra coupler. Nothing hard to find in your own garage if you have been switching out parts from time to time.
You can see how much presence the ARC box gives inside the engine bay. This angle demonstrates just how much space it takes when peeking from behind the top side of the hood. The shiny box paired with the bright red filters just edifies the engine bay very well. It’s just a pleasurable sight to see! It looks like a champ and fits like a champ!
You can see more of the welds of the box from this angle as well as the amazing fabrication Renegade put into their titanium arm.
Check out the amazing craftsmanship on the arm. The weld, precision, and and professional work is truly mesmerizing to stare at. Like mentioned before, it really speaks forth the modernization and theme we see in today’s car culture.
The arm costs approximately $450 dollars. It comes with a coupler and was professionally and neatly packaged. Upon arrival, it was nicely bubble wrapped and protected just in case lazy delivery workers starts throwing packages around like what we see in your Ring apps. The arm measures 3 inches in diameter and it is not only compatible to the ARC box, but almost not limited to the stock air box (if you don’t want to run the old and worn out plastic/rubber arm), and the Mugen carbon fiber snorkel!
Times like this, I’m truly grateful for companies like Renegade that really commits and dedicate their products to the S2000 community! You guys are the MVP!
Here is a wider view of how the ARC box and Renegade arm looks like with the rest of the accessories and parts I have inside the bay. It’s not overly done, and still speaks volume! Accompanied by many Spoon Sports products, a Cusco cooling plate and catch can, alongside the M&M Honda engine torque damper just gives the right contrast to the whole bay! The titanium hardware and Spoon Sport inspired valve cover just adds the flare to another level.
Here’s something I forgot the mention. The metal piece that is right in front of the ARC box and hovering over the radiator is detachable. It is held on by three allen wrench bolts. I think it’s useful to have the option to do that because depending on which radiator you want to use in the future with the ARC box combo, it might just not work. So take that with a grain of salt and be advise that just because the ARC box doubtlessly fits over the KOYO radiator, it may not be the same with different aftermarket aluminum radiators.
Take a look on how rad it looks like from under the First Molding hood. The vents in the middle teases you as you can easily see the bright red ARC foam filter and the Renegade titanium arm from underneath the hood! It looks delightful to see it right under the vent!
The only downfall to this amazing feature is that I can’t drive the S2000 in the rain (which I don’t ever, anyway). The exposed filter foam will probably suck up all the water and prevent any rain to the throttle body, but I can imagine how much more difficult it will be for the intake to suck in air when it’s drenched and soaked with rain water. Better not to find out than test my theory and risk water entering the motor.
Well, that wraps up this Xplicit blog series about the ARC Induction Box and the Renegade Titanium Arm. It’s about 4 am here in Pacific Standard Time and I’m tired as hell. If you haven’t subscribed or sign up to get updates and be in tune. My goal is to promote automotive transparency as I write and inform viewers about what I experienced with the JDM products I have acquired.
Like the “prehistoric” magazine and forum age, I hope the blogs will serve the same purpose and offer you better insight of various parts to help guide you in your build!
Thank you!
