yes my A/F ratios dropped during testing. My A/F ratio was tuned for stock box.

if you read my write up I explain why the A/F ratio drops with most aftermarket intakes and why it showed a decrease in power on my setup.

In short, the MAF misreads air flow caused by the new intake because its not calibrated for it. The engine dumps fuel in thinking its getting more air than it actually is. This lowers the A/F Ratio.

Now when you are untuned this will probably make it seem like you are gaining power. This is because the stock tune is a bit on the lean side, and when you add the intake it makes it more rich which brings you in to the optimum A/F ratio for our cars.

This does not mean the intake is actually making more power or better designed. It just means its trickery on the system is causing power, plus it looks pretty.

I wish I had time/money to sit and tune each intake to its maximum potential to see who's actually made the most power.

 

You are absolutely right. However you should realize that the companies developing these intakes do incorperate this methodology into their designs. If the stock a/f is lean and you slap on an aftermarket intake and it richens up the mixure to optimum levels I would say that's a slam dunk, and they know this. The majority of consumers are not running any kind of aftermarket tuning system, they are running what came with the car. Tricking the stock ECU with an altered intake is not a bad thing. In one of the last issues of sport compact car they campare a bunch of intakes and really get into exactly this issue, what the intake does to the a/f reading. You should check it out.

 

So this concludes my decision, back to stock it is.