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After market air intake WARNING


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I have been running an after market air intake on my 451 for several months now. It has turned out to be a huge mistake. A simple bent tube with a K&N air filter attached, it seemed to make good on claims for a significant performance boost. The first problem was just keeping the filter attached. A spider web of zap straps solved that issue.Yesterday the car would not run. After having it towed to MB I have been informed that the throttle actuator must be replaced and that it did not qualify for warrenty. The mounting tab on the tube is cracked at the weld. this opened up a significant hole for unfiltered air to be ingested. The inside of the actuator is filthy, and apparently the electronics have perished. So far the bill is well over $ 2,000. I won't know finally until the work is finished. I can't say as I blame MB for not covering it. The worst part is that I probably have compromised my warrenty for the future.Sigh!Peter

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Guest SmartBrabus09

Sorry to hear what happened to your car Peter, but thank you for posting this warning as many of us may be considering similar type of "upgrades".

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Fair comment Ian. However fast is a relative thing. The satisfying blattt of the thing when it came on the pipe near max rpm, and the little extra boost as I dropped some guy in a civic..... well I guess you had to be there. I used to race tiny motorbikes, 125 cc GP, and would venture a bet that measured in smiles per hour, no one beat us.Fast Eddy you warned me that the thing was no good. Peter

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There seems to be a real focus on getting a bigger pipe going to the turbo inlet or intake manifold - fact is that if you do the math you really don't need a huge pipe to move the air - the flow stays nicely in range even if you change the air filter (your best bang for the buck!). You might even fool the sensor setting for the ECU if the flow is not consistent with what it expects.We are only dealing with either a 800cc or 1000cc motor - 4 cycle at that - with tiny little intake valves - have a look at the airbox on a 1200cc motorcycle - a lot smaller than our cars and they turn over at a lot higher speed.If anyone wants to learn how to calculate airflow requirements (and laminar v.s. turbulent flow) do a google on airflow and engines and do some reading on Reynold's number under fluid mechanics. Heck you can even download Excel sheets to do the calculations.Cheers,Cameron

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Fair comment Ian. However fast is a relative thing. The satisfying blattt of the thing when it came on the pipe near max rpm, and the little extra boost as I dropped some guy in a civic..... well I guess you had to be there. I used to race tiny motorbikes, 125 cc GP, and would venture a bet that measured in smiles per hour, no one beat us.Fast Eddy you warned me that the thing was no good. Peter

I never wanted you to learn it the hard way. Several vendors had carry this. I'm afraid none with much technical background. Ironically, where are these vendors now. We work on much more expensive toys then the smart. The slightest mistake could cost someones life saving in some cases. Therefore we are very careful of what we sell and recommend.
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  • 1 month later...

Generally, if you want to go fast - buy a fast car.Ian

Riiight...so I guess the aftermarket should just pack it upThe OEMs build cars - enthusiasts use those shells to build even faster carsThe OEMs compromise on many things - enthusiasts sharpen the focusI dont know what you consider fast but Im sure a mid 11 sec Civic that you built for say 8K is a helluva lot easier to get your hands on than an 11 sec ferrariAn 11K smart with a 550hp turbo busa motor is a helluva lot cheaper too and uniqueSpeed is fairly simple....style, character...not so muchEnthusiasts will take a barstool and strap a motor to it...its part of what being an enthusiast is about...if all we drove was OEM offerings life would be pretty boring and predictable.....did you expect a 4 door civic to run 11's@124mph in the 1/4....probably not...especially with the baby seat in the back lolLive a little
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Thanks, for the advice. I must try living a little sometime. Oh wait, does driving a turbo Porsche on the autobahn count? How about four laps of the Nurburgring? Been there, done that.Aftermarket parts are great. But the smart is a poor platform to build upon. Some of us who still have warranty left have noticed that replacement engines cost $8 to 9 thousand dollars. The transmissions cost thousands. I love my smart but don't intend to blow it up for a mild increase in power. Each to his/her own. The other reason I don't want to blow it up real good right now is that Mercedes does not offer anything close to the smart I presently have.Again, if I wanted something fast, there are lots of choices out there.I love my smart car and fortunately can avoid suppliers who diss potential customers.Ian

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Thanks, for the advice. I must try living a little sometime. Oh wait, does driving a turbo Porsche on the autobahn count? How about four laps of the Nurburgring? Been there, done that.

Aftermarket parts are great. But the smart is a poor platform to build upon. Some of us who still have warranty left have noticed that replacement engines cost $8 to 9 thousand dollars. The transmissions cost thousands. I love my smart but don't intend to blow it up for a mild increase in power.

Each to his/her own. The other reason I don't want to blow it up real good right now is that Mercedes does not offer anything close to the smart I presently have.

Again, if I wanted something fast, there are lots of choices out there.

I love my smart car and fortunately can avoid suppliers who diss potential customers.

Ian

No "dissing' going on

If you think a simple intake is going to "blow up" an engine there isn't much I can tell you other than Santa Claus isn't real and Big Foot is a myth too

Cost is a factor and I can some folks worried about replacement parts with the car being so new but honestly a BRAND NEW smart can sell for 11300 from the dealership...you could buy a parts car for a spare motor and part the rest for much less than the 8-9K you think a replacement motor is going to cost you......you could drop in a 'busa motor and trans (2500-3K cost) in there.

We are working with someone on a drop in busa swap....all the benefits of increased performance (500hp turbo motor anyone?) and still retain the factory motor and trans intact.

What I don't want to see is a thread that reads "dont mod your smart - it will self destruct a week later!"

Simple mods have lots of "user error" room in them ---- what seems like an easy install can take a turn south quickly....I wanted to know what intake it was to check out the design and see what flaws it might have to cause the reported damage.

Lots of what goes on with the intake installs has to do with the wimpy engine mount --- it allows so much flex its ridiculous. This flex contributes to the intakes experiencing crazy movement ....loosening clamps/hoses/mounts....

We are working on a prototype poly bushing engine mount to eliminate this crazy movement or at least minimize it as much as possible.

Blaming just the intake seems a little unfair knowing how much movement is going on under there unless its a blatant lack of mounting provisions.

From what I can tell this particular intake's mount broke (more than likely caused by the engine flex under load) and eventually wiggled its way loose.

Putting all the fault on the intake is a little excessive as I said but I havent seen this intake yet....we offer complete silicone intake hoses which eliminate the oem baffle....increases incoming velocity without really altering the path....match that with a hi-flo drop in filter and thats a pretty safe intake setup....

Im gonna wait for pics or at least the name of this intake to take a look and see how its designed....

In the 14 years or so I have been modifying cars I have seen alot of "intake" horror stories....mostly caused by things beyond the intake itself (hydrolocked motors --- using cold air intakes with filter pickups inches from the ground in heavy rain in Mississippi)

I feel for this guy because I'm sure he never imagined the damage a "simple" mod could cause. We had a customer come back a while after he had an intake installed because it had wiggled a clamp loose from all the engine flex...we tightened the clamps and the noise went away. We also advised him to keep an eye on the clamps in the future

Edit: I talked to one of our techs here and was shown a picture of the intake in question and can see the lower section should of had an additional mount given its length. I am not comfortable with its filter placement either being so low to the ground (exposing the filter to more debris and possible hydrolock)

The intake we carry is routed to the side intake opening and works in conjunction with the side scoop --- its half the length, has a mounting bracket and heatshield that works with the side intake flex hose. Here is a pic of it installed.

Posted Image

I was not trying to "diss" anyone -- just offering that in all the years I have modified cars I can only imagine how boring my life would have been stuck in stock cars --- do 980whp Supras have issues...you bet...do you break things...sure do...but I don't think there is anything more satisfying than showing up to the track and dusting a car thats supposed to be "faster" because stock for stock it kills whatever vehicle you show up in. Ive seen plenty of P car owners get their grins turned upside down with 600+whp Hondas and it makes me laugh.

Just like anything else without risk comes no reward....even completely stock vehicles have mishaps...but the reward of more fun is worth the small risks we run by making more power.

Friends don't let friends drive stock :D

Happy modding

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Not jumping in, just clarifying:

Ianjay is saying that his motor is irreplaceable because it's a diesel; of the smarts in North America prior to the arrival of the 451, the vast majority are Canadian-spec 450 diesels... which are no longer for sale anywhere. A new motor does indeed cost ~$8K.

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Not jumping in, just clarifying:

Ianjay is saying that his motor is irreplaceable because it's a diesel; of the smarts in North America prior to the arrival of the 451, the vast majority are Canadian-spec 450 diesels... which are no longer for sale anywhere. A new motor does indeed cost ~$8K.

Understandable --- just talked to a guy a few days ago who had 3 motors for his 450....diesel, gas and a 451 spec 1L....was looking at buying our 450 shop car (parts car)

He scans ebay constantly and picks up 450 parts.

Being that the 451 engine area is larger and the busa swap will become a popular choice I was stating that if it were my smart I would just take the stock engine/trans out and drop a busa combo in....the engine/trans combos are well tested and parts availability is just a few clicks.

Tranny issues plague many cars when they start to triple or quadruple power output....VW guys are a prime example...many of them can make 5-600whp but shred trannys like meat grinders.

I dont think anyone has an accurate guess at what power level the 451 trans will become an afterthought but so far the powerlevels on lower boost levels (7-10psi) have been pretty worry free. Of course there is little data out there due to how new these setups are so we will know more in say...2 years...but I think double the whp of a stock car should be fine....120whp...only time will tell.

Being that a slightly used 451 can probably be had for less than 10K for the whole car....I would say the majority of the guys stateside should have fewer worries about a blown motor costing them 8-9K....most times its just ringlands....new pistons and a hone can fix...

But again...I have been careful to not blow a motor from "performance" use....tuning is the key and obviously knowing how far you can lean on the rotating assembly....but that also comes with experience and learning from others mistakes :D

Cheers

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Hmm, my last 8 or 9 cars all had cold air, alluminum tube intakes. Not one of them had a problem. BUT, I never buy cheap intakes like you find on ebay. It all boils down to you get what you pay for. Since the original poster does not mention a brand or even where they got it, I am sure it is some cheap ebay item, the fact that zip ties had to be used to secure it kinda enforces this opinion. When it comes to aftermarket performance parts, if you buy parts that are of a lower quality than OEM, well, of course you will have more problems than an OEM part, and don't expect any warranty service. If you buy good, solid quality parts, yes, they will be expensive, but they have actually been tested on a car and tuned for better performance, and if you have a problem they will often back you up with full warranty coverage.Sorry, that is the end of my rant. :)

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  • 13 years later...

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