AIRAID FR-S / BRZ Cold Air Intake system Sneak Peak / Development Information

[chulooz]

Thanks for getting involved! I hope there will be more technical data posted soon; intake replacement on low HP subarus are usually only for sound benefits.

[Keith@AIRAID]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

Thats Rotomolded plastic, absorbs less heat and is also more costly to make than "metal tube". Sounds good and looks clean- won't corrode either.

Rotomolding also allows the designer to make complex shapes that you can't do with off the shelf materials. It does require some up front costs to make the molds, but it's well worth it to get parts that fit like a glove and look like they belong in the engine bay.

[mechaghost]

This is awesome! I will definitely keep an eye out for you guys!

[Extreme86]

Originally Posted by Keith@AIRAID

Rotomolding also allows the designer to make complex shapes that you can't do with off the shelf materials. It does require some up front costs to make the molds, but it's well worth it to get parts that fit like a glove and look like they belong in the engine bay.

...and they do just that, plain and simple. Love the Airaid system in my full size GM p/u. Confident the Airaid BRZ intake will be the one I will get!

[lordtakuban]

Originally Posted by Esoteric

...
I have "Arm envy"....
Not many of you guys might know about that Romer arm they are using, but that things is so seriously baller you can't believe.
The one we have is less than half that size and we have to rent the use of one that big. Using a 3D digitizer like that is on par with the tools of OEMs and Hollywood.

This is no joke. When I saw the picture I almost thought it HAD to be something else. Definitely a high quality design from the start. Can't wait to see the final product.

Good luck with the development.

[Keith@AIRAID]

Okay, we FINALLY sent tooling files out today to get the molds made. I'm guessing about 8 weeks to machine the tooling, then we need to approve the parts and release them for production. For now here is a preliminary dyno chart just to show that we are making power and that the AFR is in line. The solid line is stock and the dashed line is our prototype. We should be good for 5-7 hp and 3-4 ft/lbs with the production parts.

[Draco-REX]

Looks good.

[Keith@AIRAID]

Here is the prototype off our 3D printer installed on Matt's car. This is very close to what the production parts will look like. It uses an enclosed airbox and draws air from the stock location.



And here it is on the flowbench. We decided to make the airbox mate to the factory inlet in case people did not want to take their bumper apart to remove it.



To get the most airflow I recommend removing the factory inlet to let the box breathe from the space behind the bumper. It is possible to unbolt the top edge of the bumper and sneak the inlet out very carefully. We designed in a nice smooth velocity stack where it mates to the inlet which netted a couple more hp. By adding the velocity stack and removing the factory inlet, the CFM increased by 20% on the flowbench. I also stuck my hand in through the opening where the airbox breathes from and it is noticably cooler inside the bumper, so we know it is a great source for fresh, cool air.

[baldolera]

Originally Posted by Keith@AIRAID

Here is the prototype off our 3D printer installed on Matt's car. This is very close to what the production parts will look like. It uses an enclosed airbox and draws air from the stock location.

That looks pretty good, kudos to you guys!

[Cudgel]

Very nice! I will keep this one in mind.

[ATL BRZ]

I appreciate the development and hard work going into this intake and I don't doubt its functionality at all, but damn that's a BIG airbox! I'm sure the final design will look cleaner with paint and branding

[Cheddar]

This is what I wanted someone to come up with when creating a intake for this car.

I don't want a tube that sits in front of the wheel!

I want a air box that keeps engine heat out and lets the cool air in.

[Keith@AIRAID]

Originally Posted by Cheddar

This is what I wanted someone to come up with when creating a intake for this car.

I don't want a tube that sits in front of the wheel!

I want a air box that keeps engine heat out and lets the cool air in.

You get it.

[civicdrivr]

Were the dyno runs done with or without the stock "snorkel"?

Is the velocity stack built into the airbox, or is it an add on part?

So far, this looks like the intake Im going with. Im not a fan of metal intakes since they absorb heat. I love the Iceman intake on my '88 Civic, and it was a similar material to yours.

[Keith@AIRAID]

Here's an early prototype without the lid so you can see the filter. It has a 120mm (4 3/4") opening and attaches to the MAF housing. This is a new filter that we tooled up for specifically for the FR-S. I wanted to fit the biggest filter possible so it required an odd size.



We effectively split the intake tube and moved part of it inside the airbox due to packaging constraints. I've never seen an intake that does that, but it looks pretty cool and it works well. Also note that since the part is rotomolded we were able to hit a very specific diameter at the MAF sensor to dial in the calibration. No tune required!



This is why I recommend removing the stock inlet. It more than doubles the size of the opening the intake is drawing air from.



If you leave the inlet in, this is what the cross section looks like. Not bad, but it could be better.

[Keith@AIRAID]

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

Were the dyno runs done with or without the stock "snorkel"?

We did both, but the chart I posted is stock with the snorkel VS Airaid without snorkel. That was the ideal configuration.

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

Is the velocity stack built into the airbox, or is it an add on part?

It is built in, it looks added on in the picture because it was an on-the-fly revision to the prototype.

Originally Posted by civicdrivr

So far, this looks like the intake Im going with. Im not a fan of metal intakes since they absorb heat. I love the Iceman intake on my '88 Civic, and it was a similar material to yours.

I believe Iceman intakes were also rotomolded, which would use the same Crosslinked Polyethelene that we use.

[uspspro]

Did you guys think about making a better designed inlet to compliment your system? That way you still get fresher air (like stock) but with better flow.

[ATL BRZ]

Very cool! Thanks for explaining the big design!

[Keith@AIRAID]

Originally Posted by uspspro

Did you guys think about making a better designed inlet to compliment your system? That way you still get fresher air (like stock) but with better flow.

We are getting air from the front bumper just like stock, so there is no need to add an inlet because it's all the same air. The factory inlet only exists to house the Helmholtz resonators that control noise.

[mattles]

just a quick check-in, still running the latest prototype, sound tube delete, OEM front bumper 'snorkel' removed -- and I still love it.

[uspspro]

Originally Posted by Keith@AIRAID

We are getting air from the front bumper just like stock, so there is no need to add an inlet because it's all the same air. The factory inlet only exists to house the Helmholtz resonators that control noise.

I see, so it's still sealed to the oval shaped hole above the radiator. Makes sense.

I misunderstood when you said "no inlet," thinking it was left totally open to the engine bay.

[Max Schnell]

Why not a plastic lid? After all that effort to keep temperature down using polyethylene it seems a shame to add a metal lid to soak and radiate heat down into the box.

BTW this is the best designed intake for this car I've seen so far. Sealed systems with all the filter surface area and flow of a cone system is the best combination.