Two Step Performance
Elite Sponsor
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2018
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- 45
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- 918
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- 1,326
- Location
- USA
- Website
- twostepperformance.com
- Vehicle(s)
- 2023 Type R
- Thread starter
- #1
It was the Summer of 2023. The FL5 still had a fresh to market feel and aftermarket part options were very limited. Community member PRL Motorsports was deep into their intake development for the platform and they received a tip from someone that accidentally made a pull at the dragstrip with their hood not completely closed.
The party in question recorded a time a tenth of a second faster than any previous pass! It was not long before their gears started turning and they realized that additional air was able to make it's way into the intake system through the cracked hood and produce additional power. Here at TSP we were about 60 dyno pulls in on our own FL5 R&D, testing all kinds of stuff. I was asked to record two dyno pulls, one with the hood open, allowing all the air in, and one with the hood closed -limiting the car to what our high output fan can help blow through the relatively small passage behind the grill. The results were a bit shocking, a difference of approximately 22WHP.
PRL was all but ready to release their intake with no duct, but they knew further testing was required to ensure they released the best product possible to our community.
Fast forward to August of 2023 - I had the PRL sealed and ducted prototypes both in hand, as well as a modified factory airbox that had a duct added to it in a similar fashion. Testing resumed:
I believe the results speak for themselves. There are many variables to consider including the turbocharger itself, ambient weather conditions, airspeed through the grill, etc. But these tests have served as the basis of why the PRL HVI has a duct to begin with and why I have been so adamant about it over the years.
This thread is a result of lots of questions regarding the value of the duct. All I can speak from is my own experience and test data. Cobb has recently shared that they believe their intake does not suffer from any deficiencies without a secondary inlet duct and I welcome the opportunity for that to be proven. TSP sells many different brands and we count on our own R&D to make great recommendations to our customer. I always enjoy pointing out that our FL5 has over 260 recorded dyno pulls to date, all from testing various hardware and software combinations - many of them being prototypes that don't always see the light of day. We highly value the data and love learning about what works and what doesn't.
We are still curious about the Cobb intake and have spoken to Cobb privately regarding this, they are due to ship us both an intake and intercooler for testing. We look forward to adding to our collection of test data and maybe even learning something new.
PRL was all but ready to release their intake with no duct, but they knew further testing was required to ensure they released the best product possible to our community.
Fast forward to August of 2023 - I had the PRL sealed and ducted prototypes both in hand, as well as a modified factory airbox that had a duct added to it in a similar fashion. Testing resumed:
I believe the results speak for themselves. There are many variables to consider including the turbocharger itself, ambient weather conditions, airspeed through the grill, etc. But these tests have served as the basis of why the PRL HVI has a duct to begin with and why I have been so adamant about it over the years.
This thread is a result of lots of questions regarding the value of the duct. All I can speak from is my own experience and test data. Cobb has recently shared that they believe their intake does not suffer from any deficiencies without a secondary inlet duct and I welcome the opportunity for that to be proven. TSP sells many different brands and we count on our own R&D to make great recommendations to our customer. I always enjoy pointing out that our FL5 has over 260 recorded dyno pulls to date, all from testing various hardware and software combinations - many of them being prototypes that don't always see the light of day. We highly value the data and love learning about what works and what doesn't.
We are still curious about the Cobb intake and have spoken to Cobb privately regarding this, they are due to ship us both an intake and intercooler for testing. We look forward to adding to our collection of test data and maybe even learning something new.