While we have the engine/trans down during the clutch swap we decided to fab up some turbo intake pipes. Looking at the system we're first going to test the intake pipes and then possibly modify the plenum once we get dyno testing done. Clearance is tight for the pipes!

As you can see we modify the stock piece that bolts to the Plenum in the spot that we consider most beneficial to the performance of the system. It's 2.5" piping all the way. Pricing should be pretty reasonable and we'll have dyno test soon!











-Martin Musial

 

the links are not working?

 

These are good looking piping.

 

Awesome! I just built a manometer to measure the pressure drop at various point on the stock intake system. I suspect gains from piping like this will show up as better spool and more headroom for higher boost pressures since, in theory, you'd be moving into higher efficiency islands on the compressor map.

 

Will this fit for a tiptronic car? If not, please do so to expand your ability to sell these units

 

Piping looks great! I am happy to see someone is actually going to be dynoing the differences. I modded my stock plenum a while back and added some 2.5" flexible hose and it worked great for a low buck mod. Do you guys plan on using the hose connectors or making it a solid pipe like Evo's kit? It will be nice to see a lower price alternative on the market!

 

Nice! I have the EVO kit sitting in my garage and not sure if I am going to install it yet or not. (bought used for very "cheap") I am interested to see how this type of piping will compare to the "proto" style intakes. I know they are very different but I think EVO gets huge HP out of their piping kits without the need to put filters by the IC's.....

Thoughts?

 

Oh PRETTY PLEASE share your results! The stockpiping looks pretty restrictive but I've seen no measuring done of it and I'm looking forward to any results you share and any dyno results from AMS. Thanks!

 

I certainly will -only problem is that I have a stock car! I plan to do pressure drop stock, remeasure with a flash and exhaust, then pull the stock pipes, add some 2.5" piping (maybe these AMS pipes depending on price), and measure again.

PS -Great to see you posting again, I was sad to see you move on from SF.

 

My thoughts are there is not a significant difference at the K24/18G level and it really is a matter of preference at that level - do you want to retain the OEM look and engineered design or go to a trick look. Although I have used both styles of intakes and have direct experience driving with both styles at the K24/18G level, I have no experience with these intakes with larger turbos. At the K24/18G level, I think the car performs about same with either intake and the tune could make the difference. I went from Evo pipes with proto tune and ford MAF to full proto kit with filters in the fenders and ford MAF and back to the Evo pipes, OEM air box and OEM Bosch MAF - all with the same turbos, injectors, TB, IC's, etc. The intake was the only variable.

As an example, at one point I had a Protomotive tune, Ford MAF w/ V-flow and Evo hard pipes. With this set-up, my car with K24/18G's ran 11.01 @ 131.75 and had a best trap of 132+ at only 1.2 bar of boost. No drag radials, full catted exhaust, AWD. I think this is in line with the "proto" style pipes if run at 1.2 bar with AWD, not significantly lightened, catted exhaust and on street tires.

 

Actually I think starting with a stock car is ideal, you may even see decent gains from stock, if nothing it would be good data - something that seems to be sorely lacking sometimes. Looking at the OEM pipes it's pretty obvious they cannot flow a ton of air, the big question is at what point are they a big issue. You may be able to help figure that out

P.S. Yeah, after a few years I'm slowly getting the bug back. Poor Supra all mangled sitting in my old house's garage for now. <sigh>

 

John - any comparison with the stock piping by chance? Why did you move away from the fender mounted filters and intakes? I think everyone can agree the OEM stuff is restrictive but at what level it makes sense to change is a question. The fender mounted pipes look like they can be swapped in without R&Ring the motor\trans which I consider an advantage. Slipping in other pipes in an OEM config without dropping the motor looks difficult! I'd also expect piping crossing the engine to pickup at least a little more heat than the short pipes from the fenderwells. If someone had dyno numbers it would sure be helpful! I'd like to see stock, then a better OEM style, and lastly the fender mounts with a blow thru. I know which one I THINK is better but upgraded parts like the ones displayed here might very well be just fine up to some pretty high levels - I dunno'. Cost andlabor to install are big factors - this is no Honda that's for sure!

 

I do not think it matters on smaller set ups... like a 18g car for example... running only 1.2 bar... John did have both on the same car...

I also had the stock set up on k24s then the FVD plenum which is similar to the AMS one... I ran at the track 1/4s and the results were identical... but that was at 1.1 to 1.2 bars...
But if one is planning on bigger turbos and 1.5+ bar of boost I would not hesitate...
yes the motor has to come down.. somewhat expensive just to put some piping in ... I did mine when I switched the clutch... that was the logical choice...
I do think that many of us neglect the obvious upgrades and go for the ones that least matter at times... I have been preaching about ICs forever... yet few upgrade them...

 

Sorry, no comparison to stock pipes, as I did the Evo pipes, IC,s, injectors, K24/18G's, Ford MAF, 75mm TB &plenum, injectors and dual fuel pumps all in one step.

I moved away from the fender well intakes primarily because I was unhappy with the drivability of the Ford MAF. It is very touchy and my car lost it's smooth OEM drive quality. After discussing this with Tony at EPL, we substituted a Bosch MAF to see how it would change things and the smoother drivability I desired immediately returned with just the MAF change and that was exactly what I wanted. I am very picky and did not enjoy the car as much after the Ford MAF tune. Once I saw the difference in just the MAF, I immediately embraced the idea of returning to the OEM MAF and re-installed the OEM air box to accomplish it. I also spoke to a few tuners that said the ford and Hitachi MAF's never drive as well as the OEM Bosch and if I wanted the OEM drivability, nothing beats the OEM MAF that was designed for the car and after my experience, I concur. We actually dynoed the same day, same dyno with the ford MAF and the Bosch MAF and the car made slightly more power with the Bosch, so I did not feel that I was giving up anything on power, either. This is why I made the change back.

Additional factors that entered into my decision were...I did the entire Protomotive intake install myself and after all was said and done, I realized a few things that I was not completely comfortable with and did not realize going into the project. One, the air filters are not visable and if one were to work it's way off, you would never know until you went to change your air filter. You could be sucking in debris for months without knowing it. Additionally, the pipes in the wheel area that lead to the turbos only leave about 1/2" clearance from the tire. l had a vision of a stick or rock being popped up in the 1/2" gap at high speed, ripping the rubber boot off the turbo at which point the turbo would be sucking in sand, rocks, etc. These are things I did not realize until I had installed the kit and was looking at it and analyizing it. These issues were always in the back of my mind, so when the oppertunity to solve the drivability issues meant removing the fender style intake, I was not overly reluctant to do so. I feel the factory design is much safer and better engineered from a reliability standpoint. Since then, I have heard of a stick dis-lodging a wheel well intake pipe, just like I had imagined. Although rare, I feel it's a real possibility. The EVO pipes are so solid and well engineered that failure is not a concern, whatsoever.

As for installation difficulty, I think the fender well intake is probably a bit easier to accomplish, but it is still a lot of work and a lot of the OEM parts are removed and or re-routed in the engine bay, due to the external vented blow off valves. If you have a lift, I bet they would both take about the same amount of time, as the hard pipe does not require all the plumbing work that the fender mount requires. It would be mostly fidgeting with the piping behind the motor and once you get it, you're done. I had mine done when the motor was out, so it was easy.

In the end, I have tried some options and settled on what I like best and feel most comfortable with. The fact that I was able to work with a somewhat local tuner that I can drive to and custom dyno tune was a good feature of the change, too. It has worked well for me.

 

+1 Well said John, this exactly why I went back to the OEM MAF as well.