cai - track tested and proven

[fieromx3]

well i hit the track last nite with a cupple friends. on the 1st run i was running a HAI sucking up all the dead hot air. on that run i came out with a 89mph trap speed... we all decided to see what the cai would do so a thx to nd4spdse for lending me his cai we mounted it on my car with the filter in thye bay but at the very bottom where lots of cold air can get to it(btw i dont got the splash guard ) went down the track again and i trapped just over 92mph

cai does work and it made me get my fastest track times and trap speeds to date

this is on a KL-DE for those who dont know

[Hoodzy]

ever thought that maybe the 2nd run u'd do better anyways as u usually get better the more u do things... plus u were probably more confident and wanting the CAI to work better.... lol i'm just bugging you but those are also factors

[Hoodzy]

also what kinda intake is this the integra custom??? still have the ebay filter on end?

[timpronk]

So what where the times?

[fieromx3]

its just a custom intake my half was just a 90 degree bend vibrant in take that was cut nd4spdse was integra but i not sure lol. well now matter how good u drive the car thats basically only gonna affect ur overall elapsed time not ur trap speed...ur trap speed will usually stay constant...if ur putting more power to the ground usually ur trap speed will increase.

[fieromx3]

So what where the times?

1st- 15.374@89.59mph

2nd- 15.234@92.41

3rd-15.157@92.61mph



i will test it all out again sometime but im confident that it can make that much difference

[hgallegos915]

well why does everyone keep mentioning integra intake.. that wont fit the CURVED neck manifold.. you got straight nech and im assuming he used the PROBE GT intake and did a 90 degree turn on the end

[fieromx3]

nah wasnt the pgt i beleive its part of the teggy. look in my sig pic the way i got the intake now..i took the filter off and added a pipe on the end of the vad that went straight down to the bottom of the car

id like to get the pgt one and try it out...i think i may just get 3'' pipin and do the same setup i did for my test

[hgallegos915]

yeah thats what i did. got the 3 inch piping, the pgt comes with 2 pipes only.. one after and one before the vaf to tb. You have to chop the one after the vaf.. get a coupler and walla.. direct bolt on for straight neck mx3.

[jschrauwen]

we mounted it on my car with the filter in thye bay but at the very bottom where lots of cold air can get to it

Still not quite a CAI. Although running that config will also lead to the filter sucking up tons of road crap and dirt not to mention the effects when it rains, especially since you're not running the plastic splash/engine guards. Still not a true CAI because there's still plenty of ambiant/residual hot air from the engine bay there. For some UNKNOWN reason. People think that by sliding it down behind the rad will be a better spot. Not really considering that, yes freash does go through the rad and to that filter, but by the time that air has passed by/through the rad it has been super heated (the result of cooling the rad in the first place). That NOW, super heated air is what's going to be drawn up by the CAI. So, is it really a CAI, not to my way of thinking. Out of the elements and vicinty of the engine bay for one thing - namely the fender well. There is has 2 large enough holes to supply semi protected COOL air from, is isolated enough from the rest of the engine bay to not be too affected by it's heating effect and has a place to reside that will stay free of water/rain and road dirt and debris.
So if you believe that CAI does make a difference, than don't just stop there. Do the whole job and do your engine a favour. For better indications of what a CAI/ ram air can do, I draw your attention to this thread; http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=45435 The 11.5 NA KLZE at the track. It benefitted greatly by the "ram air" effect that was integrated into it. Granted it's a fair weather set-up, and for the track only, but it gives credance to the topic you are discussing. A ram-air / CAI would be an ideal set-up, save for the fact that it must be all-weather durable. Your's and Mike's is not all weather durable. Close, but not quite.

[Devlin]

well why does everyone keep mentioning integra intake.. that wont fit the CURVED neck manifold..

direct, out of the box, no it doesn't.....but after a bit of chopping, it's the one that fits best.

and john....as u know, i used to have that setup w/ the filter near the bottom...and i will have to contest that in fact it IS a CAI since after driving u can feel the aluminum between the VAF and filter and it feels really cold to the touch.
however in idle or heavy traffic situations, since most of the cold air IS coming from the rad, u can tell how hot it does get...
i did end up moving mine to the wheel well and find that it is less effected by the heat in slow traffic, but it doesn't really get any colder for normal track/highway driving.

wheel well is the best of the two options....however at the bottom of the engine bay should at least b considered a CAI/HAI combo

so i'd say since it was a track test alone...most of the air would actually b coming from underneath the car, i don't think the true CAI would really do a significant diff.

(and yes i did change it mainly for the fact that it won't get soaked in the wheel well.....i hate to admit it but u'r right about that)

[jschrauwen]

I agree, it wouldn't make a significant difference at the track. But we don't live on the track. Nor is it strictly a track car only. It only seemed to be imprudent to go for a config that will not be street use friendly. Like Ian said, they will get wet even when slammed down to the bottom of the engine bay. The plastic skid plate will offer some .... I SAID SOME protection. But why would one want to gamble on that chance. Unless we had a Civic or Acura that has a preformed hole to accept a CAI/filter outside the ingine bay, our BEST OPTION is the wheel well. I only know this from this site, but also have played for many years with the intake set-ups for my and other Ducati's. The key to performance is having a cool filtered source that will not be restrictive to the point when you're at WOT. That's the key. If the oem filter box does not provide both of those than a substitute CAI would/might be in order. As a viable alternative , the airbox's on some very expensive race Ducati's had extra holes drilled in the botom of the irabox to accomodate that extra airflow requirement. Now depending on the air metering system in place, a forced air system (ram air) would also show improvements. Unfortunately, forced air induction for those Ducati's was mot an option because of limited air metering capabilities. We heve those capabilities. Here's a pic that shows a first time installer how he took it one step further to increase his "at speed" cool air induction be retaining the oem rad duct and attaching a flex tubing to the end to run into the fender well. Something I'm going to give serious considerstion to myself.

Of course, those that have researched would have already seen this pic in the "Hooodzy's CAI How To". Silverbullet's install - Now there's someone who was thinking!!!!

[fieromx3]

well since it was a track only test i consider a cai...

[mxmaz]

Thats a good time for a de. Throw in some ze heads, cams, and intake manifold and you should be good for lower 14's.

[hgallegos915]

jschrauwen very well said


Daily driving is far more important (in my case) than the track. That pic you posted is exactly how i have it and im working on what you had told me about making a panel(heat shield) to cover it from the engine heat. This set up is awesome specially at hwy speeds. I believe even my gas milleage went up.