Melissa is a dude?...........wow thats a chick name isnt it?

 

I have had my V2 Kinetix plenum in for a couple of weeks now and noticed a small line around the front internal support screw. I don't know if it's a crack or just a small white line. I felt it and it doesn't feel like a crack. Anyone know how to tell if this is a crack or just some random line in the material? Thing is, I don't remember it being there before. And for the DIY comment.....I followed the instructions exactly and even used a torque wrench. I have faith in Kinetix. Nothing but the best from them so far.

 

have a buddy floor the engine in neutral.. or in park... and when its at high rpm you'll be able to tell, cuz it will flex, and if its a crack it will open up, or at least increase in size... and you should be able to tell...

sorry its late, and i need sleep so this might not have come out to clear... but whatever.. it gets you going though..

sorry
-eric

 

is it a torque spec problem because i will be putting mine on tomorrow and was wondering if i should tone down the torque on that bolt.

 

A way you can check if it's a crack is turn on the car and pop the hood. Take a few drops of soapy water and drop them over where the "crack" is. If the soap bubbles up, you have an air leak. This is the same method they use to check if you have any holes in your tires.

 

If a crack is there the soap solution should be sucked into the plenum since it is drawing air into the cylinders.. Tires are pressurized and a leak results in air escaping..

 

Yeah, jpc is right, it should be sucked in.

Also, the highest stress is placed on the plenum (in NA cars) at idle. This is because the cylinders are sucking against a closed throttle body. The plenum will suck in at idle and then return to it's native shape when you open the throttle.

 

it's not the user error that caused the crack. This has been stated before, there were some batch that left the shop with thinner material around the top of the plenum.. That's why there is V3.

 

Anyone know how to identify what version one may have??

 

Im surprised to see people dont realize they have cracked plenums, i have had 2 of these and they both cracked. and i knoew when it cracked, your idle will not be still and the car will kinda putter at idle. this is because its getting more air in then the maf sensor reads, and it running lean. its also dangerous because your running lean and the ECU doesnt know it. Put some gasket sealant on it asap. that will take care of the leak until they produce a better version.

 

V1 = No metal sleeves around the flange holes.
V2 = Has metal sleeves around the flange holes.
V3 = ??

 

as most already know, I was the first person to get the plenum, the first was a prototype and had a problem.

the second had no center supports and was a heavy breather (large amount of movement)

the third and current version (version 1) has been on my car since like mid february and I have had not one problem since!

If it eventually does give me a problem I will just remove it for the stock one, send it back, and wait for my new one to arrive.

The good news is that people in need of repair get top priority from LSDunique.

The guy is TOP NOTCH in my book!

 

This is true, they are genuine good people. best CS out there.

 

Well add me to the list. I noticed the marks the other day but you could not tell they were cracks. Anyway today I changed my oil and when I was letting the car idle sure enough they opened up and it was cracks. They were very notcieable at idle, but they did not go all they way thru or at least it looked that way from the bottom. I was really dissappointed as I defended the product a few days earlier. We'll see how it turns out, but I think I may just get a refund if possible.
Thanks Mike

 

my version 2 cracked today, the top middle bolt closest to the radiator

 

you guys are scaring me. I think I need to go out and check mine...though my idle is perfect and I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. I'll post back tomorrow after I check it out.

 

obviously is seems there is a problem with the plastic. A change needs to be made and he may have already done it. I guess it comes down to swapping out to the new version.

I am starting to feel bad for all the people who have got a problem as well as for LSDunique who has more repair/warranty work on his hands. You just do not make any money when you are fixing bugs! Not to worry though, I am SURE he is going to make it right......

 

Thanks......I do have the idling problem, but thought it would go away after the ECU adapts......a few weeks later and no change. I do notice when the idle is smoother at times, but it is significantly erratic as compared to stock plenum......It has to be related to the plenum because that was the only change when the idle issue came about. I'll seal it tomorrow and see if that corrects the problem.

 

Okay now that I've had a chance to analyze what is happening I thought I'd share my thoughts.

The center front bolt is the one that cracked on mine and on most others. There are a couple reasons why. The front center bolt is drilled at the weakest point (not a true flat surface) on the intake so it will bolt up. Then instead of using a drilled flat surface with a bolt and washer (like the bottom side or bolt near the TB) there was a concave screw used. This pushes out on the intake and also does not fit flush(front side has less pressure). On the bottom side a thick cork gasket is used and a true solid fit is not made. This lets the intake flex even more in the weak area. I'm sure I have confused some, but it can be fixed.

First you need to get the correct height on the center supports using either silicone or a true gasket material(not the cork supplied) to get a solid fit. On the top side it needs to be drilled to a true flat surface and a washer and bolt needs to be used. This would give a solid center support with minimal flex. The drilled prtion has to be drilled at a true 90 degree angle and not the angle of the intake.

This is of course my opinion, but if you study it long enough you can see that the intake moves to much in that area and because it is a weak point it just cracks. If mine was not cracked I would fix it this way. On a side note mine did not crack all the way thru yet , but it will still need to be replaced dangit.

Thanks Mike

 

I checked mine today and I still have no cracking. About the center support. Mine didn't fit correctly when I got it, the center support was too tall with the cork gasket installed. I ripped out the cork and used some blue RTV in that area to seal it. The screw never seemed to go in all the way (or it stripped with minimal pressure) so it never really got super tight in that area. Maybe that is why I have no problems? I checked with water and there is also no leak in that area.