Engine Short Ram Air and engine life?

your mechanic is dumb.......although I advise against a short ram. Intake temps will actually be hotter than w/ the stock airbox. You're better off with just a K&N drop-in filter, unless of course you want a CAI.

Short Ram Air and engine life?

I've heard from my mechanic telling me not to put Short Ram Air on my car because it will decrease the engine life on my car. I have a 2001 Corolla S and 86,000 miles on it. I'm 17 and I plan to have the car for awhile and all i have done for performance is 2 1/4" piping from the resonator back to a high flow muffler. Will Short Ram Air harm my engine or is it fine to put on and what kind of intake would you suggest?

Would the massive detonation I got with my AEM CAI have been caused by a rich or stoichiometric mixture?

At any throttle position between 1/2-WOT, and any rpm from 1800-2800, I had HORRIBLE, audible engine detonation. Intense it was!

That was with my AEM CAI, and removing and putting the stock intake back on fixed the problem.

What would have happened?

Late,
Trav

There actually IS some basis to what your mechanic said. Whenever you start messing with the intake system, you're messing with the airflow dynamics. The MAF sensor is VERY sensitive to turbulent airflow and intake noise. Because aftermarket intakes lack any means to straighten the airflow before it hits the MAF sensor AND because the MAF sensor is usually close to and in direct line with the throttle body, it gets lots of intake noise and it causes the sensor to send inaccurate readings - which translates to a lean mixture at low-mid rpms.

Lean mixture = detonation, engine knock, bent con rods, HUGE amounts of stress on the crank bearings, melted/eroded and cracked pistons, high EGT's because of hotter combustion temps, melted cat convertor. One word of advice....stay away from AEM. The AEM CAI caused HORRIBLE detonation on my '03 Corolla. I would have had a total meltdown if I hadn't removed the damn thing when I did. My $25 ebay intake is a MUCH more solid design than the $200 AEM CAI. Just food for thought is all...

Late,
Trav

Even with the cheap eBay intakes, the AFR isn't lean (I checked with a wideband)

well luke... if you're curious about longevity... i've got a 96 with 120k on it.. its had an intake (from short ram to cold air and back to short ram) since 40k miles... not to mention all my other cars...
and as for the issue with sensors being thrown off and sending back readings, never have had any issues with that with any of my cars.

and corollaulev, did you try resetting your ECU? now i've never owned an 03 or better corolla, but they are just a slightly more advanced version of the VVTi engines found 2000-2002.. and from any of those i've ever worked on or ones my friends have owned, they have never had any issues.

adds horsepower and a healthy engine

i have RAI on my 96 with 85k and i think its the best thing that ever happend to my car, it performes well and the car gets a bit better gas mileage. the motor is running better than ever. i dunno man, i think some people get intake and nothing else and think the car is turbo'd and therefore start pushing the car harder than usual which equals engine problems, thats what i think hehe

The pre-2000 Corollas have MAP sensors and an intake will not upset MAP readings. With a MAP sensor, an intake is just fine with them because having a smooth, steady, straight stream of air doesn't really matter. The sensor works on manifold vacuum.

With 2000+ Corollas, the MAF sensor replaced the MAP sensor. And MAF sensors DO depend on a steady, straight, non-turbulent flow of air, which is something aftermarket intakes do not provide at all.

Late,
Trav

it seems to handful of 01 and 02's i've ever worked on have yet to have the same issue as well... considered possibility of a bad MAF sensor? or having the sensor in the intake incorrectly?

If your having detonation problems (which I realy doubt unless your forced) then try using higher octane gas, that's what it's there for.

I'm not sure if you're saying I was just imagining it or what, but I rode around with my AEM CAI for 6000 miles...I had detonation the entire time under certain conditions: 1800-2800rpms, 1/2-WOT after the engine was warmed up....anytime, everytime - it never failed. It certainly was not spark knock....it was lean detonation by process of elimination. I know it to be fact because it could not have been anything else

1 - I removed and re-secured ALL intake fittings and connections with vacuum grease, including the MAF sensor o-ring seal thinking I had a vacuum leak. Nothing
2 - I cleaned the MAF sensor with electrical parts cleaner thinking it might be dirty. Nothing
3 - I opened the gap on the plugs ever so slightly (0.043in to 0.044in.) just b/c I know too small plug gap = detonation. Nothing
4 - I ran every brand and grade of gasoline known to mankind (87 to 93 octane) thinking it might make a difference. Nothing. FWIW, higher octane does little to help detonation from a lean mixture. There's just not enough fuel there to absorb the heat and cool combustion down. Very different from compression-induced autoignition.
5 - I reset the ECU a few times thinking the extra airflow was wigging the ECU out. Nothing.
6 - I ran Seafoam through the intake AND gasoline AND engine oil several times thinking I might have some carbon deposits. Nothing
7 - I did all the typical diagnostic tests which yielded nothing abnormal. Never had a CEL once.
7.5 - checked knock sensor - it was fine.
8 - I finally wised up and put the stock intake back on. Voila! Problem solved.

Late,
Trav

How do you reset the ECU?

Do you have a 1zz or 2zz? I had the same problem with my Celica until I noticed that the airhole for the butterfly switch wasn't plugged up (I didn't install intake). It solved my problem until my ECU decided to flip out 6 months down the road.

I still do not get why you had problems with the AEM... I remember reading your posts earlier when you were having issues.. Have others reported any problem as well?

I have never found any related to the AEM and the 1ZZ specifically. I have found LOTS of info regarding MAF sensor equipped cars in general and the consensus seems to be that when you subject the MAF sensor to turbulent airflow, you get problems with the AFR. Some go rich, some go lean. It has a lot to do with the piping diameter, also. Keeping the screen or mesh in place evenly distributes the airflow across the diameter of the tube. Without it (i.e., ANY aftermarket intake), you end up with a more laminar airflow - with more airflow in the center of the tube (causing rich running) or in the bend/outside of the tube (causing lean condition). The dynamics of the airflow change as rpm and load change. You could be very rich at lower rpms and very lean at higher rpms, or vice versa. Basically, you end up with a lot of unpredictable variables that could cause you to run lean or rich, and probably both.

Late,
Trav

Interesting... If I get the chance I will test it with a wideband A/F gauge with the stock box, short ram and cold air...

BTW what if you ran something like this?
http://vvti.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8764

I don't know what the stock MAF sensor housing diameter is. The ECU fuel injection tables are configured based on the MAF sensor readings AND intake tube size. Well, the MAF sensor only samples a portion of the air whizzing through the housing. The velocity of that air is going to decrease if you widen the diameter (think of X grams/sec of air flowing through a garden hose as opposed to a huge drainage pipe). Therefore, the sensor is getting the sample of a smaller portion of the total amount of air within the tube. Widen the tube, and in general, you'll run leaner. Narrow the tube, and in general, you'll run richer.

If it's the same size as stock (or very close to it), then I'd say it's a wonderful idea.

Trav