Aftermarket Intake

[32_d3gr33s]

Just curious if anyone is running aftermarket intakes?

With everything that ive read, and intake change actually hurts our performance...

with that said, I actually made my own. I dont have any real pictures of the process, but i took some cardboard, and placed it between where the stock intake box was, and the engine as a template for a heat shield. I cut and made adjustments until i got the exact shape i wanted, the copied it to a piece of aluminum sheet metal. I trimmed that out, and screwed it down. Theres actually a nice spot where there is a pinch weld on the bottom to follow. I then cuts some 3" ( or 3 1/2, cant remember) aluminum piping to fit, and put a cone filter on it. I removed the slinky looking stock piping between the MAF sensor, and moved that back, and connected with short rubber connector. Then connected the piping all together. This is the only pic I took of it so far, but you get the idea.


I put the stock snorkel from the front grille back on, to dump air directly to the filter, then put the plastic decorative cover back in place. As for performance, it actually feels a little more responsive to me... I did get a noticeable boost in gas mileage as well, but then again, my stock filter was like 4 years old. All in all, Im pleased, and it gave the car a nice growl when heavy on the throttle

[A-FourLO]

awesome man you should def do some dyno testing to put your mind at ease lol, I will say that the stock intake box performs well for its design but it has its limits. With a custom intake you create a more linear less turbulent flow, you just have to be very careful about keeping the heat away

[32_d3gr33s]

Heres a couple more pictures i just snapped. You can see what it looks like when its all back together..


and here you can see that the snorkel is tight against the heat shield..



theres only a couple small gaps for hot air to travel through. I plan on going back and getting some better rubber stripping, and maybe add a foil heat shield or something as well...

[liberux]

Looks pretty good, I only added a "cone air filter" since when I bought the car the air box was broken and they only place I could get a OEM box was the dealer, they wanted like 350 so I was like F it. Since you added the intake, have you noticed any issues at idle or any problem?

[meistah]

That looks pretty clean with everything in place. That being said it's true, an open air element in our cars hurts performance. If you guys want, I'll compile the info and posts later on today and throw it here for reference. Or swing by my place. I'll throw my stock ECU back in and we can do a few pulls

[RSicks]

If you dyno it, make sure you do it with the hood down and a wind tunnel/large fan in front simulating wind at speed. The Racers Group at Infineon Raceway did this and would never dyno with the hood open. Real world numbers are what counts. Problem is going to be heat soak - aluminum sucks it up pretty good.

[sandspeed]

I had a Stratmosphere Hyperflow and loved the sound, but I have no thoughts on power changes. I had paired that with a Thermal catback, and the car felt a bit more responsive compared to stock, but that's just what I felt.

[ASAP617]

Nice job. I made my own. I have to get some more piping and a heat shield but it works pretty good.

[A-FourLO]

If you dyno it, make sure you do it with the hood down and a wind tunnel/large fan in front simulating wind at speed. The Racers Group at Infineon Raceway did this and would never dyno with the hood open. Real world numbers are what counts. Problem is going to be heat soak - aluminum sucks it up pretty good.

i would agree with that if you could simulate wind speed with a powerful enough fan. But i dont think most dynos available to the public have these high power fans. I always go to the same dyno with the same fan. etc...Yes i have changed dynos from the AWD dyno to the 2WD dyno. But from now on i will use the 2WD dyno. I also make sure to get to know the shop owner of the dyno and make sure he keeps it functioning consistently. Basically what i learned is that all Dynojets are pretty much similar in that besides the "Correction Factor" you cannot manipulate the number output because the Dynojets are a 5000lb roller that gets pushed by the wheels and depending on effort it takes by a vehicle to move the roller it then calculates the numbers this way.

[beemercer]

With a custom intake you create a more linear less turbulent flow

ever measure manifold vacuum before and after to back this up?

[A-FourLO]

ever measure manifold vacuum before and after to back this up?

nope i just figured any nerd would know that a straight tube would be more efficient than a box with a million obstacles in it

[beemercer]

nope i just figured any nerd would know that a straight tube would be more efficient than a box with a million obstacles in it

why dont you get proof, you disregarded other's advise based on lack of testing yet you havent't scientifically tested this assumption. Get some numbers are show how much better the straight tube is than the stock airbox. Manifold vacuum will show flow efficiency, iat will show heatsoak or lack thereof.

[SleeperLoDo]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310222616530...84.m1423.l2648

and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLOX-ALUMINU...5138a0&vxp=mtr

[A-FourLO]

why dont you get proof, you disregarded other's advise based on lack of testing yet you havent't scientifically tested this assumption. Get some numbers are show how much better the straight tube is than the stock airbox. Manifold vacuum will show flow efficiency, iat will show heatsoak or lack thereof.

i dont see the point of the test your asking me to do. I clearly dynoed a tube vs the stock intake box and the tube outperformed the stock box. What is a vacuum test going to prove? IF anything it would just support a theory not necessarily a real world test. A dyno is about as close as it gets to real world performance. Also i do have a vacuum gauge but i do not have a way to measure IAT.

[meistah]

A dyno is about as close as it gets to real world performance.

REAL WORLD TESTING:

http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=183.0


The highway pull testing with the fixed position gas pedal is a VERY clear and simple explanation of how the sealed box benefits us. You can show me dyno numbers all day, but I don't see a way to show more obviously that this works.


More info on the sealed air box:

http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=182.0

[beemercer]

a dyno in the way you are using it is not scientific whatsoever

manifold vacuum will show how restrictive the intake tract is regardless of environmental conditions

[A-FourLO]

REAL WORLD TESTING:

http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=183.0


The highway pull testing with the fixed position gas pedal is a VERY clear and simple explanation of how the sealed box benefits us. You can show me dyno numbers all day, but I don't see a way to show more obviously that this works.


More info on the sealed air box:

http://audirevolution.net/forum/index.php?topic=182.0

I applaud the testing believe me i do. But a couple notes i wanted to point out. In the first thread they tested a stock airbox vs a sealed airbox. No indication of other tests.

In the second thread that intake that was claimed to be a "Cold Air" was first a crappy beatup God knows what happened to that filter that was on it, and also the filter was sitting on top of the valve cover directly over the exhaust manifold. How in the crap is that a cold air intake?? So thats the first bit of misinformation. Next this person drives an automatic...Automatic cars are notorious for being inconsistent becuz of a plethora of components involved in putting the power to the ground compared to a 6-speed manual. I dont see any info as to the running conditions when this person went to the drag strip. Was there any cool down time before his first run with the so called "CAI" (that is really a steaming air intake if you ask me). How many runs did this person do to establish an average? I would say a minimum of three is necessary to be credible. Next was there a substantially different cool down period before the installation of the sealed airbox? Also was there an average established with the sealed unit?

I have seen 1/4 mile runs with up to a .5 second difference by changing absolutely nothing in between runs and all else remaining consistent (launch, shifts etc..). Ask me how i know becuz it happened to me and several others when i was at the strip with my previous car.

[meistah]

The post by shawn hornet with the fixed position gas pedal is nearly perfect imo. The car is driven twice over the same strip of road, for the same distance. There's some more technical info in the first thread as well, audi documentation showing how the intake system is limited.

[32_d3gr33s]

all i know is i did the zingo airbox mod... noticed no improvement. did this, gained a nice intake sound, and bumped up my mpg by about 2-3 (could be because my old filter was quite nasty i admit) and noticed a slight improvement in response. Im not racing or even concerned with power at the time being so Im overall quite happy with it. I've got all the stock pieces nicely put away, so i can always go back to it if i want

[beemercer]

I have seen 1/4 mile runs with up to a .5 second difference by changing absolutely nothing in between runs and all else remaining consistent (launch, shifts etc..). Ask me how i know becuz it happened to me and several others when i was at the strip with my previous car.

and I've seen multiple cars have a dyno swing of right around 10whp between runs as the car adapts, neither is scientific

(could be because my old filter was quite nasty i admit)

its not could, that is why you noticed any difference. The change in pressure drop straight tube vs stock air box will be negliable compared to the pressure drop across a clogged filter

[BWT]

i dont see the point of the test your asking me to do. I clearly dynoed a tube vs the stock intake box and the tube outperformed the stock box. What is a vacuum test going to prove? IF anything it would just support a theory not necessarily a real world test. A dyno is about as close as it gets to real world performance. Also i do have a vacuum gauge but i do not have a way to measure IAT.

Aren't you the guy that put a pringles can together with a woman's nylon at the end for a filter and called it an intake?

[A-FourLO]

Aren't you the guy that put a pringles can together with a woman's nylon at the end for a filter and called it an intake?

lmao a pringles can?? naw man i guess you havent read my thread i have made several intakes but never with a pringles can ...but yes i did and still am using pantyhose as a filter.

[A-FourLO]

and I've seen multiple cars have a dyno swing of right around 10whp between runs as the car adapts, neither is scientific



its not could, that is why you noticed any difference. The change in pressure drop straight tube vs stock air box will be negliable compared to the pressure drop across a clogged filter

my point is to establish an average not to assume cuz u had one good result that all of the sudden your convinced one is better than the other. I have seen more than a 10whp difference on an all motor car from one dyno run to the next on the same session as well. But i proceeded to do multiple pulls after that and established my average which was about 15whp more than my first pull i did. Let me show you my dyno graph i am talking about this was from my previous car.

[BWT]

...but yes i did and still am using pantyhose as a filter.

You roll your eyes at using a pringles can but then put a pantyhose filter on your car? Both seem equally ridiculous to me.

Also, I see your from Miami. Do you really think that a pantyhose is fine enough to filter out all the sand in that area?

[B6JoeS4]

lmao a pringles can?? naw man i guess you havent read my thread i have made several intakes but never with a pringles can ...but yes i did and still am using pantyhose as a filter.

This pretty much sums up me in this thread...

[beemercer]

15whp from a filter on a stick? No other changes, no adjustments in the settings of the dyno (weight and weather correction factor)? was this vs a stock airbox with a clean oem air filter?

if this is the case, a test like I proposed will show a massive difference in manifold vacuum. Do it on the same stretch of road in the same gear with the same throttle position and no other factors will matter past a negliable amount, unlike testing on a dyno. The dyno proves nothing to me, pressure loss is the proper way to test how well a system flows.

[A-FourLO]

15whp from a filter on a stick? No other changes, no adjustments in the settings of the dyno (weight and weather correction factor)? was this vs a stock airbox with a clean oem air filter?

if this is the case, a test like I proposed will show a massive difference in manifold vacuum. Do it on the same stretch of road in the same gear with the same throttle position and no other factors will matter past a negliable amount, unlike testing on a dyno. The dyno proves nothing to me, pressure loss is the proper way to test how well a system flows.

My apologies i should have been more specific. This graph was just an example of how a dyno test variates and how important it is to establish an average when doing tests.. The 230whp was the first pull i did when i got to the dyno. The next few pulls i changed absolutely NOTHING and the result changed dramatically. Do not automatically assume becuz you pulled out a really low or really high number that you have your conclusion. The conclusion i made from this graph was the car suffered from terrible heat soak. Which i then tested at the 1/4 mile strip and got the same results i mentioned before, a difference of .5 seconds from the fastest to slowest time....

[beemercer]

Do not automatically assume becuz you pulled out a really low or really high number that you have your conclusion.

I just said this in other words a few posts earlier.

So what were your gains etc from the intake? I want to see your proof of this. What changed between the runs (da, wcf, weight entered, actual weight, maintenance, other mods)?

[A-FourLO]

I just said this in other words a few posts earlier.

So what were your gains etc from the intake? I want to see your proof of this. What changed between the runs (da, wcf, weight entered, actual weight, maintenance, other mods)?

are you talking about from my previous car or my current Audi? and a Dynojet does not allow you to manipulate anything besides correction factor but i always have used SAE since the beginning on all my cars so....

[beemercer]

audi, and there are many more factors in addition to the dyno calibration that will have an effect.

curve smoothing
tire pressure
wheel/tire weight
loading
tire position
gear selection

[A-FourLO]

audi, and there are many more factors in addition to the dyno calibration that will have an effect.

curve smoothing
tire pressure
wheel/tire weight
loading
tire position
gear selection

thought you might ask that.On the Audi i have always done SAE correction smoothing 3 which you can clearly see in my thread. Up until recently i have dynoed with the same tires and wheels. I currently changed my tires and i have not dynoed since. The loading i cannot comment on but i assume you mean how hard the straps are on the dyno but i have seen turbo cars actually benefit from as tight straps as possible and four big guys standing on the straps trying to hold the wheels from spinning on the dyno lol but for an underpowered all motor car IDK but im not gonna risk the car moving and hurting someone by loosening up the straps just to try and get a better number thats dumb. The dynojet is a 5000lb roller that does not get pre-loaded like other dynos. If i remember correctly the Dynojets measure power on what rate the roller is spun. Tire position on the dyno ill be honest i have not thought of that one i just adhere to the dyno operators instructions as to where the tires should be placed.

[beemercer]

fair enough, good to know those are consistent. Are the rollers smoothed or do they still have the knurled finish?

post the dyno sheets/results from pre and post intake, I'm interested in seeing them

[A-FourLO]

fair enough, good to know those are consistent. Are the rollers smoothed or do they still have the knurled finish?

post the dyno sheets/results from pre and post intake, I'm interested in seeing them

this dynojet i go to has a knurled or ribbed finish like you said. i did a huge intake comparison in my progress thread if you want to see it there...the link is in my sig


Post 396 it begins..


http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-thread/page10

[flir67]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310222616530...84.m1423.l2648

and
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLOX-ALUMINU...5138a0&vxp=mtr

where did u get the parts at? I like that setup

[SleeperLoDo]

where did u get the parts at? I like that setup

1. Filter:http://www.ebay.com/itm/310222616530...84.m1423.l2648
2. Air STACK: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLOX-ALUMINU...5138a0&vxp=mtr
3. SILICONE HOSE INTAKE: you can get from local auto part stores or ebay
4. Pipe: you can use stock pipe but I got from Muffler Shop
5. Heat shield: Aluminum sheet from Home Depot
6. Intake breather filter: I got from local auto part stores

Compare price with http://www.stratmosphere.com/product/352/2

[flir67]

1. Filter:http://www.ebay.com/itm/310222616530...84.m1423.l2648
2. Air STACK: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLOX-ALUMINU...5138a0&vxp=mtr
3. SILICONE HOSE INTAKE: you can get from local auto part stores or ebay
4. Pipe: you can use stock pipe but I got from Muffler Shop
5. Heat shield: Aluminum sheet from Home Depot
6. Intake breather filter: I got from local auto part stores

Compare price with http://www.stratmosphere.com/product/352/2

can you post some pics of the close up of the heat shield you made in the engine bay.

[SleeperLoDo]

can you post some pics of the close up of the heat shield you made in the engine bay.

[flir67]

nice, thanks!.. that heat is a serious problem I take it. the motorcycle muffler wrap is a great idea, didn't even think about that..

[Titan Uranus]

I Thought about making my own APR styled intake, (i came form a 1.8t b5, just joined the 3.0 b6 club) trying to keep the outside airflow as close to stock as possible just with some better looks. you did a pretty good job, pretty similar to my idea, I had my old APR box wrapped in gold foil and lined with heat wrap on the inside to try and keep the heat out of the filter.