Power Loss with CAI

[johnsonsinutah]

Ok, here's the deal. My car (98 GT) has been running as less than my normal standard lately, kind of sluggish without the "pop" I've come to expect. My mechanic can't find anything wrong. In trying to reconstruct the timing of when the issue started, it seems to go back to a weekend in which I put on my new wheels/tires (no apparent relation there), and a BBK CAI. The BBK CAI mounts the filter in the fender well, the tube that connects the filter to the MAI has a 90 degree bend where it turns to go into the fender well. I've heard the "bend" can cause different issues, has anyone else experienced this with this type of CAI? I plan to go back to the stock set up and see if there is a difference soon, but, am at work so thought I'd toss it out there...

 

[flstang65]

I had a CAI, mostly for looks. I ended up going back the the stock air intake, removing the rubber snorkel off the side of it and putting in a K&N drop in filter. I noticed more performance from that then the CAI.

 

[bhuff30]

There may be several issues going on. First, your butt isn't going to feel a difference of 4-5hp. A difference of 4-5hp is literally about .04-.05 seconds in the quarter! The tone of the intake and many other factors will affect your feeling of what feels stronger. In fact, I would swear my 97GT is just as strong as the 88 until 60mph, but that's because the 97 is a manual, louder and more violent... yet the 88 runs 2 seconds faster in the quarter.

Next... it is possible you are noticing the heavier wheels and tires. The factory combination is actually somewhat light. Going to nice wide 18x10 wheels with fat tires will definately add a lot of rotating weight and that WILL drag you down, even .1-.2 in the quarter is possible depending on what you threw on.

As for the air meter causing a loss, that's easy enough to test. Just yank it off and put the stocker back on. Before pulling the CAI out, you may want to clean the air meter wire with contact cleaner. It is possible that oil from your new CAI filter landed on the MAF and is affecting the readings. If you clean the MAF and it still doesn't feel right, but feels right with the stock intake, then you probably just need to have a tune for the CAI. MAF sensors are sometimes very pickey about the smoothness of the flow to them, and that 90* bend may be messing things up. A good tuner will be able to correct for this problem.

Lastly, if you put the stock intake back on and it still feels funny, you can blame the heavier wheel and tire combination. It seriously will make a difference.

 

[johnsonsinutah]

Hadn't thought about the impact of bigger tires/wheels, and they are definitely bigger, 17X9 in the front 17X10 rear with 275's up front and 315's in the rear. Since I did both Wheels and CAI the same weekend I couldn't distinguish if the issue is related to one over the other. I'll probably try to clean the MAF and then put the stock intake back and see how it feels. I didn't expect much of an improvement but I certainly didn't anticipate it performing worse. Any recommendations on what to clean the MAF with?

 

[sneaky98gt]

Yea, I put on the PI intake at the same time I put on my tires and rims. Even though the intake is worth 15ish hp, I turned the same ETs and trap speeds at the track last weekend as I did last summer. Only thing I could figure is the fact that my new Cobra R's are heavier than my stock aluminum wheels. It does make a difference. What kind of wheels do you have?

 

[bhuff30]

Factory wheels FTW.

As for cleaning the MAF, use a contact cleaner that uses no residue. Something from a spray can, but more important no residue. I know radioshack offers such a product.

 

[johnsonsinutah]

I have chrome cobra replica's.

Thanks for the thoughts, not gonna change the wheels/tires cuz I like'em, even if it does bog me down a bit, but, I will clean the MAF and see it that helps. If not I'll toss the stock air intake back on and see if there is a difference.