The only "mods" I have are a borla exhaust (muffler style) and K&N stock replacement filter. The borlas' resonance is louder than I wanted, but at least they drown out the tire roar. I don't want any more noise than I already have. Now my question:

I would like to install an intake, but not an ECU. I live at 4K' of altitude, and the stock ECU should have plenty of adjusting left for an intake (I don't think it would be injecting as much fuel as at sea-level. I would like a system that looks like factory, so quality is a must, including hardware.

Last, I think an intake system will sound like when we used to reverse the air filter top on old V8s and you floored it, right? But I certainly don't want an audible vacuum cleaner sucking sound all the time.

Now my questions:

1. With my borlas, what can I expect to hear in additional noise from the intake at 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full throttle?

2. Any hp gains at my altitude? Any decrease at low rpm?

3. Which system (remember: fit and finish are more important than power)? BTW, I want to retain the engine cover. Websites would be helpful.

4. Is stock M.A.S. (mass airflow sensor) retained?

Thanks guys, and yes, I looked at previous posts but none answered my specific noise question with borlas. Hope you don't mind.

Juan Carlos

 

I will attemp to answer based on my own experiences:

1. Yes - regardless of Borlas - the stock intake has a couple (?) of baffles in there that help queit the air movement. Of course with an aftermarket intake / tube, there will be no baffles.

2. Not qualified to answer - this should be a funtion of whether or not the stock ECU will adjust high enough for the new increase in air.

We've begun a small debate on the issue here:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=28293

Good luck finding hard and fast answers - you will see my .02 in that debate.

3. Sounds like you want it for looks, not performance. Don't bother if that is the case. As far as fit & finish, but w/o an ECU, I have no answers. I gravitate towards SRT, but I have it. Their F&F has been elevated since their first runs. If you want to see some pics of mine....

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/sh10298/l...view=t&.view=t

BTW and FWIW, I have no deal with SRT; I just like their products

4. In the SRT, yes. The K&N, not sure, I haven't reseacrched hard enough to know, but there are links in that thread I gave above that give some specific details. I imagine for any intake, there would need to be a place to hook in teh MAS - how else would the car know how to compute fuel ratios?

You know there are venturies you can request from Borla to quiet them down a little...

HTH

 

Juan - If ya only want to pick up a little HP, why not just stay with the K&N element & be done with it? I kinda doubt that anyone makes an intake that resembles the stock one - where would the performance gain come from? I also agree U that the ECU should have enough additional "headroom" left in itself ( although years ago cars bound for Denver & those areas of altitude came with ECU's adjusted for the thinner air - don't know about a Lexus ). Dex's reasoning is mostly correct about the stock airbox making things quiet but not sure about any baffles. The airbox acts much like a plenum so that there's already pressurized air ( ounces ) ready for the engine - now there's no pressure wave ( created by the intake butterfly valve opening ) to make the audible sucking sound that a tubular intake w/o a plenum gives. At any rate, both my old RMM & current SRT intake don't make that sound at less than 1/4 throttle but from that point up it's very apparent ( but I like it!! ). With both those intakes, I "felt" like I lost a small amount of bottom end torque but made it up from the midrange up ( hard to verify via dyno because the GS tranny downshifts @ WOT below 4k rpms so I can't get any low rpm readings ). Yes, the stock MAF is retained with any aftermarket intake - remember that it provides feedback to the engine ECU.

 

I really appreciate your responses, both of you. I guess I wasn't specific enough: The reason I'm considering the intake is because I want the growl (or snarl?) at full throttle or close to it, but not any additional sucking noise in the cabin at less than that. Currently, at WOT, I don't hear the exhaust, and the racket coming out of the engine is not particularly appealing. The intake doesn't have to look like factory; just look well integrated, good F&F, and from quality components. Most of the comments I read on available intakes mentioned leaks, cheap-looking clamps and hoses, etc. But if I"m going to sacrifice more low-end power, I might as well leave the stock airbox with my K&N.

Now, on the venturies. Yes, I got them a few weeks back, but haven't installed them yet. First of all, I wonder if they're effective, but more importantly, I'm not removing the mufflers to install them. So can I just push (or hammer) them in place (maybe bending them a little), without blowing out in the future?
If they have to be spot-welded, can it be done without messing up my tips or making a hole on the pipe?, and couldn't they rattle on the back, which cannot be welded (or removed now)?
thanks for your thoughts, and best wishes for you and your families.

 

If you decide to get the intake, I think the loss of low end would be minimal, and, it will sound much better at WOT; the growl and snarl will be evident then.

Like I mentioned, the F&F of SRT products has improved markedly - did you look at my pics? Very clean and well done with color matching of the hardware.

Your venturi question - I have no idea. I haven't herd of anyone doing them, installing, and / or results. It would probably be best to post a specific thread asking that question.

HTH

 

Hey Dexter, I saw your pics and read your post. On your pics, is the black "gap" around the filter a gasket or an actual gap? Can't really tell due to lighting. On your post, nobody talked about noise levels, and the guy talking about the tranny module being replaced under the center console is wrong: it was the Yaw Sensor, recalled under warranty. The main ECM was also recalled on certain models (including mine). I agree with you on a ECM chip at sea-level, but in my case (4K' altitude), even with intake and borlas, I wouldn't see near sea-level stock-hp levels, so it would be a waste of money (and gas) indeed.

Thanks for your suggestion; I'll post a message asking about the venturi issue.

Last question for you: in normal city driving, can you hear any intake noise from your SRT? I'm assuming you have some kind of exahust (didn't check out your sig before posting this), right?.
I'll check SRT's website and check prices w/o chip. K&N picture of their intake had a huge gap around, which makes me wonder if the heat shield is of any help.
Thanks man, and merry Christmas.

 

Gaps:
That gap is a gap, but there is a gasket there too - took em at night....There are a acouple of minute gaps where the intake pipe meets the heatshield, and where the heatsheild meets the engine bay. They are nothing to be overly concerned about.

Noise:
During normal driving, you cannot hear this intake. The previous issues of the sucking, or wheezing sound has been eliminated during normal driving by SRT utilizing a larger filter than the first incarnation.

Now, when you put your foot into it, it will whistle a little, and the engine comes to life quite readily - it is a beautiful sound.

I have Borlas to accompany the intake sound as well. It can be like Jekyl and Hyde: quiet normal cruising, but when you stomp it, the GS4 roars to life.

 

Juan – Agree with most all of Dexter’s comments – although I have the L-Tuned exhaust which I believe to be slightly louder than the Borlas. The only area of disagreement is during times of low vacuum (giving it gas but not enough to downshift) you’ll get some of the snarl/growl. I keep this to a minimum by keeping revs up by staying in a lower gear during traffic (besides I like the immediate acceleration without the downshift). Really depends a lot on your driving style. Most of my driving is in traffic and I’m seldom in 5th. When you do ask Scotty to give you warp speed the snarl/growl sounds NASTY – I love it! I didn’t see Dex’s pictures so I’m attaching one of my install too – like him, I think it’s a nice clean look (long as you like red!).

 

Thanks Garnet for your post. Now I know what to expect from an intake, thanks to you guys. Let me get one thing straight: under the conditions you mentioned (keeping it at lower gears, with slightly higher rpms than in "D"), the intake noise will not be heard inside (muffled by the exhaust noise), except when you gas it hard (whether downshifting or not), right? I also rarely use 5th, and use the e-shift all the time (to keep the annoying exhaust resonance away too).
If I decide to go for the intake, does SRT sell it without ECU? I tried www.swiftracing.com but got an error message during Christmas; I'll try again when I hear from you on this noise issue.

Thanks buddy, and best wishes for you and your family for 2002.

 

Juan – I’m an old guy – and being such I’ve dealt a lot with carburetors (before fuel injection). The best way to describe the “when” and “how much” of the snarl/growl is to liken it to a 4-barrel carburetor car with the air cleaner off. Any time of low vacuum is when you’ll notice the intake the most. The low vacuum occurs with engine at low rpm and you open the throttle – it may take a second to a few seconds (when the vacuum drops to “zero”) until the engine revs up and vacuum returns to a normal level. I know that this may sound like Greek if you’re unfamiliar with the carburetor analogy, sorry – can’t think of a better way to describe “when” it happens??? You can figure that as long as the engine revs are “up” you can’t hear it. The instant of opening the throttle is when it’s most noticible.

Funny you mention the exhaust resonance – I didn’t know that the Borla also had that problem – it’s the one thing that I don’t like about my L-Tuned system. I had Borla cat-backs on my SC4 and never heard any resonance. The LT system sounds great outside the car and except for the resonance point, doesn’t intrude inside the car either – but the resonance (not the sound itself) does bother me.

Finally, although I have the SRT and am satisfied with it, you might want to check out the Weapon R system as well. A few of the guys have them and are apparently are sold on Weapon. It’s difficult to access the validity of the claims of Weapon vs. SRT – they both have their claims (mine’s bigger than yours, etc.) I’d like to see an objective, unbiased test of one against the other. The dyno tests done by both didn’t use the same dyno, same car, techniques, etc. so can’t be viewed as completely objective. Just a thought.
(Damn, I can get long-winded)

 

Hey man, old? I feel like a senior citizen in this site full of kids; I turn 40 in a few days, so I'm old after all, huh? It sounds like at least I'm not twice your age, so I feel better.
Anyway, there's no "long-winded" car talk for me, so you're welcome to long-wind all you want.
And yes, I remember turning the air filter lid upside down on V8 cars, so I know exactly what you mean, and I like that. It looks like you sold me on an intake, and I would appreciate if you happen to have the websites for both SRT and Weapon-R handy.
I like your attitude that just because you have something on your car, it's not necessarily the best; thanks for your honest comments buddy.
Finally, I did post about the venturies on borlas, but nobody replied. I guess I'll try to just push them in place and go for a ride to see if they really work. I would like to find an epoxy or something else besides welding; any ideas?
I enjoy your comments a lot, so keep them coming.

 

Juan,
Here are a couple of other alternatives to RMM and SRT. Performance should be on par with the RMM, or the SRT without the ECU, but they look a little different.

Weapon R Intake


Injen Intake
Scroll down to the IS intake, which is the style for the GS. The price of the intake is listed under the Toyota section.

Hope this helps.