Next mod for me is going to be an intake system. Which system will give me the best performance gains? C and L, MMR, Steeda, or any others? Thanks for any help!

 

Kinda curious myself. Some require retunes and some do not. (even though I know its best to do a tune after install on all) Does any body have any suggestions between the different manufacturers for best with retune and best without.

 

ALL require reflashing the ECU to realize the hp gains. The car will run lean if you do not. As far as ranking the CAI's, opinions vary, but MMR was the first to hit the scene, and folks have combined their intake with an SCT tune to get some pretty nice gains. The C&L CAI takes the crown for quality and craftsmanship, and can also produce some really nice hp gains with a good tune (this time using Diablo's predator). New kid on the block is the JLT unit (also available with pre-loaded custom tunes on an SCT xcalibrator) which seems to be the emerging "bang for the buck" champion. Flows a ton of air, offers impressive gains accross the power band, and will only set you back about $150 (you will of course, have to get a tune, just as with the others, meaning your out of pocket cost will be non-trivial for all of these units)

For my money, the JLT seems like a no brainer. 35 ponies and about 35 foot pounds is downright remarkable. Folks have spent quite a bit of money to see gains in that neighborhood. Of course, we will know more as folks continue to test/try/buy different combos and post their results here on the boards.... B)

 

I have the Steeda CAI....Has not been installed yet, and also have the SCT with tunes for 91 octane and the CAI. I went with them from past experience with their products and their close relationship with FOMOCO.

 

I thought I heard MMR was pushing their product saying with no retune needed. Even though to get the best RWHP improvement you should.

 

Has anyone tried keeping the 87 octain and tuning up for the a/f ratio? I know you won't get all the hp, but I make some road trips and it's cheaper to run 87.

 

[quote=Mustang69-05,February 20, 2005, 2:55 PM]
Has anyone tried keeping the 87 octain and tuning up for the a/f ratio? I know you won't get all the hp, but I make some road trips and it's cheaper to run 87.

Yes! Increase of 14.5rwhp & 16rwtq.


Paul

 

That's good to hear! I'm gonna get both the 87 and one with 91-93.

 

Got the Steeda CAI with a custom tune. Very happy with the results.

 

Did your tune change your redline any? And /or cleanup the throttle lag?

 

JLT has dyno tested 5 2005 GT's all gaining 32-39 RWHP and 30-35 RWTQ.
If you have a SCT tuner it's only $225 or can be painted your body color for $25 more. Tune will come on CD. It's also offered as a JLT/Tuner package.
By far the best bang for your buck.

 

IMO: I stand behind the C&L Performance Intake. For one they have a long history of making high quality, well made part's that are proven performer's. That is important to me. I went with another intake initially, that utilized "Hardware Store" engineering and was very disapointed with the look & feel of the product. To me personaly a product like C&L's that is so well made and crafted, and thoroughly engineered is bound to be the better product and performer in the long run. The C&L has quality you can see, experiance you can trust, and I couldn't be happier with mine!

 

It seems the C and L is the better intake. To bad you have to tune to get the results.

 

Did your tune change your redline any? And /or cleanup the throttle lag?
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Yes. The redline was changed to 6800 and the throttle lag eliminated as well as a few other changes, such as speed limiter removed and A/F adjustments as a result of the CAI.

 

It depends on how you define "better."

If by "better" you are referring to build quality, then I agree. A machined, polished aluminum intake is surely higher in quality and craftsmanship than than a plastic intake.

If by "better" you are referring to cross-vendor support, then I also agree. C&L has an established reputation, many of the tuners work closely with Lee's shop and in all liklihood, tunes that support the C&L intake can be added to existing hardware with little cost and little risk to the end user

If by "better" you are referring to design, I am inclined to disagree. The bend on the C&L is more pronounced, the diameter is smaller, and the component material more likely to transfer heat to your intake charge.

If by "better" you are referring to performance (i.e. flow characterisitcs and associated power gains), I again disagree, though only provisionally as there is simply not enough data to make a case, statistcally speaking. On the basis of EXISTING data, however, the C&L is netting less h.p. and torque (averaging across the gains posted by members of this forum) than the JLT. In the single "head to head" comparo, the JLT improved upon the C&L numbers by 8 h.p. and 20 ft. lbs. This result, if validated by more data, gives a clear performance advantage to the JLT.

If by "better" you mean value, I am ambivalent (though I lean toward the JLT). A.) On the basis of performance per dollar, the JLT seems the better buy. B.) On the basis of expected long term durability, the C&L may have an edge. Again, not enough data to make a strong inference. It really depends on the relative importance you assign to A.) and B.)

You can't go wrong with either unit. But when my baby comes out of hibernation in April, I will in all liklihood purchase the JLT, unless the perfomance advantage shown thus far is negated by further testing and/or more results suggesting otherwise....