Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior For All Of You That Doubt TPR's CAI/SRI, Check This Out!

I did some research a while back on how our stock MAFS gets its readings, and why most aftermarket Intakes cause lagging and sometimes CELs. What I came up with is that the MAFS needs to be placed in a specific housing to get accurate readings, which requires two things:

1. 2.5" Piping: Most aftermarket Intakes use 2.75" piping, which actually slows down aiflow past the MAFS, since the engine can only suck up so much air at one time. This makes the engine think it's getting less air, since less is going by the MAFS at any given time. This results in the ECU reducing the amount of fuel used, making the engine run leaner than stock. This may not cause a CEL or bogging by itself, but the MAFS needs one other part to operate correctly (which NO aftermarket Intakes have had until now):

2. 6 MAFS "Fins": The bars that sit right in from of the MAFS in the stock airbox. These direct air through the hole in the bottom of the MAFS. This in turn helps pull air through the top of the MAFS. The air enters the front of the MAFS, goes up through the top with the two little spring wires, then comes out the back, and gets accelerated by the air going through the bottom. Thee intersecting fins on either side of the MAFS help concentrate the airflow around the bottom hole, increasing the airflow through the MAFS even more. These fins are just as important to achieving the correct air speed through the MAFS as the right size piping is, which is why the 2.5" RMM short ram with no fins still causes bogging, even though it has the right piping size.

TPR MAFS fins layed over the stock airbox tube with its own fins:


The TPR CAI and SRI has both of the above qualities, so when installed correctly and used with a clean, properly working MAFS, you will NEVER get a lean CEL! Basically, the TPR Intakes are comparable to running with a stock airbox with the restriction almost eliminated. The fuel curves are much better than with any Intake, so you will never run lean and bog or get a lean CEL (P0171). In the end, if you didn't get a CEL or bogging/hesitation problems running with the stock airbox, you won't get any running with these Intakes.

I originally came up with the idea of modding the stock airbox to achieve the same thing (codename: Perfect CAI), and it has worked flawlessly for everyone who has tried it, on CAIs and SRIs. I'd link to the posts with the info and reviews, but the site they're on has been mysteriously blocked here for some reason (if anyone wants the links for proof, email me at spectracelica@ieathondas.com). This same idea was used in the TPR Intakes for those of us who wanted a show quality appearance instead of a DIY job. The TPR CAI does have a different power curve than the ebay/AEM CAI and stock airbox combo, but it still competitive and/or superior to any other CAI out there (including AEM Gen 1 and 2, Injen, K&N , etc).

Of course, if you have a Power FC or any other aftermarket ECU or piggyback ECU, you can tune the MAFS to read any Intake properly, since the MAFS and ECU won't be limited to the stock detection range. But for cars with the stock ECU, the TPR Intakes are the best and safest Intakes on the market.

I've attached pics of the Perfect CAI stock airbox mod I mentioned above (email me for info on how to do it, since I can't link to that "other" site ). All this mod is is cutting out the tube part of the stock airbox, smoothing the surface, and attaching it to any aftermarket Intake. It may not look that great, but that's what the TPR Intakes are for. These pictures are NOT of the TPR Intakes:

nice bomber

thank you bomber, you know what you are talking about.

so where could you buy this? sounds nice

^^^ Ditto, I want one.

TPR or blue bombers mod?

Well, my Perfect CAI is a do-it-yourself mod that you can do with your stock airbox, stock Intake hose, and any pipe-based aftermarket Intake (eBay CAI preferred due to its low price and high Performance). Email me (spectracelica@ieathondas.com) for instructions on how to make it, since I'm not allowed to link to the board the instructions are on. If you really think you can't make it yourself, I could mod your stock box for $50. I'd need you to mail your box to me. The mod is really simple to do though, so I doubt you'd have to resort to that.

If you meant the TPR CAI and SRI, just PM EasyC. He's the owner of TPR.

PM sent to Chris. BB love your mod to, read every word over at that "other" celica site. But who can pass up black metalic powder coat with no CEL. Love N_C.org members thinking out side the box.

Actually, the TRP Intakes use a much stronger coating than powdercoat. It starts off with a layer of ceramic paint, which helps reduce heat soak by reflecting away from the pipe, leading to cooler Intake air temps. Next comes the color paint layer. Finally, a clear layer of POR 15's Pelucid [por15.com] is applied. Pelucid is one of the hardest, most flexible clear paints out there, and will resist chips, scratches, peeling, flaking, etc. better than powdercoating or any other type of paint.

For reference, I used POR 15's rust preventative paint on my brake rotors. It took me an entire trip home from a friend's shop (80 miles, mostly freeway) to wear the paint off the braking surface. I barely had any braking power for the first 10 stops. As opposed to regular spray paint that will scrape off in the first 2 uses of the brakes (powdercoat isn't much stronger). Pelucid is the best you can get.

BTW, the upcoming TPR exhaust will also be coated in ceramic paint to improve exhaust flow, and will use POR 15's high temp paint to eliminate the possibility of external rust.

Thats fucking sweet!!

pretty cool

hmm interesting