Dyno results for the PracWorks Carbon Intake Manifold, a missed opportunity

So the dyno is done and here are some noises to satisfy your VTEC urges (if I stood by any longer my eardrums would have burst lol)

I've been scratching my head on how to get these dyno numbers out in a way fair to everyone and I guess the best way is just to be brutally frank on the mistake I made which can be summed up in one statement:

A dyno comparison for the gains of the mods especially flow related stuff like an intake manifold should never be done on a STOCK THROTTLE BODY, STOCK EXHAUST WITH CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND STOCK HEADER.

Why? Because NO GAINS will be apparent. 

Yeah I messed it up big time. Just think about this from a common sense perspective:

You introduce 5% more air, increase more fuel to match and allow 0% more exit volume.

I'm kicking myself for not thinking this out beforehand but I've got to live with my error.

That said, I do have positive results for the PracWorks item to report on, so read on and find out.

Before I show the dyno charts I need to preface with questions that will inevitably come:

Q1) Why don't you show the full numbers? 

Ans: I'm not keen in getting distracted by the absolute numbers nor will the numbers be of practical use to anyone unless they are running EXACTLY the same setup as I am dyno tested under EXACTLY the same conditions. If you still want to know, you are welcome to look for me on FB or IG to ask about it.

Q2) What happened to the first benchmark run that I can compare with using the same free flowing exhaust?

Ans: The dyno database got corrupted and the file was lost. I cannot do an on screen comparison on the dyno software with the current run. 

Q3) What dyno is it and is the dyno operator reliable?

Ans: It is a Mainline dyno and if you know dynos this is as reliable/repeatable as it gets. The operator is undoubtedly reliable as they do many different cars and have always been praised for consistency. The only "negative" is that this dyno is known to read low or a "heart breaker", not a concern to me as I am only looking for consistent results and the nett gains.

Red Line: Stock Exhaust, Stock TB with Catalytic Converter, Password JDM Air intake, 

Carbon Intake Manifold 

Blue Line: Stock Exhaust, Stock TB with Catalytic Converter, Password JDM Air intake, 

Stock Intake Manifold 

Horsepower

Observation:

a) Loss in power & torque from midrange from 3000rpm - An expected result from a larger manifold volume.

b) Slight bump in Mid range but negligible difference until maybe 7500 rpm - Restriction in exhaust flow caps all gains

Swapped out the stock exhaust for a free flowing exhaust and did some comparisons with the Password JDM intake, 3 inch short ram pipe without velocity stack and 3.5 inch short ram pipe with velocity stack.

 

Red Line: Free flowing Exhaust, Stock TB without Catalytic Converter, Carbon Intake Manifold, 

 Password JDM Air intake

Blue Line: Free flowing Exhaust, Stock TB without Catalytic Converter, Carbon Intake Manifold, 3.5 inch short air ram with 4 inch velocity stack 

Horsepower

Observation:

a) 3.5 inch short air ram outperforms across the powerband but especially from 6000rpm - High cam loves the bigger air flow. Peak gains of about 3-5 whp 

b) Curve shows no sign of flattening even past 7000rpm - Much more airflow to exploit at higher rpm 

Red Line: Free flowing Exhaust, Stock TB without Catalytic Converter, Carbon Intake Manifold 

 3.5 inch short air ram with 4 inch velocity stack

Blue Line: Free flowing Exhaust, Stock TB without Catalytic Converter, Carbon Intake Manifold, 3 inch short air ram with no velocity stack 

Horsepower

Observation:

a) 3.5 inch outperforms around 6500 rpm for a bit - probably more airflow to optimize but maybe getting choked beyond 7500 somewhat

With these preliminary results I settled on a longer 3.5 inch intake piping with 4 inch velocity stack cleaned up into a compartment.

So you might be asking: Hey wait a minute, does this mean the PracWorks Carbon intake manifold does not make gains?

Ans: This manifold ABSOLUTELY makes gains.

Although the dyno file of the first run with free flowing exhaust plus stock intake manifold was lost, I still kept a picture of it thankfully and orange graph below is a snap shot I took off the dyno. I extrapolated the numbers for a comparison that is imperfect but the best effort I can muster.

Blue Line: Free flowing Exhaust, Stock TB without Catalytic Converter, 

Carbon Intake Manifold, 3.5 inch short air ram with 4 inch velocity stack

Orange Line: Free flowing Exhaust, Stock TB without Catalytic Converter

Stock Intake Manifold, 4 inch very long silicon pipe for max flow 

Horsepower

Observation:

a) The power curve steepens significantly after 6000 rpm - Although I don't have a exact overlay, the steepening suggests mid range gains.

b) The peak power of the orange line was achieved with maximum airflow possible > 8300 rpm. The peak power of the blue line was measured at around 8100 rpm and compared to the orange line at the same 8100 rpm was around 11 WHP higher with >6% higher peak torque . The only other variable to cause some possible variation is the orange line having the 4 inch long pipe (proven to make about 3-5 whp over the Password JDM) and the blue line having the 3.5 inch pipe with velocity stack (also probably making 3-5 whp over the Password JDM) so they pretty much cancel each other out in this comparison.

I will fully admit that this comparison wasn't perfect but I am after all, just an enthusiast with limited time to hang around running different setups on the dyno for the perfect comparison. With the limitations, the best I can share is my thoughts on how this setup might work for your own rides as each of our setups are probably running different compression ratios, head ports, piston designs, combustion chamber shapes, cams, ecu tunes and many other factors so it's expected that such results are probably not exactly repeatable in your own rides.

I've already set out to get supporting modifications to do this intake manifold and engine setup some justice to unlock as much of its potential as I can muster. Please keep a look out for my next update which I expect to be soon and if you have further questions on this post you can always chat me up on Instagram or Facebook.