Lexmex

I have actually bashed my customs designs a few times.

Believe me, I donīt like the PVC, but it is easier to work with whenever I come up with another intake design idea. Eventually, it will be aluminum, as I want to do a custom turbo project in the future, but plan to do it with a little more patience and likely when I get back to the U.S.

The Weapon-R, among widely available designs, would be my favorite, as I looked at a quite a few others before coming to that realization, but with some of my custom designs, I actually lost power. Still, you have to start somewhere.

Let me know how the Weapon-R works for you as I am curious about the Secret Intake design.

TruPlaya26

iTrader: (4)

Its worked great for me so far. iv had it installed for about 2 weeks now and iv noticed better acceleration and a small horsepower gain, like i said i gained approx 15 HP from the intake. then on top of that, i love the sound it gives my car, and it freed up a lot of space when i took out the factory air filter box. but check out my intake pic on the websites i left on one of the previous posts in this thread. and in case your wondering what that black thing in the middle is, its the factory air mass sensor, i decided to leave it on.

Lexmex

I would love to get a different kind of MAF sensor, and am looking really hard.

I would probably make myself a custom heat shield to keep the engine heat away. I know Miami, even though at sea level, that summer humidity from my childhood is something I will never forget.

Next thing I definitely would do with that ES would be exhaust, bigger gains.

Slooooooow

iTrader: (1)

This is very good news. Is this HP gain indicated on a dyno test or are you taking a "seat of the pants" / guesstimation?

Also, have you noted a fuel mileage difference?

TruPlaya26

iTrader: (4)

yea the HP gain is a guess right now, havnt gone to get a dyno test yet. but the intake specs state that its supposed to give you anywhere from 13-16 HP but i kno someonewho has this same car and put the same intake in and he did go get dyno tested, it gave him 15 HP extra. now with the fuel mileage, iv noticed a very small increase. its not too much tho because of the way i drive the car , but im sure for ppl who drive more conservatively it would be a bigger mpg gain.

Pheonix

Afew people have.
Terrastriffe, a '94 Holden Appollo owner in Australia made a nice one.

1 you have a different engine, but it uses the same basic intake, and the same principal applies.
2 if you want to know why most intakes don't do jack squat, read this
I highly doubt you got 15bhp. The average for an intake that is just going to give power is only about 7 1/2 horsepower to a stock engine, and that's peak. Expect no gain, or even losses under 4000-4400rpm.
Im not trying to make a point, but we need to be realistic.
That's actually not true. The Weapon-R's and dragon's in generaly actually decrease power.
PVC is an easy way to fab an intake. It is also somewhat of a perminant intake, provided that you keep it away form heat.
PVC has been used for years in cheap turob setups. Provided you keep it away from the head of the turbo, exhaust, and engine components it works.
The danger with PVC is not *that* it melts, but that it can release toxic gasses when it starts to melt. It is also bad to discolor into a brown.

TruPlaya26

iTrader: (4)

Well i dunno about decreased power because i have noticed a small increase in accelertaion quickness out of my first gear. the thing is my car is an automatic but i drive it like a manual. i usually dont just leave the car on "D", i start out on the "L" which is first gear, then shift to "2", and finally to "D".

Now if i just leave the car in drive theres really not too much of a difference, like i said you really see the difference (and hear it) when you shift gears yourself. and yes i do it like this because i love racing my friends and the manual shifting really speeds up the acceleration, it gives you more control because you can change gears at higher RPMs. so, at least for my car, the intake has worked and has given me a little more power, not sure how much exactly but ill go do a dyno test and find out and let you guys know the results.

Pheonix

Actually, the higher end of the stock shifting points are right where the fat of the powerband is.
The common misconception is that just because the engine will rev out to 7000-7100, that it makes power there.
The reality, is that by 6000 it's well out of breath on the stock cams.

Which is why it shifts around 6000-6250rpm. This is one of the rare times where shifting at 6500+ may feel nice when it kicks back, but its actually slower.

You'll swear it's not true until you sit down and time it with something accurate, or go to a strip.


btw yeah, Im sure the intake does feel nicer if you're manual shifting. Intakes don't really change much until you're at the top 1/5 of an rpm band. Which is where you're feeling gains if you're shifting high.
Say... 5200rpm+ if you just want a number to throw around.

TruPlaya26

iTrader: (4)

yes im usually shifting between 5000 and 5500 RPMs, i very rarely get to 6000 RPMs, i dont wanna put too much strain on my engine. and also i kinda had an idea about the higher/slower RPM shifting cuz my friend races all the time in his '95 Firebird and he told me he noticed that a couple times. but thanx for the info, evry little bit helps, and itll help out other ppl that didnt kno that either .

Pheonix

Shift at 5800-6000rpm, or more if you do something like a port & polish & get some management.
Now if you have a pretty full intake & exhaust mods, a few other things, you can afford to let it rev more.

Remember, peak horsepower doesn't hit until 5200rpm. The idea is to dance around peak horsepower without loosing the horsepower band when shifting. Shifting before peak power simply drops you back out of the fat of the powerband. Shifting too late past peak power throws you at the top of the powerband, but power will drop off rapidly.

Just a quick jaunt of numbers on stock overall tire size (205/65-R15) i.e. 25.49" diameter.
On the A/, optimal shifting would be at:
1-2: 6500rpm (to 3600rpm @ 44mph)
2-3: 6250rpm (to 4000rpm @ 77mph)
3-4: 6000rpm (to 4800rpm @ 118.26mph)
The goal is to keep the minimum rpm when shifting ABOVE 4000rpm. Remember that without the ACIS mod done, the ACIS, and a bit of ingition timing doesn't hit until:
> 4000rpm
and
>\= 75% wide open throttle (TPS sensor)
Which goes back to a seperate discussion. A 4000rpm torque convertor is a godsend as when under load, the engine will always be slipping to 4000rpm.

Pheonix

To quote the Toyota/Lexus manuals (and about ever Toyota/Lexus/Scion repair manual of the last 20 years):
Aslong as it's picking up oil its fine. No road tracking without checking the oil to be maximum full. (and god forbid anyone ever does a road corse. Add an extra quart.)

TruPlaya26

iTrader: (4)

man i love driving my automatic in manual, i love that kickbak when you shift at high rpms, i kno u guys said it actually loses some HP by shifting real high, but that hard kick when changing gears is a lot of fun. now when i race i shift a slight bit lower and i get the full potential out of my intake !!

Lexmex

If you ever get a chance to take it up to Moroso in WPB, I would be interested to see what she can run in the 1/4 mile. My father and I use to take cars out a strip in Hollywood, but that closed a long time ago. Sad that Dade County does not have a true 1/4 mile strip...except on the street.

TruPlaya26

iTrader: (4)

yea i wish, me and some of my friends use a street close to my house, real long str8 street with no traffic lights or traffic at night. i might take it to a track at some point in the near future, i want to get my exhaust system and some other lil mods first, so i can make a good first appearance. i need some new tires for sure tho !! right now if im lucky maybe i can get a 14 or 15 second time, you think thats accurate? or maybe it will be quicker? im gonna have to time myself, lol.

Lexmex

I am not too sure what ES300s have been clocking at, since depends on multiple factors, but I am sure some of the other members will chime in. My RX300 modified should be able to hit high 15s at sea level, but it has much more weight.