WAI A-B-A test (design and execution)
 

I think I am almost ready to do a test that a few posts on this forum have called for but it seems none yet has tried or written up. I want to ABA test my WAI against the stock intake. I want to make it as effective a test as possible, so this thread is first to ask the forum for input/advice on how to do it, and then I will post my results. I have become a bit more skeptical of the WAI as I have been choosing my gauges and displays. Briefly, coolant temp and intake temp do not seem very clearly to correlate with G/H. Well, coolant temp does somewhat. Sixty-eight degree coolant this morning seemed to mean .40 G/H at idle. A warmer engine meant a lower G/H reading. But IAT does not seem to correlate as closely. I have seen .14 G/H with an IAT of 96. I have seen .14 with an IAT on 114. And also at 129. Though I think maybe the lower G/H figures are more frequently reached at warmer IAT readings, I wonder how much of a difference this really makes.

My plan for the test is simple enough. I have an 8-10 mile stretch of freeway to drive at a lower traffic time. It's quite flat and in good shape. I figure I'll drive the northbound and south bound loop once with the WAI (since it is installed) for an "A" then remove it to drive the loop for a "B" and then reinstall the WAI for another "A" loop.

Tips? Warnings? What am I not understanding about executing the test reliably?

piping over to the exhaust manifold, im assuming your engine is a crossflow engine.
just run some piping and you will be sweet

test at different speeds and remember, the more trips you do with WAI on the more believable your data is, i would also try a CAI and see which one comes off best.

i will be watching this thread and your progress

Interesting, and thanks. I could see doing two loops on each "A" and the "B". BTW, you think a CAI might be better for FE because it is thought to boost HP?

To cut out another variable (your right foot biased towards wanting your mods to work), you should also use your cruise control. Also try to get in as many ABABABABABA as possible to get more concrete data.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ery-11445.html

It's a sticky in this forum ;)

See my WAI thread. My testing was pretty thorough, and showed no benefits from a WAI.

Thanks for these responses. And SentraSE, thanks for the link to your very thorough prior test. I had only searched EM for tests. Question: was the MAF a factor in your results? My 1998 Honda does not have one, so my results my provide valid and totally different results, no?. Was the lack of a heat shield a factor in your results? My exhaust manifold is in the front... maybe I have that "natural" heat shield one poster to your test described? What I don't have is cruise control, but I have found a very flat section of freeway which I will double to the same 20 miles you drove. After that... I have throttle position and engine load readings on the Ultra Gauge as well as a very steady foot on a car I have driven for ten years. That'll have to do. In the end bias in favor of my mod is not something I am concerned about because I want FE much more than a WAI. If the WAI works for FE, I want to keep it, and if it does not work for FE, I want to eliminate it. I also will seek a section of roadway to run a slower speed test too, as suggested. Most importantly, thanks for your assistance.

If there is NO benefit, then why does the UG read .18 gph @ 120AIT and .35 gph @60AIT?

If the UG is reading lower gph then I would think it is using less.

I think you are correct that this is an indication of reduced use, but the question I have is whether the WAI is responsible. I have noticed gph decrease from .40 to .25 even as IAT remained basically stable. What had changed most rapidly was coolant temperature, from about 68 to about 160. Meaning perhaps coolant temp was responsible for the decrease in gph.

I have my UG setup on one page that has gph, mpg, coolant F, AIT, short and long trim.

Once my coolant temp is up to 185, my AIT just over ambient, and my gph at .3-.35 depending n the ambient temp.

The warmer the AIT gets the lower the gph at idle. I have yet to see the AIT get over about 145F.

I am running a grill block so my AIT takes longer than I would like to come up. Summer time will help that.

CACivic,

Yes, my MAF may be a factor. The WAI faithful's last stand is that WAIs work on MAP systems, since Darin's and my WAI tests on MAF systems show no improvement. Trouble is, no one has done controlled testing proving WAIs are beneficial on any vehicle. If you go ahead with thorough ABA testing on a MAP system, you'll be the first to do it, and give us the real answer. Please do it, for all of us!

No. lack of a heat shield didn't hamper me, as I got my intake air temperatures >65 degrees above ambient for testing.

I don't understand. Wouldn't the grille block bring intake air temp up faster by limiting the flow of cooler air into the engine compartment? How did you set up your WAI? I just now took some advice from Sentra-SE's discussion thread on the WAI over at gassavers.org and made it extend over to the front end of the engine, over the exhaust manifold, in order to minimize cooler airflow into the intake.

different mods work for different cars, thats why i said try a WAI and do a-b-a-b testing as much as you can for confirmed results, and then do a CAI d do the same and see whic is best for you. get a baseling first on that road with stock intake first, the more runs you make with each the more valid and reliable your data is :)

Yes, the GB brings the AIT up faster and higher as well.
I don't have a WAI.

Will do, though maybe not the CAI since I don't have one. I saw a thread on another site for building a CAI but it was more complex than I want for a test. Right now I am tweaking the WAI design. I seem to get 40-50 degrees F above the weather. Maybe not quite enough? I also seem to need more Ultra Gauge calibration, given tonight's fill-up data.

I unfortunately discovered I need more calibration of my Ultra Gauge before testing my WAI. But an observation: this morning the Ultra Gauge showed 0.14 GPH at 86 AIT. The coolant temp was 199. Maybe coolant temp is a better index than AIT, but I'll know when I test it. In the mean time I want to be sure I have built the WAI as effectively as possible. QUESTION: I have been reading online about CAI designs, especially the RAM sort. These guys often build a "box" around the intake to contain the "rammed" colder air before it enters the intake, keeping hot engine compartment air from mixing with it. I'm thinking about a WAI "box"--larger and open only at the top--to contain heat around the intake opening and keep out cooler air circulating in the engine compartment at highways speeds. Thoughts?

I don't think accurate calibration of your Ultra Gauge is that important, since you'll be measuring relative changes in ABA testing before and after WAI installation.

Coolant temp is a cruder index than IAT. It's a measurement result of engine load, rather than a possible cause of engine efficiency. We're hoping IAT causes better FE, but IAT is a result rather than a cause.

Yes, if a WAI "box" helps raise IAT, build it and test it.

Need to run a GRAPH of IAT vs GPH under constant conditions....AND a GRAPH of coolant temp vs GPH under the same conditions?

In most cases both IAT and coolant temp go up as the engine warms...so you need to test AFTER the engine is warmed up and is stable.

You can vary the coolant temp reading using a pot to add some resistance.

IAT you'd probably need to vary in reality...by routing warmer air? Some have used added resistance though?

You are trying to see WHICH is more correlated with reduced GPH at cruise and engine warm? Or if both are.

You COULD test both at cruise...finding IF there was reduced GPH if they were tweaked...then set up a circuit with the set resistances that you would manually switch ON after cruise conditions were reached?

Or...something like that....you need to be careful about running in too lean of a condition though.

http://www.nonags.org/members/nijqk/Sensor%5Fmods%2Edoc

Tested a-b-a-b: Wai +1.15mpg
 

Tested my re-designed WAI this morning, and here are the results:

A = no WAI
B = WAI

A1 50.8 mpg
B1 51.8 mpg
A2 50.8 mpg
B2 52.1 mpg
__________
= +1.15 mpg on ave.

My route was an 18.5 mile freeway loop, around which I held the throttle at 16.1% consistently. No significant wind this morning. I warmed the car and tires over 25 miles to the course. Each nearly closed loop had me at speed and in throttle position when I reset the trip gauges on my Ultra Gauge.

I tracked other data too:

A1: 55.6 mph; .37 gal fuel; peak IAT 96.6F; g/h 1.10 (50.8 mpg)
B1: 54.6 mph; .36 gal fuel; peak IAT 116.4F; g/h 1.05 (51.8 mpg)
A2: 55.6 mph; .37 gal fuel; peak IAT 104.4F; g/h 1.10 (50.8 mpg)
B2: 54.9 mph; .35 gal fuel; peak IAT 120.0F; g/h 1.05 (52.1 mpg)

I am satisfied that it works, though clearly the impact is modest though significant.

WAI design: [EDIT: I redesigned the WAI to use dryer hose, which has the advantage of being easily repositioned if the intake air is too hot or too cold--and for different seasons.] My WAI extends from the stock 1998 Civic air filter box over the motor to reach the exhaust manifold at the front, behind the radiators. The WAI is made of black PVC type plumbing tubing. I chose it because it gets hot and therefore keeps the air warm while it travels to the intake. Around the intake opening, just above the manifold, I have a temporary "box" (made of aluminum foil and duct tape!). The box is open only at the top, up against the black hood, and has the purpose of reducing cooler air entrance into the intake when the car hits highway speeds. I run grille blocks too.

My car has a MAP sensor.

I'm going to keep my WAI. It seems to work. But sometime I'll want to test a CAI against it.

Looks good, and matches the MAP claims. I'm happy to see some good test results.

Hey Sentra Se, thanks. But if these results are good, why does a MAP sensor works with the WAI when the MAF does not? That seems interesting.

^^ most likely it can't account for temperature-pressure relationships, and therefore assumes a temperature that's programmed into the ECU

Hey, I have a 98 civic too. I came on here to build one of these things from the diy section... I see you did it yourself, but do you have any pics or directions? I am currently documenting everything I do to my car, including how I did it. I think this will help others that come across this.

I edited post #13, where I presented my results: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post233571

I got similar results from my testing last night: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post343575 I even got about the same mpg increase...1.13 more with the WAI. And, yes, my Dodge RAM is a MAP vehicle. Not sure I read this thread before now. Interesting.

Fortuitous coincidence or perhaps validity seen in repeatability?