Injen Charge Pipes installed on 2.7 with Injen CAI

[Ninjak]

Love these @Ninjak! I know you've been waiting on them. I'm really hoping Injen gets the CAI throwing codes worked out soon. I would love to install the CAI and these charge pipes at same time. Seems like it would simplify the install a bit.

Thanks! It would help to do them together. The pain would be at the turbo lower side, driver side, but I think overall it would be easier to do it all at the same time knowing what I know now.

Sponsored

 

[NVCowboy]

Damn, those are amazing looking. I'm not the guy that's out seeking the holy grail of more performance, so complaints regarding the appearance of the top of the 2.7 engine bay never phased me. I've seen some guys get engine covers from other 2.7 applications, and there's a Cyber Orange show bronco on this site that installed a CO powdercoated cover. Very nice, but whatever.

However, the beautiful badassery of those new pipes really calls attention to the ugly mess that covers the top of the engine. It's like a mansion in a neighborhood of shacks. NOW you need an engine cover, especially if you show and pop the hood, even if it's an oem cover with red vinyl highlighting "2.7" numbers on the cover. I know I'm over stepping, spending money that isn't mine on a Bronco that also isn't mine, so sorry about that.

 

[Ninjak]

@NVCowboy : Thanks !

I have considered getting a cover and doing a red highlight. The one metal cover I see people with would look nice with Red in it.

I do raise my hood at car shows, all the time. No matter what vehicle I take. So yes a clean engine bay is on the docket

 

[snolen]

i did cai and the pipes and intercooler all at the same time it definitely had to be easier than doing it later in my opinion

 

[Big Pony]

As the title says, I finally received my Injen hot and cold charge pipes. When I purchased my CAI from Injen, I was told they would be doing an intercooler and charge pipes for the Bronco. The mock they had at Seema were chrome charge pipes that looked nice. The released pipes are either wrinkle black or wrinkle red. I picked the wrinkle red, as I wanted to add some colour and splash to my engine bay. I do attend quite a few car shows, and I always raise the hood.

The package came very well-boxed, all the pipes were individually wrapped and secured. The couplers and bands were in a separate bag, also neatly packed. As with most companies, you received a sheet with the web address to download the instructions in PDF format. I grabbed the instructions and printed them out. It is nice and cool in S. FL now, so a great day to do the installation. It was very overcast, and a chance of rain, so out came Akira (Shelby), and in went Jessabelle. Glad I did this because you know it started raining while I was doing the install.

So a few things about the pipes. They are very well made, and I was somewhat surprised by just how well. Yes, they let EVERYONE know it's a Injen product with their logo on it, but I feel it did not look tacky, plus I have no issues with a vendor advertising their product name. The charge pipes, like the CAI, go all the way to the turbos. They are also larger in diameter. So great flow will be the result. Injen on their site advertised 11.6 HP and 12.0 TQ gains with just the pipe installation. I did plan to get to a dyno, but unfortunately that fell through.

Below is the comparison of the Hot side pipe from the OEM, and Injens. I picked this pipe because it is one of the larger for the OEM. Even with this, you can see that the Injen pipe is a larger diameter, and does not neck down as the OEM pipe does. The secondary hot side pipes are even more restricted compared to the Injen pipes.

Another part I was impressed with was the intercooler couplers. Billet made, very robust. When removing the OEM, you had to take the clamp from it and the rubber gasket inside and transplant it to the Injen coupler.

Now to the fun part. Overall I would say the installation is not bad. Injen says 3 wreches which means moderate installation, and you need some mechanical knowledge. Ok. I have that covered. The true issue to this install is REMOVING the OEM product. Now I will admit, it may have been a bit tougher for me because I have the Injen CAI. Knowing what a pita it was to install, I was in no way trying to remove a lot of it to put on the charge the pipes. So that being said, I did take some liberties. Also, the instruction was written for someone with OEM setup, so again, it did not follow the flow as if you had their CAI already installed.

The pain points.
1. Removing the skid plate from the badlands (Which is surprisingly thick and heavy) by yourself is doable. Putting it back on the floor by yourself is challenging. Be prepared to use legs arms and anything else you can think of to hold it in place. Now that I think on this, I should have kept it steady with my race floor jack on a plate while I bolted it in.

2. The Cold OEM charge pipe was a MAJOR pain point. Now again, it may have been easier with the OEM, as it is one pipe and the instruction said to decouple and remove. Not so for the Injen,. The pipe that goes to the filter box is a junction pipe. It has a hump coupler in the middle. So I had to remove it, then get one side of the pipe up and away, and the other down and away so I could reach a BOLT Ford decided to put on the cold side pipe to stop it from moving I guess? The hard thing about this was it was behind several other hoses, hard to see, and the space I had, even with the pipe out the way was small. Real small. and I have very large hands. Also you had to get a socket on the front, which was a 5/32, and a 10mm wrench on the back. Yeap, if you did not, the bolt would just spin. Getting this off is what held up my installation.

3. Getting the OEM cold pipe out of position. Its all one piece. Until you can get to where the rubber is coupled. So trying to get it up to where you can get to the coupler and remove it requires you to solve the puzzle of the engine bay and move and twist until you can finally remove the rubber 90 and then push it out through the bottom and get the other part out through the top.

After these issues, the installation goes pretty well. I did not have any issues with the new couplers on the intercooler, again had to play big hands in small places to get some couplers tightened, but having a Milwaukee power ratchet helps a lot! Also as with all installations pack your patience. So all in all not so bad. I still say the CAI was much worse.

Taking it for a test drive later that night some things I did notice. Boost came on faster. No turbo lag. Boost came on harder. It seemed to boost more when I punched it. In sport mode though, it seemed more efficient. I noticed doing normal style driving boost did not seem to kick in nearly as much, but power was being delivered.? Yeah I know it sounds strange. Maybe the Ford tune was adjusting for the more efficient flow? Still need to do some testing on that. I have to say it is fun and felt good. I do not have a draggy or any devices to test 0-60, but I plan to borrow one. With all the mods working together, I will say my Bronco feels like it is not working as hard to do the normal things. Also, it feels like when you hit the pedal, she will go, and go hard. An older V6 Mustang found that out while I was testing her lol. What's next? Probably be the Injen intercooler when it is released later in Q1.

Overall I am pleased with the product and I feel it is well done. I would say even if you do not have the CAI, it may be worth it to you to give the charge pipes a look.

Cold pipe.

Hot pipe to the passengers side.

Install completed.

Very nice looking. I actually have these on order but in black. It’s been over a month since I ordered them from Panda Motorworks and I’m still waiting. It definitely was a mistake ordering during the holidays

Anyways, thanks for sharing install details and pictures! It looks great in red. I almost went with that color too. I’m also waiting on their intercooler and I spoke with INJEN about a week or so ago and was told they were still doing some testing, but expected to release it around February.

 

[Ninjak]

@Big Pony : I was going to order from Panda as well, but when the gentlemen I spoke with had to wait to receive it, I said hmmm just go straight to the source!

It seems these may be a hot ticket, I was told I may receive my pipes later, but they came quicker. Was told there was a holdup with the couplers. You may get yours soon as it seems this was sorted out. Also getting the black is probably quicker as well as I know mine had to go to the fab shop to be made red. Or at least that was what was explained to me.

 

[Big Pony]

@Big Pony : I was going to order from Panda as well, but when the gentlemen I spoke with had to wait to receive it, I said hmmm just go straight to the source!

It seems these may be a hot ticket, I was told I may receive my pipes later, but they came quicker. Was told there was a holdup with the couplers. You may get yours soon as it seems this was sorted out. Also getting the black is probably quicker as well as I know mine had to go to the fab shop to be made red. Or at least that was what was explained to me.

Oh yea dude. It has been a shitshow. I called Injen (they’re up the road from me) to see if I could pick up in person as they had them in stock. Unfortunately, it was not an option. I thought about canceling my order with Panda and purchasing directly from Injen, but they advised that at this point I would probably get them sooner from Panda than from them so guess I’ll be waiting a bit longer. 🫠

 

[mikeeshim]

What do these do?
I have no idea but they look so cool and I want them in my Bronco.

 

[Ninjak]

What do these do?
I have no idea but they look so cool and I want them in my Bronco.

They are the charge pipes for the hot and cold sides of your turbos. These pipes have a larger diameter than stock, and fewer bends, thus allowing more airflow, which in turn cut turbo lag.

In short MO POWA! When combined with other flow mods, EVEN MO POWA!!! (yes I also thought they looked cool )

 

[buzpro]

YOu can feel it in Normal mode as well. It just seems to hit harder in sport mode. I feel that is Ford tune at work.

How is the MPG effected? what about the warranty?

 

[Ninjak]

How is the MPG effected?

I need to reset and start fresh, I will do so when I next gas up. I run 93 full-time, but I think it will improve, as I can already see, and tell it is more efficient with the turbos.

 

[mike8675309]

I'm not a fan of that surface coating being where you are clamping the boots on. It's more likey to hold oil, it's harder to clean, and I'd be curious how much pressure it can take without leaking there.

Also, the material change means you may need to invest in new clamps. The tubes will expand with heat with more force than the plastic tubes you replaced. This can break screw clamps.
Generally you need to go with a constant torque type clamp that will maintain the set torque even during heat expansion. That prevents the clamp from cutting the hose before it breaks.

 

[Ninjak]

@mike8675309 : Interesting. Thank you for the information. I just looked up the clamps you mentioned, perhaps I should look into getting a set and replace the ones on now.

I will monitor it, and check the clamps after a month to see if anything came loose. Even so, replacing the clamps would not be that heavy of a lift, the only ones that would be are the ones to the Hot/Cold of the intercooler, which I could do when I replace the OEM intercooler.

 

[Cux211]

They are the charge pipes for the hot and cold sides of your turbos. These pipes have a larger diameter than stock, and fewer bends, thus allowing more airflow, which in turn cut turbo lag.

In short MO POWA! When combined with other flow mods, EVEN MO POWA!!! (yes I also thought they looked cool )

It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison on a dyno (not done by manufacturer) between these pipes and stock coming from the diesel world with a shit ton more air being moved sometimes larger diameter plumbing looses power because it creates more volume but greatly drops velocity there’s a fine line there, just curious not bashing or anything like that just thinking out loud I do like them and are on my radar

 

[mike8675309]

@mike8675309 : Interesting. Thank you for the information. I just looked up the clamps you mentioned, perhaps I should look into getting a set and replace the ones on now.

I will monitor it, and check the clamps after a month to see if anything came loose. Even so, replacing the clamps would not be that heavy of a lift, the only ones that would be are the ones to the Hot/Cold of the intercooler, which I could do when I replace the OEM intercooler.

I used the Belville washer variety on my supercharged vehicle. You only need them on the connections made after the outlet of the turbo, as those are the ones that get heated and under variable pressure.

Sponsored