Intake Comparisons
#1
07-02-2008, 08:25 PM
Intake Comparisons
I am hoping the mods will make this a sticky. I only have the cold air comparisons at the moment, but I will also be writing up the numerous air box designs....
Throughout the past year I have reviewed several intake setups for the L67 powered Montes. I have looked at many of the different designs and considered what was included with each kit relevant to the price tag. I am going to point out some of the commonly overlooked items concerning the various manufacturers kits, but I will also point out there positive points. I am in no way bashing any of the mentioned manufacturers. I am simply providing information based on my own opinion and theories.
Cold Air Induction:
Essentially there are two manufactures of “true” Cold Air Induction kits; JMB Performance and Intense Racing.
I will start with the JMB Performance Fender Well Intake. JMB had an excellent idea to move the filter outside of the engine compartment. This allows the vehicle to consistently draw cooler, denser air into the throttle body. They even include a nice block off plate for the fender well to essentially seal it from the rest of the engine compartment. While the main concept was right on the money, I still see a few issues with this setup. The aluminum pipe used is 4” inner diameter, which is .5” larger than the throttle body. When the air from the fender well enters the intake pipe, you experience a bottle-neck affect right before the throttle body which creates turbulence. Another problem with JMB’s design is the use of such a small coupler in relation to the aluminum pipe. Using such a short coupler places the aluminum intake pipe directly over the exhaust crossover, subjecting it to a substantial amount of heat. The aluminum may look very nice, but at the cost of heat-soak after moments of start up. Since the aluminum pipe is heating up so drastically, the IAT sensor which maintains a stock location is also reading a higher temperature than the vehicle is actually inhaling. This high reading reduces the amount of timing at any given coolant temperature which hinders performance, negating the original concept of drawing cooler air. Finally, JMB neglected to provide the customer with a solution for their PCM mounting once the factory air box is removed, forcing the customer to source a bracket for additional cost on their own.
http://www.wbodystore.com/grandprix/...stem-p-63.html
Intense Racing offers a similar product to JMB based on the same concept of drawing cooler air from outside of the engine compartment. The Intense fender well kit utilizes a silicone walled intake tubing which is fairly smooth when compared to dryer tubing (an old solution for intakes). The diameter of the tubing is 3.5” which is identical to the inlet of the throttle body housing. Having the same diameter tube, assures there is no turbulence at the throttle body transition. Intense also includes a PCM tray for relocation. While the tubing is not very attractive, it dose dissipate heat much faster than the aluminum pipe found in the JMB setup. The biggest problem with the Intense intake is the amount of turbulence the tubing creates. While the inside walls are fairly smooth, there are still countless ribs, especially through the bends. Also, the bends do not maintain the 3.5” inside diameter which can be found in the straight sections since the tubing has to bind up to make the turns, once again creating a similar bottle neck issue we found in the JMB setup. Think of this tubing as wrinkle bent exhaust pipe as opposed to a mandrel bent section. Intense maintained the stock location on their IAT sensor as well. While the affects of heat soak are not as drastic with this setup, placing the IAT sensor above the exhaust crossover does still hinder performance, once again reducing the amount of timing which could be safely applied.
http://intense-racing.com/Merchant2/...3800_Induction
Throughout the past year I have reviewed several intake setups for the L67 powered Montes. I have looked at many of the different designs and considered what was included with each kit relevant to the price tag. I am going to point out some of the commonly overlooked items concerning the various manufacturers kits, but I will also point out there positive points. I am in no way bashing any of the mentioned manufacturers. I am simply providing information based on my own opinion and theories.
Cold Air Induction:
Essentially there are two manufactures of “true” Cold Air Induction kits; JMB Performance and Intense Racing.
I will start with the JMB Performance Fender Well Intake. JMB had an excellent idea to move the filter outside of the engine compartment. This allows the vehicle to consistently draw cooler, denser air into the throttle body. They even include a nice block off plate for the fender well to essentially seal it from the rest of the engine compartment. While the main concept was right on the money, I still see a few issues with this setup. The aluminum pipe used is 4” inner diameter, which is .5” larger than the throttle body. When the air from the fender well enters the intake pipe, you experience a bottle-neck affect right before the throttle body which creates turbulence. Another problem with JMB’s design is the use of such a small coupler in relation to the aluminum pipe. Using such a short coupler places the aluminum intake pipe directly over the exhaust crossover, subjecting it to a substantial amount of heat. The aluminum may look very nice, but at the cost of heat-soak after moments of start up. Since the aluminum pipe is heating up so drastically, the IAT sensor which maintains a stock location is also reading a higher temperature than the vehicle is actually inhaling. This high reading reduces the amount of timing at any given coolant temperature which hinders performance, negating the original concept of drawing cooler air. Finally, JMB neglected to provide the customer with a solution for their PCM mounting once the factory air box is removed, forcing the customer to source a bracket for additional cost on their own.
http://www.wbodystore.com/grandprix/...stem-p-63.html
Intense Racing offers a similar product to JMB based on the same concept of drawing cooler air from outside of the engine compartment. The Intense fender well kit utilizes a silicone walled intake tubing which is fairly smooth when compared to dryer tubing (an old solution for intakes). The diameter of the tubing is 3.5” which is identical to the inlet of the throttle body housing. Having the same diameter tube, assures there is no turbulence at the throttle body transition. Intense also includes a PCM tray for relocation. While the tubing is not very attractive, it dose dissipate heat much faster than the aluminum pipe found in the JMB setup. The biggest problem with the Intense intake is the amount of turbulence the tubing creates. While the inside walls are fairly smooth, there are still countless ribs, especially through the bends. Also, the bends do not maintain the 3.5” inside diameter which can be found in the straight sections since the tubing has to bind up to make the turns, once again creating a similar bottle neck issue we found in the JMB setup. Think of this tubing as wrinkle bent exhaust pipe as opposed to a mandrel bent section. Intense maintained the stock location on their IAT sensor as well. While the affects of heat soak are not as drastic with this setup, placing the IAT sensor above the exhaust crossover does still hinder performance, once again reducing the amount of timing which could be safely applied.
http://intense-racing.com/Merchant2/...3800_Induction
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