The tach is the RPM guage.

 

All this info about resonators is great except i don't understand if aftermarket intake causes loss of power why do people regularly get .1-.2 sec better quarter times.

 

When you get an intake like the frankencar, 2 things are happening: you remove the resonator and you also remove the stock filter and other intake plumbing, to be replaced by a less restrictive filter and no plumbing. End result is better peak HP, but maybe a loss in the mid to low end. By putting the resonator back, you can recover, supposedly, some mid to low end while still keeping the peak increase in hp. The best of both worlds.

DW

 

Dyno's would be nice.

 

On a max i mean.

 

the dyno's wouldnt proove a thing, the hp difference would be like 1 - 3 in peak, and there is a 5% correction factor in the dyno's anyway so put on whatever one suits you the best

 

im thinking of putting my stock resenator back on. But i wanna leave my CAI on. If i take out the Mid pipe.. and replace it with my stock one, where can i put the temp sensor? Currently it is in the PR CAI mid pipe.

 

you'd have to ziptie it somewhere near the intake or something like that

 

thanks... it should work fine though right. Even though i have a CAI.. so the actual air might be cooler than the air in the engine bay. ( by theory)

 

yup, no porblem

 

cool .. i'll do it today after work...thanks...

 

sure thing

 

so i put on my stock resenator back on.. so here is the current setup. Everything to the MAF is stock. Then i have my Place RAcing Cai with the filter in the fender. Results... Maybe its all in my head.. car feels stronger. It picks up even more and has more power in the middle. I didn't have time to go on a highway run.. but tonite i'll see. "My theory is that i'm gona keep changign my setup.. so i can get the feeling my car runs different, when it really runs the same" maybe i'm wrong!

 

That's probably the best setup right there, especially for NA. Just add an MEVI and your top end will be awesome.

DW

 

That's going on the car in 2 weeks plus the y-pipe. I got some vacation time to finally do it all.

 

Yeah.. it works good. Combined with my y pipe its great. Also.. my UDP should arrive soon. It will be a small boost.. but all those ponies add up!

 

Your feelings are much like mine. I've experimented by putting my midpipe on with my CAI setup (HKS filter on the end) and I don't like the way it feels. With a CAI and resonator, there are absolutely no "dead" spots in the rpm range. The two things I like most about this setup is that is takes a lot less RPM to leave from a stop which makes stop and go a lot more enjoyable. The other thing I like is that on a WOT, the entry acceleration is immediate and without that slight lag. Tip-in throttle at 2000rpms in 4th gear is met with acceleration instead of a brief pause and then acceleration. When I put the midpipe back in, all these characteristics disappeared and the intake just got louder. I couldn't tell if the car was any quicker (actually feels slower on a WOT shift). As for all out performance with CAI/resonator setup, I love it. Is it ultimately better? It's hard to say, but normal driveability and perceived torque is much better.


Dave

 

Every mod I've done has mad my gas mileage worse in the end because it makes me want to drive faster.

I put the resonator back in as well, and although it doesnt sound as good, it does feel better than before.

One question though. On the resonator there is that black tube coming off (it goes upward towards teh hood) w/ another resonator chamber attached to it, do you guys have that on there as well? Or could I just take off that tube and block the hole?

 

That "other" reservoir is the one that caused me to put on my stock resonator back on. My theory was that it actually trapped a pocket or ai there that seems to gives the 5-spd a little extra during upshifts. It seems too "deliberately" engineered just be a sound baffle. The bigger main section seesm to be there for sound + air pocket for the other hoses entering it.
Currently I have just a cone filter and my stock resonator. Compared to my home-made mid-pipe, she pulls stronger, though I miss that intake wail

 

I just removed my midpipe from my WR setup with the Dragon filter, and I have to say, I do feel a difference in the low end. I can definitely feel more "pull" than before. I'm glad I did this because I was sceptical. It's not like your getting a 10hp gain, but it feels like you get up into the higher gears faster. I believe I'm feeling this difference mostly because of my auto tranny, though. Try it if you have a midpipe!

 

i tried this tonight too... can't say i feel too much down low... more so in the mid-range. but i do have my stock airbox on minus the tubing... its just pulling from the hole in the bottom of the airbox. i'll probably put my cone filter back on tomorrow and see how it feels. also thinkin of making the hole larger on the stock box... it just feels like the engine is starving a little for air with the way i have it now.

 

Wow, a lot of people have read this thread!

 

allright.. i got in a highway run last night. It was a cool night here in chicago, might have had some effect but here it is anywayz. The car seems to have some more power. I was able to drop it to 4th at 80 and just hammer it and moments later i was at 120 strong going into 5th. 140 was hard to hit, wish i had a mevi.. but i got there.. much faster then before. I had a friend in the car and some guy wanted 2 race me.. so i hit it and i quote my friend saying " Seeeee yaaaa" to a firebird! Over all the car feels great. I'm installing UDP today.. right after my JAVA class.

 

Hey Dave B,
Are you still running this set up? I've switched from stock to K&N cone and stock resonator, to PR CAI, to K&N cone and mid pipe. Then after reading this went back to K&N cone and stock resonator then PR CAI tube and stock resonator. I have the same feelings as you regarding the stock resonator but feel that at higher speeds the K&N cone draws better air flow. With the CAI tube in seems like my car gets short of breath.

 

With the resonator, everything feels better. I tested out the CAI pipe/resonator, CAI/midpipe, POP/resonator, and hybrid on the same day at the track. There was no real difference in ET/MPH. Even more proof that butt dynos and "feel" is a horrible way of estimating performance.

I have since then resorted back to the setup I've always ran my best with, hacked airbox and midpipe.

Pretty much run whatever setup you thing feels best for overall driving. I choose my hacked air box/midpipe setup because I like it's responsiveness and sound above 3000rpms.


Dave

 

I have the stock air box on now but it's only the top part. The whole lower air box is gone. I love it. It's much louder than the hybrid and it's more fun to drive, the intake growl kicks in about 2k rpm...

 

How is the filter staying in? Have you cut off the part of the lower airbox that clamps it in place and used that?

 

Duct tape, right!

Thanks Dave, I'll probably mess around with it some more, but I just don't see how the CAI can get as much air flow as an underhood intake at 60+ mph. Oh well, damn butt dyno!

 

Nope. I used 4 1.5" nails to hold it in place...

 

I think you should've used 3" deck screws, that way they won't rust and they hold much better, nails eventually loosen. Trust me I used to work at Home Depot, I know about all this stuff. Just make sure the nail doesn't get sucked into the intake and get stuck in the butterfly. I think that happened to a guy here, his throttle got stuck at WOT as he was testing the intake sound and caused some serious property damage. I think it's still before the courts, could be pretty messy. Don't say I didn't warn you!

 

It's only temporary. Anyway the nails are bent at each end and parallel to the air box...

 

DaveB,

I don't get it.......you began this thread with the following:

Then your last post stated the following:

So what is it? Is it because neither of the combos you've tried made any real difference in ET on the track? So your neck snapping back on 2nd at 4500rpms is not a sign of faster ET? WOW, you took us for a loooong ride man!

 

So what made you want to dig this one up after three months? Anyway my favorite is what I have done. If you go to an exhaust shop and ask for 3" piping they will sell you 3" inner diameter piping not that **** stuff from autozone. IMO this is the ultimate intake setup. 3" Midpipe, heatsheild, 4" hole in fender. Like this. I don't have the heat sheild on in this pic.

 

I was thinking of doing the same thing with the snorkle. What did you do for the custom elbow?

Walter

 

I never had time to do some researching and I've been stuck at home sick for the last couple of weeks so I ended up digging stuff up that I've never even read at the time they were posted by several people.

 

The track doesn't lie. I will say this though, I definately think the ECU has to learn your different intake setups to perform optimally and since I was testing on the same day, the ECU couldn't learn as I changed intake every hour at the track.

I've been researching and researching and it I came back to a true Place Racing style intake setup. Why? Because I read all the intake info from DINAN (the BMW tuner) and they live by the true CAI setups. They know that the hybrid/POP style intakes do make a few more hp in the upper rpms, but the CAI delivers more useable power and far more consistent power because of a more stable intake temp charge.

Honestly, I think the all-out performance differences between all the styles of intakes is about the same. It's ultimately up to you on which you prefer to run with.



Dave

 

Thanks Dave. So driving with a CAI on the freeway doing, lets say, 65mph then you have to pickup the speed to 80 to pass someone, how would the CAI perform? Would the engine run out of breath? I'm thinking that RPMs within 3k - 6k would be a useable range during freeway driving? Sorry I can't relate to race track environments because I've never driven on one at all and probably won't be either. My aggressive driving is mainly done on the freeways.

 

What's the 4" hole for when you are using a short ram intake (depicted in the pic below)? Plus, the battery seems to be blocking that hole anyway! So what is that hole for then?

 

the 'custom elbow ' its not custom at all - it is part of stock intake.

Nick.

 

I just put my Frankencar in. The butt dyno says I have a difference in low end power. To me, it "feels" better in the midrange. I think it'll be a better daily driver, as well as producing some nice sound effects. Thanks for posting this topic Dave. I probably wouldn't have thought about if you hadn't posted. After putting mine in and looking at your pic again, I just realized that the ends of the snorkles look different ('96 v '97). You definately said custom tho.

Walt