JBR Power Path experiences

[mhebert2001]

I am thinking about taking advantage of the JBR 10% off black Friday deal.

I am looking at the JBR Power Path Stage I or II. This is for the 2013 that we have.

My questions are, what has the experience been with regards to the TIP making contact with the ECU cover, wiring harness etc?

My guess is, it’s similar to Cobb, which I have never been thrilled about. When I was running mine I mitigated the issue by installing the JBR small battery tray, but I am not looking to go to that level right now.

Also, for those that are running a JBR S1 or S2, have you stayed with the OTS maps from Stratified? I am firm believer in a custom etune, but I want to careful how much $$ I spend right now.

Thanks!

[Gr8Speed]

Get the OTS from Freektune. I'd personally go for the 3" full intake if it were my car.

[mhebert2001]

That's a good suggestion.

The only thing is, my immediate goal right now is to eliminate the mouse house under the hood.

If I can meet that goal with something fun for her car while I am at it, that works.

But getting into a battery tray, battery, custom tune, etc. is too much right now.

I just thought with the JBR S2, I could put the SRI on right away, and run an OTS map. Then once I have a garage, and all my tools, I could put the TIP on.

However, if the JBR TIP does the same thing as the Cobb does (rubbing), I might just go with the stage I.

Ultimate power is not something she needs. :-)

[Gr8Speed]

Originally Posted by mhebert2001 That's a good suggestion. The only thing is, my immediate goal right now is to eliminate the mouse house under the hood. If I can meet that goal with something fun for her car while I am at it, that works. But getting into a battery tray, battery, custom tune, etc. is too much right now. I just thought with the JBR S2, I could put the SRI on right away, and run an OTS map. Then once I have a garage, and all my tools, I could put the TIP on. However, if the JBR TIP does the same thing as the Cobb does (rubbing), I might just go with the stage I. Ultimate power is not something she needs. :-)

My TIP did not rub. When I went to the Cobb 3", it rubbed. I am on a gen1 so I don't know if that makes a difference.

[RACER_X]

I bought the ecu relocater kit from track time, pretty easy install and will give you lots if clearance BUTi can tell you it WON'T Work w the factory airbox

[g00s3y]

I had the Cobb SRI/TIP, JBR 3" WP, and now the CS True 3" Intake, all of them with the stock battery box and ecu location, no rubbing. It came very close, but didn't hit.

[mhebert2001]

Yeah that could make a difference.

For the <$100 difference, I guess I could just roll the dice with the Stage II.

Install the SRI for now, and once we get a settled, put the TIP on.

The quality looks really good with the JBR.

[mhebert2001]

Originally Posted by g00s3y I had the Cobb SRI/TIP, JBR 3" WP, and now the CS True 3" Intake, all of them with the stock battery box and ecu location, no rubbing. It came very close, but didn't hit.

I have run the CS Stage II and no matter what I did, the clamps that joined the SRI and TIP would eat into the white plastic clip that bundles the wire harness together. I tried a million different angles on the silicon elbow, and every rotation possible for the T clamps. No matter what I did, it was always a compromise.

I have also run the Cobb SF and TIP. That one was better fitting for somethings, but the TIP would still rub. Not enough to damage the silicon for the period it was on the car, but if I ran it for years there would no doubt be a hole in it.

What I never liked, was the air filter they gave you.

Eventually I swapped it out with a Dry flow.

[mhebert2001]

Originally Posted by RACER_X I bought the ecu relocater kit from track time, pretty easy install and will give you lots if clearance BUTi can tell you it WON'T Work w the factory airbox

That option was not around when I did my small battery tray. :-(

Very nice.

How tight are the wires in the new location?

I know with the battery tray, the location did take up a lot of the play the wires had when they were in the stock location. Even after unclipping some of the hold downs.

[RACER_X]

I had to put it all back together to stock config

I don't have the maps ready for the intake yet, I was just trying to get the area ready for future work. When I had it on, they're was a lot if Room next to the battery box

[MOCO MS3]

We've run the Stage II with out any issues. The Install is straight forward and without issue and ran great with the OTS Map as well.

[mhebert2001]

Originally Posted by MOCO MS3 We've run the Stage II with out any issues. The Install is straight forward and without issue and ran great with the OTS Map as well.

Cool. Looks like the JBR ended up in the Gen2, so that is really good to know.

[MOCO MS3]

Originally Posted by mhebert2001 Cool. Looks like the JBR ended up in the Gen2, so that is really good to know.

Good to hear! You'll enjoy it, no doubt!

[frothy]

I had rubbing with my JBR intake in a few spots on my Gen1. Nothing that couldn't be rectified, though...


T-bolt clamps rubbing against the ECU cover was one.



Above, is how Jamie recommends installing the T-bolt clamps -- this didn't work for me. I ended up flipping the two that connect the TIP to the intake so that the bolts face upwards and ever-so-slightly to the passenger side. Play around with 'em until you find what position gives you the most clearance. Having them face upwards also makes it easier to readjust things. One thing to keep in mind is that there IS wiring above these clamps. Make sure that everything is safe and that there's no chance the T-bolt clamps will make contact.



The second spot was the white plastic wiring cover -- which you mentioned you've also experienced.


I removed the nuts holding the bracket and made sure the bracket was situated as far to the driver's side of the car as possible -- every little bit helps. Bend the metal tab for more clearance if needed.


The third spot I encountered rubbing was the edge of the air filter with a plastic notch in the front of the car. It ate through my filter wrap ever so slightly.



I ground the plastic tab down with a dremel and that took care of that problem.
(Not sure what this tab was for... It's not the tab to keep the stock intake in place. If it's another perch to keep the hood-release cable routed, the clip was missing...)

[mhebert2001]

Originally Posted by frothy I had rubbing with my JBR intake in a few spots on my Gen1. Nothing that couldn't be rectified, though... T-bolt clamps rubbing against the ECU cover was one. Above, is how Jamie recommends installing the T-bolt clamps -- this didn't work for me. I ended up flipping the two that connect the TIP to the intake so that the bolts face upwards and ever-so-slightly to the passenger side. Play around with 'em until you find what position gives you the most clearance. Having them face upwards also makes it easier to readjust things. One thing to keep in mind is that there IS wiring above these clamps. Make sure that everything is safe and that there's no chance the T-bolt clamps will make contact. The second spot was the white plastic wiring cover -- which you mentioned you've also experienced. I removed the nuts holding the bracket and made sure the bracket was situated as far to the driver's side of the car as possible -- every little bit helps. Bend the metal tab for more clearance if needed. The third spot I encountered rubbing was the edge of the air filter with a plastic notch in the front of the car. It ate through my filter wrap ever so slightly. I ground the plastic tab down with a dremel and that took care of that problem. (Not sure what this tab was for... It's not the tab to keep the stock intake in place. If it's another perch to keep the hood-release cable routed, the clip was missing...)

That’s pretty disappointing. I hope that is not an issue with the gen2s.

I can see having to play around with the T clamps that connect the SRI to the TIP, but if you cannot rotate the SRI to avoid making contact with other stock bits under the hood that is not acceptable.

Did you reach out to JBR and ask them about this?

[danmillerok]

Originally Posted by mhebert2001 That’s pretty disappointing. I hope that is not an issue with the gen2s. I can see having to play around with the T clamps that connect the SRI to the TIP, but if you cannot rotate the SRI to avoid making contact with other stock bits under the hood that is not acceptable. Did you reach out to JBR and ask them about this?

To avoid having the filter rub you just need to rotate the intake counter clockwise which will raise the filter up and away from that area. The instructions even note this placement if I recall.

[mhebert2001]

I am wondering if gen2s have a little more clearance between the filter and the inside of the hood, which might allow it to be rotated more?

Does your JBR installation make contact with anything?

Did you need to mess with the clamps to create clearance on yours?

[rdjr74]

I can confirm with my 2012 ms3 there is rubbing at the filter (tedious adjusting will fix this) and the tip rubbed into the ecu. The ecu issue was a bear to rectify so I ended up getting different clamps, ones without the bolts. This took care of my issues there. I actually ended up taking the tip off and just use the air intake with the stock tip. I was having a weird noise when letting off the throttle, I took the tip off and it fixed the issue. No idea what it was.

Also, when adjusting the filter, you can't go to high(rub on the hood) and you can't go to low(rub at the front of the car). What worked for me was pushing everything tight together more so then what the directions called for.

[frothy]

Originally Posted by mhebert2001 That’s pretty disappointing. I hope that is not an issue with the gen2s. I can see having to play around with the T clamps that connect the SRI to the TIP, but if you cannot rotate the SRI to avoid making contact with other stock bits under the hood that is not acceptable. Did you reach out to JBR and ask them about this?

No, I opted to play with fitment instead, and scoured the engine-bay-porn threads to see how others had their intakes situated. None of that helped. But after realizing that the offending tab had no useful purpose I was more than happy to shave it down.

No signs of rubbing since...

If I hadn't had a filter wrap, I probably wouldn't have noticed the front was making contact at all, but the fabric was beginning to wear through... Before shaving the tab, I also played around with zip ties and found I could loop one through the t-bolt clamp by the filter to the frame of the car. This worked, and stopped the filter from hitting the tab, but I wasn't fond of this solution.

It's a good intake and you shouldn't regret your purchase. My problems were very minor and easily resolved -- don't confuse anything i've written as a complaint -- our engine bays are cramped, so a little fine-tuning isn't unexpected.

[Koke382]

Just remember if it fails its your fault not the manufacturer's fault. Lol

[mhebert2001]

Originally Posted by rdjr74 I can confirm with my 2012 ms3 there is rubbing at the filter (tedious adjusting will fix this) and the tip rubbed into the ecu. The ecu issue was a bear to rectify so I ended up getting different clamps, ones without the bolts. This took care of my issues there. I actually ended up taking the tip off and just use the air intake with the stock tip. I was having a weird noise when letting off the throttle, I took the tip off and it fixed the issue. No idea what it was. Also, when adjusting the filter, you can't go to high(rub on the hood) and you can't go to low(rub at the front of the car). What worked for me was pushing everything tight together more so then what the directions called for.

Wow. Again I will hold judgement until I get it in, but it sounds like you had a bunch of fitment issues.

Sound issue with the TIP as well. hmmmmmm. I don't know what to say about that. What did it sound like?

What I can say is, I have been under the hood of mine enough times, and have installed and uninstalled multiple intakes (with TIPs), and I agree it is tight.

My CS TIP cleared the ECU cover with the width of a piece of paper, but it didn't hit. Now the supplied T clamps, that was another story! Trying to work around them hitting the harness clip was a exercise in futility.

Cobb was a bit easier on both fronts.

Neither, even the Cobb with a larger AEM filter ever gave me grief by touching the hood or anything else.

That one is pretty lame. Couldn't the silicon between the MAF housing and the TIP be shorter?

Was it easier for you to fit the SRI with the stock TIP?

[JgamB]

This is why I assisted fabbing an ECU relocate bracket. If you don't want to spend the coin on a small box and battery, it's a simple mod and inexpensive, and it still looks clean.

This is with a 3" intake, and it has nearly 1" of clearance in all directions.


The "Track Time" @RACER_X; referred to is actually Trackmasters -

[mhebert2001]

Originally Posted by JgamB This is why I assisted fabbing an ECU relocate bracket. If you don't want to spend the coin on a small box and battery, it's a simple mod and inexpensive, and it still looks clean. This is with a 3" intake, and it has nearly 1" of clearance in all directions. The "Track Time" @RACER_X; referred to is actually Trackmasters -

that does look really clean. nice job.

[rdjr74]

Originally Posted by mhebert2001 Sound issue with the TIP as well. hmmmmmm. I don't know what to say about that. What did it sound like? What I can say is, I have been under the hood of mine enough times, and have installed and uninstalled multiple intakes (with TIPs), and I agree it is tight. That one is pretty lame. Couldn't the silicon between the MAF housing and the TIP be shorter? Was it easier for you to fit the SRI with the stock TIP?

I was afraid you'd ask me what it sounded like. : ) Really hard to say tbh. It's more then likely unrelated to the intake so maybe coincidence it went away when I switched out the tip. dunno and the car has performed find so no worries really.

Our engines move so damn much with stock mounts that it's really important to have more clearance then not. Yes the fitment with the stock tip is fine and I did use the jbr clamps where the sri meets the stock tip BUT you still have to fudge with those damn clamps to get it to fit without rubbing but there is more clearance to play around with them.

Due to the engine movement it's mostly important to get the intake filter situated accordingly as the engine moves forward and backward a ridiculous amount as you can see this on the intercooler plastic cover. Try and get at least 1 1/2" to 2" where the most forward part of the filter would come in contact with the front of the car and you should be good, from there make sure you have clearance with the hood. Any other sides of the filter is not an issue.

[mhebert2001]

Good info! Your feedback is a good reminder to be patient during the install, and to make sure I budget enough time.