Racer X Intake manifold design, development, and results

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by captain awesome

Adding this to the original post from the dyno, but our method of testing was as follows:




I ran 4 pulls and shut the car down to heat soak. 4 more pulls and this is the best run out of the 8. All were consistent in power however.



I then swapped back to the stock intake while still strapped to the dyno, flashed the tune, and proceeded to run 8 more pulls just like we did with the Racer X. We tried to remove as many variables as possible.

Sounds like you covered the basis much better than anyone else has done. Good job.

Just to clarify / cliff notes.

8 runs with racer X manifold, best run chosen, all basically the same?

8 runs with stock manifold, what run was chosen, best? All basically same?

All runs done same day / car / dyno.

What tune was used for each?
Did racer X have a custom tune to optimize that?
Did oem have a custom tune to optimize that?

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by 86TOYO2k17

Sounds like you covered the basis much better than anyone else has done. Good job.

Just to clarify / cliff notes.

8 runs with racer X manifold, best run chosen, all basically the same?

8 runs with stock manifold, what run was chosen, best? All basically same?

All runs done same day / car / dyno.

What tune was used for each?
Did racer X have a custom tune to optimize that?
Did oem have a custom tune to optimize that?

Correct on all runs basically within 1hp of each other with the last 3 runs of each set typically the highest. We chose the best runs of each to keep it possible to read when plotted.



Same car, same dyno, same day.



We never unstrapped the car. Installation was done within a 45 minute window between runs.



First runs were with the Racer X since it was already installed and tuned.



Stock tune was done by Tommaso and has been used with my car for about a year or more now. He tweaked the tune for the Racer X after install, so both tunes were "optimized" for each intake. No off the shelf tunes were used.



I will say there may be some opportunities to tune through dyno logs, but I don't have the funds to continue on in hopes to cover the gap. The curve looks pretty similar to what Racer X posted with less anomalies so it's probably safe to say there isn't much low hanging fruit for a tuner to get.


In total I probably have about $1200 in parts, tuning, and dyno time. It was a gamble I thought worth taking at the time, granted I was a bit buzzed and black friday got the best of me.

[tomm.brz]

seems a bit like what those powerblocks for stock intake manifold would do, moving torque curve down
Maybe they also act mild with ethanol, like powerblocks do.. gains are better when using only petrol probably

Unluckily this manifold chockes A LOT the engine at high rpm, the power loss after 6400 is really because they make the engine so inefficient at high rpm and ruin the volumetric efficiency
From logs there was at least a 15% loss of airflow

[86TOYO2k17]

Originally Posted by captain awesome

Correct on all runs basically within 1hp of each other with the last 3 runs of each set typically the highest. We chose the best runs of each to keep it possible to read when plotted.

In total I probably have about $1200 in parts, tuning, and dyno time. It was a gamble I thought worth taking at the time, granted I was a bit buzzed and black friday got the best of me.

Sounds like the most ideal testing scenario one could ask for. Thanks for sharing.

Lol it happens. At least maybe now we can all put a pin in the manifold debate. Stock is already optimized. Racer x looks to have given it the best effort I’ve seen as of yet to develop something. And they pretty much ended up with a stock intake with built in billet blocks.

[Lantanafrs2]

Powerblocks give better results

[captain awesome]

So it looks like there may be some silver lining with the Racer X intake for my purposes. The TT class I am competing in this year has a standard HP/weight ratio. I am too high on power to be competitive with the e85 on stock intake at 195 without a ton of aero and sticky r7/a7 tires. I'm not ready to commit to a full race car yet, so I need to be around 185 to be in an ideal spot.



Yesterday I went back to the dyno to run 91 octane on the stock intake which would put close where I need to be. I ended up around 180hp with some slight potential to lean out further and possibly gain a little more power. This is a good safe spot to be for my class, but I decided to have an overlay of the RacerX with e85 vs the stock intake on 91. I'm glad I did, as there is a lot to be gained under the curve and still keep my max HP within class range.



Below you can see there are considerable gains in areas that will be very beneficial for my classing. I know it's not a fair comparison for most scenarios, but it's perfect for my purposes. I may go back after re-installing the RacerX to dyno test on 91. Best to not hold your breath on that, as it will be a while before I'm able to.



stock 91 vs racer x dyno_1 by hatchethairy, on Flickr

[tomm.brz]

glad you found a purpose for it

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by tomm.brz

glad you found a purpose for it

You and me both!

[NoHaveMSG]

Out of curiosity, have you shared any of this with RacerX ?

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Out of curiosity, have you shared any of this with RacerX ?

I have not. I imagine they have possibly seen the results I originally posted and decided it's best to stay quiet. That's just a guess though.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by captain awesome

I have not. I imagine they have possibly seen the results I originally posted and decided it's best to stay quiet. That's just a guess though.

They may not have seen it, I notice their forum and social media presence is only when they want to post something. I have emailed and commented on the FB posts about an issue with their toe arms for our cars, no response.

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

They may not have seen it, I notice their forum and social media presence is only when they want to post something. I have emailed and commented on the FB posts about an issue with their toe arms for our cars, no response.

You are probably right on that. If I get around to a 91 test on the RX intake I'll have all the data to give them a fair shake. It's possible I have just bought a really expensive "power blocks" intake, but it does reduce leak points in some regard. The RX intake also keeps stock location for injectors, so there may be some benefit to that as well.

Curious what issues you had with the toe arms.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by captain awesome

Curious what issues you had with the toe arms.

Can't get zero toe with over -2 camber in the rear. They won't adjust down short enough, they hold a little bit of toe out sucked all the way in.

[captain awesome]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Can't get zero toe with over -2 camber in the rear. They won't adjust down short enough, they hold a little bit of toe out sucked all the way in.

That's no bueno. I'm probably going with SPC arms with lockouts as I've recently read of Whiteline failures on the early production parts. Makes me paranoid about one snapping now.