CAI worth it?
 

I have Catback installed already and aiming to get next mod, are these CAI worth spending $500 on? Or these things just for the sound?

A quick Google search will reveal to you a dyno proven gain of ~20whp across about 5 legitimate options. Whether that hp/$ is "worth it" to you is your discretion.

In the end if it is worth getting a cold air intake for your Z is your decision. I believe that installing a cold air intake that is proven to make power on our cars is worth it if you are making an investment in a cold air intake for your Z. I’ve seen the Stillen Gen. 3 cold air intake make more whp and wtq than the stock Genuine Nissan air boxes and is proven to make power on our cars. Just be sure to choose the right brand cold air intake you purchase for your Z.

I'd say yes. Dropped nearly a full second off my quarter mile time. Albeit it was 10-15C cooler between the two runs, summer and fall.

A proper cold air intake will provide very minimal performance gains over stock. But in the search for power, the intake is the first limiting factor you encounter and need to overcome. As you build things further down the line, the performance increase is helped along with a proper CAI. Things like larger TBs, ported upper and lower manifolds, headers/TPs/HFCs, and exhaust can all combine to increase N/A power.

I did my first CAI for looks. It was a little less efficient than the stock intakes, which are pretty efficient, frankly. The R2C CAI with black chrome metal (:ugh:) with filters in the engine bay accompanied by a heat shield that sealed well to the hood. The metal tubes were killer on AITs though.

I am converting the car to a track/autoX vehicle, so I've got a proper CAI to install - aFe Takeda Attack Stage-2 with filter in the front bumper opening (like Stillen Gen3s, commonly considered the best N/A intake for the 370Z)

:iagree::iagree:

If you are "expensing this out" in your head beforehand, don't forget that to get the maximum benefit of CAI, you also should get a tune. More $$$.

The rules-of-thumb are:
Exhaust OR intake mods - no tune needed (ECM will adapt).
Exhaust AND intake mods - tune needed.

As bcfromfl said, figure the cost of a tune into your budget.

Gotcha thanks for all the info provided, yeah I did not save up for the tune or added that into my budget since I heard you can run the Z1 CAI without a tune so was gonna do that for about 2 months then get a tune.

The Stillen 3 Gen is the benchmark of cai for the Z. Short rams heat soak, and don't make as much power. Other long tubes are copies of the Stillen 3 Gen with some differences between them.

If you keep your eye out on the for sale forums, you'll probably fine a used Stillen or other CAI pop up fairly regularly.

While the front bumper is off, i'd suggest getting an oil cooler (34 row from Fast Intentions or Z1) since you'll be working on roughly the same area

And also a Zspeed undertray

and the Dewla design intake guide

I've heard this advice many times over. Will the car run without tune? Or just with CEL? Backstory: I plan install a Z1 intake myself, but will be having a shop do the HFC and CBE. I then plan to get tuned ~1 month later, but just wanted to check that I'm not missing something and that I can actually get the car there (moving). Thanks!

You'll be fine. I ran mine for 2 months before i got mine tuned.

The car will run (see Rusty's comment above) and will, in many cases, run well. Just depends on how far out you are from where the ECM can compensate. The more extreme your mods are, the more likely you are to have a problem. In some cases, you could run lean enough to cause problems. I would avoid WOT until I got a tune.

But you will not be getting the performance you will get with a tune - you will be wasting a lot of potential gains. If you're going to all the trouble and expense to mod both sides, you might as well spend some bucks to make them work together.

OK thanks to you and Rusty. I figured, and totally will be getting the tune, as I’ve already got a deposit down with a group here in New England for Moncef to come dyno tune a bunch of us in April. Can’t wait!