Car Mod Question...

[Diluted]

So as to not suffer the wrath of the folks at VWVortex I'll ask here since I know there's some car people.

I have a Stage 1 & 2 intake on my '11 GTI. If I would have installed this incorrectly would I notice a decrease in gas mileage? I don't have any dash lights or anything, so I don't think that's the case. I'd think a bum MAF would cause a code/light. I mostly drive back and forth to work which is about 7mi, mostly highway and I'm seeing about 22mpg (the car is rated at 21city/31hwy). I've also read that in winter climate areas gas has more preservatives thereby decreasing mileage. I'm not really sure what I was getting before I switched the intakes around so it could be the same. I'm sure the short drive probably doesn't help economy either. I think a longer drive would tell me more...

Obligatory engine bay shot...

 

[Spunky99]

I have a 4.2 mile drive to work. My truck gets 14 to 15 mph because it is cold almost the whole time. On longer trips around town I get 15 to 17 mph and 22 to 23 on the freeway.
We don't get winter fuel here in CA so I get this year round. Drove my motorcycle to work today in a summer mesh SS jacket and was warm.

 

[ry-mac75]

I have a 4.2 mile drive to work. My truck gets 14 to 15 mph because it is cold almost the whole time. On longer trips around town I get 15 to 17 mph and 22 to 23 on the freeway.
We don't get winter fuel here in CA so I get this year round. Drove my motorcycle to work today in a summer mesh SS jacket and was warm.

hahaha walked to work today with a parka, toque, mitts and boots and damn near froze to death. You are a lucky, lucky man.

 

[iSpoolin]

Are you tuned for the intake? It could be the fact that now your Air to fuel ratio if off, that would cause a drastic change in MPG.

 

[Marthy]

I tried one of those cold intake on my 06 Suzuki Aerio before. CRAP! Honestly! If the inside diameter is different it might not work propelly with MAF. Been there, done that. What I did on my ride is change the filter for a K&N with the stock air box, Get a flex tube between the air box inlet and where ever in the front of the car... RAM AIR! I plug mine where the fog lights are suppose to go. Combine with a +100 HP black box lol (connected on the air temps sensor to by pass signal... let say my car think is cold all year around) It work fine with my ride. I can pull the rev much better at higher speed (I "heared" 130 mph top speed) And beleive it or not I get awesome gas mileage also. If I milk it I get 34 MPG on freeway (26/31)

But those air intake look good. Don't get the stage one and two. Is this like the stage 1 gearing for the FZ6R? LOL

 

[Diluted]

Are you tuned for the intake? It could be the fact that now your Air to fuel ratio if off, that would cause a drastic change in MPG.

No, there's no tune out for the car yet. However, the car is supposed to adapt to the increased airflow automatically.

 

[Diluted]

But those air intake look good. Don't get the stage one and two. Is this like the stage 1 gearing for the FZ6R? LOL

Stage 1 is from the front of the car to the MAF, stage 2 is from the MAF back to the turbo.

 

[MiltonDorkenhoff]

I have a 4.2 mile drive to work. My truck gets 14 to 15 mph because it is cold almost the whole time. On longer trips around town I get 15 to 17 mph and 22 to 23 on the freeway.
We don't get winter fuel here in CA so I get this year round. Drove my motorcycle to work today in a summer mesh SS jacket and was warm.

Are you sure that CA doesn't have winter blends? I thought I had heard differently, and the Internet seems to think we do as well, but I have no problem believing the Internet is wrong.

I rode in today too.. It was a first for me - really thick fog. Amazing the number of idiots riding without their lights on. My favorite was a silver/gray Mercedes - totally camouflaged in the fog

 

[FitZ6R]

There, I fixed it for you:

 

[Diluted]

There, I fixed it for you:

lol Kent! :rof:

 

[FitZ6R]

lol Kent! :rof:

But seriously....

Winter fuel, cold temps, and enjoying your new & hopefully improved performance could all cost you a few MPG.

It's possible that there's a vacuum leak or the MAF got contaminated, but I'd expect that would produce other symptoms.

One other thing... are you calculating MPG from actual pump measurements, or do you have an onboard readout? When I installed an intake on my truck, my onboard ScanGauge showed a big increase in MPGs. I was thrilled, until the first fillup when I realized that the fuel consumption calibration had gone way off.

 

[Diluted]

Most people have reported MPG gains with this particular system.

Yeah I was thinking the MAF kinda got shook around, it's mounted securely in its holder however and I didn't drop it or bang it on anything while attempting to get the rubber couplers on it. Like you said, I'd expect other problems if there was something wrong with it.

I'm using Fuelly to monitor my MPG. Granted I've only filled up twice since I signed up, I only got 280mi before the car was telling me I needed to fill up. I'll be keeping an eye on it. If I have to I'll throw the stock airbox back in there and see what happens.

 

[dart1963]

stop flooring it to hear the rush of air into the air intake and you'll get better gas mileage :rof: you bought a GTI (well, didn't start that way, but...)... did you get it for its gas mileage?

o.k. now to serious stuff.

I've heard mixed reviews on fuel mileage with these systems, in general... some say better, some worse... but usually, it's 5-10%... (so at 20, +-1 or 2)...

also, and this varies by car so look into it, did you pull the battery for 10-15 minutes to let the ecu reset? Never know these days, they may use non-volatile memory, in which case you'd have to wait for it to "learn" the new air flow increase and adjust (once again, you'd have to see how long others have taken)... 1-2 fill-ups may not be enough, and just riding to work may not be... you may have to do a couple hour tour... with a few "spirited" runs to fully gain the fuel/air intake at "spirited" take-off speeds, etc...

and, as a side note, I like Kent's mod! :thumbup:

 

[Diluted]

LOL Don, I do like hearing the Wooosh! I don't care about the mileage, I just wanted to know if I incorrectly installed the intake that there'd be a decrease.

The install instructions didn't say anything about disconnecting the battery. I did leave the car running for 10 minutes before applying any gas per the instructions. That's what I was saying about the mileage being so short, there's not a lot of time for the car to warm up etc.

 

[iSpoolin]

No, there's no tune out for the car yet. However, the car is supposed to adapt to the increased airflow automatically.

Yes the GTI motor will adapt to the intake after a while, but i've seen that take anywhere from 100-200 miles. Its safer to get the car tuned when you install the part or tune it yourself. If you were closer to me i'd be glad to tune for you. Running that rich for any amount of miles can cause some damage.

Just don't be rough on it while its adapting and you should be fine though, its just a long and complicated process. LOL Ecspecially in a GTI :thumbup:

 

[Spunky99]

Are you sure that CA doesn't have winter blends? I thought I had heard differently, and the Internet seems to think we do as well, but I have no problem believing the Internet is wrong.

I rode in today too.. It was a first for me - really thick fog. Amazing the number of idiots riding without their lights on. My favorite was a silver/gray Mercedes - totally camouflaged in the fog

Maybe in the North or in the mountains they have winter blend for the cold climate. In Los Angeles we get summer weather in winter so what would be the point of a winter blend?
Really smoggy today like it was in the 70's...NASTY....
It was 80f at the Torrance Superior Courthouse today.

 

[Uno979]

What kind of a air filter are you using? K&N filters and other oil types with too much oil can run back to the MAF and foul it out, kill it or just slightly alter its ability to do what it is supposed to do. Depends on the amount of oil used.

another thing.. you've made some "performance" changes.. not all vehicles will suffer mpg but most will, that's why it's called performance lol. Have you added an exhaust yet? It's breathing well but not exhausting as equally.
Lastly: no one drives the same every day, how heavy has your foot been?

 

[Diluted]

What kind of a air filter are you using? K&N filters and other oil types with too much oil can run back to the MAF and foul it out, kill it or just slightly alter its ability to do what it is supposed to do. Depends on the amount of oil used.

another thing.. you've made some "performance" changes.. not all vehicles will suffer mpg but most will, that's why it's called performance lol. Have you added an exhaust yet? It's breathing well but not exhausting as equally.
Lastly: no one drives the same every day, how heavy has your foot been?

Not sure what brand of filter it came with, I'm going to guess a K&N Oil based filter. Since they recommend the K&N cleaning kit. It certainly didn't seem oily or anything when I was installing the filter.

Haven't done exhaust yet, want to though!

I've actually been trying to watch myself to be honest. Every now and then I'll hammer it. I've been shifting around 3k RPM. It could just be all in my head.

 

[Diluted]

Yes the GTI motor will adapt to the intake after a while, but i've seen that take anywhere from 100-200 miles. Its safer to get the car tuned when you install the part or tune it yourself. If you were closer to me i'd be glad to tune for you. Running that rich for any amount of miles can cause some damage.

Just don't be rough on it while its adapting and you should be fine though, its just a long and complicated process. LOL Ecspecially in a GTI :thumbup:

What's involved in tuning it? I know of chipping the ECU which can't be done on my car yet.

 

[iSpoolin]

Performance chips are a thing of the past man. Now basically all tuning is done through the OBD2 port via HP Tuners or other similar programmers. I myself use the HPTuners VPM Suite. They cost about 500$ and come with 4 credits (takes to credits to unlock your vehicle but once unlocked you can tune forever) and its really nice to have around. Adjust every parameter of your vehicle with the push of a few buttons. Although if you get it and don't know what your doing then kiss your engine goodbye lol i've seen people do it and its not pretty. Check your GTI Forum for someone that can tune from around you, normal price for someone to tune you via HPtuners is around 200$.