Mod your ACT Sensor And Gain HP?!

idragmazda said:

Following. This seems like it could help those that have "heat soak" issues with IAT from driving in start / stop traffic. Based on how I'm interpreting this, it looks like the air is not necessarily as hot as the sensor is saying it is which is pulling power down.

I don't really care about more HP, i'm more interested in making consistent HP after driving through city traffic everyday.

@PRL Motorsports and @D-RobIMW any thoughts?

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ManfromRI said:

So in theory, the incoming air is passing over the piece of plastic that is holding the heat from the engine, manifold, etc..???

The only potential problem I can see with this is that shroud was in place to protect debris from incoming air.

But this is very intriguing, I'd be interested in seeing more data logs and dyno sheets from other users doing this.

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PwrOfDreams said:

I just did this little mod. I did notice lower IAT temps but it was sporadic. It produces lower temps but it bounces around between 3-5 degrees plus/ minus. The temperature was lower though then the consistent high temps before the mod. Car did feel stronger. The temps drop fast when moving even at partial throttle. I usually only get this rapid temperature drop going WOT. From before and after was approximately 20 degree lower temp difference. I have to drive it around more to get a better sense on it. P.S When removing the part to do the mod. I noticed the temperature prob was drenched in oil.

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idragmazda said:

Following. This seems like it could help those that have "heat soak" issues with IAT from driving in start / stop traffic. Based on how I'm interpreting this, it looks like the air is not necessarily as hot as the sensor is saying it is which is pulling power down.

I don't really care about more HP, i'm more interested in making consistent HP after driving through city traffic everyday.

@PRL Motorsports and @D-RobIMW any thoughts?

Click to expand...

PERRIN_Jeff said:

You are correct! The air is passing over the small bulb (the actual air temp sensor portion) and the plastic housing of the TMAP sensor. The manifold and plastic housing heat up to whatever the charge temps are and hold that temp for a long period of time. Since the sensor is touching this plastic it is transfering the heat to the sensor.

Yes, the only potential issue I saw was it is less protected from debris that is entering the engine, but there are two things for that.
1. The shrouding left behind still protects it very well.
2. If you have debris in your motor that could damage the sensor, you might have bigger issues than a bad TMAP sensor HAHA



That is interesting. I am seeing very smooth ACT readings after doing this. Meaning, My logs (as well as the dashboard) show a rather smooth increase or decrease in temps. Example, 2 degree fluctuation over a 5 second window. Nothing like a plus or minus 5 degree swing over 5 seconds.

But for 100% there was oil on the sensor. This is normal, and also doesn't help with the heat transfer. Maybe your sensor is not far enough away from the housing and oil is creating a point of contact?

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fk8mike said:

i will do mine today,so how about a already tuned car? it mean that whp will be more "present"?

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PERRIN_Jeff said:

I want to make sure that everyone knows there are two IAT readings. Just to make sure you are looking at the IAT reading in Ktuner? In the Ktuner software, the have the charge temp sensor displayed as IAT, but I am not sure what Hondata uses. To me, the charge temp sensor should be labeled differently to ensure people don't think its the air temp sensor that is in the MAF/intake system. I mention this because If you have heat soak issues, I would make sure you are not looking at the wrong IAT reading. Secondly, if you have an aftermarket intake you could be seeing heat soak issues because of how the intake was designed. I have even seen heat soak issues and high intake air temp readings on the stock intake under extreme conditions (even on the dyno). As once that air box heats up, it makes for high readings during stop and go traffic and even under track conditions.

And you are correct, it is not that the air temp it self is causing a loss in power, it is the ECU pulling back the power because of the air temps. Two solutions: Find the other air temp related table (Ktuner has one of them exposed that limits boost based on air temp) in the ECU and modify it, or make for more accurate air temp readings. In the land of Subaru's, these tables are exposed and modified easily. This helps with making consistent power in a broader range of conditions without an unnecessary reduction in power. An example is, a dyno run with the intake air temp (at the MAF sensor) reading 110F versus 70F doesn't change the actual power at the wheels.

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tylermmorton said:

If the sensor is drenched in hot blow-by oil as some have noted, would it even accurately read the temperature of the air?

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