Fenderwell intake (CAI) vs. stock airbox?

[2003SCT]

Curt, that would be a good first step. It would be some nice data. Dynamometer testing would be the way to see if it all is actually translating to power at the wheels though.

Aaron, that is cool that but if he did all the mods at the same time without steps in between, we will only see the cumulative power gain and not the individual mods. Again, I didn't see the test but I would be interested in it if anyone has it somewhere.

After working for the last 5 years in the automotive aftermarket industry, I don't believe much until I see 'repeatable and consistent' dyno testing. Otherwise, its just parts manufacturers and customers trying to convince themselves of conceptual gains and bad data.

CHRIS

[AaronGTR]

Originally Posted by 2003SCT

Curt, that would be a good first step. It would be some nice data. Dynamometer testing would be the way to see if it all is actually translating to power at the wheels though.

Aaron, that is cool that but if he did all the mods at the same time without steps in between, we will only see the cumulative power gain and not the individual mods. Again, I didn't see the test but I would be interested in it if anyone has it somewhere.

After working for the last 5 years in the automotive aftermarket industry, I don't believe much until I see 'repeatable and consistent' dyno testing. Otherwise, its just parts manufacturers and customers trying to convince themselves of conceptual gains and bad data.

CHRIS

Uh, duh. He did dyno it between every mod. I'll look through my stack of magazines later and see if I can find the article. Anyway, all of this is really pointless. I've seen dozens of GA's on the dyno and believe me, the CAI definitely makes power. There is no way it can't if you just consider the design of the stock air box.

[2003SCT]

Well thats good if the person did dynoruns between each mod. Many people don't do that and it always amazes me why if they actually want to KNOW where the gains come from. And no, it isn't pointless. Matt is asking an extremely relevant question and wanting 'evidence'. Very few people can point to actual 'evidence' on this application on a CAI alone. On my S10, which had a stock airbox(convoluted with a couple of helmholz resonators) I dynoed it and then installed the K&N FIPK intake and gained less than 1 HP. I love the sound and it looks very cool but as a gain mod, its not really worth it. It sure does "sound" faster though.

Speaking of mods that look cool but don't make gains, I would like to take a stock GA and add:

-MSD Coil packs
-MSD Spark Plug Wires
-Throttle Body Heat shield
-A Tornado
-A Grounding Kit

dyno it before and after and watch the mods do f**k all.


CHRIS

[AznGA]

From my own experience, if CAI is your only modification, the gain is close to none. I recently switched back to stock Ram Air and I really don't notice any decrease in performance. My car actually seems to have more torque and the acceleration is more responsive driving around town with the factory setup.

[curtpank]

in the spring, I will do the IAT and MAF analyses on GA's with each intake setup using the cars in our club. I think knowing what the air temp and flow differences are is central because we need to start by knowing if we are actually changing the air the engine is getting.

After that, we can relate those differences to dyno results (for example, we could say "if the air we get in is 13* warmer, the dyno gain seems to be...")

Like any research, it'll never be perfect. But I think we need more empirical data on whether/how intake air actually changes due to intake setup.

[Ajaxus]

Originally Posted by 2003SCT

Well thats good if the person did dynoruns between each mod. Many people don't do that and it always amazes me why if they actually want to KNOW where the gains come from. And no, it isn't pointless. Matt is asking an extremely relevant question and wanting 'evidence'. Very few people can point to actual 'evidence' on this application on a CAI alone. On my S10, which had a stock airbox(convoluted with a couple of helmholz resonators) I dynoed it and then installed the K&N FIPK intake and gained less than 1 HP. I love the sound and it looks very cool but as a gain mod, its not really worth it. It sure does "sound" faster though.

Speaking of mods that look cool but don't make gains, I would like to take a stock GA and add:

-MSD Coil packs
-MSD Spark Plug Wires
-Throttle Body Heat shield
-A Tornado
-A Grounding Kit

dyno it before and after and watch the mods do f**k all.


CHRIS

I have a tornado if you want one..

Found it in my bro's car when I installed his CAI a few years ago,

[2003SCT]

Lol. We had a guy do a test and found out all it did was impede air flow as opposed to increase it. I bet you though, that product has made someone very wealthy which is awesome and f*d up at the same time.


CHRIS

[silverbullet51]

I think you need more than just a CAI to see any real perfomance gains and better drag times.

I'm looking forward to that HARD DATA.

I'm no engineer, but even I can see that Tornado thing being restrictive.

[Shock24Z]

I think dynoing is expensive.

I'll let someone else spend 50$+ to tell me what I already know about CAI's.

[AaronGTR]

^I agree. I've seen enough dyno's myself to know they work. At least ten GA's with nothing but cat-back exhaust and CAI that dyno'd in the 165whp range. That's about a 26hp increase at the crank. I highly doubt a cat-back exhaust is worth 26hp by itself on an otherwise stock car.

[2003SCT]

My car made ~152 fwhp stock on two different Dynojet dynamometers. Instead of quoting what our cars make "at the crank"(which is just short of irrelevant because after people mod they dont pull their engines and retest on an engine dyno), you may want to quote the brand of dynamometer. I don't think my car would read the same on a Dynojet or Mustang or Superflow or Dyno Dynamics or Land and Sea etc.

As great of a forum as this is, empirical/consistent testing is truly negligible here.


Chris

[SpyhunteR]

Originally Posted by 2003SCT

My car made ~152 fwhp stock on two different Dynojet dynamometers. Instead of quoting what our cars make "at the crank"(which is just short of irrelevant because after people mod they dont pull their engines and retest on an engine dyno), you may want to quote the brand of dynamometer. I don't think my car would read the same on a Dynojet or Mustang or Superflow or Dyno Dynamics or Land and Sea etc.

As great of a forum as this is, empirical/consistent testing is truly negligible here.


Chris

my car made 139fwhp at Silver State w/ Intake, catback, and "lightweight" alternator pulley.. .