Musings on performance products...

[Mad Ryan]

It seems that some of the performance products available for our cars are pretty overpriced. I'm coming off of bikes (Liter class sportbikes) where people count grams, not pounds, and where Titanium is the rule, not the exception. I have a 899cc bike that puts out more horsepower (dyno proven) at the rear wheel than our cars do. That being said I am looking at fabricating some stuff for my P5...

1) I really want to stiffen up the rear end and make the car handle more like a RWD rig. I'm thinking a rear upper strut tower brace. I can fab the brackets out of stainless and the brace it'self out of titanium fairly easily.

2) Cold air intake is really cool but let's be honest, it's overpriced. I've perused some of the mathematics involved with ideal length vs. width of tubing for ideal flow, as well as materials that are suitable. I think in our case, rather than design the ideal intake, companies designed whatever would fit under the hood. I think I can design the tubes that will flow just as well, and I can make them out of clear or tinted acrylic (Some kinds of acrylic are much more heat resistant than others) and I have a buddy at a local polymer manufacturing shop that can probably manufacture them. Would you guys be interested in a nice looking tubing assembly that incorporated your stock sensors and let you pick your own filter?

I'm not trying to sell anything here, I'm just getting ideas. I'm trying to figure out what parts work the best for our cars, and why. I don't really want to start my own performance products company, but I wouldn't mind making some stuff to test and if it works well I'd sell a few units to prominent forum members at a DEEP discount for evaluation. I did this for motorcycles because I could make as good or better quality stuff that fit my needs for nothing more than my time and materials.

Let me know what you guys like/dislike about the stuff that's available for the Protege'5 Also, what would you like to see made available?

Thanks
Ryan

 

[MrFoggy]

Dude, I'm so in! (2thumbs)

The rear strut tower brace is a great idea to help firm the back. There is someone on this board who has made one removeable(ie can take just the brace out if space is needeed). I forget who it is. Would you be doing something like that or something that permanently installs back there?

The CAI sounds like a cool idea. One question though. Wouldn't the clear get discolored after a while with not ony the heat, but the general enigine grime that occurs?

Either way, i would be willing to "guinea pig" for ya. I'll keep checking this post.

 

[mcstark]

Ryan - I agree that the CAI's are overpriced for what they are. That's why I just got a K&N drop-in filter for now. The ideal would seem to be a cross between an Injen CAI and the factory setup - a small (ram-air) intake above the radiator with a straight shot to the MAF and TB. The filter would have to be in-line with that, I guess. Just s*** off the top of my head -- I have zero experience with this stuff and don't know the mathematics to try and figure it out.

I'd be interested to try out whatever you come up with -- so long as I don't have to hack my engine bay to crap. Let us know what you're thinking of....

 

[LowMileLude]

Cool. Very cool.

 

[p5sundevil]

well he said some acryllic have good heat resistance inherint in the material it is made out of so that could be just as good as a steel or aluminum intake, plus you can always have it painted or powdercoated.

I like the intake idea and a front strut brace as well as rear if it would be an improvement over the stock brace.

Other things would be some nice interioir accents, small things like the shift boot ring alot of people have been wanting.

For performance only, Id say if some nice engine motor mounts similar to the AWR ones can be made for less money that would be phenominal as I have been holding off on the mounts only due to price.

If you are looking to sell a few things maybe a hard pipe kit for the MSP might go well since there are only 2 other brands for those I think.

what about lower sway bars?

just ideas Im throwing out, i really dont know feesability of production of those items.

 

[markmurray77]

I think that there are atleast 3 companies making the hard pipe kits for the MSP do you really need another one. Rear strut tower bar sounds good though

 

[Mad Ryan]

This is the kind of stuff I want. What're people's ideas about motor mounts? What do you guys want to change about the one we have stock? I may look into the Ram Air thing. If I can come up with a way to incorporate it onto the stock airbox I can make something that's a low cost mod that should increase flow. I wish I could find a pic of a P5 in a wind tunnel with a smoke indicator. That would give me an idea of what the highest pressure areas are.

I'm looking into the idea of an easily removable rear upper strut brace. I'm thinking 3/4 inch or so aluminum for the bar. It'd be heavier than a hollow one but it'd be really strong and stiff. I could make it be quick release easy enough. I've seen what some people are offering for braces and to be honest, I don't see how most of them can be more than cosmetic. A 3/4 inch aluminum tube with a .20" wall thickness is pretty flimsy.

Keep it coming!

 

[Dermen]

Tinted tail light covers would be cool. Nobody makes them for P5s or sedans.

 

[p5sundevil]

i still like the idea of the true flow intake, it always seemed to me an intake would function better if it did not actually bend but more the pipe itself seemed curved for the best path to the TB in terms of flow and distance.

it also seems this would only be possible with a composite and not a metal since making true flow type bends like that would be expensive, more so than mandrel bent angles in the pipe.

some nice aluminum downforcers would look good on some color cars and be functional, since they still would be light weight.

oh i know what i want, mesh aluminum fog lighs covers, similar to STi ones...damn i would like those. thick enough so you could paint em like the subaru ones also, ill see if I can find a pic of exactly what i mean.

 

[p5sundevil]

pic.

 

[tttP5]

would you consider making the rear strut brace so that it follows somewhat close to the roof-line so that it doesn't have to be removed unless you were trying to fit a refridgerator into it?

 

[BlueMP5Dave]

The problem with it following the roof line is still flex. It would have to have hard point mounting to the ceiling if you were to do that it is not low cost and could be time consuming on a customer. straight across quick release would make it feasable for simple install and one hole in factory plastic. I have already given this one lots of thought because unlike the sedan this car is agile but not as agile as my sedan was.

 

[KYREDP5]

I'd definately be in for a decently priced rear strut tower bar.

 

[PhreakV]

without having the time to give you a full listing of ideas/reasons (at work), I would like to say that yes, if you were to experiment with various parts you would be supported. Plus, depending on what part of Oregon you're in I know a machine shop that could help with fabrication...

PM me if interested.
(redp5)
(wrc)

 

[LowMileLude]

How about a "rear member bar set"?

The fog light mesh would be nice too... I think I would really need to see it though.

Big brake kit? I don't know if you can fabricate the rotors but maybe calipers? (I know for my pinto they have big brake kits that use older GM rotor/caliper combinations and they just sell bracket kits to mount them to the pinto application.)

 

[seakrait]

yeah, a removable rear strut tower bar would be great... though we'd have to cut holes into the interior... but i guess some sort of rings could be fabricated to slip over the lips of the cut-out holes...

 

[mcstark]

Ryan - The ideal would seem to be a cross between an Injen CAI and the factory setup - a small (ram-air) intake above the radiator with a straight shot to the MAF and TB. The filter would have to be in-line with that, I guess.

Here's something I just drew up -- again, no experience with this and I didn't look at the engine to see if it could be routed this way, or would interfere with anything. I'm just throwing this out there. You could have a break in the tubing where I have "disconnect" marked, so you could have access to the cone filter. Obviously would have to work the MAF into it, but could maybe use the factory tubing up to the stock filter box.

/members/mcstark/Intake/intakedesign.jpg