Review: ForcedFed intake
Today I installed a cold air intake from ForcedFed, a local company specializing in Elise tuning. I won’t go into the instructions here, for that I recommend you read this thread over at EliseTalk. Just one note though, if you install one of these, be sure to orient the MAF correctly. It’s not just a matter of installing it into the tube correctly, the tube itself must be installed right. If the MAF is flipped the car will not run (as I discovered). The MAF connector should be pointed down. The kit is well built; the intake tube is nicely finished in a silver powder paint and provides for secure attachment of the MAF. A K&N filter was included with my kit; one downside is the silicone coupling hose to connect the tube to the throttle body. It’s a bright blue color, which doesn’t really look right in the Elise’s engine compartment. Black would be much better. ForcedFed includes a two piece heat shield to help ensure the filter gets as much cold air as possible rather than breathing in the hot air in the engine compartment. These heat shields are nicely built (and powder painted black), though I found installation to be difficult, mostly due to the cramped space in the Elise. It took a bit of work to get them to fit, it wasn’t very clear at times exactly how they should be arranged. As it is, a coolant hose and two wiring harnesses are pressing firmly against the edges of the sheetmetal heat shields. The edges aren’t sharp (thanks to the powder coat) but this will be something to keep an eye on to watch out for possible wear on the hose.
The results from this intake are amazing. Power gains are questionable, it’s tough to really tell. What really gets you is the noise. The car has a beautiful growl up until 6k rpms, sounds very very nice. At 6k, when the cams changeover, the sound quickly gets even louder, and takes on a different tone. It really is like a whole different engine at that point. Quite addictive, very nice! I highly recommend this mod to all Elise owners. There aren’t many such systems on the market; ForcedFed makes one, another is available over at Sector111.