SRI for a 2014 corolla Hatch (ZRE182R)

[Tzre182r]

I have been looking into getting a short ram intake for my corolla, not entirely keen on spending for the K&N typhoon one:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/K-N-09-14-Toyota-Corolla-L4-1-8L-Typhoon-Short-Ram-Air-Intake-Kit-/321870544106?hash=item4af0fabcea:g:BqYAAOSwiwVWRlvg

so i was looking at this one:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HPS-Shortram-Air-Intake-Kit-09-15-Toyota-Corolla-1-8L-Polish-Short-Ram-/261921163667?fits=Make%3AToyota%7CModel%3ACorolla&hash=item3cfbb7c993:g:~M8AAOSwezVW0TJn

and i am just wondering if anyone has any experience with either of these products and which would be better to do a quick swap plug and play type of install, cause i think that here in melbourne we need to have them shielded and supported which im sure the K&N one has both but the HPS i am not entirely too sure about.

If anyone has any other products that they know work and are soild choices at a similar or lower price than the K&N then please share.
Thanks for any help guys.

[Rattle Rattleson]

It is a really grey area with these intakes. There is nothing I could ever specifically find in any legislation regarding enclosed intakes and it comes down to anecdotal experience. Here in NSW for instance, I keep reading that an intake has to be fully enclosed (even with the bonnet open).

That said, I think you might be pushing it for full legality if only because the designs you've linked to will create significantly more intake noise than stock and this may well push the green guide vehicle noise emissions beyond the legal limits for this particular car. For example, in a stationary noise test, the microphones are going to pick up noise generated by the exhaust, engine mechanicals and the intake and you only have a 5 dB allowance over stock. You may be fine but the problem is you won't know till it has already been purchased and installed and noise emission tested.

The other caveat is that intakes such as these may not do much for performance ((might even reduce performance) because the actual intake is located in a much warmer part of the engine bay than the stock arrangement so the air will be less dense = less power. So any gains from the short intake path will likely be offset by the higher intake temperatures.

You might want to look into the TRD intake marketed for the Scion IM. I have my eyes on this (does not seem to be out yet) since it ought to bolt right into our cars, it is fully enclosed like the stock one and there are genuine engineering reasons why you'd achieve a small improvement in performance (not much, but it would be there). I don't actually know if the TRD intake will definitely fit but put it this way - when I have the money and it becomes available I am likely going to try and buy one. And if it does not fit / work on my car, then bad luck for me!

Edited May 7, 2016 by Rattle Rattleson

[Tzre182r]

Aight man, cheers for all that.

This really makes me wish I had stayed up in Darwin, less problems with modifications, more turbos on P's, All that good stuff.

But yeah, I had heard about that whole sound thing but when do they even test that? like can they just pull you over for random sound tests or is it whenever you go track or something like that? Because to be completely honest half the cars here have some form of minor defects.

Also ultimately in the end I'm not specifically looking for performance gains, like I am aware it dose almost nothing but make it have that intake noise, which i was told and am much more interested in.

[Rattle Rattleson]

I'm not sure about other states but here in NSW, according to my query with the EPA last year, they will require a vehicle owner to submit to a noise test at an approved testing station if they receive two or more complaints from members of the public relating to that specific vehicle (members of the public can report a noisy vehicle via the EPA website). The obvious reason for needing more than one complaint is that you will inevitably run into people who are overly sensitive to noisy (but legal) cars and bikes. Of course this doesn't prevent the vehicle owner from putting the stock intake (or exhaust) back before the test. When I asked the EPA about this loophole, they had no reply.

I suppose it is also possible for a rego inspector to flag it, however they'd have to be certain it was too loud otherwise they would be reprimanded by the RMS for falsely failing a legal car.

As for performance, a well-engineered intake will definitely improve performance, particularly with a normally aspirated engine.

The reason I like the idea of the TRD ones is that they are specifically engineered by TRD, backed up with dyno testing and because California emission requirements are so high (most TRD intakes are engineered in the US), that makes them likely to legal anywhere in the world where they can bolt onto a car.

 

[Tzre182r]

Damn, well i guess we just have to wait for that TRD one then? **** thing is import costs and stuff like that, plus the price of it wont be cheap either because its a TRD part. But Guess that is the cost of playing it safe.

[Rattle Rattleson]

Probably best to be patient till there are more owners of the TRD intake and we can make an educated guess here in Australia as to whether it fits our cars or not. The Scion IM has the Valvematic version of our engine (2ZR-FAE) but from what I can tell, the physical layout is identical as are the locations of things like the MAF sensors and PCV valve plumbing. The US cars are potentially more compromised with intakes because they have the brake master cylinder taking up space on the same side as the intake whereas with our cars there is nothing there. It is for the latter reason amongst others that I am not certain the intake will even fit on our cars because it is possible the base of the stock intake is engineered differently in the left hand drive vehicles. It is hard to tell from the photos but the TRD intake looks shorter and possibly deeper - as I say, really hard to tell (but the stock intake seems to look identical to those in our Australian cars).

If you look at the TRD US website they only list three parts for the intake - air box top, inlet hose and coupling hose. To me this implies it uses the existing air box base, but this then confuses me because the replacement air box top looks so different in shape to the stock one.

That is why I am just waiting to more people in the US have it (and it would also be good to know if US Corolla owners can fit it too - that would further support the notion that it would fit our cars since the Corollas have the "optional" 2ZR-FE engine which of course is the same as ours).

As for cost, well of course all these aftermarket parts are expensive because they know the market can handle it. You are buying three bits of plastic for nearly $400 US :) But that is the case whether you own a Corolla or a Toyota 86. I just think the TRD solution is an elegant one and worth the extra dollars over the ones made by third party companies. You'd be able to buy the TRD intakes via eBay for the same prices people pay in the US and the shipping charges are not that horrific (maybe about $80 US). At this point in time there are no import duties of course but I think the Government is changing that in July 2017. So I would want to get mine before this time next year if I get it at all.

I need to stock up on more spare TRD oil filters before the new July 2017 import laws and it would be nice to be able get them and the intake all in one (expensive) hit.

[Tzre182r]

Damn, another variant engine. There are quite a few out there now, but only one in Australia. I just hope all these parts are for the most part interchangeable because the Scion is our best bet for decent aftermarket parts on the cheap.

Yeah all this is true, it is nice to have the whole clean OEM TRD look and such. I personally quite like a lot of the TRD body parts more than their performance parts, the Gundam series body and interior parts look nice too but are made for a red car, nothing paint can't fix though.

Wow, didn't know about those new laws coming in. Thanks for the heads up. 

[Rattle Rattleson]

Well of course just the colour red adds 5% performance as we all know.

I've been searching today trying to find install videos and the intake on our stock cars is really complicated. On the one hand the complication implies replacing it will be good for outright performance but on the downside installation really looks to be a pain in the backside. I'll probably start asking questions on the US forums once the product has been out on the market for a while. I just saw a YouTube video where one guy had to remove practically the whole front of the car to remove the old stuff - it goes all the way into the bumper - really complex for what it is. There has to be an easier way than that!

Of course, I suppose that is one advantage of the SRI style intakes plus K&N style one you originally linked to. You can probably leave the original intake nozzle structure sitting in place without any issues, though I'm not certain. If I could find very accurate, step by step instructions about removing the stock componentry I wouldn't be worried but I do worry about people's YouTube videos which are usually a result of trail and error with an emphasis on the error part. Even my Haynes repair manual just glosses over the intake related stuff - it only goes as far as servicing the filter, MAF intake to throttle body, etc.

I may end up having to pay to access the factory documentation before I spend any more money on this. If you really do have to pull half the front of the car off to do it properly it's probably better just to get a nicer air filter!!

[Rattle Rattleson]

The TRD intake for the Scion IM is now finally listed for sale on the TRD US website (I check the site once per week and it has appeared in the last 7 days). It has a list price of $399 US so going by what the other intakes cost on eBay, probably the low $500s for Australia excluding post. I am waiting for a downloadable PDF of the install instructions so that I can see if it might be worth the risk of buying one to install on the Australian ZRE182. No mention either of spare filters for it (a must naturally even if they are re-usable). The filter they list as a spare is for the standard airbox (same for Australian cars as US Scion IM).

[Rattle Rattleson]

I have the installation instructions and the news is good and bad. The TRD intake uses the stock intake plumbing to the stock lower half of the airbox. So the only replacement parts are the air filter, airbox top and the red coupler to the throttle body. So this is good news in the sense that installation should be very straightforward compared to an intake that replaces everything. The bad news of course is that it likely will not provide the same relative performance improvement as, say, the kit for the 86 which replaces some of the original intake plumbing and removes the resonator. On the other hand, given what I know about resonators and intake tuning, it is very likely Toyota engineers realised that removing the existing tuned intake portion of the system together with the resonator would have reduced low-down and midrange torque - something you really wouldn't want in a car such as this.

Anyway, the above info suggests to me the intake is expensive for what it is - other TRD intakes have more parts for the same money. So it really comes down to do you have the money lying around and don't want to pursue aftermarket options or not I suppose!

It looks like any performance increase would come from a combination of the replacement filter and the fact that the replacement coupler is slightly shorter but more critically dead-straight and (possibly?) slightly more rigid, as opposed to the stock bellows which are obviously quite soft, curve around a fair bit and are noticeably longer. I think the shortening and straightening of the coupler is achieved by the replacement air box top having a larger surface area (which in itself is achieved by having straighter, more vertical sides than the stock airbox top) and the resulting re-location of the coupling connector in the far corner of the airbox top.

I may still get this kit at some stage despite the poor value only because it is still really the only viable option if you want to stay "in house" with Toyota parts and want to ensure that you remain strictly legal here in Australia. There are no other enclosed intakes that I am aware of and so far as the original air scoop plumbing is concerned, it really is a very involved process and is a right pain to go removing without damaging anything, let alone returning the car to stock.

[Tzre182r]

damn. well either way do you have some links or source to this intake?

[Rattle Rattleson]

http://www.trdusa.com/intakes.html

Follow the above link and you will see a picture of it installed (second photo from the left on the bottom - click to expand to full size).

Part no. is listed here:

http://www.trdusa.com/parts-detail.html?p=PTR03-12160&years=2016&models=iM&categories=Performance Engine&subcategories=all

I have attached the installation instructions PDF to this post.

PTR03-12160 INSTALLS.pdf

[Tzre182r]

oh, so its just a drop in? if so, wouldn't it be way cheaper to just get a K&N performance filter for around $80 or just buy a TRD filter itself? 

[Rattle Rattleson]

Probably. The only difference as I say between dropping in a TRD / K&N versus the whole TRD intake is the upper airbox and the coupler. I don't know how much those two things influence performance. It may or may not be measurable in terms of outright power though the noise will likely be a bit different. One would logically think that, however, that the much more direct coupler in the TRD kit is a good thing for both induction note and maybe even performance. But yes, you just have to ask yourself are you prepared to pay the difference just for those things. I think it is safe to say that any difference in power between the TRD filter on it's own and the whole TRD kit might be around between 1% at most.

Even the difference in performance on the Toyota 86 between a K&N filter on it's own and the whole TRD kit is very small (even unmeasurable) in terms of power, however the TRD kit does quite significantly provide no loss of torque anywhere in the entire rev range which is more than I can say for the K&N filters on their own (where typically you do gain top end power but also lose a little bit of torque at lower revs). That is something else to think about. The TRD kits are not supposed to reduce performance anywhere in the rev range, whereas a free flowing air filter on it's own such as K&N on it's own has been demonstrated in dyno tests to reduce torque at some points lower down the rev range. That is on the Toyota 86 which is obviously a different car but it is still a naturally aspirated VVT-I Toyota engine when it comes down to it.

[Rattle Rattleson]

Something I just realised today: all the US-based TRD intakes have to have a charcoal filter that is fitted in series between the actual air filter element and the MAF sensor. Typically this secondary filter sits right on top of the normal air filter (so at the bottom of the top half of the air box. We do not have these secondary filters in our stock airboxes (and I can confirm that as I checked for this when I changed my filter during my service in April). That being the case, it would seem pointless buying the TRD intake since we will lose performance. Those charcoal filters are known to cause power loss which is why so many people naughtily remove them (they are required to meet Californian emissions standards).

So yes, it really looks like the only legal and practical option is a panel filter only. Which one is anyone's guess as you can ask 10 different people and get 10 different opinions.

As for me, I will keep my money and hopefully one day it will be possible to buy a DIY tune courtesy of Alientech / RD Technik,