Just recently purchased a K & N Typhoon short ram intake for my 05' STi. Is it a good idea to upgrade your intake before exhaust? I was wondering if this would cause issues with more air coming in then the engine can put out. Help a newbie out. -Shewb
As long as it doesn't change the diameter of the tubing where the MAF sits I doubt it'll be a problem. That said, I don't think you'll see any gains from it.
moose is right..it wont hurt anything as long as the piping is the same diameter and other than a cool sound you will not notice any significant power increase. turbo charged cars are different than natural aspirated cars. you want to start with the exhaust first to unleash some power. a nice downpipe or turboback will give you a noticeable difference..lets us know if you have any other questions
Is that because you see bigger gains from cold air? I've heard some conflicting opinions on short ram intakes. Some say it helps because it moves more air, others say it hurts because your pulling hot air from the engine compartment.
i believe it hurts more than helps... since its picking up hot engine air... not too bad if u have a FMIC
I've always wondered why a CAI works better since the air is being cooled by the intercooler anyways. The intake really wont make much more power until you're tuned but it will sound good.
The stock air intake system isn't particularly inefficient to begin with, so you're not going to see any real gains from an aftermarket one. As for pulling hot air, I doubt it'll make a big difference considering the engine pulls hundreds of cubic feet per minute so there's quite a bit of air passing through the engine bay... As for the intercooler thang, of course it's better to have cooler air going in.. it's not like the I/C cools everything down to X degrees, it pulls a certain amount of heat out of the air so the less you have to start with the better.
It should be fine to use the typhoon first. Will not cause any issues. If its best for you or not is dependant on what your long term goals are power wise.
i agree, and unless you're moving enough for the dynamics of the front end to move enough air through the engine bay you're still going to be sucking hot air. for example moving at high RPM through very tight turns or even launching (not that i recommend doing a lot of the latter). it's nice and chilly out now, so it's not a big deal, but think about the summer when the air coming off the pavement is 115 degrees or more. if you're looking for sound, pull the intake snorkle off and hack the silecer off, and find a decent quality blow off valve. the STi exhaust is quite capable of doing what you ask it to, so it would be an upgrade you would plan according to a) what kind of exhaust note you want, and/or b) how much power you ultimately plan to pull out of the machine. my .02
I would like to second the fact that I share the belief that an intake should not be installed pre-tuned ECU. After or during the tuning process, if you feel the need to install one then by all means install it then. That way the tune can be adjusted for proper air flow and such with the new intake. Ive never once favored the short ram intake. Its impossible for me the believe that sucking in even hotter air (engine bay) than the air (still quite earm) from down in the fender well is more efficient. In all the research and math Ive done to resolve this issue, Ive never proven or found anything that denies this. Additionally, the stock intake has been dyno proven consistently to still be in the run against aftermarket intakes. It's that solid OEM. Since you've bought an intake, I suggest you hold on to it until the EcuTekin' rolls around Oh, and I do agree with Monk, if its more noise you want from the engine bay, remove the silencer (you'll hear great turbo spool) and if you must, find a BOV (so long as its 50/50 adjustable, NOT 100 recirc or atmos). cheers,
i just installed a AEM short ram intake on my car and it took so much of the stock air intake i was surprised i saw this honda guy do it and all he had to do is pull 2 parts out, i had to pull out 5 parts all together with the filter of course, btw i gained abt 2 1/2 to 4 horses my starting speed has a alot more boost with the blow out valve and short ram intake.. first my turbo dont lag as much and it keeps boosting with all that extra air going in, i need to install a full catbak... to unleach the max power of the intake and catbak
Thanks for the replies. Since installation I haven't been able to feel a noticable difference in power. So I defintely agree with those that say it will not make much difference without exhaust or ECU tuning. It seems the ECU is compensating for the increase in availale air. However, the turbo does seem to spool a little sooner. Still undecided if I'll keep it on or not. Thanks, Shewb
umm... not to sound like a moron, but doesn't the intercooler cool air coming off the turbo line? not the air intake?
The air goes from outside through the intake through the turbo compressor side through the intercooler through the throttlebody through the intake to the cylinders...
the performance difference between a short ram intake and a cold air intake on a turbocharged car is minimal considering all the air is heated up through the turbo. i imagine once you go with a bigger snail and start moving quite a bit more air you might be able to tell a difference..i think either will give you about the same performance gain. with that said money would be better spent on exhaust parts
Well theory wise, there are two reasons a cold air would work better. 1. The intercooler cools air... but.. Its more efficient to cool air that starts at a lower temp to begin with. 2. MAF readings. IAT/Density. I doubt the ECU measures any of that post maf, Pre-Maf values could be key. Here are my recomendations. TMIC=Airbox, Super Airbox(Apexi/Etc.) or CAI. FMIC=whatever fits. Then go for best of breed filtration as most important. Also I wonder if the stock airbox keeps ambient heat out well. Lastly a thing to consider is piping length and diameter, changes in diameter will fool the maf (can be good... or bad. depending on what you want once again) length can add lag. So on so forth. I think the best system is the system well thought out, lots of shortcomings one type creates can be resolved equaled out or made better in other areas with good planning. Balance=good.
The ECU I do believe is not measuring any air temps past the maf, which is why it could be beneficial for tuning to have a maf in the charge pipe. The more accurate readings allow for fine scale tuning. A lot of larger turbo'd cars have had this done in order to adjust for such a large intake of air (stock maf cant keep up) and have moved the maf into the charge pipe. But this is neither here nor there of course. I honestly think that intakes are the true demonstration of the placebo effect. Ive found similar results that when you add a bit more sound to the car, we think its slightly quicker. This is not always the case, and, is really proven by the addition of intakes. Traditionally, gains are minimal if at all evident. This of course, assumes your car is stock (no ecu tuning).