Welcome to the "The Lab". "The Lab" is where we'll be conducting intensive product evaluations here at Tuner
Performance Reports. Our goal is to provide buyers with the information they need to make informed purchases.
The Platform
For our premier installment, we started with one of the most popular and easy-to-install performance upgrade, performance air
intake systems. Our testing and evaluation was performed on a 1999 Honda Civic Si with 37,000 miles of service. All testing was
performed by our staff on a Dynojet 248 chassis dynamometer.
The Test
After each intake system was installed on the vehicle, the factory ECU was reset. The tests were run with the hood closed. Each intake
system had three chances to lay down their best performance possible. Seven minutes was given in between runs for cool downs. |
The Results (Published)
The best dyno run is showcased in The Lab. This is the actual dyno information, not a graph created from a spreadsheet. Additionally, you'll
find all the results in chart form following each section. These charts also include the virtual quarter mile performance times were
calculated with an 8-point dyno input and actual vehicle specs.
The Results (Unpublished)
Published results never tell the whole story. During the test, we found some very interesting trends. All of the short-ram type intakes suffered
dramatically from heat soak when we ran the dynos back to back. What does this mean? In the real world of stoplight-to-stoplight confrontations,
performance on cars equipped with a short ram intake may begin to drop off as underhood temperatures rise. With the cold air systems, the horsepower
results were much closer (within a half of horsepower instead of one to three horsepower.) |
