Intake air smoothing, volume and density are the three most important thinks you have to do to increase overall performance.
Smooth air: this will make the turbo be more efficient in pushing air. this is achieved with smooth pipes and elbows
Volume: the more air you make available, the better the turbo will breathe and spool up faster. Achieved with big diameter pipes and removing restrictions ( silencers)
Density: dense air has more oxigen in it. IF you heat up the air it will loose it's density making less power. any boost over 8 PSI needs an aftercooler to make the air good for combustion and making power.
If you think that a metal intake tube will have the same effect as a composite plastic, you are wrong. then why do we have an IC after the turbo??? No matter how fast the air is going, if you run it thru metal, the air will heat or cool down trying to equalize itselfo to the ambient.
Yes the power increase is minimal at ambient temp but if you are drawing the air inside an engine compartment that is hot inside, warm it a little more making it go thru a metal tube that it is considerably warmer than the air, and then compress it to almost twice the ambient pressure. you will be realy making that IC less efective.
If you still think that warm air is the same as cold air, make this simple test: get two sauce bottles with the poping top put the same ammount of water in them, heat one of them for thirty secconds and place the other on in the freezer for the same time. close them tightly and wait a while. The one with the warm water will make the cap Pop when you open it. the cold one won't do anything...
when the hot air cools down it becomes dense again (compacting itself) creating a vac. because it is sealed it imake the famous poping sound.
Yes, the computer will try to compensate by reducing boost, but here is where the MBCs and the EBCs will help you... and you will produce the same power with less boost.
Ian
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