WeatherGuy

I had been running an LS1 Motorsports lid on my car. Last Saturday, I switched to an MTI clear lid, partly because I liked the look, and partly because I wanted to keep the religion given all the other work MTI is about to be doing for me.

Though the lid designs seemed identical, there was an immediate difference with the MTI unit, so much so that I had to dial my MAFT unit up a notch to stop detonation from the increased airflow (making mixture too lean). The driving response was clearly better also. Though I have not had the opportunity to dyno them, has anyone else seen this difference? Or is this merely random?

2000 ws6

iTrader: (10)

Have you ever checked your Direct flo lid if it seals well? What air filter do you use? On my K&N I used some weather stripping on the inside of the airlid abit thicker than the k&N gasket that comes with the airfilter and it had an air tight seal, with the other gasket it didnt seal that well. I now have a holley filter that fits nice and snug. On lid design I have had all three airlids, MTI,Direct FLo and Whisper. To me IMO the direct flo lid would flow better because of the rounded edges leading up to the opening to the maf where as the other lids are squared off. All cars respond different maybe your car likes that lid better who knows. This would be interestng topic for someone to compare all three lids somehow to see which flows more cfm maybe?

02 'Hawk

I have that lid too, and like it. I'm going to dyno it against the SLP "HO lid/filer" that came on my Firehawk, just to see... I hoped to have that done before I left for Tucson, but it's not gonna happen. I'll post here when I get it done.

Chris

BIGBOS

Hmmm that gets me thinking, my friend and I both have an SLP lid and you can clearly see on the side that there are pretty big gaps...would that be enough to hinder performance?

I went with SLP mainly because of the tube that sticks out of the side to put onto the air hose...

WeatherGuy

You know - I did indeed have the gasket seal on top of the K&N for the Direct Flo. It did seem to seal fairly well, but it could be quite difficult sometimes to get the lid to clamp down well. On the other hand, I did not need a seal for the MTI lid, as it seems to have sealed fine around the K&N without a gasket. I wonder if you are onto something, though - maybe even a tiny gap around the seal on the side can cause an air flow disruption enough to affect performance a lot.

Ultimately, I think the dyno is the only way to tell the story. To really answer this, we need to find a few cars, and swap out one lid after another and run them on the dyno. I would bet there are people out there who have done this before.

I will do it just to find out in a couple of weeks. Of course, that will be post 422 <img src="images/icons/grin.gif" border="0">

blackhawk2000

If you have a stock MAF, and no MAFT you can see the airflow differences with ATAP.

WeatherGuy

[quote]Originally posted by blackhawk2000:
<strong>If you have a stock MAF, and no MAFT you can see the airflow differences with ATAP.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Great idea - I didn't think of that. Now does anyone have a stock MAF? I gave mine away after going with the GMAF.

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

Hmmm.... based on all the dyno-testing I've done with various lids (yep, all of the main brands), I've never seen any difference in power between them.

Its basically an average 10 rwhp mod on a nearly stock car, and thats about it. Airbox lids are one of the best bang for the buck mods you can do nowadays.

MTI should have gotten a patent on them when they created them, they missed out on that HUGE golden goose for sure! I've never seen any other product for LS1s get copied so often.

Tony

Playdough

Any gaps that are between the lid and the filter are going to hurt performance. Is it possible that you just got a better seal this time and thats the reason for the increase in performance? Just an idea.

WeatherGuy

[quote]Originally posted by Playdough:
<strong>Any gaps that are between the lid and the filter are going to hurt performance. Is it possible that you just got a better seal this time and thats the reason for the increase in performance? Just an idea.</strong><hr></blockquote>

I'm beginning to think that might be the case. I also see that Tony found no difference in his testing on the lids. All the same, I would like to have a day or two with a few cars, lids, and a bunch of dyno time.

Wicked_Motorcar

As long as your filter seals up against the lid (easier to tell with the clear lids), you don't have to worry about the lid fiting perfectly on the bottom airbox section.

BadSSinAZ

My first post here!!! Has anyone flowed the different lids to see which flows the best? I thought someone did this a while back (can't seem to remember). I've noticed on my direct-flo, if you take the air compressor and shoot air into the lid's intake area, I can feel the air coming out the back side of the air lid where it doesn't seal well. I've tried using the foam gaskets but they're too thick.

99BlueZ28

My belief is that lids and aftermarket exhausts don't show much of a gain on the dyno. Supposedly you're supposed to see 10 from a lid and maybe another 10 with a decent catback. Well after dynoing a lowly 289 with a direct flo and Borla, I thought otherwise. Too bad you can't dyno while in motion to see the benefit of such mods. <img src="images/icons/wink.gif" border="0">

BIGBOS

I think I'm going to look into a new lid pretty soon...mine seals like crap... <img src="images/icons/frown.gif" border="0">