CP-e MAFci Product Review - Gen 2, V6

[Down2TheC]

Custom Performance Engineering (www.cp-e.com)
MAFci Short Ram kit for the Gen 2 V6.
To all the pipe hunters: I tried to address all facets of the intake and review what I know and ask for what we don't know. I split it into sections that you can jump to with the below links or just scroll your way down to the section you want.

Coming soon: video link: Sorry, I'm fighting with Premiere to do what I want. This is my first real vid chop.

Contents:
Intake 101
CPE MAF Customizer
Look and Sound
Power Increase
Injen Comparison
Summary and Pre-Ordering info

Hope you all choose a pipe that suits your needs. Nice to have some choices out there!

[Down2TheC]

Intakes 101

Inhale a lung full of air. Easy, right? Take one of those tiny cocktail straws and try it. It takes forever to get enough air and it takes more effort. Air is a fluid. If you ever studied physics or fluid dynamics, you knew that straw was going to cause a problem. The smaller the cross section of a pipe, the faster the air has to travel to get the same amount through it in a fixed amount of time. The faster the air travels, the more static head is created, making it more difficult to suck the air. Add bends, more head. Add length, more head. Our stock set up is able to breath fairly well but for noise abatement and control, they have some stuff in there that creates head. The filter, the bending route, the little doors, etc.

MAF Sensor
The Mass Air Flow Sensor doesn't actually measure Air Flow. It's actually measuring air velocity. Say we have a pipe that has a one square foot cross section. If you know that the air in it is traveling at one foot per second, then you know the flow rate it 1 cubic foot of air per second. The MAF sensor is just a heated wire that reports the speed of the air in the tube. It sends out a certain range of voltages. Higher speed air causes a higher voltage. The ECU for the Solara is "tuned in" to the sensor and knows that 5 volts means some particular amount of air. Since the MAF only knows the speed of the air, the ECU calculates based on the assumption that the stock intake is used. The stock intake has a certain cross section so it knows a 5V signal means X feet per second, times the corss section of the stock intake = Mass Flow Rate of air going into the throttle body.

Why it matters...If you change the cross sectional area of the intake, the ECU will still be assuming the stock size. So it's calculations will be off. A bigger pipe with the same air speed flowing in it means more volume of air. The ECU will under estimate the Mass Flow Rate and do the wrong thing. That's when the dreaded Check Engine Light shines. The ECU checks it's own work and finds that it's adjustments are making things worse. Until it throws up it's hands and gives up. CEL.

How to improve intake
This limits what you can do to improve intake performance. Put "a bigger straw" on and you confuse the MAF sensor/ECU communications. If it were possible, this could be solved by recalibrating the ECU or telling it that you have a bigger cross section where the MAF sensor is sitting. Or you could keep the cross section the same where the sensor is and just lose the bends, the filters, the doors, etc. Then the ECU will be happy and will act properly.

[Down2TheC]

MAF Customizer

Custom Performance Engineering is made up of Engineers. One is an Electrical Engineer who designed a "chip" to take the input from a MAF sensor and convert it in a controlable way before sending the signal to the ECU. It's not really a chip though. It's a small circuit board with a microprocessor and several inputs and outputs. It can be programmed remotely to "tune" the MAF signal.

What it does.
With the MAF Customizer "translating" for the MAF Sensor, you can put a bigger pipe on and still use the same MAF sensor and ECU. So now the velocity of air sensed by the MAF is converted to a signal that it would have if the stock intake were to have the same flow rate.

But that ain't all.
The air flow input to the ECU is a very important one. That's the root of all decisions for the ECU. Most notably, The ECU controls the mixture by using this information. As long as the Customizer is in control of that signal, it can be used to "tune" the mixture for performance and efficiency. So the "chip" has a map (kinda like a spreadsheet) of all the RPM bands. It's hooked in to know what rpm you're at so it can lean out the mixture by altering the MAF signal. Our car runs rich as built. By tuning it to perform it's best at each RPM, we get the most power and mileage.

Looking to the future
Add headers to your car and the ECU will scream bloody murder and the peak tuning would be all off. If you change the setup with a future cp-e mod, they'll do the tuning for the new mod and swap out the box with you for another "Plug & Play" install. That goes for supercharge too. If you have the equipment, you can get the tunable version of the customizer and hook it up to your laptop. You can adjust the map to alter the performance after any non-cpe performance mods.

[Down2TheC]

Look and Sound

A couple features to point out here...
1. This is the proto, welded and painted not the mandril bended powdercoated pipe. The production powdercoat is "Stardust Silver" and has a "Lunar Mist" feel to it.
2. Most pipes would just weld nipples on for the hose fittings. Note the nipple block, computer designed and machined in shop. Classy rig.
3. Bottom of the mount they mounted the VSV. Could have removed it but that would leave a code in the ECU. cp-e doesn't like codes.
4. Spending time with the Solara they learned she's a classy ride. So no sticker for the final product. They're planning a lazer etched CPE logo on the mount leg.
5. Filter is by an ex-K&N engineer that improved durability and airflow. This thing actually breathes and filters better when dirty! Nine layer cotton vs. seven layer on K&N.
6. Just look at the size of that pipe!!! 3.5 inches of love!



What it sounds like.
The sound starts with a full open run 1st to third gear. I like the 2000 to 3000 grunts so I put that after. That's just me playing. It only sings when you're on the gas/under load. So add a TRD Muff. and you'll be full time mean or just add the intake and sound that way when you want.
CPe Intake Sound

[Down2TheC]

These are the dyno charts. Note that it is from a DynoJet viewer application. They take their proto cars to an independant dyno (Dynojet is a wide spread standard). They have an in shop dyno that does so much more but in the performance business there are a lot of tricks to make something look good so they want to breed trust by having an independant source.

An additional 10 HP average was realized by the intake. Note that it's basically across the board. It's all better than stock.


For torque, there was a major improvement on the low end. When I was stock there was a big pull a little after 4000 RPM as verified by my "butt dyno". Now the pull happens early and consistently. June's dyno for Injen showed a smoother torque curve (comparison later) so maybe it's just my car or the KY engineering. Either way, the intake seriously boosted my torque in the 3L - 4K range.


0-60
I did some 0-60 runs before and after. It's hard to get exact conditions but I know I can say there was improvement of 1 - 1.5 seconds. [video link of side by side will go here] I want to go to the track and get timeslips to prove this more definatively. First I have to learn to revert to stock so maybe this week, maybe next.

[Down2TheC]

Injen comparison.

With Injen releasing their pipe last week we all have a choice now. (feast or famine, right?). The two are very different products for different purposes as I see it.

Power: CP-E started their development by stubbing in a 3" pipe. They found no power improvement. The fact that you don't have to convert the signal for a 3" pipe tells you that you're not opening up the airway any. If you were you'd get CELs. Injen produced dyno's reporting more power than the 3.5". This is against all laws of Physics!!! Since the Injen dyno charts are created by them, I have to say that I wouldn't buy it without independant verification from an SG with a third party dyno. But if you want to live the dream, here's the comparison of the charts. Note that the stock curves don't match either. Guess June's coupe has a better V6 or trans.
My rec: Don't buy Injen for power. There are no magic pipes.



Sound: Don't know. Need info from someone. Can't record Phreak's next week because he has TRD exh. Milt, got sound?

Look: Here they are head to head. I guess it's a matter of taste and budget. CPE is a better fabrication, Injen has several colors.




Mileage: I compared several tanks at several speeds. The intake gave me and extra 2mpg consistently. Don't know about Injen. Milt? Phreak?

Price: CP-e is $493 vs. $200-$220 for Injen. I'm sure that filters out some poor folk right there. The reason for the big price is that it's not just a pipe as described in the MAF Customizer section. Split second makes a generic tunable MAF air/fuel product for $250. And that one leaves all the connections and tuning to the buyer. So you may think it looks like a big number but this is the lowest price they've had on an intake. The other major difference is the workmanship. Look at the mounting posts for the two for example. Just like the audio field, you can buy things that look the same for very different prices.

Support: CP-e would like to do many more projects for the Solara. Injen was ready to shelf us until they got wind that another intake was coming. Remember the "1-2 years before they resume development"? I doubt they'll be doing headers or an s/c for us anytime soon.

Bottom line: I think there's SG's for both pipes. You want something in there now? Just to make some noise? You want it cheap? Maybe you want the polished or black pipe color. Injen is the obvious choice.
But as I said earlier, don't buy Injen for power. It's just a pretty noise maker. Treat it like a audio purchase. If you can't afford the Alpine F1, you can prolly get something that plays as loud for a lot less.

[Down2TheC]

Pre Order information:
If you're interested in the CP-e MAFci kit, there will be a preorder list. It's not a "group buy" thing though. It's basically a contact list so when they have it on their website, they can let you know.

PM me with real name, SG name, e-address, and phone number. PM's are running slow. You can use "mjcspam-solara at yahoo dot com" if you want. (spelled out for spam prevention.)

When they have the site set to take orders for this product, you'll be directed there to get the CC info. They won't charge it until they ship the kit. Ship date is TBD but the first run of pipes has been sent off to the bender. Should have a date soon. Visit www.cp-e.com for more info on their work and to see other products they make.

Any questions that I missed, please post or PM. I'm asking the mods to lock the proto thread so the info will be all in one place w/o the "fluff".

[drace99]

Where does the chip and/or MAF customizer get installed? How difficult do you think it would be to install myself?

[Down2TheC]

Where does the chip and/or MAF customizer get installed? How difficult do you think it would be to install myself?

Totally do it yourself. The customizer fits in with the ECU behind the glove box. You have to "hijack" one wire on it's way to the ECU and one coming from the ECU. Everything's in the kit and the instructions are legible and in color printouts. No photocopies. For the airbox removal you can check Phreak's post in the Tutorial forum. It's nearly the same process.

[got sport]

Well first of all, I want to commend you for taking the initiative in following through with this project and providing for all of us an excellent and thorough explanation of the intake.

[StockSolara]

I am surprise no one is jumping on this because down2thec is right. . . this is a good deal. . . think about it you get a big a$$ pipe w/ a filter that is better than K&N and it's like you got the Apexi S-AFC installed and tuned for you. . . cause if you think about it Injen $220 + K&N $40 + A'pexi S-AFC $300 + Install and Tune $400 = $960 give or take. . . and now you get all of that for a much lower price and less head ache install for $493. . .

[Down2TheC]

Thanks for the props man. Just the facts that are fit to print! StockSol, nice pitch. But people are jumping on board. They're coming direct to me as requested. I'm sure not the numbers we would have had last week but it's all good for the SGs, right? Choice, capitalism, and what-not. God Bless America!


EDIT: I checked out Apexi and you're right. It performs the same function w/o the pretty interface. You can however hook up w/ a laptop and software to tweak the map, but tuning your mixture is a hairy endeavor. (Joe user doesn't have the custom dyno to see the instant results of a change.)

[SPF 0]

Allow me to add to the kudos for the time and effort you've putting into sharing your results with everyone. I guess the only question I have at this time is how it affects your factory warranty.

[Down2TheC]

Toyota would have to prove that the failure was a direct result of the mod. In this case, it's not a huge effort to revert to stock. I was thinking of doing that but talked with the techs at Toyota and they don't take note of mods unless it's in the way. So I'll revert if I ever have major warranty work to be done... just in case. But TSB work, and routine stuff, I'm leaving it as is. Astro told me Junest has no troubles leaving hers in.
Oh... and thx for the kudos. Just trying to fulfill my role as SG Ambassador to CP-e.

[Astro]

Visit www.cpe.com for more info on their work and to see other products they make.

Please fix your link:
www.cp-e.com