Lost HP from a Injen Cold Air Intake...
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Lost HP from a Injen Cold Air Intake...
Hello all, I am posting this to warn everybody who owns a Lexus IS 350 not to buy this product. I have a 2014 IS 350 F-Sport, and as some of us feel, the car could use just a tad more horsepower. So I bring the car to a performance shop, where they dyno test cars, and I get my rear wheel horsepower at 253. Ok so its time to see if I can squeeze more HP right?
First off do not fall for these "instant programmers" that sell for $60-100 bucks, they "monitor your driving habits to reprogram the ecu". They do not work, Lexus does lock their ecu with various encryptions.
Ok so the next thing that makes sense is a cold air intake... more airflow = more HP right? WRONG (at least with this product) I went back to the same place to dyno test my car... well folks all I can say is I wish I could upload my picture to show you the test results. They told me I am losing around 12HP at 3k RPM, only gaining 3 at 6500 RPM. So where is the +19HP Injen promises??? Called Injen, sent them pictures, it was installed properly, I bought the right part number.. they will "escalate to upper management". Meanwhile im out 250 bucks + 140 for the 2 dyno tests.
Bottom line: Do not buy this crap. I am doubtful that anything will increase HP in this car. The performance shop that dyno tested my car told me he sees this every day. Audi, Mercedes, Infiniti, Lexus... all these cars ECU's are locked to the point they do not even know how to process increased airflow. If you want to performance tune, you have to buy a car that supports the capabilities, like say a Ford Mustang.
Now im dealing with my credit card company to reverse the charge of the purchase. I do not want anyone else to go through what I went through. Do not waste time or money with this crap. Lets pray Lexus adds more HP in the future offerings.
First off do not fall for these "instant programmers" that sell for $60-100 bucks, they "monitor your driving habits to reprogram the ecu". They do not work, Lexus does lock their ecu with various encryptions.
Ok so the next thing that makes sense is a cold air intake... more airflow = more HP right? WRONG (at least with this product) I went back to the same place to dyno test my car... well folks all I can say is I wish I could upload my picture to show you the test results. They told me I am losing around 12HP at 3k RPM, only gaining 3 at 6500 RPM. So where is the +19HP Injen promises??? Called Injen, sent them pictures, it was installed properly, I bought the right part number.. they will "escalate to upper management". Meanwhile im out 250 bucks + 140 for the 2 dyno tests.
Bottom line: Do not buy this crap. I am doubtful that anything will increase HP in this car. The performance shop that dyno tested my car told me he sees this every day. Audi, Mercedes, Infiniti, Lexus... all these cars ECU's are locked to the point they do not even know how to process increased airflow. If you want to performance tune, you have to buy a car that supports the capabilities, like say a Ford Mustang.
Now im dealing with my credit card company to reverse the charge of the purchase. I do not want anyone else to go through what I went through. Do not waste time or money with this crap. Lets pray Lexus adds more HP in the future offerings.
#3
Everything 4TehNguyen said. Any intake that eliminates the stock air box is going to cause a decrease in power due to the heated air of the engine bay. The increased surface area of a conical filter does not make up for this.
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Yes, I unplugged the battery, which according to Injen resets the ECU. It is incredibly wrong for a manufacturer to report +19 HP, then again looks like there's a lot of manufacturer lying going on today
#7
Good for you on calling them out.
I'm sure they "swayed" the results in order to benefit themselves. Hood up with a fan blowing air directly onto the filter.
The real test is with the hood down. We don't drive around the streets with the hood up.
I'm sure they "swayed" the results in order to benefit themselves. Hood up with a fan blowing air directly onto the filter.
The real test is with the hood down. We don't drive around the streets with the hood up.
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Thanks for the info as I have this intake and have not installed it yet. Also that statement for Audi and Mercedes is not true I've owned both an E55 AMG tuned and an B8 Audi S4 Tuned both had 50+ whp gains as both were supercharged. But the ECU are not locked.
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Also keep in mind that if you dyno a car on different days there are a lot of factors that can make the numbers fluctuate (temp of car before dyno and on dyno, air quality and temp etc.) Not saying Injen is at all accurate but I would say you should not be of a loss of more than 5hp if they are claiming 19hp gains. Also you would not notice a 5hp loss at all so if your goal is to get sound then it's OK but for performance it's not worth the money like you stated. That's the problem with lexus is that you can't tune the cars plus it's NA so not many options of HP gains without forced induction.
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Also keep in mind that if you dyno a car on different days there are a lot of factors that can make the numbers fluctuate (temp of car before dyno and on dyno, air quality and temp etc.) Not saying Injen is at all accurate but I would say you should not be of a loss of more than 5hp if they are claiming 19hp gains. Also you would not notice a 5hp loss at all so if your goal is to get sound then it's OK but for performance it's not worth the money like you stated. That's the problem with lexus is that you can't tune the cars plus it's NA so not many options of HP gains without forced induction.
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#14
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Assuming the 256 is with stock and 253hp is with intake? I think you labeled it wrong with one set of lines being HP and the other being torque. So where you wrote stock, that is your torque curve.
Technically you lost top end at around 6000 rpms but you gained 2-3 hp in the low end power. Also you gained some torque according to the numbers, about 4 ft/lbs. SRI (short Ram Intakes) which you must have are known for less HP, more torque gains. You gained exactly what you were supposed to. Also most of these companies DYNO their cars on fresh oil and new plugs when the engine is at peak performance. Also the claim of +19 hp is how much their intakes can gain on "A CAR" not yours specifically. If you go on youtube most NA cars gain about 5-6 hp, F/I cars gain about 10 to 15 hp. Even saw an S4 that gained 20hp just from an injen intake.
Technically you lost top end at around 6000 rpms but you gained 2-3 hp in the low end power. Also you gained some torque according to the numbers, about 4 ft/lbs. SRI (short Ram Intakes) which you must have are known for less HP, more torque gains. You gained exactly what you were supposed to. Also most of these companies DYNO their cars on fresh oil and new plugs when the engine is at peak performance. Also the claim of +19 hp is how much their intakes can gain on "A CAR" not yours specifically. If you go on youtube most NA cars gain about 5-6 hp, F/I cars gain about 10 to 15 hp. Even saw an S4 that gained 20hp just from an injen intake.
Last edited by NYKnick101; 07-01-14 at 07:05 AM.
#15
Assuming the 256 is with stock and 253hp is with intake? I think you labeled it wrong with one set of lines being HP and the other being torque. So where you wrote stock, that is your torque curve.
Technically you lost top end at around 6000 rpms but you gained 2-3 hp in the low end power. Also you gained some torque according to the numbers, about 4 ft/lbs. SRI (short Ram Intakes) which you must have are known for less HP, more torque gains. You gained exactly what you were supposed to. Also most of these companies DYNO their cars on fresh oil and new plugs when the engine is at peak performance. Also the claim of +19 hp is how much their intakes can gain on "A CAR" not yours specifically. If you go on youtube most NA cars gain about 5-6 hp, F/I cars gain about 10 to 15 hp. Even saw an S4 that gained 20hp just from an injen intake.
Technically you lost top end at around 6000 rpms but you gained 2-3 hp in the low end power. Also you gained some torque according to the numbers, about 4 ft/lbs. SRI (short Ram Intakes) which you must have are known for less HP, more torque gains. You gained exactly what you were supposed to. Also most of these companies DYNO their cars on fresh oil and new plugs when the engine is at peak performance. Also the claim of +19 hp is how much their intakes can gain on "A CAR" not yours specifically. If you go on youtube most NA cars gain about 5-6 hp, F/I cars gain about 10 to 15 hp. Even saw an S4 that gained 20hp just from an injen intake.
You'd think the guy running the dyno might have pointed that out too....