MS6 upgrades - Tried a few, wanted to share

yes theoretically it would work. But air intake behavior is indeed quite different between SRI & CAI... enough that i would get a proper map first. I do not know how it react however.

might wanna post this or search this in the 6/MS6 ECU Issues & Tuning section.
 
I have been monitoring intake temperature with my Dashdaq while running SRI instead of my CPE CAI. Temps are at least 30F higher with the SRI, when you are moving along on the highway. It gets as much as 100F higher when you are stuck in traffic. Personally, I think the CAI is a better way to go just because of that. When I was running CAI, intake temps were never more than 10F above ambient. If temps would only be 30-50F delta max with SRI, I would say that it is a break even, taking in account turbo temperatures. I am thinking about going back to CAI at one point. Any of you guys install a shield box for the filter, to prevent it from getting wet inside the fender? If so, let me know what is the best option out there. The fabric hydro shield over the filter does not do the trick. I've tried this approach already.
 
aye. IMHO SRI is only beneficial if one also goes with a cold air box, or is forced to due to FMIC.

the CAB for SRI really makes up for that heat difference to the CAI but without being low and having extra tubing which means extra air turbulance. The tempurature findings you are finding is EXACTLY why i wanted to stick with CAI, despite risk of rain n such. I monitor intake temps all the time too, and when i talk to guys that monitor their SRI they NEVER believe me how much cooler air i get... its funny.

as for filter protection for the CAI... i use a combo of the HydroShield sock + a heatshield that is angled betweem the filter and fender vents which ofc acts as a splash guard. Before i had that heat shield i simply sealed off the fender vents completely using plastic and duct tape, on the INSIDE of the finder liner, the side in the engine bay. But i felt if i kept it totally sealed up like that, i lose a little bit of the benefit of having my CAI down there. been running the HydroShield & Heat shield for months now... drove plenty in some bad rainstorms, and snow... no issues yet!

GL with going back to CAI, i think its worth it!
 
This is great! I think I will try this out.
By the way, I have just discovered that some racers are using high flow foam air conditioner filter to cover up problem areas. It passes air through flawlessly but keeps water and dirt out. I assume I can pick it up at any hardware store. I am thinking about adding this to cover the vents, in addition to head shield.

If we go on like this, we will not need an air filter anymore. :-)
 
Question for everyone: Is CAI worth the effort? (SRI is definitely out of question).
So, I have put my car back together to stock a while back and visited the dealership for 30K checkup. Then I decided to start putting things back together one at a time and experience every change. Keep in mind, I started out completely stock, including air box.
First, TMIC went on. I definitely noticed some improvement, especially in spooling. Pressure would read 16psi stable at WOT until about 4500RMP then drop off some, in line with stock tune. Drove around for about 2 weeks and everything looked pretty good. Then I put my Unichip P&P back on and WOW, what an improvement. The map was standard performance 93 for stock car. I liked it. Now I started to peak at 18PSI stable though the most of the band, low end torque improved noticeably too. However, I don't think Unichip tune is up to dealing with 18PSI and once I go WOT, there was a minor knock at around 4500RPM that pulled timing back. Originally, I though perhaps my BPV was leaking, so I put Forge back on. Made some difference but not enough. So, tune it is. At this point, I can see some potential to make things a lot better with a custom tune and will drive over 100 miles to get it. My dilemma is whether to put the CAI back on. I really started to appreciate the stock air box design, once I experience all the turbulence with SRI and some "bumpy" performance with the CAI. In addition, my Forge BPV was not doing well with a CAI but is doing very well with stock box. I have a feeling that our stock box is not that restrictive and the only benefit with going to CAI is colder air, which may give me 5-8 additional hp and about the same torque numbers? Given the weight of our car, is it worth going to CAI in this case? What do you guys think?
Another questions is step colder plugs? Should I put those in before the custom tune? I am having my doubts that they will make much difference, once the tune is done correctly.
One thing for sure, a better TMIC is well undervalued. By itself, it may not be as much but with a tune I bet it will make a LOT of difference.
 
That is still very controversial. Honestly, gains with CAI or SRI alone arent impressive or that noticeable.
But most people do it as part of a list of bolt-ons to increase total power. Not too mention a tune alone, like with a basic stock COBB AP map for 91 oct & CAI would most certainly make a difference.

Remember CAI will make the difference in the higher end of the power band, while SRI will make the more immediate gains in the low end. That part comes down to preference. And a very minor aspect of intake is sound, some people (like hybrid BPVs) spend simply for more aggressive sound. But ultimately, i haven't seen any real word testing numbers, papers, charts comparing SRI vs CAI vs STOCK. THAT would be interesting in terms of overall performance numbers & EFFICIENCY coupled with several other bolt-ons.

As far as i know the stock intake isn't all that restrictive in terms of volume of air intake, i believe it is more to do with efficiency. Heat soak, consistency of air flow, turbulence issues perhaps (accordion tubing, ugh!)... the pro's might wanna chime in.

Id say run the stock intake with some data logging on a dashhawk or AP, coupled with all your other mods and perhaps a tune. Then do the same for the cold air. im sure you will see increased power gains, a bit, but the overall AFR, intake temps, after turbo temps, knock, mileage etc etc are what id be more curious about.

let us know! :D
 
Thanks for the feedback, batou79. I appreciate it.
I looked at CobbAP website and noticed something interesting. Going from Stage1 stock to Stage1+SF on 93 only adds 5hp and 4ft.lb. of torque. Perhaps the turbo spooling would improve with SF but I think TMIC and new BPV are much more effective when it comes to this improvement. This might not be entirely true and that is the reason why I started the post. Hopefully, we will get some feedback from more guys on the forum.

Unfortunately, I only get to do the tune once. I will have to loose the whole day to this, since the tuner is far from me, and it is not cheap to get done either.
I am hoping that someone has already tried this experiment and can share their experience with us.

At this point, I am thinking: Stock air box and stock spark plugs (instead of CAI and 1 step colder plugs).
 
oh true about tuning; expensive and not easily accessible. i spose all i meant was trying to run proper AP maps for each setup.
But it sounds like you experimented with that a bit already.

I say go for it. run stock intake, and normal plugs... i wouldnt stick with the fomoco plugs however, just some regular iridiums maybe? Did you ever get a tune before? and if so, did you do a before & after dynopull? that'd be interesting info to compare to a new tune based on stock intake/plugs!
 
Thanks for the feedback, batou79. I appreciate it.
I looked at CobbAP website and noticed something interesting. Going from Stage1 stock to Stage1+SF on 93 only adds 5hp and 4ft.lb. of torque.

keep in mind those numbers are prolly in reference to peak hp/tq. you gotta look at other parts of the power band to appreciate what some simple breather mods and tuning can do for this platform.
 
I just found this thread and now im worried. I recently ordered a corksport sri to replace my Fujita CAI. i live in michigan too and the fujita never impressed me, all i hear is sound with no power gain. its tough to get at if i need to clean it. I also read SRI have better throttle response because there is less piping.

However when i monitor my intake temps they are usually about 10 degrees over ambient and boosted intake temps around 120-130F. If i sit in traffic they get up to 160, but soon as i start moving they drop quickly. Up until now I never realized that a CAI may help TMIC efficency a great deal.
 
you live in michigan. i would not worry.

CAI is best utilized in dry HOT climates, where they need all teh help they can get in the cooling department.
You have mostly wet and cold climate. your SRI will not only keep you safer from filter corrosion and hydrolock, but your intake temps will pull ambient temps at about the same as CAI will pull from hot places like Arizona, California, Texas, etc.

i know your summers arent deathly cold, but are still much cooler than the west!
srsly, your temps are normal. a tad high when you are sitting idle, but that is very normal purely due to engine ambient temps....

If you are still concerned, you can always invest in a cold air box. I believe corksport makes one for their SRI. If not, its not too hard to get one created custom. No worries meng.

:D
 
you live in michigan. i would not worry.
If you are still concerned, you can always invest in a cold air box. I believe corksport makes one for their SRI. If not, its not too hard to get one created custom. No worries meng.

:D

they want $89 for that "box" i think ill go custom route for like 10$ :-) build my own from pizza boxes or something.
 

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