The truth about intakes.

The truth is with a performance intake you WILL lose power in stop and go traffic and on a dyno. The reason for this is simple. By creeping along for 30 or more minutes at 45 MPH your engine really heats up or in the case of a dyno the intake is sucking hot air in from around the engine space. Since you are going slowly at an unsteady rate and/or sitting still, airflow into the engine bay is very erratic. This will force the air filter to suck in the hot engine air. (path of least resistence) Since hot air is less dense you will lose performance. However, on short trips, joyrides, or highway travelling, you will gain performance since there is a consistent cold airflow into the engine bay.


Is it worth it?

Many people including myself say YES! You may lose performance in rush hour, but are you really looking for more power when you are creeping along in heavy traffic? I doubt it. When you need that extra performance the performance air filter will give you that fun factor.

How can I get the most performance out of my air intake?

Most people will find that the performance cone air intake provides amp performance. However, others may want even more performance. How do you do this? By adding a Heat shield.

The best way to maximize the performance of a cool air filter is to build a custom heat shield. This will allow your air intake to suck in cool air all the time. Some companies make them but they are expensive, and you can easily build a better one yourself with less than and a trip to the home depot. What you want to do is isolate the cone air filter from the rest of the engine bay. (Which as we all know the LMS Intake does not do!) This will protect the filter from the engines hot air. It is best to close off as big of a space as possible to allow the enclosed area to hold more air (more air = better throttle response). Enclosing an area that doesn't have any place for the outside air to enter will still work, but it is best to enclose an area that has access to the outside air. I.E.. It is best to build a three-wall heat shield that is open in front to allow air to enter the area through the front grill. (In our case the 3 wall will be open towards the factory air inlet that is directing airflow from the front of the car.)

This is an example of what I'm talking about.

 

You know I want to add something to this thread. I can tell you from my dyno experiences that the IS350 needs cool air. The stock intake system is actually very very good already and I bet that by just adding a K&N filter it would probably show more gains on a dyno then a aftermarket intake system. I was making consistently 10whp less on my intake dyno compared to my baseline until I added a second fan that directed more cool air onto the intake. With that said, I am positive that if we add an aftermarket intake we NEED some type of Intake heat shield to reduce the amount of warm air this intake is sucking in from the engine. This way we can keep the best feature of the stock system (cool air drawn only from outside) and we get the added bonus of quicker throttle response and lower end power with the less restrictive aftermarket intake system.

 

yea im not that impressed with current intakes, whenever I get my IS, if nothing good is out I'll just get a K&N drop in filter

 

Has anyone tried to remove the resonator and replace it with something else, like a bottle cap? Any ideas? We do this on the 3000.

 

I don't think the resonator affects the intake performance. I actually think it probably helps. Biggest thing that needs done is to block off the warm air the aftermarket intakes are ingesting to give us maximum gains. If I find that to make a decent intake heat shield is too much of a hassel, then I'm going to sell the LMS intake and just go for a K&N drop in when they become available.

 

The car is already too powerful to me.... however, I would like a meaner Sounding car.

So getting an intake, to me may be a waste, vs the regular Drop in K&N... whenever that comes out.

How would the Intake resonator help performance?

 

I think its actually channeling colder air into the intake from the way its setup, aftermarket intakes do not block off the hot engine air. K&N drop in actually makes the engine growl more in some cars, my moms avalon sounds a lot meaner now with her K&N drop in Youre mileage usually improves 2-3 mpg with a K&N drop in, from what ive experienced

 

This article points out the difference between filling a cylinder with air and just straight out flow. The resonator actually helps fill the engine with more air since it is a cyclic event - not a continuous flow as such. The resonator acts as an extra reserve of air to fill the cylinder with more air. Only applies to naturally aspirated engines

If you consider Manning's equation (below diagram) then you would assume that a larger smooth walled pipe would flow more air - it will (on a flow bench), but not into a piston engine

 

unless LMS and other companies make a heat shield, I'd just go
with a K&N drop in...

 

Yeah I'm thinking the same thing, that is why I'd like to make a heat shield. I do like the look of the LMS intake and the sounds are rather addicting, but I dont' want "all show/ no go" intake

 

Jim Wolf makes a CAI with heat shield for the G35.

JWT PopCharger w/ Heat Shield

I dunno, seems like the engine still was sucking hot air on my G. I guess it was better than nothing though.

 

We'll I've decided that I am going to sell the LMS intake. I've got new plans. First one to contact me who meets my requested price gets it. Click Here

 

no they make an intake with a heatshield. its not a CAI until its completely out of the engine compartment.

 

Ok, I'm curious Cayman....what are your new plans?