The ADM Air Charger And Its Installer

By Ben C.

The Initial Shock

 The moment I drove out of the workshop, I could feel the difference immediately.  The car has become livelier and the throttle lighter and more responsive. It felt like a different car.  I hit the PIE after exiting from Bukit Batok.  I floored the accelerator.  The tachometer clocked 6,500rpm.  The VTEC opened with a thunderous sound.  The speedometer registered 150km/h and yet the engine seemed to have still a lot of reserve.  The next 15 minutes on way home, I kept an eye on the air/fuel ratio meter mounted on the A-pillar.  It showed an optimum mix, not too lean or too rich.  The water temperature was normal and stable.  The ADM Air Charger, installed by AutoDesigns, worked perfectly with the B18C engine, I concluded.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be fair, Honda Integra is not considered a slow car; but like most B-series engines, their power comes on at higher rev levels.  Low-end torque had been mediocre.  This latest add-on has changed all these.  The power curve has become more even across the board.  The high-end, although did not gain as much, has also been improved. 

According to Sylvester Lim of AutoDesigns, the extra amount of air from the Air Charger leans out the usually rich fuel set by car manufacturers.  Rich fuel protects the engine but at the expense of power.  Unlike a turbo charger, the ADM pumps in only moderate amount of air.  It does not require drastic changes such as extra fuel injectors, additional fuel pump or an intercooler.  Due to its low charging nature, the engine still runs smoothly and idles smoothly.  “But how much power has my car gained?” I wondered.  Only a dyno test could tell.

Kevin Lee of Auto Werke stepped out of the car after the first dyno run, looked dazzled.  His voice was cracked with disbelief, “the dyno-test shows your car has gained more than 10% on low-end torque as compared to the last test.  I am going to re-tune your Buddy Club Engine Management Unit to give you even better power.”  He jumped back into the car and worked on his laptop and the dyno machine.  When he handed me the “before and after” report, he said, “Impressive!”

 After leaving Auto Werke, I looked at the dyno result again and again and was finally convinced that I hit the jackpot.  What I have been trying to achieve in the past 12 months has become true. 

The Dyno Report:

 

 

Fig. 1 – The upper two lines are the torque curves of the before (orange) and after (blue) the installation of the Air Charger.  The lower two represent the changes in horsepower, before (pink) and after (turquoise) the installation.

 Fig. 2 – Above table sums up the gain/loss from the installation. The gain is more prominent in the 2,500rpm to 5,000rpm range.  This is the more useable range for day-to-day driving.  The highest gain in both torque and horsepower is at 4,500rpm at 17 Nm and 15 Hp respectively.  There are some insignificant losses between 6,000 and 6,200rpm.  Kevin said he could have tuned up another 2 - 3 more horses at 7,500rpm but that would result in an unhealthy fuel curve.

Why More Air

I must point out that I had done some modifications to my car earlier.  Some were for performance, some for reliability and some for safety.  None, however, has the impact as big as the ADM Air Charger.

It began one day in April when I was reading Wheels Asia and attracted by AutoDesigns’ advertisement about the ADM Air Charger.  “It is easy to increase fuel supply but much harder to increase air flow to an EFI engine,” one Taiwan tuning magazine advised, “ the power gain from increasing fuel is minimal; the best way to increase power is to increase air flow (in high velocity) with matching fuel supply …” 

This advice prompted me to look at the list of modifications done to the car and I concluded that my next step to get more power would be to increase the air.  Turbo charging or super charging is out, as I do not want to deal with inspection problem every two years.  Also it costs a fortune to upgrade to forced induction.  The ADM Air charger, with its inconspicuous look, became the obvious choice.

My Car His Car

There was one more problem to deal with -- My car had an AEM V2 cold air intake (CAI).  It must be cut (at least partially) to install the Air Charger.  The AEM was not cheap.  Cutting it meant $500 went down the drain.  But since there was no other alternative, I decided to take the plunge and told Sylvester to go ahead. However, he hesitated and tried to come up with a less expensive solution.  The next hour, he and I stood in front of the car, probing all possibilities.  In the end, we agreed to retain the lower part of the AEM and unbolted the upper part (from throttle to the original CAI joint).  The Air Charger was then fixed on to the 4-inch-diameter lower pipe of the AEM – no cutting, no wasting.  Since the AEM comes with a cone filter fitted in the tire well, it could be retained.  The removed upper part would be replaced by two segments of a red aluminum pipe.  “If for any reason you need to put back or sell the AEM, it is still possible,” said he.

 I was impressed.  To a workshop, time is money.  If he just cut off the AEM and put in the Air Charger as I had suggested, he could have saved one hour of his time.  The price was already agreed upon.  However, he was willing to spend his time to find a better alternative for me without any additional returns.  What more can a customer ask for?

 Yes, there was.  In the next two hours, he probed, measured, cut, fitted, unfitted and refitted the new pipes.  It was a brand-new cold air intake meant for Honda Accord so it did not totally fit in an Integra.  Not only did he try to find the best location for the pipes, but also tried to make my engine bay look good.  I was standing next him and was getting more impressed by the minute.  He worked on my car as if it was his.  Every care has been taken as not to scratch, hit or break anything.  His attentiveness and gentleness toward my car resulted in longer hours and more work.  During these hours, I saw a true car enthusiast  – someone who understands cars, cares about cars and loves cars.  I left his workshop full of appreciations, not just for the extra power gain but also the excellent work done.