Possible New Intake Manufacturer

[GizmoQ]

I entered Mod Hell with my eyes wide open and a decent budget and since there aren't many mod available I went with the stage 1/stage 2 intake from D3. Only to learn a month after my purchase that Spectre Performance just finished their STS-V Cold Air Intake and will be making one for the XLR-V in the near future. The specs and data from the STS-V application are impressive and the cost is half that of the competition ($500 shipped from StreetSideAuto.Com).

The Flow rates are an increase of +628cfm over the stock setup. The average gain to the wheels (NOT FLYWHEEL) was +44WHP and +36ftlbs of torque. Remember that this is not MAX but averages.

This intake looks impressive, I can't wait to see what they come up with for the XLR-V. This is what it looks like on the STS-V.

The only problem I see is all the sensors this will effect on the XLR and if GM will honor your Warranty if you have one on your car. The warranty issues will be questioned from Dealer to Dealer you may want to find that out before you proceed.


Speedway

[GizmoQ]

Originally Posted by speedway

The only problem I see is all the sensors this will effect on the XLR and if GM will honor your Warranty if you have one on your car. The warranty issues will be questioned from Dealer to Dealer you may want to find that out before you proceed.


Speedway

Since it a 15 min job to R/R its not that big a deal, but I have read that several folks with modified intakes have no problems with their dealers (it's the dealer's call first and most have good relations with their STS-V customers, not GM). The one issue I've heard of is if someone is using an oiled filter, and its proven to have fouled the MAF, the warranty work on that particular item is voided. But this doesn't use that kind of filter.

YOUR mileage may vary. MY service writer is excellent about finding warranty claims for all my modified Cadillacs. Half the time, I'm expecting to pay for it, and he's gone out of his way to cover some of the annoyances I've brought up.

So, I guess its better to say "Depending on YOUR relationship with your dealer, they (the dealership) MAY not honor YOUR warranty." I don't have that problem.

Lastly, Spectre Performance has taken great strides to make this plug and play, so no sensors need modification and no retune is required (although one user was able to get a little more torque with a retune).

[mtrocket]

Make sure you let us know when the XLR intake is ready...

[GizmoQ]

Originally Posted by mtrocket

Make sure you let us know when the XLR intake is ready...

Probably not till this Summer. I will be contacting them next month about prototyping one on my vehicle in the Spring, but they're going to need a stock V to dyno and document HP & torque differences between their intake and stock.

[GizmoQ]

Just got permission to post photos of their XLR-V mock-ups:

[mtrocket]

Originally Posted by GizmoQ

Just got permission to post photos of their XLR-V mock-ups:

Anything for the base??

[GizmoQ]

Originally Posted by mtrocket

Anything for the base??

I must admit, I have so many irons in the fire right now, I never thought to ask. I'll see what they say next week, promise.

[onalaska]

That intake looks interesting, particularly if it gets the horsepower gains the STS V version does. That really has my interest for my completely stock V.

[richardyoo]

Originally Posted by GizmoQ

Just got permission to post photos of their XLR-V mock-ups:

I don't mean to be a spoil-sport... but those photos are exactly the same ones from this thread:

Induction System Modification

Even the reflections of the trees in the fenders are the same!

[onalaska]

I remember seeing that one. Maybe they are going to eliminate all of the individual joints and make one smooth piece like the STS one. I like the fact that everything looks to be equal length although I doubt if it matters as it all comes together at the throttle body anyway.

Originally Posted by GizmoQ

Since it a 15 min job to R/R its not that big a deal, but I have read that several folks with modified intakes have no problems with their dealers (it's the dealer's call first and most have good relations with their STS-V customers, not GM). The one issue I've heard of is if someone is using an oiled filter, and its proven to have fouled the MAF, the warranty work on that particular item is voided. But this doesn't use that kind of filter.

YOUR mileage may vary. MY service writer is excellent about finding warranty claims for all my modified Cadillacs. Half the time, I'm expecting to pay for it, and he's gone out of his way to cover some of the annoyances I've brought up.

So, I guess its better to say "Depending on YOUR relationship with your dealer, they (the dealership) MAY not honor YOUR warranty." I don't have that problem.

Lastly, Spectre Performance has taken great strides to make this plug and play, so no sensors need modification and no retune is required (although one user was able to get a little more torque with a retune).

I believe those are oiled filters they are using, but with that said, the fouling you mention is rare - usually only after one cleans them for the first time and re-oils them.

I would really be afraid of any cold air intake that promises significant horsepower increases without tuning to re-map air/fuel ratios. Most of today's ECU's can compensate for a small increase in air flow by increasing fuel to match (like a simple filter swap from paper to oiled cotton i.e., K&N) however once you go too far, the standard closed loop operation values cannot keep up. You will run a huge risk of leaning the mixture and ending up with burnt valves, plugs, pistons or worse - grenade the motor.

[richardyoo]

Originally Posted by mswaim

I would really be afraid of any cold air intake that promises significant horsepower increases without tuning to re-map air/fuel ratios. Most of today's ECU's can compensate for a small increase in air flow by increasing fuel to match (like a simple filter swap from paper to oiled cotton i.e., K&N) however once you go too far, the standard closed loop operation values cannot keep up. You will run a huge risk of leaning the mixture and ending up with burnt valves, plugs, pistons or worse - grenade the motor.

The D3 intake will cause a MIL if not re-tuned on the LC3 motor... which is why they ship there little black box that plugs into the MAF... but as you said, I chose to have mine simply retuned instead.

[GizmoQ]

Originally Posted by richardyoo

I don't mean to be a spoil-sport... but those photos are exactly the same ones from this thread:

Induction System Modification

Even the reflections of the trees in the fenders are the same!

I hadn't noticed that, but you're right!

Originally Posted by onalaska

I remember seeing that one. Maybe they are going to eliminate all of the individual joints and make one smooth piece like the STS one. I like the fact that everything looks to be equal length although I doubt if it matters as it all comes together at the throttle body anyway.

Yes, they had the design for a while and now want to create a smooth two piece unit like what they did for the STS-V. Also, like the STS-V they'll use a little bit bigger stage 1 tubing.

Originally Posted by richardyoo

The D3 intake will cause a MIL if not re-tuned on the LC3 motor... which is why they ship there little black box that plugs into the MAF... but as you said, I chose to have mine simply retuned instead.

Good choice; and a much more effective way to pull the most out of the mods. Every engine is a bit different, a good tuner can make the difference.