Intake Piping

[BlexusGS]

I have a 2000 GS400 that I have posted a DIY CAI intake on here before. I simply extended the piping into the wheelwell. Question.... is it OK to have a 90 degree bend in the piping down into the wheelwell or should I get rid of it and try to get a 45 degree bend down there? The reason for my question is I feel the car has better pull on the highway but the initial takeoff IS slower than stock! It feels like it takes longer to "spool" up the RPM's - perhaps because of the severe bending of the pipe; longer to draw air into the engine. Could this be? Do you guys think this could effect air flow/performance that much?

Thanks,

Nick

[BlexusGS]

Any opinions???

[dcfish]

Any opinions???

I would avoid the 90 degree angle on the intake, The smoother and more straight the piping is better. Can you post a pic of your project ?

[SKperformance]

Agreed ,with no pic i am not seeing the full picture.

[BlexusGS]

I will take pics nd upload them tonight. Thanks guys

[dcfish]

I will take pics nd upload them tonight. Thanks guys

No prob

[BlexusGS]

I was thinking of taking out the 90 and putting in a 45 through the same hole. I will have to cut into the heat shield at a different angle though in order for it to work. Also, a pic of my car is attached. Now that I know how to upload pics I will upload more pics later! I love the GS series!

Nick

[dcfish]

I was thinking of taking out the 90 and putting in a 45 through the same hole. I will have to cut into the heat shield at a different angle though in order for it to work. Also, a pic of my car is attached. Now that I know how to upload pics I will upload more pics later! I love the GS series!

Nick

What does the actual intake nose look like ?

[SKperformance]

It is not a bad design and the air feed is hidden in the fender well ,not exposed.

I would check the intake tubing and make sure it is not coating the maf from too much oil spray on the filter.

[BlexusGS]

SK, I think I have the problem that you are suggesting. I have a K & N cone style filter on the end of the intake and periodically clean it then re-oil every 5000 Mi. or so. Last time I cleaned it I noticed there was a good amount of oil on the bottom of my engine shroud directly below the intake filter! I guess I am oiling it too much. I also checked the intake piping and it too was oily. However, last time I cleaned the filter I did not take the piping apart to clean it - maybe i should.

What else should I clean?

Did I do any permanent damage?

How excatly does oil on the MAF hurt performance? I have no clue when it comes to this stuff.

Oh, and one other thing, why is it that right after I clean my K & N my car feels so fast; but only for the first 5 minutes? I mean it pulls real hard. Then after that its normal... pulls hard but normal and not as much head snap. Please advise. Thanks again.

[knmaynard]

Blexus, I was just looking at doing the same thing, after giving up on trying to get air from the front grill. (I have the SRT intake.)

2 questions, if you don't mind: where did you get the pipe to bend down (was it part of a kit), and where did you get your heat shield. It looks much better than the one SRT provided, I've been wanting to improve it.

To reiterate dcfish's question above, what's the end look like? You go into the wheel well to mount the filter? Any water issues?

[dcfish]

SK, I think I have the problem that you are suggesting. I have a K & N cone style filter on the end of the intake and periodically clean it then re-oil every 5000 Mi. or so. Last time I cleaned it I noticed there was a good amount of oil on the bottom of my engine shroud directly below the intake filter! I guess I am oiling it too much. I also checked the intake piping and it too was oily. However, last time I cleaned the filter I did not take the piping apart to clean it - maybe i should.

What else should I clean?

Did I do any permanent damage?

How excatly does oil on the MAF hurt performance? I have no clue when it comes to this stuff.

Oh, and one other thing, why is it that right after I clean my K & N my car feels so fast; but only for the first 5 minutes? I mean it pulls real hard. Then after that its normal... pulls hard but normal and not as much head snap. Please advise. Thanks again.

SK has a good point about the oil buildup on the sensor. And I would clean the piping for sure. Use isapropyl alcohol and a cotton swab to clean the sensor and be very careful. Let us know the results.

[BlexusGS]

Thanks DCfish for the input. I will clean the pipe and the MAF sensor, I guess that's the sensor that plugs into the intake pipe...am I right? Also, what about the small rubber hoses going into the intake pipe? Clean these as well or should I just leave them alone?

knmaynard - I will contact my friend at my local performance shop, I ordered the parts (piping, couplers, clamps etc.) through him, I will find out for you. There are NO water issues what so ever and I already went through a winter (and heavy rain) here in NY! The heat shield was included with my K & N FIPK intake.

This was a major concern of mine in the beginning so I bought an AEM bypass valve. However, I didn't realize how long the bypass valve was and was unable to get both the filter and bypass valve in the wheelwell as the top of the filter was hitting the bottom of the engine shroud too much (about 2" or so too long) :( My friend at the performance shop said that even if water hits the bottom 1/4 or 1/2 of the filter it will not seize the engine (However, I don't want to take that risk or find out!) So I measured the distance from the street to the bottom of the filter and it was about 9". Meaning that I would have to be driving in a 9" deep puddle to really test the above scenerio. Which I avoid large puddles anyway (eventhough a 9" puddle would look more like a pond/flood in a parking lot!) :) :) Let me know if you need anything else.

Nick

[BlexusGS]

Just out of curiousity does the MAF sensor come apart? I removed it from the intake pipe (2 allen key screws) and disconnected it from the harness. Sprayed delicate parts cleaner inside and let dry. I then unscrewed 2 other screws on the sensor unit. Does something come apart? The second set of screws did nothing when I took them out; I didn't want to force the unit to come apart. Am I cleaning this thing right?

Thanks

[knmaynard]

knmaynard - I will contact my friend at my local performance shop, I ordered the parts (piping, couplers, clamps etc.) through him, I will find out for you. There are NO water issues what so ever and I already went through a winter (and heavy rain) here in NY! The heat shield was included with my K & N FIPK intake.

This was a major concern of mine in the beginning so I bought an AEM bypass valve. However, I didn't realize how long the bypass valve was and was unable to get both the filter and bypass valve in the wheelwell as the top of the filter was hitting the bottom of the engine shroud too much (about 2" or so too long) :( My friend at the performance shop said that even if water hits the bottom 1/4 or 1/2 of the filter it will not seize the engine (However, I don't want to take that risk or find out!) So I measured the distance from the street to the bottom of the filter and it was about 9". Meaning that I would have to be driving in a 9" deep puddle to really test the above scenerio. Which I avoid large puddles anyway (eventhough a 9" puddle would look more like a pond/flood in a parking lot!) :) :) Let me know if you need anything else.

Nick

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'd really like to have that heat shield, although does it add as much value since you're piping from the wheel well? May keep some heat off the pipe, but wouldn't think that much.

So you change the filter by going under the engine shroud, right? Did you put the longest/biggest filter that would fit? That's what I'm thinking.

Exhaust and TC this fall, then I'll probably stop. I'm going on the waiting list for a blk/blk 400 hp Camaro for 09 (match my blk/blk 430), so that will be my fast car, the GS will be my daily driver. I'll get my tire-turning, Dodge-whipping thrills from my Camaro. (First car I ever owned was a 76, I've always wanted another F-body.) But these mods to the GS will keep me more than "respectable" on the daily commute.

I've beaten a Mustang, new Camry, and a Magnum (all from roll-on) in the last couple months. They hear my snorkel as I drive by and can't resist. Of course, giving the pedal and extra little tap makes the SRT give a nice bass "whassup, wimp" as I drive by, so I guess I egged them on.

Thanks again.

[dcfish]

Thanks DCfish for the input. I will clean the pipe and the MAF sensor, I guess that's the sensor that plugs into the intake pipe...am I right? Also, what about the small rubber hoses going into the intake pipe? Clean these as well or should I just leave them alone?

knmaynard - I will contact my friend at my local performance shop, I ordered the parts (piping, couplers, clamps etc.) through him, I will find out for you. There are NO water issues what so ever and I already went through a winter (and heavy rain) here in NY! The heat shield was included with my K & N FIPK intake.

This was a major concern of mine in the beginning so I bought an AEM bypass valve. However, I didn't realize how long the bypass valve was and was unable to get both the filter and bypass valve in the wheelwell as the top of the filter was hitting the bottom of the engine shroud too much (about 2" or so too long) :( My friend at the performance shop said that even if water hits the bottom 1/4 or 1/2 of the filter it will not seize the engine (However, I don't want to take that risk or find out!) So I measured the distance from the street to the bottom of the filter and it was about 9". Meaning that I would have to be driving in a 9" deep puddle to really test the above scenerio. Which I avoid large puddles anyway (eventhough a 9" puddle would look more like a pond/flood in a parking lot!) :) :) Let me know if you need anything else.

Nick

That's the sensor alright, You shouldn't take the sensor itself apart to clean it. The other tubes are just breather tubes so I would clean them anyway.

[BlexusGS]

Knmaynard - The filter I used is a K & N cone style (I think it's like 8" long, 3.5" opening. I'm not sure about the SRT setup, but my K & N FIPK is 3.5" piping. Not sure if the larger piping is worse (it might actually reduce torque and low-end power because there is more volume in the pipe to be filled with air before it rushes into the TB.)

DCfish - So I just spray that delicate parts cleaner directly in the "inlet" to the sensor right? Or do I expose the sensor and clean it? I'm confused... right now I can't see anything in the "inlet" tube (part where air flows into). I can't even tell if it is dirty inside there (or if it has been cleaned fully). Please help!

[maintrain]

Knmaynard - The filter I used is a K & N cone style (I think it's like 8" long, 3.5" opening. I'm not sure about the SRT setup, but my K & N FIPK is 3.5" piping. Not sure if the larger piping is worse (it might actually reduce torque and low-end power because there is more volume in the pipe to be filled with air before it rushes into the TB.)

DCfish - So I just spray that delicate parts cleaner directly in the "inlet" to the sensor right? Or do I expose the sensor and clean it? I'm confused... right now I can't see anything in the "inlet" tube (part where air flows into). I can't even tell if it is dirty inside there (or if it has been cleaned fully). Please help!

I'm very interested in doing this mod. Currently I don't have an intake but I'd like to know if you had to drill that hole to get behind the fender or is already there under the factory air box?

[BlexusGS]

Unfortunately, you do have to drill the hole; about 3.5" in diameter. After putting the intake piping through I bought some silicone (dark gray metallic) blending in very well. The outcome looks very clean. FYI, as an update in one of my more recent threads I used the area to the left of the passenger side foglight as a type of ram air port (w/opening and closing door)... as my filter is now right there after the CAI mod (more rushing air)!