[suprajones]

the intake sounds f'in ridiculous.

I agree,
The car sounded "angry" is how my buddy described it.
I attempted to record my last dyno session with K&N & Joe Z exhaust installed,,,all you could hear was a crackle in the speakers because of the deafining sound!

 

[suprajones]

How'd the dyno session go? Did you get a before and after of just the intake gains? I'm still stuck on the fence on whether or not I should get it.

UMM,,yeaaaaa, about the before and after dyno,,,,,
I could not wait for the dyno guy to come off of vacation + I was starring at a big beautiful Joe Z exhaust in a box under my carport = no K&N only #'s,,,sorry.
I can tell you that I physically felt the power gain immediatly. I have read in other threads that the ECU takes "###" miles to re-calaborate,,,,I don't think it does. Drove the car for 2 weeks w/ only K&N mod; no chk engine lights,,,no noises, no rattles, no complaints at all. Power was consistant from time of install till now (apx 300 miles later).
If I had it to do all over, I would jump on the K&N again and again. The rumor of K&N oil degrading the MAF sensor is something I have never experienced (had them in 3 supras (84/86.5/97) and 2 ford trucks).
I say find the best price,,,,reserve 1.5 hours to install,,,,,reserve ample time to drive it like you stole it!

 

[suprajones]

phlabrasca the problem isn't your new exhaust it's that K&N intake. Get that thing off the car and you'll be happy once again IMHO.

Why do you say this? Personnal experience?

 

[suprajones]

Interesting information/comments about the K&N and open air boxes in general.
Cayman,
I looked at dragtimes and see what you mean by no one running the open air set-up. But it seems that if no one is using them than were does the comparison come from? Are folks just not posting the information when using an open air filter?

phlabrasca,
Why are you dumping the K&N? Is it due to the lack of chirp from 2nd to 3rd?

I have the K&N + JOE Z exhaust set up and could not be more pleased. I have done 2 dyno sesions(stock vs. intake+exhaust) and the #'s are nothing to brag about. With out proper break-in I have seen a 16rwhp gain and 20rwtq gain. Consider in SC the summer temp hovers around 90-95 and humidity is 90% consistantly. I feel sure the runs were done properly since I followed JOE Z's advice to a "T".

Guess my mind frame is that I agree K&N's claims are bloated but it seems some folks are unhappy/bashing the K&N set up with no real proof of issues. I completly understand the theory behind heat-soak in "real world" applications. It seems proof of heat soak would be through drag times under consistant conditions comparing open filters to the factory air box, and I have yet to see this.

I must say that I am by no means a "K&N poster boy" or die-hard, just have had good experiences with thier product. I would say the same things and have the same questions of JOE Z products if the roles were reversed.
If factual evidence arises that the K&N is bad or decreases power it will find it's way off my car immediatly, as goes for any aftermarket product I install.

 

[suprajones]

suprajones, dyno's don't always tell the truth (especially with intakes) and can sometimes mislead as I feel has happened here. Maybe what you need to do is a few pulls against another IS-F with the stock or joez intake. That should make up your mind. Do a few pulls from the bottom of third gear so the factors of wheel slip or launching techniques are void. Of course make sure fuel level is about the same for both cars and see what you conclude. For even more convincing data, how about doing some pulls later with the stock intake back on the car and compare the differences. If you have access to IAT's that would top things off as you'd know for sure the difference in temps with and without the K&N setup and obviously the cooler the IAT's the more power you'll be making.

And sorry to answer your question: The reason you won't see any open air set-ups posted is because none of them have yielded results worth posting. More of an embarrassment and eye opener IMHO.

I agree completely with your advice on comparison runnings of the car mentioned above. I have a couple issues here- only 1/4 mile is in Darlington Motor Speedway(1 1/2 hour drive) and there is only 2 other ISF's in the state to my knowledge via hear-say. I have thought about buying one of the digital meters I have seen on some you tube videos (measures 0-60 time and g-force I believe) Have not researched thier reliability or $ yet,,Anyone have opinions on this device?
Since the intake has been on my mind today, I popped the hood and checked on the fitment to make sure nothing was loose or leaking. After 2+ hours w/engine off and parked in an open air carport the intake pipe was scortching hot, im guessing around 130-150 degrees along with all other plastic and metal surfaces I touched. (odd that I can guestimate heat by feel=yes, comes with my line of work). Led me to contimplate some type of insulation wrap, kinda like people used/still do put on headers. Just a thought.