Hi,
New owner of 380 GT, but have owned Magnas.

Love the 380 and wanting to sort it out. Firstly was going to order Galant intake snorkel, but need some guidance. Does the bigger intake really improve the 380s (performance or economy)?? I just dont understand why when built in Australia the local version has smaller intake than Galant (and New Zealand) cars. Perhaps the smaller intake is better for Australian 380 (computer setup/grade of petrol etc ???). Someone who worked at MMAL might know.

Second for normal driving in Sydney (normal driving in Sydney, is that possible), no towing how important is a transmission cooler?? My old TS had a cooler and there was no thermostatic by-pass, so I question the need for a by-pass......any ideas anyone.

I think an external filter makes perfect sense.

Please help.

Get the intake ASAP. It makes a massive difference. If you can pm me an email address i'll send you a pic of the original side-by-side with the 90mm. I reckon it would double the airflow into the motor. I picked mine up from a forum member on here but i'd hazard a guess that any oz based spare ones are fairly rare. I saw one on ebay around christmas time and it didn't last long. You might see one on gumtree now and then too.

Hi and welcome
I would do a search on the 380 forum as all these questions have been discussed in detail for several years. General opinion on transmission cooler is not really needed unless towing. A thorough flush and service of the trans fluid at correct interval makes a huge difference to performance. I fitted the larger intake and it gives improved throttle response but no power or economy gain in my humble opinion
Cheers

The stock Oz 380 intake snorkel was designed for the 2.4 litre in-line 4 cyl motor, the US Galant / NZ snorkel was designed for the 6G75.
But the Oz drive-by noise regs are/were pretty tough, and MMAL had to swap out the proper snorkel for the restrictive one to pass those regs.
It's worth 5 kw at the flywheel by itself, seeing as the NZ version of the 380 was rated at 180 kw compared to the Oz version 175, and the intake snorkel was the only difference.

As far as I'm aware, the ECU software for engine management is the same for NZ models - so you aren't nullifying the 90mm snorkel on an Australian car, and the ECU is built for it.

I think the ECU was probably tuned with the larger intake. I remember reading an ex MMAL employee who said the smaller intake was installed at the 11th hour to pass the drive by WOT noise requirements after the engine had been built and tuned. MMAL refused to delay the release date any further so the smaller intake was screwed on and then he car released.

Pity on the series 2&3 that they didn't rework it and sell with the proper intake.

And yes.... You will definitely notice it!

Thanks for the replies guys. I will get and fit a Galant intake. It now makes perfect sense.

Funny how things develop. I have a new question. Has anyone had moisture in the headlights. Any how to fix this issue replies will be good. Meanwhile I will check if the manual sheds any light on the moisture problem.

Cheers, John

Moisture in the headlight is fairly common.
Easiest fix, although maybe only temporary, is to take the black circular cover off the back and attack it with a hairdryer.

Try pointing the nose at the sun, take off the back covers and let the lights bake for a half hour. This is the easiest way if, like me, your house doesn't have a hair dryer.