Stillen vs. Smoky: your take on intakes

dalparadise

The results surprised me too. I'm a complete noob to most of this and credit this forum for most of what I know. Given that, I expected the Stillen to walk away with this test.

Here are a couple of points I've considered:

The "bud" design of the HKS filters seems to be more directional than the "K&N-style" filters of other short rams, which seem to take in air from all around them. Could it be that the base of the bud filters acts as a heat shield and the airflow coming from the front and bottom of the car (where the buds are pointed) is not really heated at all at the point where it's taken in by the TS intake?

Could the length of tubing in the Stillen or Injen design be conducting heat throughout the intake, therefor containing the column of air through a longer tube than the short rams and allowing for more time and surface area throughout its length to heat the incoming air?

That said, could thickness of, or bends in, the tubing contribute to this?

Is the filter medium in the buds less restrictive than in the K&N-style?

Is a larger surface area actually facing the airflow in the buds? (Again, the "directional" aspect of their design)

Just some points I've pondered as to why the TS might outperform or equal (which was my vote, BTW) the Stillen.

In the end, the marginal advantage to the TS is not worth the cost for me. If money were no object and I only accepted the best, like on this Mothra car, yeah -- strap on plenty of Smoky's gear. But for a little more than half price, the Stillen performs almost as well. That's right on-mission with the 370Z and where most of us regular guys end up.

Still, you have to hand it to Top Secret and their ability to take designs one step beyond and eek out a little more performance. Those who appreciate that committment and who are willing to pay for it will always get their money's worth.

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2010 Platinum Graphite Roadster - Tour/Sport/6MT/GReddy SE catback/B&M short shift
If the top is up, it must be parked.