mfeijo

OK. SO I just got home from my daily drive from work from 285 to downtown Atlanta via GA-400, the second since the weekend, and I had to blog about this and get peoples input on it. I may be getting crazy, but if not, this is good info!!

During the weekend I removed about 5 big black plastic pieces from my TL's engine compartment. I am talking about the black covers that make your engine compartment look so nice and modern. I took it all out ( right now it is the trunk).

Then I removed the grill. I don't like that grill that much (not really my point here ) so I took it off to see what kind of options I have. I was thinking maybe paint it or make up something..

Well, turns out the grill have many many parts, probably five. There is so much clutter there.

After taking the engine compartment covers and the many pieces and layers of the grill I noticed that my car was a lot faster. Makes sense. Easier air flow, more power.. But well, would it really make a noticeable difference? So I drove Monday to work paying attention to it. Man.. A lot faster! Now today. Unbelievable. It even sounds better. It feels as if I had put a CAI on it..

Now, for you tech heads out there.. What you think?

And for you crazy people like me, why don't you pop out the engine covers ( they really just pop out) and maybe even the grille rubber insert ( which I think is really on the way) and try and see if you really notice all this diference... I wanted to know if it is just my impression. Maybe it is..

I know one thing.. My little blue beast is FAST!!! Too bad it is an early m,odel and have a bunch of issues!!! .

L8r,

Mauricio

acura_driver

I find that a bit hard to believe. Given the plastic panels probably deaden the sound from the engine, I could see how removing them might make the car sound faster thought.

-r

rets

To remove engine compartment covers seems definitely helpful in ventilation, at least the heat could be vented.

Since our Acura CAI uses air of engine chamber, air redirected by the deflector in the bottom of the front bumper, and air came through an inlet in the left front fascia, mixed ambient air has supplied the engine's need. The cover removal could be providing the additional helps to lower the temperature of the engine compartment air.??

However, I do not know if this kind of minor cool-down adjustment would give you such kind of sensational boost. :o

Interesting... anyone else has done this "mod" and get the similar results??

NightRider

You may just be crazy! I don't know how that stuff could REALLY affect air induction. Although I did take off the cover that goes over the battery , along with that triangular plastic piece - under there is an air inlet which MAY give more ariflow, i don't know though. It seems a little bit more powerful to me. Also, since I put my K&N filter in the car seems to be slightly louder when VTEC kicks in....maybe we have good imaginations!

BolderKeith

I have said it before. If we want to make performance improvement claims we need before and after acceration times to a certain speed or the time over the same stretch of road which is the easiest to do. All it takes is a stop watch. Run this test and then put all of that stuff back on the car and repeat the test. That way we will have some objective information. I have made changes that make it sound a lot more powerful, but the before and after tests showed that there was no significant improvement in performance; though I still like the sound.

caball88

dyno it and come back with numbers of stock and panels removed. most the time its the placebo effect.

flnsx

Thanks for the post!

The best way was to run G-timer 0-60 and 1/4 mile runs before you took it all off.

Then run the same tests the same night on the same road et. with all the stuff off.

Either way I liked the post!

mfeijo

Thanks folks.. yes, I could have timed it, but the fact is that I didn't plan to make it faster. I planned to remove my grill to have it painted.. And after that I had the impression it was faster and wanted to get your opinions. No *performance imprevement claim* implied.

Thanks folks.

I think I'll build a mesh grille. Any suggestions?

Sherlock

Considering it is the Coolant that cools the engine, and the CAI is in the front left of the bumper (thus unaffected by the engine covers or the top grille), then it probably is all imagination. Just like I think the car is faster after an oil change, and "noticeably" heavier after a gas fill up (I know, 200 or so #'s). I also think the car is faster after I wash it after it's been dirty 3 weeks. But in my mind, I know I'm crazy too.

It is certainly going to be louder and throatier sounding with all the sound deadening removed. It is a beautiful sounding 3.2L

Sherlock

that.. and coming from the north side into this crap smog ridden city, you probably got more power by sucking up the unburnt fuel from all these dang redneck trucks and cars in town here, so you had a better fuel-charge.

Just kiddin. I come from Riverdale into town (Ralph McGill), so I'm going uphill the whole time. north means uphill right ??

coop1018

Awesome find. I was looking for something that would bring the engine tone out a little and that sounds like it does the trick. I am removing everything tonite!

Crusader_RENAMED

Haha, I thought I was the only crazy one that felt like their car was faster after washing it....Oh well, it gives me a good reason to wash the car at least once a week. Gotta keep it "in tune", right?

coop1018

I am the same way. Washing does make the car faster. Think about it, all that dirt weighing your car down, including the Brembo dust!

TBone2004

I have not checked with this car, but with previous cars I get better gas mileage when the car is waxed and clean - for real. Less drag or something.

Sherlock

I live with someone who has a masters in aerodynamics.. and while it is a nice thought to think the slicker car will be that much better, it is not. Granted, there is a change in the drag coefficient, but not drastically so. not even enough to change the hundredths place, so a .28 to a .27 or something is unlikely. But the car does just feel slicker, and I think quieter.

vtechbrain

Its louder, not faster. The benefits of air induction and exhaust are marginal at best unless you go the whole way. Taking all the sound deadening devices just make you enjoy that beautiful engine noise that much more!

caball88

when i listen to a dvd-a the car is faster hehehehhe

NightRider

Per a friend of the family 25+ year mechanic, the benefits of CAI are minimal without a free-er flowing exhaust to release back pressure, and vice versa for the ricers who put huge fart cans on their cars. To get benefit you need both. I am going to leave the exhaust on my car, but I may change out the mufflers for a little more airflow, maybe even cat-back sans exhaust tips. Also, am I going crazy are is plastics not that much of a sound deadener to begin with? I put a K&N filter in and it sounds throatier after VTEC kicks in....yum

TBone2004

I thought those K&N filters were wrong size etc.? Did they resolve that?

Where can you buy them regardless?

NightRider

No, they still fit 95%, you just have to cut the corners because aparently K&N cut corners while making these....actually I think that they haven't come out with a model specific for the 2004, but 33-2078 was for the 03 TL Type-S, which is basically the same as ours. Don't quote me on that last sentence, but the filter works fine! As long as the filter does not bow, letting unfiltered air in ( I had a mechanic check), it does the job. I have noticed that i'm also getting about 40-60 more gallons a tank driving same roads and such, although I don't know if that's because of the filter or the engine awakening!

I got mine at Checker auto, but you can get them at probably almost any autp store, including the dealership, although you know the dealership will probably be more expensive.... :sqnteek:

JohnDoe2

I found if I wear boots instead of sneakers, my car goes faster. Must be the extra weigth on the accelerator pedal.

NightRider

JohnDoe, you might also want to try rolling down the drivers side window and rowing through the air with your hand, at least 10 more horsepower there!

supdawg

OMG, I literally laughed out loud. That is the funniest post I have read in a while. This whole thread is so damn funny

ed99

Host some pics dude!!! We want to see how the engine compartment looks without all the plastic covers!!!!

pettydw

I read an article years ago about the Archer Brothers Renault (Alliance sedans) race team. The team said a good wax job was worth 3 mph top end at a track like Daytona. In the same article, the Archers also mentioned the engines lasted about four times longer using synthetic verses conventional motor oil.

dsc888

They wax airplanes for increased fuel economy all the time. There is a fulltime crew that does just that on Airforce One. At 300-600 mph, any air resistance will hurt speed and increase fuel consumption. I saw this on the Discovery Channel .

dsc888

texas_acura

As an engineer, I have a little knowledge about fluid flow (air). It is amazing how much air flow is affected by obstacles in its path. I know that this sounds very obvious, but what your intuition tells is often NOT what happens when it comes to fluid flow.

That said, I believe that Honda/Acura has a LOT of people that are MUCH brighter than me that made sure those plastic panels had little to no affect on the air intake. I would be surprised if there was a notable difference between panels and no panels.

1SICKLEX

The engine ECU would need to be re-calibrated and re-tuned if the engine got more air in. Otherwise it may think something is wrong and get worse. That is why a lot of intakes on cars are of no use, the computer thinks it's the stock airbox.

On pushrods or cars that are older without sophisticated electronics, yeah "ram-air" works wonders.

I think you have a psycological feeling (I forgot the term) as there is no difference in taking covers off unless they weigh 50lbs each.

Hamma Tyme

My car hauls A#$ when I find a down hill, with a tail wind, grab some Jet Stream, with an aproaching cold front, and one hour after I had a bean burretto from taco Bell

rynpamn21

:bananahump: :blaze:

cblackburn

I'd like to see pics too. One, to see how the engine looks without the plastic. and two) to prove he actually did it and isn't just trying to sucker some newbie into jacking his car up.

I would be willing to bet that if you remove the plastics, grill, seats, truck pieces, spare tire, most the gas in the car, and interior paneling.... that you would probably see an increase in speed. If you are lazy, you could just park your car downtown for a few nights and the thieves will remove excess parts of your car for free.

mfeijo

will do now that I can dowload pics from my t616

I wish I had a flash for that phone.. do they make that?

mfeijo

Can I get other poeple's opinion on this? I am not that technical, so I don't really know..

I always put CAI on my cars and they get faster, even more if I free the exaust, without changing the ECU. But again, I may be wrong, so I would like to have opinion from other folks..

Thanks,

Mauricio

Sherlock

mfeijo: yes there is a flash module for the T616, cingular stores have it.

on the ECU: after a point, yes, it would need to be re-calibrated. But small changes will affect it's immediate performance. As i'm continuously told by my roomy: an engine is a big air pump, it sucks air in, it blows air out. The more air it can get in, the less power is wasted by the engine trying to suck that air in. Think of sucking air thru a straw or a hose, when it is straight or wider, your lungs work very little, now put 5 bends in it, and you suck against the friction of every bend in the hose/straw. Now think of the air path in the car, air hole in front, bend up, thru the neck, thru the airfilter, around into the throttle body, there are your few bends. Straight shots and optimized air intakes reduce the bends which helps the engine suck in the air more easily. When it has to labor to get the air, the pistons going down on the intake stroke have to suck harder to pull that air in thru the valves and the entire path.

Cold air intakes just work by science. Cold air is more dense, has more oxygen, thus promotes more combustion which is more power to an extent.

Now back to the original topic, after a point, yes, the ECU will not be able to take advantage of THAT much new air coming in, but to certain limits, yes it can make use of it.

But to the people who posted that you need the exhausted changed too, correct. On the other side of this "air pump" if you can't get RID of the air, then it's just building up and you can't suck in anymore. If you had to fart thru a hole the size of a pin, and you tried to eat turbo beans, your flow would not increase and you'd bloat.. Sorry for the great visual.

kilrb

I got an Injen CAI, and I couldn't tell if the increase I felt was in my head or legitimate. It "felt" faster, but I couldn't tell if it was my ear dyno... It's good for 12hp at the wheel, so I'm guessing if you picked up a few from pulling all that plastic, you wouldn't likely feel it.

Type S Lady

2002 Maxima SE

Take off the hood and both side fenders...then report back to us if it is EVEN FASTER.

mfeijo

JohnDoe2

I tried it and could one get 2-3 more horsepower. Plus, other drivers gave me funny looks and now my arm and shoulders are really sore.

93SHOcar

FWIW, the other week the Pat Goss' garage section of MotorWeek specifically addressed not removing any covers around the battery. The point was that covers were designed to prevent the fumes from reaching other electrical components and causing damage over time.

http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/goss/2322.shtml