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This is the best compromise I can come to with mine... note it's not connected at the TB side. If I force the tube into the TB coupler, it will come off the IC outlet. If I pull the alum pipe out of the long silicone piece, the alum pipe will 'bulge' up significantly, surely coming in contact with hood.
Best solution I think in my case I think might be a 4" long coupler at the TB. I found some 4" and 4.7" couplers on ebay.
I agree the angle of alum piece seems a little off in my case, a little less sharp of angle would work better in my case I believe., it points too far "down".
So what does A&A say about this? Its seems that you guys both have fitment problems...So I wonder how mine will fit as I was planning to install the 99 MAF even though I may go speed density. Going speed density was something I was something that my tuner felt was the better route but was willing to tune with the MAF. As I still wanted to discuss it further I figured I would do that when he was tuning. He did say even if I go speed density I can unplug the MAF and leave it in place so I saw that as having options the day of the dyno tune..
I sent Josh a quick email... I'll see what he says, but I already have a longer coupler in my Amazon cart, just waiting to hear back first. I could force mine to fit together, but it will bulge up and probably rub on the hood... probably a workable solution, but I want to get it right now. It looks like maybe the standard pipe with the MAF in place might fit a little better. You have an extra couple couplers in there which will give you more 'wiggle room' on things.
As far as MAF vs SD.... I think at lower power levels MAF is feasible but I would do what your tuner recommends, it's going to be what he does most often and is most comfortable with and you'll probably get the best tune that way.
My car even with just a mild cam, I can tell it's way easier to tune things going speed density, just converting it over and not tweaking anything really the light load was much smoother. The downside to speed density is it's much more sensitive to hardware changes on the engine-- you change headers, intercooler piping setup, intake setup etc, you're definitely going to want to do a quick re-tune. MAF is much more forgiving (but after those mods a re-tune would still be ideal). Hope that helps.
Josh hooked me up with a tech and he described his process/technique to get it to fit.
-Connect the long silicone piece to the intercooler outlet, and angle that thing back (towards radiator/condenser) as much as possible until it's almost touching....then clamp it down.
-Install intake/ air bridge / dongle if you haven't already, to include the crankcase breather hose in the air filter
-Install the top shroud now and get everything aligned, push the shroud back towards radiator etc. The shroud may contact the long silicone hose a bit, that's ok. (he said they are revising the instructions to move this step up... in the current instructions this step is later)
- Install TB coupler and now install the big alum piece in, slowly working it down to make sure the front end of low enough and you still have it seated in the TB coupler. Maybe go ahead and clamp it down at TB side and then just muscle the front end into place, then clamp it.
I think the key is angling the big silicone coupler as far back as possible and get it clamped and secured so you can still muscle it around without it coming off.
I also recommend spraying the pipes/inside of couplers with silicone spray or similar prior to install. They fit VERY snug which is a good thing once it's all dried and assembled, but assembling is a bit of a bear sometimes. Almost all of the thick 4/5 ply couplers are like this.
I think I'm still going to go ahead and order the longer TB coupler reducer just in case. Amazon prime and I can have it here by Friday and on hand just in case over the weekend.
Josh hooked me up with a tech and he described his process/technique to get it to fit.
-Connect the long silicone piece to the intercooler outlet, and angle that thing back (towards radiator/condenser) as much as possible until it's almost touching....then clamp it down.
-Install intake/ air bridge / dongle if you haven't already, to include the crankcase breather hose in the air filter
-Install the top shroud now and get everything aligned, push the shroud back towards radiator etc. The shroud may contact the long silicone hose a bit, that's ok. (he said they are revising the instructions to move this step up... in the current instructions this step is later)
- Install TB coupler and now install the big alum piece in, slowly working it down to make sure the front end of low enough and you still have it seated in the TB coupler. Maybe go ahead and clamp it down at TB side and then just muscle the front end into place, then clamp it.
I think the key is angling the big silicone coupler as far back as possible and get it clamped and secured so you can still muscle it around without it coming off.
I think I'm still going to go ahead and order the longer TB coupler reducer just in case. Amazon prime and I can have it here by Friday and on hand just in case over the weekend.
I went through the same thing and A&A got mine to reach - the part about leaning the coupler back where it connects to the IC was most helpful - but I wouldn't mind grabbing a longer coupler too. Please share the name/part number of the one you found. I may grab one too as I fine tune my setup this winter.
Ebay has the most selection. I searched ' 3.5" 4" coupler reducer long ' and there were a few for ~$30. The black one I saw on there had a very sharp diameter transition...not sure if its actual photo of item, but I didn't like that. There is a blue one that looks perfect, but I don't want blue.
I ended up getting this one "HPS brand on amazon. It's a little pricer, but prime shipping. I've used HPS clamps before (because prime shipping and needed it quick)...they were very nice, just a little pricey. This clamp says it's 4" long and was $40 when I got it...I think I got the last one or something because now it's showing $60+. I'd guess it will come back down.
I installed my A&A kit about 5-7 years ago, without using a laser, and it works fine. In fact, it works so fine that I rarely drive it anymore. If I'm in traffic, and try to give it more than about 1/4 throttle, it goes sideways fast. Thinking about doing a Mustang meet cars and coffee because I've got a potential crowd plow.
Mine did the same thing but I switched over to drag radials and it would always hook up after that. No more sideways action, lol.
I sent Josh a quick email... I'll see what he says, but I already have a longer coupler in my Amazon cart, just waiting to hear back first. I could force mine to fit together, but it will bulge up and probably rub on the hood... probably a workable solution, but I want to get it right now. It looks like maybe the standard pipe with the MAF in place might fit a little better. You have an extra couple couplers in there which will give you more 'wiggle room' on things.
As far as MAF vs SD.... I think at lower power levels MAF is feasible but I would do what your tuner recommends, it's going to be what he does most often and is most comfortable with and you'll probably get the best tune that way.
My car even with just a mild cam, I can tell it's way easier to tune things going speed density, just converting it over and not tweaking anything really the light load was much smoother. The downside to speed density is it's much more sensitive to hardware changes on the engine-- you change headers, intercooler piping setup, intake setup etc, you're definitely going to want to do a quick re-tune. MAF is much more forgiving (but after those mods a re-tune would still be ideal). Hope that helps.
I fumbled around with mine some more using the technique I posted and still not really happy with the end result. It's do-able I think but a bit tight/stretched. Another thing to consider is if you don't really tug the pipe towards the engine/throttle body, it's going to rub really good against the top shroud (so either way you're going to have to align that front coupler as far back as possible). That top shroud was a lot tighter fit than I was expecting, too. Definitely test fit that before you clamp down the intake and the charge pipe going to TB.
My pipe is at a shop right now getting a few bungs welded on, but I should have a quick turnaround and the 4" longer TB coupler gets here tomorrow.
I searched high and low man. There were several 4.0-4.7" inch options in the 3.5->4.0 couplers but less for whatever reason in 3.75->3.50.
A few of the ebay ads don't list a length but based on the pic, looks like it might be ~4" long.... but it could also just be a generic photo. I emailed a few other vendors, we'll see if they actually reply.
Otherwise I think I'm going to go my ghettoriffic route and stick half of the original coupler inside this new one. It should actually be a tight fit, I just hope it won't create too much of a blunt 'wall' for the incoming air. Will probably work just fine.
sucks its so hard to find. Did you ask A&A where they get there tubing? Maybe you can go direct fir longer tubes...
Hey guys sorry for the back and forth on this but I think the coupler I ordered will work great.
Finally got to spend some time with it today and the TB side is loose but once you start to turn the clamp on it it's fine. I will run this. The extra inch in length makes fitment way easier
I went back and edited previous posts about it not fitting to avoid confusion
Hey guys sorry for the back and forth on this but I think the coupler I ordered will work great.
Finally got to spend some time with it today and the TB side is loose but once you start to turn the clamp on it it's fine. I will run this. The extra inch in length makes fitment way easier
Part number
HPS HTSR-350-400-L4-BLK
Not bad! I may switch to SD from MAF, not sure yet. One bung is for IAT, what is the other for?
That's correct-- 3/8 NPT for IAT and 1/8 NPT for the meth nozzles; I have one more on the passenger side.
They sell a harness to break out MAF and IAT, but makes the wires so much longer than they need to be, so I may just go back and cut/colder the 2 wires out of the 5 wire MAF plug.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
that's what I do, it looks so much cleaner and you lessen your chances of failure by wiring it directly... I have ran into problems with other parts on the car where the wires were not crimped properly in the connectors and caused issues
Not bad! I may switch to SD from MAF, not sure yet. One bung is for IAT, what is the other for?
that looks great. I appreciate the fact that if I run into the same issue I now know what to buy. Question for you though. Can you please tell me if the air filter is leaning on the condenser or does it hang without touching? The reason I ask is because I have a tranny cooler mounted in that exact spot. My tranny temps run very cool. So cool that I was not very concerned with having the air filter block a portion of the tranny cooler but again I now question if I can even fit the air filter, tranny cooler, and then condenser in that spot.
that looks great. I appreciate the fact that if I run into the same issue I now know what to buy. Question for you though. Can you please tell me if the air filter is leaning on the condenser or does it hang without touching? The reason I ask is because I have a tranny cooler mounted in that exact spot. My tranny temps run very cool. So cool that I was not very concerned with having the air filter block a portion of the tranny cooler but again I now question if I can even fit the air filter, tranny cooler, and then condenser in that spot.
It's right up against the condenser.... maybe not directly touching, but there is no space for anything between. The intercooler is in the way if you try to move it away from the condenser. You might have to move the tranny cooler to the driver side or lower it or something....
01-09-2019, 10:58 AM
