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Swapped my cold air intake back to stock after a blown turbo seal in Tulsa last month
Was chasing a whistle under load for 2 weeks, and the shop in Tulsa traced it to a warped seal from the aftermarket intake pulling too much hot air off the radiator. Has anyone else had better luck just keeping the factory setup on a daily driver?
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the_miles4d ago
That shop in Tulsa knows their stuff. I read a thread on a Focus ST forum last week where a guy dyno tested his stock airbox against a short ram and a cold air intake on the same car, same day. The cold air intake actually lost 3 horsepower because it sat too close to the radiator and sucked in 15 degree hotter air than the stock box. @christopher_west1's buddy's leaky bypass valve sounds like the same kind of heat damage I've seen in a few write ups. The factory engineers spent a lot of time directing cool air from the fender well for a reason, not just for emissions. If you aren't pushing big boost on a track day, the stock box is honestly the smarter move for daily driving.
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Had a buddy with a Focus ST who did the same thing. He threw on a short ram intake for the noise and ended up with a leaky bypass valve within three months. The shop showed him the buildup from the heat soak near the radiator, basically cooked the plastic seal. He went back to the stock airbox and never had a problem again, car ran cooler too.
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