My New Mod !!!

thearrow · 30-07-2010, 03:41 PM

For some time now I have been thinking of fitting a proper Cold Air Intake (CAI) system. I already had a pod filter but of course this is somewhat illegal so decided to do the right thing and upgrade.

It is a lot more smoother on take off and certainly I can feel a little bit more extra HP imported from the USA all up cost about A$350.00.

From the pics you will notice I also have an SVT Upper Intake Manifold (UIM).

I have had this for some time now as I was lucky to find one on E-Bay that included a bigger throttle body and all the hardware suitable for mounting. This also has given me a few more HP but all of this pales into insignificance when compared to the HP gain from the exhaust system.

This is as far as I want to go with modifications for the time being although I am toying with the idea of extractors but this will only make it louder so any gain would have to be offset against an additional muffler set up.

More research required on this issue yet.

http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n...uly2010002.jpg

http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n...uly2010001.jpg

http://s338.photobucket.com/albums/n...uly2010003.jpg

XR5-Boy · 30-07-2010, 04:05 PM

Looks good man. Does it have more of a demonic vaccum cleaner noise now?

FumDuk · 31-07-2010, 10:18 AM

Nice work mate, looks grand !

Whats that second small filter?

thearrow · 02-08-2010, 10:15 AM

Having had this mod for a few days now I must say I am very impressed. The cat pulls a lot harder from take off now and it has also reduced my fuel usage. According to my read out I reckon I am down by about 1 litre per 100 km, not a lot but still worthwhile, I know, I know the read out is not reliable but still.

On the eastern distributor the other day I was under 7.0/100km.

Strangely it has also affected my exhaust note it is not as loud as what it was. The only bad thing about having a "louder" exhaust is that the engine "growl" gets lost in the racket coming from the back end.

Haven't had a chance yet to give it the "wide open" treatment yet but will soon.

Certainly now when you give it throttle you can hear a sharp intake of air as it sucks it into the filter. The small filter is for the O2 sensor. On my pod filter this was inserted through a hole in the bottom of the filter but this set up is different the sensor has it's own "baby" filter now.

Dshibi · 02-08-2010, 10:38 AM

Well done Dave. I've had the K&N AirCharger setup for some time and it's great. I love the growl you get from it - it's provided my 'audio noise' in the absence of a modified exhaust setup - hoping to rectify that soon though

The UIM looks great as well, very lucky of you to be able to source one from ebay!

FumDuk, the other 'smaller' filter is for the air/flow sensor (I believe) which plugs directly into it. Without that filter, your engine warning light will be lit on the dash. (Whoops, just saw Dave answered the question already!)

Dan

REDDYZ · 04-08-2010, 10:40 AM

Dave, did you gain any performance/extra hp from SVT UIM?

thearrow · 04-08-2010, 10:54 AM

The UIM was the first upgrade I did apart from the POD air filter however at the time I also did a major service which include plugs, leads and cleaning the injectors in fact the car was off the road for two days while all this was going on as the injectors had to be sent away.

The HP gain was not significant but certainly it was still there. Looking back on it I should have waited until I could get my hands on a Lower Intake manifold as well.

Having said that I am very happy with the way it looks now and it's funny when I lift the bonnet to show people now their eyes light up and I get all warm and fuzzy.

I am still toying with the idea of headers and a hi-flo Y pipe but it will be a lot of money for another 10HP maybe I might do it in stages.

thearrow · 04-08-2010, 11:21 AM

If you are thinking of buying an SVT manifold you MUST ensure that you get ALL the following.

1/ A low mileage Manifold (or if it is an old one you will have to get it honed and cleaned).

2/ The SVT Contour also came with a bigger throttle body which allows for more fuel to be pumped into the engine.

3/ There is also a mounting bracket required as the throttle body set up is different on the SVT.

4/ If you have cruise control you will also need a MANUAL cruise control cable as again the set up is different and the auto cruise cable WILL NOT fit.

If you have all the following then the whole lot bolts together and will go straight onto the top of the motor, my mechanic had no problem with installing it other than getting the stock rubber air intake to fit around the bigger throttle body.

In my case I got the cruise cable second hand at a later date as none of the parts suppliers have them.

I have to say that when I give it "the stick" now it sounds great

I mean REALLY great.

The other option is to get hold of a standard UIM grind all the burrs of it and then get it honed, cleaned out and painted and you will more or less have the same thing. A lot of guys in the US do this now as SVT UIM's are hard to find, there are guys in the US who have even had them chromed or pianted wild colours.

It is a worthwhile modification as it looks HEAPS better IMHO.

REDDYZ · 04-08-2010, 01:08 PM

When you say mounting bracket, is that the one that holds throttle body and manifold together? or something else.

thearrow · 04-08-2010, 01:25 PM

It's the bracket on the side of the throttle body that has to be replaced the one with the accelerator and the cruise cable. The set up on the SVT throttle body is slightly different so the stock fittings will not work on it and will have to be replaced.

If you can get this set up it is worth it.

REDDYZ · 04-08-2010, 03:46 PM

How much have you spent on yours (manifold and throttle body) including shipping? Mine is a manual, so doesnt have cruise control. Just have to worry about accelerator cable.

thearrow · 04-08-2010, 04:09 PM

I can't remember how much as it was about two years ago but really it wasn't a lot, a couple of hundred all up I think. If you get the throttle body you will still need the bracket as it is a different set up on the SVT throttle body.

REDDYZ · 04-08-2010, 04:12 PM

Where can I get the bracket from? or is that a custom made?

thearrow · 04-08-2010, 04:30 PM

If you are buying a UIM & Throttle Body on line make sure you specify that you want the bracket as well. If they haven't got one......then you have to decide if you still want it or you might be able to rig one up somehow.

If you are just getting the UIM then you don't have to worry as it will go straight on your engine and you can use the stock throttle body.

REDDYZ · 05-09-2010, 11:40 AM

Dave, did you replace lower intake manifold and injectors as well? Because when you fit a bigger throttle body and UIM you would definitely need powerful injectors as well. I have seen a couple of SVT UIMs with injectors, throttle body and lower intake manifold on ebay taken off from SVT Contours (US Model). Do you think they have bigger throttle body by default or they are just the same as ours?

thearrow · 06-09-2010, 09:03 AM

When I had the UIM fitted my mechanics advise was to send the injectors away for a total clean out which would give more power as well. You are right on NECO there is a lot of chatter about this but I opted for the KISS principle as once you start to muck around with the engines internals inevitablty one thing leads to another and you never finish so I kept the injectors as stock.

The SVT UIM's will bolt straight on to our motors but if you really want to see a difference you will need the throttle body and the bracket (as the set up is slightly different). The throttle body is definitely bigger.

REDDYZ · 08-09-2010, 08:56 PM

I managed to find SVT UIM, LIM with injectors, throttle body, bracket, bolts, all required stuff to bolt it on to Cougar. I bought the whole lot. I have no idea whether these injectors will work with Cougar's stock ECU. I will give it a go and see what happens. It would take a while though for me to bolt up all this stuff. Lot of work to be done on my kitty cat. Need to replace front brakes, discs, rear brakes, flush brake fluid, replace rear sway bar links and front tyres. Except tyres, I will do the rest by myself. Once I do all these I will then start manifold.

so much to do... and ofcourse my never ending A/C too

......

thearrow · 09-09-2010, 09:29 AM

WOW sounds like you have a lot to do I have just replaced the sway bar links, front & rear, and it has made a huge difference to the handling and it is so much smoother now. For what they are it's amazing.

Also had a HID kit fitted and what a difference that makes, like driving into a wall of white/blue light.

The UIM/LIM should just bolt straight on you will have to get it all cleaned out but I am sure you will notice a BIG difference.

Cougar2K · 01-10-2010, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thearrow

WOW sounds like you have a lot to do I have just replaced the sway bar links, front & rear, and it has made a huge difference to the handling and it is so much smoother now. For what they are it's amazing.

Also had a HID kit fitted and what a difference that makes, like driving into a wall of white/blue light.

The UIM/LIM should just bolt straight on you will have to get it all cleaned out but I am sure you will notice a BIG difference.

Hey Dave,

You state you had a HID kit fitted. Mind conveying which HID kit you got or from where? Yogi recently advised me on a couple outlets that deal in HID kits for Cougar but thought to hear your advice would be good too.

Is it geniuine Philips HID kit?

Cheers,
Paul

REDDYZ · 09-09-2010, 11:56 AM

I know... seriously it makes hell lot of difference with HID kit, especially when you go interstate in the night time. It will be like day light. Thats really coool. All projected headlights deserve HIDs.

I have posted a link in "Cougar front parking globes" thread for H6W LED park globes (White) to match HIDs. It looks awkward with white HIDs and amber parkers. You should definitely fit these LED parkers.

I will first replace sway bar links and hope it will fix the knock sound. Then I will do the rest.