Quote:
Originally Posted by re-animator
i'm thinking about replacing the OEM intake for mainly auditory reasons, but wouldn't mind a little extra throttle response and giddyup. i have been searching the threads and looking at dyno shootouts like the dsports one and i'm at a little bit of a loss:
1. The first way to dyno compare is to look at manufacturer dynos which is silly because there we can't make direct comparisons (i.e. no controls for the type of dyno, the car, the temp, etc. its not apples to apples)
2. the second way is a dyno shootout (like the dyno thread and the dsports shootout). in these shootouts the dyno runs are done in rapid succession after installs and the ECU has no time to recalibrate for the intake to run optimally for A/F ratio, etc. this is a big deal since many intakes "achieve" extra power pretty much from just moving the MAF sensor.
3. 99% of dynoing is not done in a wind tunnel and instead we have an open hood and a fan. that maybe works for testing headers and exhaust or turbos but the whole point of a good intake is to maximize airflow when the car is actually moving and the hood is down. when the hood is up for example we have no idea how the intake manages heat, and even with the hood down the fans aren't going to accurately reflect the air that goes in while driving. The gains observed from an intake dyno, unless extreme, are probably just as unreliable as the dreaded "butt dyno." The one exception i can think of is a true CAI like the perrin.
i guess that means reviews are important since its not like manufacturers and magazines are going to drag their cars and see if there is a discernible difference in acceleration. i guarantee the high end manufacturers and OEMs (TRD, HKS, Toms, etc.) are doing a lot of testing that is not dyno-based for these.
just thinking about these things as i shop intake options. i originally had an airaid intake on there from the previous owner and it sounded great, but the dynos showed that it lost a lot of power. now in this case i don't doubt that it lost power (though probably not the mentioned 16whp from the dynos here). the gospel here is to just use a drop-in filter and an intake tube, but i wouldn't be surprised if designs with a larger box for example are actually producing more power. After all Toyota themselves went with a much larger intake box on the TRD version (i.e. dramatically greater surface area for the filter and less piping to the intake manifold). Maybe there is something to that.
Now in my intake search I am mostly looking for quicker throttle response and a deeper, louder intake sound with the sound tube deleted. I'm starting to think that there are some intakes that may be worth the money as opposed to just going with the drop in filter. Thoughts?
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All fair points, but assuming the rest of the car is stock it's a total waste of money and does nothing for sound or power.
Did mine and did jack all... with other mods (you mention the trd car) then probably, but on a stock car. Personally wouldn't bother only doing a CAI.