Weapon R intake installed!

[NoVtechneeded]

Hello forum,

I'm farely new to the forum but have had my 2012 5.0 for about a year and a half. Last night I installed my first mod, the Weapon R intake I ordered from GenRacing. I tried for the R2C first but they don't accept PayPal anymore. Bummer.

Anywho, I did read reviews and expected the fitment to be off. I would definitely agree it was not a perfect fit. The oem breather hose that connects to the valve cover no longer fit, it was too short. Luckily the intake kit provided a universal cut-to-fit hose for replacements that worked ok for now. Getting the heat shield figured out was a bear until I understood it but I got it in there. I didn't have time to install the flex piping for the whole "Ram air" effect yet but will try it this weekend hopefully.

I've been driving it for a few miles now and it made a great difference with sound. The motor finally growls and shows some attitude! My butt dyno says I gained some power and that's just fine for me.

Overall, imho, you have to spend the money for the intake for either model, so the slight fitment issues I had weren't anything to rage about and ask for a refund. Just wanted to give my experience for anyone starting to look at intakes!

P. S. I emailed R2C first several times and after our conversation they actually do have our intakes in stock even though the website says they do not. Awesome people over there!

 

[MG8]

the problem i have with the rc2 and the weapon r intake setups , i just dont see how its getting cold air or air general in that area. The main air duct where the intake pulls all the air is on the front just above the grill.

 

[Genesimm69]

the problem i have with the rc2 and the weapon r intake setups , i just dont see how its getting cold air or air general in that area. The main air duct where the intake pulls all the air is on the front just above the grill.

I think you are right but the idea is not really cold air intake , it is a short ram but atleast it is flowing more air presumably!

 

[NoVtechneeded]

the problem i have with the rc2 and the weapon r intake setups , i just dont see how its getting cold air or air general in that area. The main air duct where the intake pulls all the air is on the front just above the grill.

Yea it's definitely not getting any cold air as is. I just peaked to see where you could even run the duct for cold air but it looks pretty tight in there.

 

[MG8]

I think you are right but the idea is not really cold air intake , it is a short ram but atleast it is flowing more air presumably!

the location of the air filter , in that corner there is no air circulation in that corner specially when you put those heat shields it blocks the main air supply from the grill.

 

[MG8]

if you look at the abel racing short ram , the pipe is shorter and still allows use of the oem air duct on top of grill.

 

[NoVtechneeded]

if you look at the abel racing short ram , the pipe is shorter and still allows use of the oem air duct on top of grill.

The Weapon R comes with flex duct that actually clamps on to the top of the cone filter. I don't know if you've seen it installed or not, I'm gonna have to Google it and see if people were successful installing it.

 

[Genesimm69]

the location of the air filter , in that corner there is no air circulation in that corner specially when you put those heat shields it blocks the main air supply from the grill.

The engine will suck the air from and through what ever crannies there are, it is. It a sealed vacuum. However, you may be correct that the original duct may be getting colder air and a more open supply of air than that weapon r placement! Sometimes people hear more sound and their sumo-brain thinks they have more power. The whole idea of the Genesis and the Equus that I own is that is is silky quiet with quick real power. Quiet Elegant power cruiser!!!

 

[NSXNEXT]

The Weapon R comes with flex duct that actually clamps on to the top of the cone filter. I don't know if you've seen it installed or not, I'm gonna have to Google it and see if people were successful installing it.

You won't have anywhere to run that flex duct. There is literally no room on that side of the engine bay.

 

[NoVtechneeded]

You won't have anywhere to run that flex duct. There is literally no room on that side of the engine bay.

Yea that's what I thought. Lol. Oh well, it sounds beefier and that's good enough I suppose. Haha.

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[Paul]

Put it on the dyno and see the horsepower that you lost. The filter is too small for the motor and the piping isn't large enough diameter either. I hate to rain on your parade, but the Weapon R is a $300 noisemaker. I did dyno pulls before and after installation and lost power each time. Surprisingly, the factory airbox is extremely well designed and flows a lot of air. I ended up getting rid of the flapper door and adding a K&N drop in and made more power than I did with the Weapon-R.
Search my posts, I put up some before and after dyno sheets and commentary.

 

[NoVtechneeded]

Put it on the dyno and see the horsepower that you lost. The filter is too small for the motor and the piping isn't large enough diameter either. I hate to rain on your parade, but the Weapon R is a $300 noisemaker. I did dyno pulls before and after installation and lost power each time. Surprisingly, the factory airbox is extremely well designed and flows a lot of air. I ended up getting rid of the flapper door and adding a K&N drop in and made more power than I did with the Weapon-R.
Search my posts, I put up some before and after dyno sheets and commentary.

I actually did read a lot of posts on it before I bought it. I believe yours was one that I read because I remember reading someone claiming a loss of hp. I may take it to a dyno to confirm I have the same outcome just to be sure. It sure doesn't "feel" slower but it'd be really hard to judge that when you actually hear a v8 finally. I wanted the R2C but they didn't take PayPal anymore. :-(

 

[Paul]

Good luck to you and I really hope that you don't have the same experience with it that I did. Best advice, when you do your dyno pulls, do 3 pulls with the factory air box and filter to establish your baseline. Let the car cool down while you're installing the WeaponR. Do three pulls and compare the graphs. You will see a nice big flat spot up around 4500~5000ish rpm where the filter and pipe starts to choke the motor off.
That intake is so bad in fact that I have a moral dilemma about selling it to someone that is expecting to make power with it. It looks nice and all and makes a lot of whooshy intake noise under wot, but that's about it. It's still sitting in my garage with less than a weeks worth of use on it. Worst $300 I've ever spent.

I had tried to order the R2C and had nothing but issues with them. The saga of my never fulfilled order lasted over 6 months until the point that they were allegedly out of business. I was finally able to get my money back from paypal.

 

[NoVtechneeded]

Good luck to you and I really hope that you don't have the same experience with it that I did. Best advice, when you do your dyno pulls, do 3 pulls with the factory air box and filter to establish your baseline. Let the car cool down while you're installing the WeaponR. Do three pulls and compare the graphs. You will see a nice big flat spot up around 4500~5000ish rpm where the filter and pipe starts to choke the motor off.
That intake is so bad in fact that I have a moral dilemma about selling it to someone that is expecting to make power with it. It looks nice and all and makes a lot of whooshy intake noise under wot, but that's about it. It's still sitting in my garage with less than a weeks worth of use on it. Worst $300 I've ever spent.

I had tried to order the R2C and had nothing but issues with them. The saga of my never fulfilled order lasted over 6 months until the point that they were allegedly out of business. I was finally able to get my money back from paypal.

Ugh, I was going to ask what your experience was with the R2C. I setup a dyno appointment for this Monday but realized I didn't have Veteran's day off so I had to cancel it. Plus they are charging me $165 for just some baseline dynos. That seems pricy for an hour to an hour thirty of work but that's just my little experience with dynos speaking.

I may have to look for some more info on the R2C and just sell my Weapon R off. I basically have to trust someone with dyno proof versus a company's claims of tons of hp gains. I've been a car enthusiast for too long to believe any company's claims basically. Lol.

 

[MoonDoggy-X]

Hows and Whys an aftermarket intake is supposed to increase performance.

How
- Increase intake airflow(speed and volume) by removing restrictions vs the stock intake system
- Lower intake temperatures

Why
- Fewer restrictions means the engine expends less energy pulling in air. Energy that would otherwise be used to move the car. The engine will feel more responsive.
- Fewer restrictions means more air gets into the cylinder, which prompts the car to add more fuel which makes for more power.
- Lower intake temps are less likely to cause knock, or premature detonation, in the engine. The mass air flow and/or intake air temp sensor tells the computer to advance or retard the ignition timing depending on the temperature of the intake air. Lower temps = Advanced timing = More power.
- Lower intake temps mean denser oxygen concentration in the air. More oxygen means the car has to add more fuel to keep the the air/fuel ratio balanced. More oxygen + more fuel = bigger charge = more power.

There are 3 kinds of aftermarket intakes.
1. Drop in. This is where just a high flow filter is put in the stock intake system.
2. Short Ram intake. This replaces the stock intake tube with a less restrictive one and replace the filter and housing with a cone filter that sits inside the engine bay. Some companies sell this set up with a "heat shield" and call it cold air. However, unless that shield is air tight, or the Filter has A Lot of access to fresh air, it is just a short ram. i.e. The Challenger Hellcat from the factory got rid of a headlight so that the filter has access to fresh air.
3. Cold Air Intake. This replaces the intake tube with a less restrictive one, like the short ram. However, unlike the short ram, a true cold air intake system suck in air from outside the engine compartment.

I ran a K&N "cold air"(actually short ram) in mt Avalon for 4 years thinking it was faster. It certainly felt faster. Then I got the Torque App and one of those bluetooth OBD2 scanners and saw where my intake temps were(140-160. degrees at idle). Switched to a true cold air intake that move the filter down behind the fog light and the car was consistently .2-.3 sec faster in the 1/4 mile. Track tested.

Short Ram intakes like this Weapon R will feel faster. The engine will be more responsive because it will get air more effortlessly. BUT, since that air is so hot, the computer will retard the timing and the engine will produce less power. I know what the dyno says, but in real world conditions you don't drive with the hood up.

 

[edizzle89]

Ugh, I was going to ask what your experience was with the R2C. I setup a dyno appointment for this Monday but realized I didn't have Veteran's day off so I had to cancel it. Plus they are charging me $165 for just some baseline dynos. That seems pricy for an hour to an hour thirty of work but that's just my little experience with dynos speaking.

I may have to look for some more info on the R2C and just sell my Weapon R off. I basically have to trust someone with dyno proof versus a company's claims of tons of hp gains. I've been a car enthusiast for too long to believe any company's claims basically. Lol.

Good luck trying to get a R2C intake, I paid for mine 2 months ago and have been told on at least 3 separate occasions that it has been shipped yet have received no tracking info and no parts, have have been calling them at least 3 times a week since they have stopped replying to emails and i get half ass answers every time. I also made sure they had them in stock and they weren't on back order before i placed my order and they told me they had them available. Their intake may or may not be decent but their customer service and work practices are garbage.

 

[Paul]

Good luck trying to get a R2C intake, I paid for mine 2 months ago and have been told on at least 3 separate occasions that it has been shipped yet have received no tracking info and no parts, have have been calling them at least 3 times a week since they have stopped replying to emails and i get half ass answers every time. I also made sure they had them in stock and they weren't on back order before i placed my order and they told me they had them available. Their intake may or may not be decent but their customer service and work practices are garbage.

Sounds exactly like my experience with them. After 2 weeks of not even receiving an invoice from them, and no shipping update, I called. I was lucky enough to get someone on the phone the first time. After that it was a crap shoot. Most of the time my calls would go to voicemail, sometimes it would just hang up on me. Spoke with Colin Greenlees (part of the family that owns R2C) a few times and got the same song and dance.. Somehow I allowed this to go on for 6 months before I filed a complaint through Paypal and got my money back.
My recommendation is this, file a complaint with the Illinois BBB (I did) and if you used paypal, or the paypal link on their website, call paypal and start a dispute. They will get you your money back. Next, go on Google maps, search R2C performance and read their reviews. They basically shut down their old location, so their old reviews don't show up. Make sure you share your experience on their reviews.

Good luck, I hope that you're fortunate enough to get this resolved. Sad part is they make a nice looking product, too bad they suck so bad. (no pun intended)

 

[Paul]

Hows and Whys an aftermarket intake is supposed to increase performance...

...Short Ram intakes like this Weapon R will feel faster. The engine will be more responsive because it will get air more effortlessly. BUT, since that air is so hot, the computer will retard the timing and the engine will produce less power. I know what the dyno says, but in real world conditions you don't drive with the hood up.

Great post filled with facts and you're exactly right about real world conditions, but the dyno is going to give you direct feedback as well as allowing you to monitor engine parameters real time in a controlled (safe) environment. There are 2 issues any short-ram style intake that you install on these cars; They're way too small. This motor needs to breathe and these intakes just aren't flowing enough, nor are they having any significant impact on lowering IAT's due to the fact that they're just drawing in already hot underhood air.

In all honesty, the factory airbox is really well designed and flows great with a few minor modifications and a decent panel filter.

Biggest issue is these cars run pig rich from the factory. It's a shame, because with a decent tune you could probably see significant gains from just afr tuning. The only company that even offers tuning for these cars will only sell you THEIR tuned PCM which makes it a bit cost prohibitive for what you actually get.

This is one of the biggest reasons I got rid of my car. So much potential, but so few options. Sad, because I really loved my Genesis.

 

[Paul]

Ugh, I was going to ask what your experience was with the R2C. I setup a dyno appointment for this Monday but realized I didn't have Veteran's day off so I had to cancel it. Plus they are charging me $165 for just some baseline dynos. That seems pricy for an hour to an hour thirty of work but that's just my little experience with dynos speaking.

I may have to look for some more info on the R2C and just sell my Weapon R off. I basically have to trust someone with dyno proof versus a company's claims of tons of hp gains. I've been a car enthusiast for too long to believe any company's claims basically. Lol.

Did you make it back to the dyno? And yes, $165 for a few basic pulls with no tuning is a bit outrageous. Most shops will charge $50-$75 for 3 or 4 pulls. My buddy owns the shop so while I still pay for his dyno time, he gives me a bit of leeway, especially when I'm trying new parts out.
If I were you, I would stick with the factory airbox, remove the flapper at the bottom and get yourself a K&N panel filter, PN 33-2426. If you want to go a step further, remove the factory intake pipe, remove the resonators on it, cap the holes and re-install the intake pipe. (including the low speed intake that runs along the top of the radiator)
While you're at it, get yourself a decent catch can and install it. (the motor pulls a lot of crank case blow-by back into the intake system and it pools up on the bottom of the inside of the intake manifold.

** Sorry about the multiple replies guys, I couldn't figure out how to multi-quote on my phone.

 

[NoVtechneeded]

Did you make it back to the dyno? And yes, $165 for a few basic pulls with no tuning is a bit outrageous. Most shops will charge $50-$75 for 3 or 4 pulls. My buddy owns the shop so while I still pay for his dyno time, he gives me a bit of leeway, especially when I'm trying new parts out.
If I were you, I would stick with the factory airbox, remove the flapper at the bottom and get yourself a K&N panel filter, PN 33-2426. If you want to go a step further, remove the factory intake pipe, remove the resonators on it, cap the holes and re-install the intake pipe. (including the low speed intake that runs along the top of the radiator)
While you're at it, get yourself a decent catch can and install it. (the motor pulls a lot of crank case blow-by back into the intake system and it pools up on the bottom of the inside of the intake manifold.

I never made another appt for dyno. I doubt I will even bother. I actually already have the K&N panel filter. I replaced that with the Weapon R. I think I'll be swapping back soon whenever I get a couple hours to get it done. I love the sound my intake has but I don't want to lose power and hurt my engine for it. I guess I'll just have to get some electronic exhaust cutouts for some noise when I want it.