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Placebo pills and intakes and how you start feeling crazy

jeff

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Yesterday I swapped out my beautiful and loud CP-E intake for a RAMAIR setup. The piping is about the same diameter on both systems, the difference is the CP-E has the massive bell filter and palace in which it resides, along with the lower intake pipe, whereas the RAMAIR utilizes a panel filter in the boring stock box. My reasoning was I was tired of all the whooshing and whistling of my turbo, I wanted some peace and quiet. It even drowned out my exhaust. Too many noises.

The goal was to swap intakes, if power is about the same, I'll sell the CP-E. If not, I'll reinstall it and sell the RAMAIR.

Now, we all know that intakes only provide marginal gains for the Fiesta ST. The obvious question is, does the CP-E make that much more of a difference than the RAMAIR?

After swapping them and driving the car, I was very happy with a quiet car. I can hear the things I want to hear again. The car is bassy and the whistling and whirling and whoosing is very minimal.

Now, the butt dyno. The car feels a tad bit slower. It feels like it spools slower. Wait....I drive it an hour later, it feels just as fast as before. What is going on? Did the intake swap make a difference? The question: IS THIS PLACEBO?

So, I took a datalog and compared before and after. Unfortunately, I neglected to log airflow on the "before" CP-E runs somehow (thought it was configured; it wasn't) so I don't have that data. However, I do have other data. Timing is being added by the ECU the same. Boost comes on the same. Spool is the same. When I say "the same" I mean there are marginal differences (like +/- 0.07) but it's essentially the same. I put them both on V-dyno, the runs are within 2-3 hp of each other...again, essentially the same. I don't believe that the V-dyno can be used to compare intakes, even on the 'same road same day same temps', there are too many variables. But I did put the logs in V-dyno just out of curiosity, and they were as I said about the same.

So, my imagination told me the car spooled slower, but the raw data says that is not the case at all. That makes me question my butt dyno impressions because while it felt like it spooled slower, it definitely did not. So while it might feel like it accelerates just a tad bit slower, the same placebo effect at work with the spool may be at work there too.

You start feeling crazy.

Charge and intake temps did rise about 2 degrees withe the RAMAIR setup compared to the CP-E, but I don't know that a few degrees makes enough of a difference to rob power. I wish I'd measured airflow, but even if I did and saw, let's say again, a marginal difference, is that enough to really make a real world difference?

I will say I lost about 10 lbs. of weight when I swapped out the CP-E...that things is a beast.
 


Truth in Ruin

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#2
Nice write up! I’m using a drop-in filter & BIG MOUTH with the modded one. I see no reason doing anything different. But... that CP-E is nice!
 


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#3
I also have the RAMAIR intake in my FiSt, I do not however have a cobb tuner. I dont think there is a change in power, I do notice that it feels a bit more laggy in lower gears (1st and 2nd) which im assuming is because I dont have a tune and the inlet is bigger then OE. My butt dyno says there is more torque in the boost range, again assuming the ecu is picking up the better air flow without a tune. But, I do think all the noises fool me to think I'm going faster!
 


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