I had to post this up due to the amount of members out there that are considering buying this item. I used the "search" before posting and saw so many questions about this kit so I felt compelled to do so. I just recently purchased the FTRA for my 99 Camaro. I went step by step on the instructions provided with the kit and had no issues. The sealing off of the unit took a little extra foam for my application but besides that it was straight forward (I probably could have gotten away with the foam that was sent but I wanted to make sure I had an excellent seal). My first impression was the Seat Of The Pants meter, I went form a roll in second gear then WOT with no spin and chriping thrid to a roll in second gear then WOT to breaking the tires loose at the top of second then going a little sideways in thrid. Not to mislead anyone so I must say I did the home DIYS TB port at the same time so I'm sure it helped this factor. The next best thing I have to say about the install was after I datalogged the car tonight. Before getting in the car I checked the temp on an outside gauge and it measured 48 degrees, I also checked the local internet weather and it showed 49 degrees. I then connected the EFI live and started the car, the IAT showed 63 degrees. I then started to roll and it went down to 58, 55, 53 then around to 52 and stayed there (crusing speed of 55-60). I then did a few thrid gear pulls from around 40mph or so and got readings of 48 degrees. The writes up I've read stated that after you increased your speed that the IATs showed to be almost the exact outside temp and this was true in my case. The next reading I want to cover is my track results but my track has been closed lately so I'll have to wait. I know there have been a few people with bad experiences with this product but I'm not one of them. In my opnion it is well worth the money and it does what it is advertised to do. (milage also appears to be improving but no facts to back it up just yet)

 

Back when I had my first ls1 this was one of the first mods I did. This was back in 2001. I ported my TB, MAF Ends, lid and FRTA (Also did the free mods free ram air, air tube mod, and TB Bypass) and it made a pretty noticable difference. With those mods, SLP headers, whisper cat back and 16" ET Streets I did a 12.6@112 and with a TR224 cam I got a 12.1@11X (have to find that time slip its been 6 yrs lol.) I use to be known for pushing that 10 bolt. The guys with me at Heartland Park (KSFBA) use to cringe watching me do rev limiter launches on a stock clutch and sotck 3.42 rear lol. All in all the FRTA is a great mod, you will not see a gain on the dyno though. But you will see it at the track.

 

Thanks for your feedback. It's always great to see a customer actually testing out a product to confirm it's claims. As you have seen, the IAT's temps with the FTRA are as close to ambient as possible despite a lot of naysayers claiming otherwise (mostly people that don't own the kit or have a competitors model).

Totally disregarding any VE or pressure benefits, you achieved 63 F - 48 F drop in intake temps = 15 F. Since every 10 F is roughly 1 % more power in a normally aspirated car, you would see about 1.5 % more power just from the cold air. That doesn't include any extra timing the ECU may have added due to the colder air. It also doesn't include the VE power improvements

Enjoy the kit!

 

I think this mod over the way its set up from the factoy is a must no matter what brand you decide its just works.

 

agreed....all the various kinds are better than stock.

hell even the FRA is better than nothing.

i've seen the IAT confirmation when playing around with my scanner on my car with the SSRA...consistently within about 5* of the outside air, at least after a short amount of driving.

 

With a stock tune the 99 pcm does not add timing when it reaches colder IAT temps.

 

We'd have to take a look at some PCM tables but timing is definitely influenced by IAT temps (hence the IAT resistor mod lots of people used to do). The PCM can add or remove timing based on IAT temps.

 

While the IAT temps are a big part of this mod, you also have to take into account the higher coolant temps generated during the summer months by having this piece of sheet metal in front of your radiator and A/C condensor. I saw on average 5-10 degree higher temps at all times, even with my BeCool radiator. The fans also had a harder time cooling the temps down...my FTRA now adorns a shelf.

 

I was thinking about getting it but if its going to affect my cooling system then I wont, I already messed it up with my UD pulley

 

The biggest problem I noticed with the cooling system is in stop and go traffic (obviously), and anymore, my car spends a lot of its life doing just that. The PCM alters timing based on IAT, and it does it based on ECT too. Cooler IATs don't mean much if the PCM is pulling timing for higher ECTs already...

 

I think that maby if you were at the track and could run the 1/4 one after the other then maby the cooling would be an issue, but I have been to a track and did 3 runs right in a row and the times and temp was consistant in 80 temp out , as far as daily driving I havent had a problem at all.

 

This is exactly what I have had concerns about. Even my SLP CAI produced higher coolant temperatures. This may not be as big a deal to those with larger radiators or lower temperatures than here in Sac' (gets as hot as 110* several days of the summer.) I'm not knocking the product in any way, or SLPs for that matter, but I'm more interested in a Volant or even a Suncoast hood and air cleaner system. I can't see anything wrong with that one since it seals the intake directly to the outside air. Sure, you'll probably get some heat from the hood but it can't be as bad as pulling hot air inches off the pavement.

IMHO, at least it would appear the product delivers on what is advertized, so, to FTRA, I say, "way to go."

 

If I had had those same results, it would still be on my car. Guess it just didn't like my car for some reason My cooling system is certainly not suspect...BeCool radiator and a Meziere EWP. It doesn't get much better than that for around town driving with how much coolant the EWP flows at idle and cruising around.

 

Some engine combinations just run hotter than others and put extra strain on the cooling system. It's rare that the FTRA can cause problems but it has happened.

 

wow...my cammed engine runs nice and cool even in the hot south florida heat.

even at slower speeds...35-45mph the temps sustain right around 175* with the 160 stat.

i don't see how these things could block that much air from the radiator.

 

Well I only like to talk facts so the only report I can give is what I witnessed while datalogging. I have the 160 stat and I've read that they fully open at 169 (could be wrong) but my car is running very consistent temps of 169-172 across the board with the kit installed. I have however modified when the cooling fans come on and cut off as suggested by Fast Toys. No problems so far, I too get some hot summer days here in GA in the 100s so I will continue to research and datalog when those days hit.

 

I drove mine all day long in the KS heat in summer never had an issue with coolant/cooling or I am waiting to the next problem the sucking of water when it rains. I had none of those issues and if it wasn't for the maggie you better believe this would be on this one.

 

i have just the FRA and i see 10 degrees more the ambient.
remember the IAT sensor sits right above the radiator.

 

That's the problem with the Free air mod (FRA). It gets more air but it's air that has been heated up by the radiator/AC condenser.