Mod your ACT Sensor And Gain HP?!

Whoa.. this piece was much smaller than it looked in the pics.

Nothing ventured.. nothing gained!
Thank you PERRIN_Jeff !

Didn’t find any oil on the sensor. I’m at 20k miles, no catch can until recently.

I cant get the probe centered
I try moving it but it just goes back to touching the plastic.

You have to carefully bend it from the middle not from the probe.

FK8_K20c1 said:

You have to carefully bend it from the middle not from the probe.

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How? There are plastic pieces on each side. The only way I can move it is from the top.

ExVTEC said:

How? There are plastic pieces on each side. The only way I can move it is from the top.

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You have to find a way. I used a small wood stick to bend it from the body without harming the probe.

I cut the one main plastic tab off... left about 1/4 of it....then lightly pressed the probe with the flat tip of the exacto knife..

It’s not perfectly centered... but not touching any portion of the plastic housing anymore.

ExVTEC said:

How? There are plastic pieces on each side. The only way I can move it is from the top.

Click to expand...

fatherpain said:

Whoa.. this piece was much smaller than it looked in the pics.

Nothing ventured.. nothing gained!
Thank you PERRIN_Jeff !

Didn’t find any oil on the sensor. I’m at 20k miles, no catch can until recently.

Click to expand...

Any updates on performance?

This is what I did, I Isolated the sensor and moved away from the bell housing, the thermistor is not touching the housing or the tab anymore, no need to cut the tab.

The videos are from previous the mod, as you can see the IAT or after intercooler temps was already quick to drop son as I get boost.

What I feel after the mod a slightly improvement when the temperatures after intercooler heat soak , personally I din't feel any difference in power, maybe because my setup is already improved regarding cooling mods, (charge pipes heat wrapped, Mishimoto intercooler the charge pipes came already heat thermal coated , mishimoto intake modded )

Here some pictures during all the process.

Buttoned up the car late last night and my wife sent me to on an errand to grab her a coffee and hot chocolate for my sons...

Pushed the car (a little, nothing crazy) on the way there... But did not on the way back for fear of spilling. It was probably a (7) mile trip each way, mostly freeway...

It could be the “placebo” effect, having done the mod...but the throttle response seemed much improved. Car felt a little bit squirrelier...handling-wise, when doing a mild WOT pull, which makes me think HP did improve.

The engine sounds a little louder also.

I’m not tuned so I’m just relying on my mind, ear, foot and butt dyno. No way of data-logging.

Will mention in addition to the ACT mod, I also:

1. Installed acuity shifter bushings and catch cans.
2. Tightened 2 of 4 intercooler connections (got a CEL briefly last week for a boost leak that cleared on its own). I still want to check the remaining 2 connections and do a boost leak test to make sure I got it.
3. Took time to make sure the intake (Eventuri) was lined up well with the side scoop gasket..

None of these mods should affect performance..but had me “wanting” to drive the car in addition to the ACT mod.

Installed a Wagner Intercooler last week (that thing is massive compared to stock) and it introduced a little bit of lag. That lag seemed to be reduced and the car felt more responsive than when it had the old IC and I think it was due to the ACT mod.

Going to drive it to work, which is about 18 miles each way, so should have a better idea...but it sure felt more lively last night. So far I am very happy

idragmazda said:

Any updates on performance?

Click to expand...

idragmazda said:

Any updates on performance?

Click to expand...

Drove it on the highway for the first time. No wot pulls yet, was too dark and high probability of deers, racoons, foxes etc around. With the unmodified sensor IAT1 would stay on a average of 15-22 degrees over IAT2 cruising at 75mph with cruise control on. This morning IAT1 stood a couple degrees cooler around 11-13 degrees. While this is not a perfect scenario for everybody is my way of tracking if something is working or not. On the way back home if its dry I'll do a wot pull with a datalog and compare with my previous logs how low and how fast IAT1 drops.

I forgot to add about the plastic tab, as far as you can see the tab is there just for hold the thermistor in place for avoid vibrations and consequent break the legs. (contacts)

alejandroads123 said:

I forgot to add about the plastic tab, as far as you can see the tab is there just for hold the thermistor in place for avoid vibrations and consequent break the legs. (contacts)

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If you look every other air charge temp sensor for any other car brand there is no such tabs to avoid vibrations or potential sensor breakage. But you do have a point!. The main tab I cut felt really fragile to the touch tho.

FK8_K20c1 said:

If you look every other air charge temp sensor for any other car brand there is no such tabs to avoid vibrations or potential sensor breakage. But you do have a point!. The main tab I cut felt really fragile to the touch tho.

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But the other car brand aren't powerful like our R
LOL, assuming other brand has no reason for prevent any damage to the thermistor.

FK8_K20c1 said:

If you look every other air charge temp sensor for any other car brand there is no such tabs to avoid vibrations or potential sensor breakage. But you do have a point!. The main tab I cut felt really fragile to the touch tho.

Click to expand...

Edit: Pretty much all the BOSCH Boost Temp Sensor has the tabs in place and look the same as oem. So there is a reason for it, YET to be found by us.

alejandroads123 said:

This is what I did, I Isolated the sensor and moved away from the bell housing, the thermistor is not touching the housing or the tab anymore, no need to cut the tab.

Click to expand...

You are crazy! But I like it!