A Look Into The R&D Behind Mishimoto’s new 2015+ Subaru WRX Race Intake

[Mishimoto]

2015+ Subaru WRX Race Intake Part 1: R&D Beginnings



Team Mishi likes to look out for our Subaru community. If you have been following our engineering blog, then you’ll notice that we have been rolling out a slew of high quality 2015+ parts WRX. One of the biggest products we launched was our bolt-on intake system. Not only did we provide easy power gains, but our system greatly improved sound, and created a large group of very pleased customers. The gains we produced were a result of reduced restrictions compared to the factory system. A great product that supports stock and mildly modified examples. We are now turning our attention to an even less restrictive iteration that will be designed to support vehicles necessitating maximum airflow.

Our race-inspired design for this WRX intake will take the more aggressive route of obtaining the maximum power potential an intake can deliver to this FA series motor. Keep in mind, this secondary “Race” design will require tuning for safe operation.

It is important to understand that this will be a very different system than our Performance Intake with two very different vehicles in mind. Our Performance Intake is designed for vehicles either on the stock tune, or on the path of basic modifications such as exhaust, tune, intercooler, etc. For those seeking greater power through more extreme modification (turbo upgrade, TGV removal, aggressive tune, E85, etc.), our new Race Intake might be a better option.

Goals
With the design of our Performance Intake still fresh in the minds of our engineers, we decided to set some performance objectives so we could keep ourselves on track and focused to achieve the goal for this product: more power!

With that in mind, our basic goals for this version WRX intake are noted below:
- Direct-fit install requiring no vehicle modification
- Unrestricted intake path for maximum power potential
- Perform rigorous testing to ensure performance is repeatable

A more in-depth breakdown is provided below.


Direct Fit
We want to be sure that installing this our Race Intake is as quick and painless as with our previous WRX Intake. Instead of coming up with another new airbox design, our hope is to reuse the airbox from our Performance Intake, which uses the stock air-inlet duct to get the freshest air possible to the filter.

Speed and Power!
To get the most power out of this WRX intake, things needed to be bigger. Enlarging the induction pipe diameter is going to be our first task. Through flow analysis we determined that 3” piping will provide ample flow/volume to adequately support

In addition, we are using a very large air filter to accommodate the increased airflow potential of the larger tubing. With the bigger filter and piping, this setup will not be safe on a stock tune. Those who opt for this system will require an upgraded tune for the car to run correctly, but make no mistake, you will not be disappointed.

WRX Parts Testing
As previously mentioned, we will be putting this WRX intake through some extensive testing to ensure the design meets our requirements in terms of output and flow. Our Dynojet™ will come in handy with this particular portion of development. With the bigger piping, it’s important that we note exactly how the intake will increase performance and affect induction. We will look for notable power gains on the dyno graph and a safe AFR output throughout.


Development Beginnings
After placing our airbox into position and hoisting the WRX onto the lift, we began planning out our intake pipe route and design. After some light fabrication and several mockups, we had a rough prototype complete.





This piece features a full 3” diameter from the turbo compressor connection all the way to the filter.

You will notice we’ve topped the pipe with a very large air filter, which should aid in supplying the FA20 with the air it begs for. The total surface area of our Performance Intake features a total of 422 square inches, while our Race Intake has a total of 498 square inches. This equates to about an 18% increase in filter surface area.

3D Modeling
With our basic design in place, we needed to create a 3D model that accurately depicts our design. This includes all of ancillary features such as MAF housing placement, the mounting bracket location, and the specific geometry of the pipe.

To capture dimensions from our prototype, we placed the component on our CMM table and started logging each point.


Our 2015 WRX intake up for measurements


Mishimoto CMM modeling of our 2015 WRX intake

With the CMM work complete, the model was quickly wrapped up, resulting in the image you see below.


Mishimoto CMM prototype rendering of our 2015 Subaru WRX intake

Coming Up!

Dyno testing is on the horizon! Check back next time for a look at some dyno pulls and our results!
Thanks for reading.

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[toph]

If your regular intake makes 35WHP, this has to make what, 50-60?

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by toph

If your regular intake makes 35WHP, this has to make what, 50-60?

The exact power gains will depend on your exact modifications and tune. We'll report back with our findings after we hit the dyno.

[raven1231]

90 who at least, maybe 150

[arghx7]

Can you do a dyno pull where you measure the pressure drop at the compressor inlet with this intake and then compare it to your standard intake so that we can see the difference in restriction?

[dwelker]

So what is the point of the race intake compared to your original? Improving on the design in what ways? Just a larger diameter with better flow?

[Raikkonen-F1]

Looks like the new GrimmSpeed intake but with more bend.

[Boggie1688]

Hey you guys should offer a trade in discount....cuz you know you came out with two intakes for the same platform.

Here a music video to keep your R&D guys going:
https://youtu.be/HAA5eaFhass?t=43s

[DNVDUC]

Originally Posted by Raikkonen-F1

Looks like the new GrimmSpeed intake but with more bend.

Looks like it has a larger tube diameter. I'm betting it will also have a larger filter as well, and I doubt it will be stealth.

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by arghx7

Can you do a dyno pull where you measure the pressure drop at the compressor inlet with this intake and then compare it to your standard intake so that we can see the difference in restriction?

Thanks for the suggestion! I'll talk with our lead engineer handling this project and see if we can get that into our schedule.

Originally Posted by Raikkonen-F1

Looks like the new GrimmSpeed intake but with more bend.

With the space allotted to design an intake for the ’15, I think you will find that most intake piping will follow a similar route. This is due to the location of the fresh air duct and the proximity to the turbocharger. We are shooting for smooth bends and ideal MAF placement in order to provide accurate and consistent readings. In addition, we will be routing this to an airbox to best isolate the filter from engine bay heat.

Thanks for checking out our thread!

Originally Posted by Boggie1688

Hey you guys should offer a trade in discount....cuz you know you came out with two intakes for the same platform.

Here a music video to keep your R&D guys going:
https://youtu.be/HAA5eaFhass?t=43s

Thanks for the input! Keep in mind the two intake systems we offer will have different features and cater towards a different customer. More details on this below!

Originally Posted by dwelker

So what is the point of the race intake compared to your original? Improving on the design in what ways? Just a larger diameter with better flow?

Originally Posted by DNVDUC

Looks like it has a larger tube diameter. I'm betting it will also have a larger filter as well, and I doubt it will be stealth.

Yes, when we release our Race Intake we will have two different intakes on the market for the 2015+ WRX. In our eyes, they are two different systems for two different consumers.

The Performance Intake (the one currently on the market) is a great upgrade for the person who is looking for an intake that delivers dyno proven power gains and is safe to use on the factory tune.

Our new Race Intake system is geared more towards the person who is looking to eke out the most amount of power possible from a bolt on air intake and is ok with getting new ECU tuning to do so. We’re using 3” diameter tubing the entire length of the intake, allowing for more airflow. The filter we’re using is even larger than the one in our Performance Intake and (like all of our air filters) has a built in venturi to smooth out airflow before it even gets to the intake tube. Here's a sneak peek!



I hope this helps to clear up the reasoning behind our new Intake design.

[Gray Bishop]

Originally Posted by Raikkonen-F1

Looks like the new GrimmSpeed intake but with more bend.

Exactly....................

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by Gray Bishop

Exactly....................

Hey Gray Bishop,

It's important to note that while similarities could be seen at first glance, keep in mind there isn't much room in that part of the engine bay for a design that will stray really far from the current batch of designs out on the market.

We wanted to be sure we could keep the filter as isolated from the engine heat as possible, while still providing ideal MAF placement on the pipe. Hope this helps a bit!

[LOCK_DOWN]

Originally Posted by toph

If your regular intake makes 35WHP, this has to make what, 50-60?

Love this comment....

[Mishimoto]

It has been a while since we have updated this project, but we now have something for our WRX community!

The brief data report below shows our gains with this race intake project and our baseline was a fully stock 2015 WRX with no upgrade or aftermarket tune. The numbers are quite high due to the upgrades already installed on the WRX during testing. These upgrades included our Mishimoto:

•Downpipe
•Cat-Back Exhaust
•Front-Mount Intercooler
•Custom Engine tune



WRX intake dyno testing


WRX parts – dyno results

The graph above shows that the race intake coupled with the Mishimoto upgrades netted peak gains of about 77hp with 88ft-lb of torque, and max gains of about 86hp and 98ft-lb of torque against a fully stock WRX. Considering the vehicle’s bolt-on additions and custom tune, we were expecting big gains. Of course, such large gains are possible only with the installed upgrades, but our intake and a proper tune contributed as well.

Regardless of any bolt-on upgrades, it is important to note that this intake will need to be accompanied by a tune. The larger-diameter piping and MAF (mass airflow) housing will not work with the stock ECU tune. For those who may, for example, have some, or maybe all of the bolt on upgrades already installed on their car, they can expect larger gains over those who are fully stock. The exact power gains that you see with our Race Intake will ultimately depend on your specific modifications and tune.


Coming Up!

We are now ready to get these 2015 WRX parts to the final stages of pre-production. Stay tuned for the pre-sale, and thanks for reading!

[Mishimoto]

Our last update on this intake included dyno testing that yielded some interesting numbers. Now that we’re moving closer to the release, let’s take a look at the finished product!

Let’s start with the intake pipes.


New 2015 WRX parts

These intake pipes will be finished in either wrinkle black, wrinkle red or polished, as shown above. The decision is up to you! These production samples came out nicely and look really great in person. Remember we are using full three inch piping with no step downs, which will require a tune on any WRX that has this race intake installed.


Color options for the 2015 WRX Intake

Each pipe will come with a built-in mass airflow (MAF) straightener to help with consistent airflow. Straighteners are very helpful in assisting the MAF sensor to record accurate readings and take turbulent airflow out of the equation. Let’s also not forget that the MAF housing adapter is CNC-machined onto the pipe!


Filter for our 2015 WRX Intake

Pictured above is the filter we plan on using for this kit. It is larger and has more surface area than our Performance Intake version. Now let’s look at the box!


Airbox for 2015 WRX Intake

This box surrounds the air filter to help keep it shielded from the hot air the engine will radiate. The box is made entirely of steel and is powder coated black.


All 2015 WRX parts for the Race Intake

That does it for the components of our Race Intake kit! We will also include an extended wiring harness for the MAF sensor, pictured above behind the intake pipes.

What’s Next?


Finished 2015 WRX parts installed

Now that everything is complete, we are just about ready to launch our presale. We are aiming to have this presale up and running closer to the end of this month, so please keep an eye out for that update.

Thanks for reading!

[Mishimoto]

Our discounted pre-sale is now live! Check out the details below and let me know if you have any questions.

Pre-Sale Link

Expected Ship Date: 3/22/16
Expiration Date: 3/22/16

Pricing Details

Full Race Intake Kit

MSRP: $400.00

Presale Rate: $329.95

Includes
(1) Aluminum Intake Pipe
(1) Silicone Turbo Inlet Hose
(1) High-Flow, Oiled Filter
(1) Airbox
(1) MAF extension harness
Hardware
Mishimoto Lifetime Warranty



Pre-Sale Link


Please let us know of any questions you may have about our WRX Race Intake kit or pre-sale!

Thanks!

[LEGIN27]

@MISHIMOTO Will the subaru-wrx-performance-race-intake be compatible with the COBB Access Port via COBB provide MAP like the standard performance Mishimoto 2015+ WRX intake?

[toph]

So what kind of horsepower gains are you seeing with this intake?

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by LEGIN27

@MISHIMOTO Will the subaru-wrx-performance-race-intake be compatible with the COBB Access Port via COBB provide MAP like the standard performance Mishimoto 2015+ WRX intake?

Great question! An aftermarket tune is definitely required to run this intake on your WRX, just be sure that whoever tunes your car with this intake knows that the tube is a full 3" all the way to the turbo. That's important to know. The COBB tune is specifically designed for our Performance Intake, which has a different MAF sensor housing diameter, so it isn't recommended to use that particular tune with this intake.

Originally Posted by toph

So what kind of horsepower gains are you seeing with this intake?

The gains will depend soley on the tune and current mods already on your car. Hope this helps!

[Subiroid]

Can you buy the kit without the box? I already purchased the performance intake and box when it first came out and considering upgrading with larger 3" tube and filter. Thanks.

[Mishimoto]

Originally Posted by Subiroid

Can you buy the kit without the box? I already purchased the performance intake and box when it first came out and considering upgrading with larger 3" tube and filter. Thanks.

Thanks for the question! You will be getting a PM shortly for more details on that matter.