Background:
Blaze Performance offers a number of aftermarket intake components and intake kits for the Mk7 GTI. A previous post addressed a flow test of the 3″/76mm turbo inlet hose and turbo adapter.
This post will address a flow test of the ATOM Race V1 100mm induction kit for both left-hand (LHD) and right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles.
Blaze Performance also offers an ATOM Race V2 intake kit that uses a full-width duct, shown below. The full-width version was not available at the time of this test.
In addition to the LHD and RHD hoses, the Blaze Performance inlet flange and hose can be used in three different ways. There is an insert for the inlet flange that optimizes the part for use with an IHI size turbocharger compressor inlet.
When the insert is removed the inlet flange is then optimized for use with a hybrid-size turbocharger inlet. The diameter at the outlet increases from 49mm to 56mm.
Note: The insert shown above is a model that I printed from a file supplied by Blaze Performance. The insert was not included in the package of parts I received, and to facilitate moving ahead with testing it was faster to print a model than wait for the metal insert to be shipped. The actual insert is made of metal.
A third way the intake can be used is to attach the 3″/76mm turbo inlet hose directly to a turbocharger.
Because there are multiple configurations to be tested the explanation of the test procedure will not describe every configuration in detail. There will be a summary table of all of the test configurations in the results section.
Test Procedure:
The intake is assembled and the turbo inlet flange is attached to the flow bench adapter that simulates the IHI turbocharger compressor housing.
A variation of the test utilizes a silicone hose as the adapter to simulate the inlet size of a hybrid turbocharger. The inside diameter of the silicone hose is 56mm.
Another variation uses an adapter that is the same dimension as the turbo inlet hose outlet, 3″/76mm.
Testing with the IHI and hybrid adapter is made at a bench depression of 28″ of H2O. The 3″/76mm adapter, simulating the direct turbo attachment, substantially increases the airflow through the intake, and for the tests that use that adapter, the bench depression is lowered to 10″ of H2O.
Test Results:
The first tests are of the ATOM Race intake attached to the IHI adapter.
Flow rates are:
- LHD – 381 CFM @ 28″ of H2O
- RHD – 388 CFM @ 28″ of H2O
Note: Only the LHD version is shown on the chart above.
The next test is of the ATOM Race intake using the “hybrid” turbo simulating silicone hose.
Flow rates are:
- LHD – 465 CFM @ 28″ of H2O
- RHD – 489 CFM @ 28″ of H2O
Only a couple of other intakes have been tested this way.
The final configuration is the ATOM Race connected directly to the flow bench.
Flow rates are:
- LHD – Not Tested
- RHD – 401 CFM @ 10″ of H2O
Note: The depression is now changed to 10″ of H2O. This flow rate can be approximated at 28″ of H2O, which would be ~670 CFM.
Measurement Summary:
| Configuration | Flow (CFM) |
|---|---|
| IHI / RHD / Metal Duct | 388 @ 28″ |
| IHI / LHD / Metal Duct | 381 @ 28″ |
| Silicone / RHD / Metal Duct | 489 @ 28″ |
| Silicone / LHD / Metal Duct | 465 @ 28″ |
| Direct / RHD / Metal Duct | 401 @ 10″ |
| Direct / LHD / Metal Duct | Not Tested |
The highlighted row is the configuration that would be applied most commonly with a North American GTI.
Conclusions:
The Blaze Performance ATOM Race V1 intake for the Mk7 GTI was the subject of a flow test.
There are multiple configurations for the intake and the three relevant to drivers of left-hand drive vehicles will be reviewed.
Using the adapter that simulates the IHI compressor housing the ATOM Race intake flowed 381 CFM @ 28″ of H2O. This is approximately the 40th percentile of all the intake configurations I have tested.
Note: The version supplied to me (V1) uses a single-side intake duct. Blaze Performance also offers a full-width intake duct (V2) and that version was not available to test to see if there would be a performance difference. The duct was removed from the ATOM intake to observe the effect on the airflow rate. The airflow rate increased from 381 to 394 CFM @ 28″ of H2O.
When configured with the silicone hose adapter, simulating a hybrid-turbo compressor inlet, the ATOM intake flowed 489 CFM @ 28″ of H2O. Few intakes have been tested in this configuration.
Note: Again removal of the metal duct resulted in an airflow increase from 489 to 516 CFM @ 28″ of H2O.
When connected directly to the flow bench the ATOM intake was tested at 10″ of H2O because the flow rate at 28″ of H2O would exceed the bench capacity of 600 CFM @ 28″ of H2O. At 10″ of H2O the ATOM flows 401 CFM. This reading can be extrapolated to 28″ of H2O. At the higher depression, the flow rate is estimated to be 670 CFM. This is the highest reading of the intakes that have been tested this way.