Custom Intake System

Air, air, and more air! An engine cannot produce power without it. There are several intake systems available on the market from WAI (Warm Air Intake), CAI (Cold Air Intake), to as simple as K&N filters to fit the factory airbox. This car has seen several intake combinations since the project started, but it has evolved into this final product:

This is the V6 FloSport Intake as they ship it. The filter is a very high-quality K&N "knock-off" and would have sufficed, but the AFE design is far superior (explained later). I also did not like the design of the rubber bellows-style couplings, so they were also replaced with the APOC silicone couplings.

AFE Cone Filter

AFE stands for Advanced Flow Engineering, Inc. This company was founded by a group of Mechanical Engineers determined to produce a high-flow filter that outflows the competition. They specialize in heavy-breathing turbo diesel engines, so it was a safe bet that this filter would work for my measly little N/A V-6! As you can see from the cross-section picture below, the inlet is a 2-step design to allow a smooth transition from tubing to filter thus reducing turbulence of the incoming air when it hits the blunt tubing end. They also incorporate a radiused velocity stack that allows the air to flow in a laminar fashion as it enters the intake tract. The key to proper MAFSensor readings is a straight, laminar flow free from turbulence. AFE sells hundreds of universal filters of all shapes and sizes ... I'd recommend giving them a try!

GMS MAF Sensor

The MAF (Mass Air Flow) Sensor is probably one of the most important sensors in today's fuel-injected engines. This device measures the "mass" of air entering the engine and is the primary control of the fuel delivery. The MAF uses a heated wire that is heated to a certain temperature. As air passes over the wire, it starts to "cool" the wire thus requiring more voltage to keep it at the set temperature. The more airflow, the more voltage. Granatelli Motorsports sells several GM MAF Sensors and they sell one for the LA1 engine, but several people have had problems with Granatelli's calibration and they are not recommended. Muscle Motors sells the GMS MAF Sensor that is calibrated by Pro-M. This calibration is more properly tuned for our engines. They sell it in a Warm Air Intake and Cold Air Intake version. Besides a more aggressive calibration, the other benefit is the less restrictive design and larger opening.

To get the best results and to squeeze every last bit of power out, I'll be taking my setup to Pro-M and having a custom calibration done on their dyno.

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