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Interesting... I have used K&N kits on several cars/trucks in the past and have been pleased with results, although I have never tested those results.
However, I too am a bit skeptical. The stock box and intake draw air from the leading edge of the engine compartment, the intake air box has some heat isolation working. (Not enough though...)
The K&N appears to be drawing air from the same general area although with a much wider intake opening since the . All other basic features appear functionally equivalent to the stock setup.
So how could you get 8-10 HP and 10 ft/lbs out of that? Heck, the tech line at K&N just told me 6-8% hp gain on that kit, (that has to be BS), but they could not produce stats or dyno charts for the S2K.
So can someone produce some facts here?
Also, we live in the deep South where heat is a factor and I wondered what you guys would think about wrapping that metal foil on thin sponge rubber stuff on the K&N airbox and intake tube to increase heat isolation? Have to work out a way to do it neatly so it would look good, but wouldn't that help the hot intake air problem? Maybe even help gain a little due to cooler air?
The filter assembly appears to be too close to the main heat source for the topless protective barrier to be effective. If tested in the winter or fall (or when ambient temps were mild) , the heat soak affect would be minimized but during hot summer days, I could easily see it becoming a problem with the filter being so vulnerable to under hood temps. 8-10hp in perfect testing conditions but I doubt it would provide such gains in the real world environment of daily driving in the summer. Isolate the filter completely (as I have with the PRM Jet Steam Intake shown below) and yeah....8-10 is defenitely on tap. In my case, the filter is encased inside a cylinder covered with Rubatex, a phenominally effective heat insulation wrap which is then asthetically topped off with a covering of synthetic carbon fiber wrap. Still though, the K+N with a little bit of additional in home work, looks to be a winner. I like the intakes where you don't need hacksaws to install 'em.
Interesting setup Russ. Where did you get the Rubatex, what does it look like and how did you apply it?
If the K&N box for the S2K is like the others I have had, the hood actually lays on top of the of the box opening providing some sealing effect. Then the only opening is the front.
I would really prefer to use the K&N since it is still higher up away from water and I don't have to do major surgery to install it. But my thought was that I could improve it by insulating the box and pipe with something like this Rubatex. What do you think? Won't that make a difference?
And if this works won't it also solve the hot weather power loss that others have solved with the CF heat shield installed to the front of the head?
Rubatex is available from Home Depot and is a thin rubber-like heat insulation wrap. It's very effective. Before I installed it over the PRM casing (housing the filter), after a few minutes of hard running, the filter was as hot to the touch as the aluminum piping. Following the Rubatex wrap, the pipe was considerably cooler than the aluminum piping. As for performance, things REALLY improved when I did the customizing with the PVC pipe leading deep into the wheel well. My 1/4-mile times decreased by an average of .2 seconds (accelerometer testing done judiciously and by the book with no short cuts) following the install which equates to about 10 horsepower's worth of difference time-wise. Is it better than the AEM, INJEN or others? In my opinion it is because of the design features (enclosed filter, filter being close to the MAF, less bends, no heat soak, inverted filter position, no cutting to install, etc). Better could be as little as 1-2hp but other factors weighed in on this purchase. I've posted considerably on this intake so for those who want more info, check my latest posts in advanced search under username and look for PRM in the title.
I have found K&N to help on a factory vehicle that is not performance tuned. However, our S is pretty well tuned when it comes off the production line. This is obvious by all the "performance" enhancements out there which all dyno little or nothing. The only mod that has real seat-of-the-pants performance increase are the forced induction mods. Small pop for big bucks. Some bang for mega bucks!
To get great performance enhancements from bold-on's, get a Neon or Focus!
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Garyj I have found K&N to help on a factory vehicle that is not performance tuned.
The S2000, while tuned to a high state of affairs off the showroom floor, definitely has an induction system that can be improved upon. I've got the results to prove it, along with several hundred others who have chosen AEM, Injen, Comptech CAI's. The only mod that has real seat-of-the-pants performance increase are the forced induction mods.
I'm not sure your statement, while factual, has much to do with the topic of the thread. Small increments in horsepower are still improvements. Small pop for big bucks.
10hp for $250-300 is a decent buy in my book. To get great performance enhancements from bold-on's, get a Neon or Focus!
Not everyone desires 300hp to the wheels, otherwise I would have kept my SS Camaro which put down 332.5. As such, intakes have their place for those who like to keep things within a budget and still extract what hp they can from what mods they can afford. I see nothing wrong with the K+N effort other than some tweaking of the heat soak barrier.
Forgive my ignorance, but does this K&N Aircharger make sense, after installing the SC turbo kit? I wouldn't mind an extra 10 ponies! Given the turbo kit setup could the K&N be installed?
06-05-2002, 02:38 PM
