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T5 Inlet manifold/ plenum (Elevate vs Airtec vs Pumaspeed)

1.8K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  Togus  
#1 ·
Hey everyone! I'm ready for the next part of my build which would be mainly the upper inlet manifold. (I'll most likely get a local shop to port my lower manifold to match the upper). I'm having trouble deciding which manifold I want to go with. As the title states I'm debating between those 3 brands. The airtec and pumaspeed are pretty close in price while the elevate is more pricey. Just looking for what the general thoughts are regarding those brands and which one would show the most benefit. I tried looking on the focus forums and couldn't find much.

In the future looking to go for a fully built engine if that makes any difference.
Thanks
 
#2 ·
The VE of all are within the same realm
None of these will make “more” than the other because it’s only a part of a much larger system.

The more important bits come down to valve size, piston compression ratio, displacement, lift & duration, fuel, boost, air temp…to name a few

The plenum itself makes very little difference unless you’re going NA.

Have you built engines before or are you having someone build it?
 
#3 ·
I've had the Puma speed and now the Elevate. Stock turbo with boost turned up a bit Puma Speed is fine. Larger turbo Elevate. Larger volume plenum helps with equal filling of the runners. There is such a thing as too big for the situation.
A larger inlet plenum on a boosted car can provide benefits like improved power delivery, smoother airflow, increased torque across a wider RPM range, and better throttle response, especially at high boost levels, by allowing for a more even distribution of air to the cylinders, minimizing turbulence and maximizing intake efficiency; however, it can also slightly decrease throttle response at low RPMs due to the larger volume of air needed to fill the plenum. Hence, bigger for higher boost and larger turbo.

Elevates plenum is "port matched" to the intake manifold. The PumaSpeed is not. It's off a few mm.
 
#6 ·
Question but did you have the gen1 or 2 puma speed manifold?

The newer one is much closer to matched when I took a look at em before porting

pumaspeed also says it “flows more” than the last gen.
It doesn’t really make any sense really because the biggest limiting factor on any engine intake volume flow is the cylinder intake ports and even maxed out with a ported head the extra flow wouldn’t make much difference unless you’re talking 500hp+ and trying to min max for a bigger number
 
#4 ·
Thanks for providing feedback, I was curious about that for some time. Do you know how the airtec manifold compares to both?

 
#14 ·
Agreed
Compressed air volume
And the velocity of the compressed air through the motor is the formula for power through forced induction

Every aspect must be able to take in and evacuate the most air possible for more power

Baseline - ic upgrade, plenum, port, bigger exhaust, bigger air intake piping injectors + tune

Max -baseline + oversized valves, dish pistons, head port, big turbo, external waste gate, cams

Bonus methanol, e85, no2

So do all that and your plenum will flow really good