Hi I just recently purchased the RRM short ram on my 2004 Lancer ES 5speed. I can really tell a differrrence in accelleration and topp end power such as 5th gear. But straight to the point. I m not really asking how to install it cause i already did but I am asking this to see if anybody has done anything different on their installation.
When i installed the Short Ram i noticed that the Intake tube where the MAS sensor is located has some sort of Black plastic cover plate that goes in front of the Honey comb which makes a small hole for air to pass through. What I am asking is would there be a problem leaving that part out but leaving the honey comb in thus making the air passage bigger therefore more air will pass through. The reason why i am asking this is because I think it makes a difference when u leave the plastic cover plate out as far as power or is it just me? When i replace it back on it feels almost the same as the stock air intake... ANother thing after I did the proper installation battery disconnected for 20 min idle for 15 min and then baby the car for 20 min drive etc it seems to work fine but then couple days later the service engine light comes on(this is with just the honey comb in). Does removing that affect how the air flows through even after the learning process??

Now i have to consider like almost everyone else i did hit the honey comb damaging a little in the center and on the sides. ( there are pics of it) If its the honey comb causing it where can i get a new one or i have to replace the whole MAS air sensor? I had searched around for while in these forums and i havent found anyone ask this certain question. Please if anyone has suggestions. please help me out.

Update: I just replaced the black cover plate back on and to tell you the truth I didnt even had to baby the car.. the Car got used to it right away and no idling issues plus it holds the Honey comb in place better. Still a little better throttle response not that noticeable , but However it I feel more power and torque without the Plate. In addidtion to that, WIthout the black plate cover I really really have to baby the car for 20-35 min drive until it gets used to it and that is when i feel im being pushed back hard when i accel and much better Top end power in 5th gear. Im going to drive with the plate on for a lil and see if the CEL light comes on. My theory is the CEL light comes on maybe because the Honey Comb is not being held down by anything and one little bump or continuous might move the Comb out of place and cause the light to come on. (One thing though the honey comb is required because once you take it out even after the proper connection setup and startup, the CEL light will come on). Even though i say all this I want everyone's advice on this Situation... THANKS!!

 

you should pm rhyzin, he removed the restirctor plate on his a while ago, but i think that it might be dangerous to do though. i guess he did it to tune his safc easier. ask him about it.

 

Do NOT remove the black plate. Unless your Maf adapter has something to cover that same part. If you take it out you're car will run like crap. Same thing for the Honeycomb crap. They both have to stay there.

The Cel: With the plate off, the light probably comes on because there is way to much air entering the engine and that air is not accounted for because it's bypassing the resistor in your Maf(the black plate keeps that air out). So you're A/F mixture isn't right and you're ecu goes into limp mode, then give you a shinny light on your dash letting you know something is wrong.

The honeycomb: If you want to repair it, get an allen key that matches the holes and carefully re-shap the ones that were damaged.

Thread location: FYI, Since this is not really How to specific, the Troubleshooting section would have been more helpful since you would have get more exposure in there.

 

if you have a afc, you can tune it and increase the amount of fuel to match the increased air. you probably shouldnt do it unless you have some kind of piggyback unit that you can tune and correct. so once you get that, then ask him how to tune.

 

if you want more air in.... https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=138536 . got it all on ebay for less than $60. you have to make a bracket, just read it. that lets in TONS of air, and the inlet in the front can fit a shaved computer fan in it, for idling. but leave everything on. and if you take off your maf, dont bang it up like the honeycomb, it will cost you.

 

Ok well finally some people were nice enough to reply and I want to say thanks! But I got the Super SAFC2 but the thing is I took it to this place in GA to install it and dyno tune but then I found out that they wont do it because They asked some people who specialized in mistubishis and appartently the Super SAFC2 will cause problems to the car and will bring the engine light on and i will be bringing the car back to them every week. So I called another place and they said they will do it. Just wondering Has anybody had any problems with SUPER safc2 excluding the EVOs? Ill post more after tomorrow If they install the APEX and dyno tune properly. Also with the restrictor plate off and the Safc2 tuned and installe properly... will everything run fine? Thanks

 

i have had no problems with my safc2. i am still not sure about the restrictor plate removal. imo, you're better off saving your money from the price that you would pay for ~3-4 dyno tunes and go wideband, then you can tune it yourself. i was originally going to have mine dyno tuned and then deicded to save the extra ~250-300 and go wideband. have you gotten the safc installed yet? btw, where in GA do you live, or more specifically, where did you try to have it dyno tuned that said it would cause problems?

 

Lawrencville, GA?! I stay in snellville i just noticed that right now like an idiot. But anyway so much for saving that cause i got the thing installed and tuned and wow what a difference eventhough the Dyno shows not much results but the driving there is and somewhat fixed that hard restrction at 3500rpm making feel it got a lot left but wont let me have it. But however they said there is still some parts,but not as bad as before, where the car revs hard but then at a certain point ull feel that it restricts some power at around 3500-4000rpm. Like it feels that it has more to give but it doesnt want to. The people at Knowledge performance told me that its because when i removed the restrictor plate it created all this free airflow going through the MAF reader such as turbulence and therefore the MAF reads it but not that well or something like that, thus making the MAF read all dumb at some points. They Said in order to correct that because they have expierenced it before on EVOS.. is ssome type of "hose clump"or Hose something(i couldnt really understand what he was saying ) but they told me i had to measure the diameter of the Hole at the point where u take off the Air filter... so that they can order mine and replace it the original one. The guy who installed it said my hole should measure 4-5" inches in diameter becuase the hose (looks like a tube just like MAF tube sort of) they had only measured 3". and it would cost around 50 bucks they say?? Seems a little too much dont u think or no?? Also because of that turblence the car ran well and SES light didnt come on until after about lets say 25 min while i was on the highway (just right when i had to use it! ) I am going to take it to Autozone tomorrow and see whats causing the SES light. Maybe some type of connection or still the same problem i had before.. maybe that restrictor plate is meant to be there because i never seen that on any other car nor the evo has it. Evo has something similar but the whole on the plate is a whole lot bigger thus more air goes through. Im posting the dyno. Also what would be the dyno for a STOCK lancer?? cause before i had the SAFC2 i put the RRM intake (without the restrictor plate however there was some restriction along the way though for some reason) and also the Tornado AIR thingy where i installed it inside the tube near the Throttle body so the air cuts like it suppose to, a little before it goes into the throttle body. (got it for 15 bucks). posted dyno results.. Maximize window for much better view. THanks all of ya for your help!

 

thats awesome that you got it in and tuned, thats not too terrible of gains, especially torque. a stock lancer can dyno anywhere from ~90-100whp, i think that the chart will differ depending on transmission, or so i have read on here. the safc is truly a supporting mod and wont be too useful unless you have the parts to help it effectively, i.e. fuel system (rail, injectors, pump, etc.) and especially air flow. the evo has a larger restrictor plate because it needs more airflow, especially with it being turbo'd, the lancer may benefit more if it were FI, but im not sure how much better it could be as NA. you should definitely get a new restrictor plate, did you throw your original one away? if not you can put it back on.

 

o yeah, just curious, how did they tune you? how much more/less fuel through what rpms and throttle? i really need to tune mine and i think i should be safe tuning to the same as yours, and im not wideband yet so im not sure of my afr.