3.3T Intake comparisons

[MichaelJohnson]

I see. That does sound more likely to be the culprit.

In any case, it's always best to do one mod at a time, even if it is tempting to get them all done at once.

No way man. Depends on the mods. It was the perfect time to install the EWG connectors because I had to remove the stock air boxes. We wouldn't be having this conversation if I had followed my usual method and disconnected the battery. I understand the point you are making though.

I wish I had a good setup to measure the difference in air flow between stock and the AFE kit. AFE has some data on their website but I'd still like to have the data from my car specifically if you know what I mean. I'm not going to go through the trouble of rigging something up though. I'll just have to trust AFE.

The car feels great and there's a little bit more sound coming from the new intakes. It's exactly what I wanted. The intercooler is working well and kept my IATs to within 10-15 degrees of the ambient temp (car was showing 85). Well, it was when I glanced over at the JB4 app. The roads up in that area aren't too straight. Beautiful and fun drive though.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

Yes, I have both but at the moment I just have the TCU tune installed.

Why don't you have the ECU tune installed?

 

[MichaelJohnson]

@TwentyThreeG70 I guess my experience could answer your question. Just disconnect the battery before you start. Also, if you go with the kit from AFE, I would recommend that you have a dremel and a battery powered ratchet for the install. I had to do a little trimming on the passenger's side housing. My Milwaukee battery powered ratchet helped out because you have to install the mounting bolts from inside the housing.

@kayklae Did you run into any trouble installing your AFE kit?

 

[Slip_Angle]

Why don't you have the ECU tune installed?

Heh... well, the reason is going to sound odd. I love the Lozic ECU, it's fantastic. The car is a monster with it installed. However, what I find is that I exceed reasonable speeds so fast that I don't even notice right away. Sometimes I just like to have less power with the stock ECU that's unlocked by the Lozic TCU. It's a super combination with the VT Snorkels.

I go back and forth...

 

[Volfy]

Realistically, if there is any flow efficiency gain with these aftermarket intake systems, it will happen mostly at upper RPM. To me, the primary benefit for every day driving is supposed to be cooler intake air temp (denser air mass), which is why they are almost always referred to as CAI. It is also why I think it's so disappointing to see just how poorly most are at achieving that primary goal. Not impossible to correct, but still facepalm-worthy nevertheless.

Your AFE system is one of the few that actually addresses this quite well right out of the box. Injection molding those airboxes must have cost them a pretty penny for initial tooling cost, so kudos to them for making the investment.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Realistically, if there is any flow efficiency gain with these aftermarket intake systems, it will happen mostly at upper RPM. To me, the primary benefit for every day driving is supposed to be cooler intake air temp (denser air mass), which is why they are almost always referred to as CAI. It is also why I think it's so disappointing to see just how poorly most are at achieving that primary goal. Not impossible to correct, but still facepalm-worthy nevertheless.

Your AFE system is one of the few that actually addresses this quite well right out of the box. Injection molding those airboxes must have cost them a pretty penny for initial tooling cost, so kudos to them for making the investment.

Agreed, though if you are tuned dyno's apparently show larger gains vs the stock system as air flow limits are reached. I can't say that I've seen objective comparisons though...and I really wonder how the stock system with initial inlets or VTs installed would fair against tube intakes...

@MichaelJohnson - That AFE unit is the only intake that has ever interested me. It looks like the real deal.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

@Slip_Angle I don't think that's odd at all. I have a few spots (public roads) that I deem "safe" to actually drive the car. It's hard to keep the foot off the gas man!

 

[MichaelJohnson]

@Slip_Angle @Volfy I figured you guys would find this part of the AFE kit interesting. I chose to install the plugs.

 

[Slip_Angle]

@Slip_Angle @Volfy I figured you guys would find this part of the AFE kit interesting. I chose to install the plugs.View attachment 46349

That is a great feature! What a great intake.

How much was it?

 

[MichaelJohnson]

That is a great feature! What a great intake.

How much was it?

$583 if I remember correctly. I pre-ordered it in April.

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[Slip_Angle]

$583 if I remember correctly. I pre-ordered it in April.

What attaches to the front of those intakes? The part that is under the bumper. Is that ready for VT snorkels or does it have it's own?

 

[Volfy]

That is definitely a cool feature. It really shows these guys had their noodles in the right bowl of soup, when they designed this kit.

I just wish they had taken it a step further and - instead of provisioning a simple cover - channeled in an alternate/additional source of cold air... like the fender cavity. That's what I did with mine. Then you wouldn't need to choose between pure cold air and max flow efficiency.

But... honestly, for most drivers vast majority of the time in everyday driving, not having theoretical flow efficiency probably isn't all that important.

 

[exbimmer]

Will these mods affect the warranty of the car? I am still under warranty.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

What attaches to the front of those intakes? The part that is under the bumper. Is that ready for VT snorkels or does it have it's own?

The intake kit is only inside the engine compartment. There are no parts under/behind the bumper cover. This picture might help. The manual is available on their website if you want to read through it. The VT snorkels are behind the bumper cover but don't actually enter the engine compartment, correct?

 

[MichaelJohnson]

That is definitely a cool feature. It really shows these guys had their noodles in the right bowl of soup, when they designed this kit.

I just wish they had taken it a step further and - instead of provisioning a simple cover - channeled in an alternate/additional source of cold air... like the fender cavity. That's what I did with mine. Then you wouldn't need to choose between pure cold air and max flow efficiency.

But... honestly, for most drivers vast majority of the time in everyday driving, not having theoretical flow efficiency probably isn't all that important.

I was thinking the exact same thing. It frustrated me at first but I got over it quickly . Running the car with and without the plugs should give us some good IAT data. It'll give me something to tinker with over the next couple of months.

 

[MichaelJohnson]

Will these mods affect the warranty of the car? I am still under warranty.

This is a common question/concern that has been discussed a multitude of times. If you are uncomfortable with the possibility that the dealer/manufacturer might have an issue with a particular mod, don't do it.

 

[Volfy]

I would suggest replacing the stock intake system before taking the car in for any kind of service. If a failure can be blamed on your mod, it would be next to impossible for you to argue otherwise. A while back some Stinger (or G70?) owner posted on FB group that dealer refused to warranty his damaged turbo, because it was caused by debris coming off the CAI he had installed. Whether that is exactly what happened or not is immaterial. The fact is the CAI was immediately upstream of the damaged turbo, so causality is distinctly plausible.

Taking 1 hr to drop the stock intake back in would've been time and effort well spent.

This is yet another reason I avoid visiting dealer service as much as possible. Yeah free maintenance comes with the car, but I'd rather DYI, just so I don't have to take stuff off. Last thing I want is for the service tech to write down on the service record that customer has aftermarket intake system, so complimentary air filter check/replacement is not possible. That might come back to bite me later on.

 

[Slip_Angle]

The intake kit is only inside the engine compartment. There are no parts under/behind the bumper cover. This picture might help. The manual is available on their website if you want to read through it. The VT snorkels are behind the bumper cover but don't actually enter the engine compartment, correct?View attachment 46350

Correct. The VT snorkels attach to the rectangle.

 

[Volfy]

If you were to spray water directly into the VT snorkel, would water get in the air box?

 

[Slip_Angle]

If you were to spray water directly into the VT snorkel, would water get in the air box?

Great question! I gave that a try a month ago at the car wash. I sprayed my grill for several minutes (Hyperdip removal) and yes, some water got into the bottom of the airbox but not through the filter. That was with direct high pressure spray for an extended period. Hard rain, I've been told results in nothing. The other important thing is that the stock airbox has a hold in the bottom with a rubber flap to drain water.

So the risk isn't zero but really low.