Injen Short Ram Intakes + aFe BladeRunner Hot & Cold Charge Pipes

[JERisBRISK]

That was a real beast of an install, but it’s done. Sort of.

Post-op:


Pre-op:




Stuff of note:




These pipes would be fine if aFe hadn’t moved the air sensor from the front to the side of the charge pipe… as it is now, the Short Ram rests (therefore can rub) against the connector housing. I tried loosening (even removing) all the things and wiggling both pipes six ways from Sunday, but the physics of proximity will not be denied.


As I pointed out elsewhere, I broke the vacuum line Tee when trying to disconnect the hose from one side. Very flimsy part. This also meant the nipple was stuck in the hose, rendering it useless. Went out to the parts store and got a new, ugly nylon Tee and ordered replacement brass ones and some silicone vacuum line from Amazon:



I will have a few spares (heh) so let me know if you need one…

For now, it looks like this:



Tips:



Taking the last elbow (that mates to the intercooler) off the hot side is super helpful for removal.

An automatic ratchet made some (nearly) impossible things trivial. Highly recommended.



I was able to do the whole job (above and below) on jack stands. I just lifted one side of the car. it wound up being enough. Even though I bought pinch-weld adapters, turns out that my low-profile jack + the cross beam is just low enough to get under the side skirt, but too tall to also get under the pinch weld adapters, so I just used the pads on the crossbeam. Worked fine.

 

[General_Vodka]

Dang that's a tight squeeze with that sensor

 

[JERisBRISK]

Dang that's a tight squeeze with that sensor

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about that at all. I feel it was a poor choice on aFe's part... but then they're not required to design their parts to be compatible with their competitors' systems, or even to test their systems with them. (I guess that's what I'm for...).
Even so, I would have preferred it if they had just kept it in the stock location (or at least the stock orientation). It would have looked fine right below the aFe logo on the front of the pipe, IMHO.

Another thing I'm not thrilled with is how difficult it is to work with their reducer elbows. They're wonderfully made, but they really are hard to shift around once they're on the pipe, making them very difficult to adjust once they're in the car even with the clamps completely open (or not even on the boot).

Case in point, even before I realized that I wasn't going to have enough room for the sensor clip, I couldn't even get the cold charge pipe to line up with the hot charge pipe in order for them to bolt together. In order to do that, I'd have to pull the cold charge pipe about an inch further to the left and down... and at that point that sensor would just be crushed. No bueno.

Something I *might* consider doing is some light heat-and-hammer work to introduce a dent in the passenger side cold ram piping to make more room for the sensor. But then, if I do that, it ruins the resale value and will introduce a restriction where presently there is none.

 

[StingerMG]

That was a real beast of an install, but it’s done. Sort of.

Post-op:
View attachment 73454

Pre-op:
View attachment 73459



Stuff of note:


View attachment 73458

These pipes would be fine if aFe hadn’t moved the air sensor from the front to the side of the charge pipe… as it is now, the Short Ram rests (therefore can rub) against the connector housing. I tried loosening (even removing) all the things and wiggling both pipes six ways from Sunday, but the physics of proximity will not be denied.

View attachment 73457
As I pointed out elsewhere, I broke the vacuum line Tee when trying to disconnect the hose from one side. Very flimsy part. This also meant the nipple was stuck in the hose, rendering it useless. Went out to the parts store and got a new, ugly nylon Tee and ordered replacement brass ones and some silicone vacuum line from Amazon:

View attachment 73460

I will have a few spares (heh) so let me know if you need one…

For now, it looks like this:

View attachment 73461

Tips:

View attachment 73462

Taking the last elbow (that mates to the intercooler) off the hot side is super helpful for removal.

An automatic ratchet made some (nearly) impossible things trivial. Highly recommended.

View attachment 73463

I was able to do the whole job (above and below) on jack stands. I just lifted one side of the car. it wound up being enough. Even though I bought pinch-weld adapters, turns out that my low-profile jack + the cross beam is just low enough to get under the side skirt, but too tall to also get under the pinch weld adapters, so I just used the pads on the crossbeam. Worked fine.

View attachment 73464

Looks good! I'm still waiting for my order (the black pipes) to be shipped. The last email I received from AFE had a mid-September ETA.

 

[StingerMG]

Do you feel a difference with the increased airflow of the charge pipes? Or notice your IATs drop some?

 

[JERisBRISK]

Do you feel a difference with the increased airflow of the charge pipes? Or notice your IATs drop some?

I believe I feel a difference. The engine feels more open / responsive, and acceleration is more effortless. Turbos might spool a tad quicker, but some of this could be my own biases.

Unfortunately, we're in the midst of a heat wave (~91 degrees ambient, feels like 100+ with the sun in a cloudless sky), so it's hard to compare hard numbers with anything I measured before, so I haven't bothered to make any new logs. IATs (when I've glanced at them) have been in the 100-104 range the couple of times I've taken the car out.

Here's what I captured before (on June 12, 2022, when historical daily temps say it was 52°F/59°F) just driving around town a bit, a couple of charges up the freeway and back, too:



I'll get another log when the temps cool off and we'll see what actual numerical change there was (if any).

 

[JERisBRISK]

Looks good! I'm still waiting for my order (the black pipes) to be shipped. The last email I received from AFE had a mid-September ETA.

Here's hoping it arrives quickly and undamaged!

 

[JERisBRISK]

More pics:

 

[General_Vodka]

I wonder if the 1 inch intake manifold spacer will help you clear the intake. Sure is a pretty high price to pay just for some better clearance lol

 

[StingerMG]

Here's hoping it arrives quickly and undamaged!

I'm planning on heading to the Dynojet again after the bladerunner hot and cold charge pipes get installed. I want to see if I get some gains from the intakes and charge pipes. The intakes are already pretty noticable performance wise vs the stock airbox with AEM filters and snorkels.

 

[JERisBRISK]

I wonder if the 1 inch intake manifold spacer will help you clear the intake. Sure is a pretty high price to pay just for some better clearance lol

That spacer is/was wicked cool (I enjoyed the video on it anyway). Off the top of my head I’m not sure it would solve the problem or just make for a different one… cold charge pipe might not reach without new, custom elbows.

 

[Hawk853]

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about that at all. I feel it was a poor choice on aFe's part... but then they're not required to design their parts to be compatible with their competitors' systems, or even to test their systems with them. (I guess that's what I'm for...).
Even so, I would have preferred it if they had just kept it in the stock location (or at least the stock orientation). It would have looked fine right below the aFe logo on the front of the pipe, IMHO.

Another thing I'm not thrilled with is how difficult it is to work with their reducer elbows. They're wonderfully made, but they really are hard to shift around once they're on the pipe, making them very difficult to adjust once they're in the car even with the clamps completely open (or not even on the boot).

Case in point, even before I realized that I wasn't going to have enough room for the sensor clip, I couldn't even get the cold charge pipe to line up with the hot charge pipe in order for them to bolt together. In order to do that, I'd have to pull the cold charge pipe about an inch further to the left and down... and at that point that sensor would just be crushed. No bueno.

Something I *might* consider doing is some light heat-and-hammer work to introduce a dent in the passenger side cold ram piping to make more room for the sensor. But then, if I do that, it ruins the resale value and will introduce a restriction where presently there is none.

What’s odd about that fitment is it seems as though AFE chose the red and black wrinkle finishes with the Injen intakes in mind.
At least that’s what came to my mind when I first saw them offered.

I have the Mishi setup with charge pipes and just the piping itself is very close.

Can the MAP be mounted 180 degrees? Or is the sensor probe offset a little?


Guess Sal hasn’t figured out the photo orientation bug yet.

 

[JERisBRISK]

Sweet looking pipes!
The MAP can be mounted 180 degrees, but I didn't like the lack of clearance between the wire harness and the hood. I got the feeling that pressure and vibration over time would wear a hole in the insulation on the underside of the hood, or that heat and pressure might crack the MAP or wiring harness housing if I left it pointing straight up.

As an aside, I was looking at BOVs and saw this fun little picture on the K8 store. It appears to be the aFe Bladerunner cold charge pipe (black finish) *but* it has a much longer enlarger boot. That kind of length would push the pipe forward enough that the MAP could clear. This might be a viable option if I can find such a thing. No clue where to go to hunt for those...

 

[Hawk853]

Sweet looking pipes!
The MAP can be mounted 180 degrees, but I didn't like the lack of clearance between the wire harness and the hood. I got the feeling that pressure and vibration over time would wear a hole in the insulation on the underside of the hood, or that heat and pressure might crack the MAP or wiring harness housing if I left it pointing straight up.

As an aside, I was looking at BOVs and saw this fun little picture on the K8 store. It appears to be the aFe Bladerunner cold charge pipe (black finish) *but* it has a much longer enlarger boot. That kind of length would push the pipe forward enough that the MAP could clear. This might be a viable option if I can find such a thing. No clue where to go to hunt for those...

View attachment 73503

Might be best to send all this info to AFE and see if they can help or have already offered a solution to another customer.

 

[JERisBRISK]

Might be best to send all this info to AFE and see if they can help or have already offered a solution to another customer.

Aye. Already have, in fact. Just waiting to hear back...

 

[JERisBRISK]

Meant to write this up on Saturday (when I did the work) but life ensued.

I heard back from aFe Tech Support and they said, in essence, “try to do more fine tuning” and “we don’t have longer couplers for this kit, but someone else out there probably does.”

So, I took their advice and loosened things up and added some distance by removing every last bit of slack that I could. Results are still tight, but no longer rubbing:

 

[soflo_nick]

Meant to write this up on Saturday (when I did the work) but life ensued.

I heard back from aFe Tech Support and they said, in essence, “try to do more fine tuning” and “we don’t have longer couplers for this kit, but someone else out there probably does.”

So, I took their advice and loosened things up and added some distance by removing every last bit of slack that I could. Results are still tight, but no longer rubbing:

View attachment 73748


View attachment 73749

View attachment 73750

hey bro any updates on this mod? was it worth it? any felt gains?

 

[StingerMG]

hey bro any updates on this mod? was it worth it? any felt gains?

I have both the cold and hot side aFe charge pipes, the aFe cold air intakes and the BMS intercooler. The charge pipes are only worth it if you have an aftermarket intercooler. I'm getting a Lap3 tune in February so I'll see if the intakes, intercooler, and charge pipes make for some nice gains.

 

[JERisBRISK]

The charge pipes are only worth it if you have an aftermarket intercooler.

I may not fully agree on that point. Depends on how you define “worth.”

The sound and feel under throttle definitely improved over stock, especially in Sport mode, even with Map1.

Would there be even more gains if I had an aftermarket FMIC? Certainly. What the charge pipes seem to do is open up the channel and make it more regular (less pinches in the bendy bits), which should improve laminar flow and induce fewer places where the pressure has to increase to pass through a restriction, ultimately keeping the air cooler, through it may only be by degrees at best.

Still sounds and looks hella cool.

 

[JERisBRISK]

hey bro any updates on this mod? was it worth it? any felt gains?

I thought so. Still do. See my previous post ^.