thing is, the car ran great when i had AEM left hand side completely installed and stock right hand side with a duct to the Stillen G3 filter location.
I had to run this because my kit came with two left pipes and i cbf to undo all my work.
Now that i have the AEM right hand side installed - performance, driveability and fuel consumption have all suffered. The ECU reads IAT from the right hand side. IAT directly affects ignition timing and we all know the ECU pulls timing due to high IAT - whether the air is actually as reported by the sensor, or not (heatsoaked sensor).
To me, it seems that the AEM design is flawed as it draws from an area where some have likened to locking yourself in a closet with the doors shut. From my experience and further examinations, i have extend on that analogy and add a hairdryer to that closet.
The hairdryer refers to the blazing hot power steering lines that are within an inch of the piping after the MAF sensor. Since the piping is aluminium, the piping near the MAF gets heated quickly and sways the IAT readings.
Heat radiating off these lines heats the dead air. Since no fresh air enters this cavity, the engine is forced to draw air from the engine bay via the gaps around the piping which snakes between the power steering lines and the gaps freed up after the stock airbox has been removed.
I have wrapped the power steering lines in exhaust wrap and wrapped the AEM piping with foil bubble wrap. The issue was reduced only slightly. So i believe that the intake is drawing air primarily from the engine bay. It might aswell be a short ram intake!
IAT on the stock intake system drops much quicker (actually, it actually drops). On the AEM system, it doesnt drop. Once it gets hot, it stays hot. Which i think backs up my theory that it draws air primarily from the engine bay.
Therefore, i think it's not a true 'cold' air intake. Makes me wonder whether they did any real world testing or did they design this intake purely to put out the biggest numbers on a dyno. Who wants a mod which might deliver power gains on a very cold day (eg. dyno conditions) or within 10mins of starting the engine in the morning but restricts access to the engine's potential once it's up to normal operating temperature? I don't want my sports car struggling to keep up with or overtake econoboxes!
As for oil cooler, i've done my own testing by subbing in a resistor which simulates 110*C oil temp and fired up the car on a cool winter morning to ensure no heat issues skewing the results. Throttle response was almost the same. It was only a very slight sluggish feel but negligible and not enough to justify a separate oil cooler.
Bigger radiator, lower temp thermostat and fan control would be cool too but i wouldn't be as disappointed if the driveability and performance was on par with stock.
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