Dyno Report : Evo Highflow Intake Kit on Boxster S

[clubhead]

Results as follow :

Horsepower (at the wheels)

Base run with Dansk headers/Dansk Sports Cat/Dansk Sports Muffler : 239.6bhp @ 6,499rpm

Run with addon Evo Highflow Intake Kit : 241.6rpm @ 6,606rpm

Gain : 2bhp at about 6,500rpm

Torque (at the wheels)

Base run with Dansk headers/Dansk Sports Cat/Dansk Sports Muffler : 139.1kg/m @ 4,877rpm

Run with addon Evo Highflow Intake : 140kg/m @ 4,998rpm

Gain : 1kg/m at about 4,900rpm

The fuel used for all dyno is 100 Octane as this is available from most pumps locally. The dyno graph is attached. Red is the run with the intake.

An air temp probe was installed before/after the change. I'm using deg Celsius over here so resulted in the double digit for deg Fahrenheit after conversion. So it's not that I'm using a super accurate temp sensor A picture of the sensor is attached for reference. Cost me about US$15. The following were noted :

Original Stock Intake (Ambient Temp : 89.6 deg F according to in-dash display)

Car stationary for 1 min with engine running :

- 102.74 to 104.18 (1.43 deg F increase)

- 104.54 to 105.44 (0.9 deg F increase)

Car stationary for 1 min with engine not running :

- 106.34 to 114.26 (7.92 deg F increase)

Car in motion at about 55mph for 1 min :

- Generally 6.3 deg F above ambient temp if engine was started from cold

- Generally 10 deg F above ambient temp if engine was hot when started

Evo Highflow Intake (Ambient Temp : 91.4 deg F according to in-dash display)

Car stationary for 1 min with engine running :

- 105.44 to 121.46 (16.02 deg F increase)

- 112.46 to 129.02 (16.56 deg F increase)

Car stationary for 1 min with engine not running :

- Similar to above

Car in motion at about 55mph for 1 min :

- Generally 2.7 deg F above ambient temp if engine was started from cold

- Generally 5.4 deg F above ambient temp if engine was hot when started

If anyone is interested to know how hot the engine bay gets, the temp sensor reads 153 deg F after letting the car sit for about 40 mins.

Observations :

- bhp was down everywhere except about 2,000rpm and 6,500rpm

- bhp drop is significant at 3,000rpm

- torque was down bet 2,500 to 4,800rpm and 6,100 to 6,400rpm

- Drop in torque is significant at 3,000rpm, about 5kg/m

- Air temp increase significant during traffic even with heat shield, 1 deg F vs 16 deg F increase

- Air temp generally lower when car is cruising

The stock air box is a real PITA to remove. The intake manifold needs to be loosened and even then, pulling the airbox out was no easy task still.

Needless to say, I'm unhappy with the overall results. I think the car is still somewhat better compared to a completely stock one but for the money spent till now, the past 2 mods (muffler & intake) have yielded negative results.

Some suggested in another posting that my poor results could be due to either a bad MAF or air leakage from loose fitting. I've checked all the hoses and fasteners today and found all to be tight. I doubt a bad MAF as my idling is steady across all rpms.

So now, I'm assuming a ECU is necessary to benefit from all this mods. Anyone with comments on GIAC? I'm thinking of taking that route but will need to live without my car for 1 week as I need to send the ECU to a dealer to get it re-programmed

[neil.schneider]

Very nice write up. Yea, those results do suck. This is a hottly debated topic. I have thought on many occasions to do an exhaust and intake change on my 03 996, but a lot of people say zero gains. If you do it for the sound change, fine. If for performance, forget it. Sad don't you think. Look at the review of the new boxter in Excellence Mag. They get good (20 to 25hp) out of increasing the throttle body and remapping the ecu. I wish this could be done in the aftermarket.

[adsach]

Why disappointed 2HP out of the evo isn't either good or bad - it seems about average. You exhaust choices may have been poor.

A decent header/cats/evo/ecu upgrade yields 30-35HP.

To maximize your HP gains, find out when Gunther is coming to a town near you.

I don't trust GIAC since they also make a piggyback chip that is worthless.

[BoxSinit]

I've seen dyno results of at least 6hp increase with the EVO intake on a stock Boxster and others on PPBB have at least seen 6-7HP increase. Did you use a fan to stimulate cool air flow into the intake?? Along with the hot conditions you tested under it could make a significant difference.

[BoxSinit]

Dyno

[ausboxster]

i am looking at upgrading the ECU and have noticed a fair bit of talk with the GIAC unit has anyone used the powerchip.. or know much about it. testimonials are great to read on a companies web site but third party info is a always better

[clubhead]

I've seen dyno results of at least 6hp increase with the EVO intake on a stock Boxster and others on PPBB have at least seen 6-7HP increase. Did you use a fan to stimulate cool air flow into the intake?? Along with the hot conditions you tested under it could make a significant difference.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, an additional fan was in place to bring the intake temp down to about 45 deg C during the EVO run, similar temp to the run done with the stock airbox. A variance of 10 deg C will result in a drop/increase of 1% of the bhp. I read it somewhere.

Remember my run was done WITH aftermarket headers, sports cat and muffler. The runs you mentioned may have retained all the stock exhaust components and thus, yield a diff result.

[clubhead]

Why disappointed 2HP out of the evo isn't either good or bad - it seems about average. You exhaust choices may have been poor.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I doubt Dansk is a poor choice when it comes to exhaust components. If you've read my previous posting on the sports cat, it yielded an increase of up to 5bhp ACROSS the rpm range.

The fact that the 2bhp increase only occurs at about 6,700rpm and everything below it suffers bhp drops is bad news.... for me at least. How often does one get to drive at 6,800rpm? :(

[clubhead]

i am looking at upgrading the ECU and have noticed a fair bit of talk with the GIAC unit has anyone used the powerchip.. or know much about it.  testimonials are great to read on a companies web site but third party info is a always better

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You're lucky enough to have a dealer for Powerchip in Australia :) Go talk to them and check them out. I wrote to them but got no reply... :(

[RayGT3]

With all this concern over inlet temps and heat soak, this begs the question, why not get rid of the heat before it becomes a problem or concern? The exhaust headers run directly under the engine and a good portion of this heat migrates up into the engine again and into the engine compartment. If a body took the exhaust manifold and related piping and had it ceramic coated ( not that jet coat paint stuff but real plasma applied ceramic material) then you could reduce the heat radiated to the surroundings by as much as 60%. The results being lower intake temperatures, less stress on the cooling system, cooler internal engine temperatures and improved mechanical reliability. The cost is not prohibitive and adds little weight, fraction of a pound at the most. I'm estimating the engine compartment temps can be reduced easily by 10 - 20 deg f in a normal application simply by pushing the heat out the end of the exhaust pipe and not back into the engine. All this equates to cheap, reliable HP. And yes I have done this to my GT3.

[erics]

My own 2 pence supporting the above informations:

temperature in the engine bay is a crucial point!!

i used to have lotus elises (now boxster s) and many of the guys in clubs upgrade to cone airfilters such K&N 57i similar to the EVO item mentioned here.

The big problem is that the cone alone does not work!

It actually decreases the performance of the car a lot! (sometime by as much as 10%).

Why?

Because the cone needs to be enclosed in a cold airbox linked to the side of the car to suck up fresh air!

Then the fact that the cone is less restrictive starts to make sense...

All in all, many Lotus Elise owners reversed to orginal set-up as it was finaly much better for the performance and less damaging for the engine...

I personaly tried several options and found that 'closed cones' linked to the side air intake of the car were the best option (makes such as B&M worked a treat.

[clubhead]

I don't think this kind of ceremic coating is available where I am :( Another better and cheaper way is to wrap the manifold in 'exhaust tape'. This is widely done with turbo cars. Once wrapped up, you can even place your hand (which I've tried) on the manifold with the engine running! I'm sure this offers even better heat insulation than the ceramic coating :)

One side effect is the turbo manifold then gets so hot that it may just crack which was what happened to a few of the cars here :(

[RayGT3]

I'm not sure where you're located but Ceramic materials are available in most industrialized parts of the world. As to cost I'm sure when all is said and done the cost is not much more than rapping, if at all. I had both my headers and some other piping done for about $100 US. The coating is about 1/100 the weight of wrap materials about .0600" thick. Cracking is a result of heat cycling, uneven heating, not just high temperature, as well as using the wrong materials for the piping to begin with. Shinney 300 series SS pipe is pretty but no good for heat cycling. Low grade, dull, rusty looking, ss will last much longer in this type of environment. Wrap also tends to bring with it moisture problems such as rotting out covered welds etc. (moisture) as well as not being able to provide an even coating resulting as you mention, cracking.

If you ever get a chance take a good look at a F1 engine and exhaust system, they make extensive use of ceramic coating as well as others. The piston domes, combustion chambers, valve faces, valve stems, exhaust runners, air intake piping, intake manifolds and headers all ceramic coated. As well as the piston skirts, crank weights and crank case are all teflon coated.

Edited February 28, 2005 by RayGT3

[jcarter287]

Ray.... Wow your knowledge is quite extensive.... So, I have several follow up questions:

1. If I understand correctly, you believe the header unit isn't as important as the coating....???

2. I am also in the process of sifting through all the options for a bhp upgrade to my 2000 986-S...... Would you (or anyone else) agree / disagree with the below items I am planning.............

a. GIAC ECU-Remap

b. ScarGO - Carbon-Fiber Intake

c. Teflon coating of the stock headers...??.... This will save a chunk of dough..

d. Tequipment Sport Muffler

All feedback...... Good and Bad is appreaciated.......