The first product that will be evaluated in my search for the best air intake for my Mk7 GTI is the IE MK7 Cold Air Intake paired with a CTS Turbo Inlet Elbow.
A couple of attributes that Integrated Engineering claims for the product that are of interest to me are:
- “Gain 10+ horsepower and torque”
- “Delivers cold air to your turbocharger”
- “…help deliver the most power possible from an intake system.”
- “This Intake delivers an impressive 17.3% flow increase to feed your turbo.”
- Regarding the heat shield “…eliminates the induction of hot air found in other locations of the engine bay.”
Up first is measuring the airflow through the intake when it is configured as it would be on the vehicle, which includes the use of a turbocharger inlet elbow.
This test produced an airflow of 393 CFM at a test pressure of 28″ of H2O. Comparison with a completely stock intake is shown in the chart below.
The results are almost identical to those claimed by Integrated Engineering, the increase from stock to the IE Cold Air Intake is 17%.
Next for the IE Cold Air Intake will be installation on my GTI and measurement of the air intake temperature just prior to entry into the turbocharger.
Would you say that the slightly lower CFM of the IE intake compared to others is due to that sharp bend where the filter attaches? Other brands keep the straight path like OEM. Curious how that 90 degree bends affects flow if at all.
I can’t attribute difference to that part of the design, but it is possible. Bends aren’t going to help with airflow, how much it affects the result is unknown.
Coming from the LS world, I know mk7 does not have MAF but in my LS powered vehicle, a bend added to an intake actually skewed the MAF signal a bit. So it got me thinking. Thanks for the reply. Your research on this platform is unreal!
The bends certainly don’t help. I’ve tested products for other platforms and the fewer bends in the piping the better the parts flow.