Intake Confusion...Need some opinions!
 

I've been looking into the following Intake Systems:

Injen CAI
Stillen G3 CAI

Then I started looking at: and I know I'm dealing with two different animals

HKS Intake System Racing Suction Reloaded
Stillen Intake System not the ultra long

THOUGHTS

THE MODS I HAVE AT THIS POINT INCLUDE: Greddy Spectrum Elite CB Exhaust, Berk HFC and a Sprint Booster.

you are best off with a long tube intake such as the G3's or Injen (which is more expensive). The reason being is that the design keeps the filters as far away from the engine compartment as possible thus ensuring you are always getting cold air. The problem with the HKS system and any short ram system is that they usually do not come with heat shields. Thus over time as the engine warms up and the entire compartment heats up, your intakes are in the "hot zone", pull in hot air, and give you little to no power increase. Infact some have reported that they lose power. I see you've been posting about intakes awhile now so if you have any questions PM me, no reason to go on starting threads that don't get answers.

You will probably get a lot of advice that basically says... don't get the short ram intake due to heat soak. Always go for the long one! I've heard that size matters.


Edit: NYBladeZ beat me to it!

If you're gonna go with a CAI, with STILLEN intakes IMO. I love the aggressive sound. However, stock OEM intake is the BEST in my honest opinion for these cars.

Your best bet is long tube (cold air). It will have the best gains. You are going to have to remove the bumper to service them but it is a couple of bolts a push clips. I opted for the Injen CAI because I like the dry flow filters they use over the K&N ones that need to be washed and oiled. I also like the painted black option. If you have ever had polished intakes you know they are a pain to keep looking new.

To make the right choice, use the new (advanced) search function. There are tons of reviews and details about the systems you are looking at. Either way, good luck with your choice! :tup:

I'm with AK, the thing with aftermarket intakes is that you don't feel the gains until very high in the rpm range.

I got K&N Typhoon HAI's and I got around ~6 HP incease across the board and it was almost 20 degrees hotter the day I did that run. So I know for sure I would of got a few extra ponies out if it was the same conditions.

So if you want to go cheaper and easier, you can get this one (atleast) Not sure on the other hot air intakes! But IMHO better than stock.

Thank you all for the intel.....I now have a much better understanding of which way to go....I think I'll stay stock.....michaelm...semper fi

Has anyone actually logged IAT's to prove that the G3's are pulling in cooler air than say the K&N or JWT pop chargers? Or is this just one of those "some random guy on a forum said it, it's true" type of things?

I don't really see any hard data to back up the claims I see people making on here. Dynos are nice, but they don't prove much as day to day conditions change.

All the reviews out there show the Stillen G3 intake offers the most HP as shown by independent, non-biased test.

Correct, but is it possible the placement of their mafs cause the car to run leaner? If so, that alone would provide a higher gain wouldn't it?

yes they do but the car apparently runs alittle rich stock

It all goes back to what you want to do with the car. I like Stillen not just for the products but also because they are in California easily accessible and if something goes wrong they try to help you.

Exactly, I love being 10 minutes away. They also have good customer service so if something goes wrong, they are happy to take care of you and fix the problem. That said, I absolutely love my Stillen G3 intakes; the car has a whole new attitude with them, especially high up in the rev range and really brought the car to life.

I agree. Stillen is the best.

I was all for the injen intake at one stage. Due to the dry filters and black pipping.

However I live in a wet part of the world at times and the Stillen intake sits alot higher off the ground. I don't wanna be worried everytime I go driving in the rain.

Hence why I'm ordering the G3.

Best gains = Stillen Gen 3 but install is pretty involved.

The only short ram I would recommend is the R2c system (best filtration in the industry plus heat shields). Not quite the gains as Stillen, but installation is very easy.

Both have pluses and minuses. FYI I have the Gen 3s on my G sedan and love them. :)

Following a few early posts regarding the goodness of the OEM setup:

I got the intake flow rate per RPM per a couple dyno runs. In each case the flat flat part of the curve shows that this is where the OEM setup is limited on how much air it can pull in. Most of the gains (shown from various vendors) occur at this higher RPM range and will vary depending on how well the intake air temperature is managed.

For the sound, for the looks, for a few HPs at higher RPMs getting a "CAI" is really great! :tup:

Buy it for looks and sound. For every +10 degrees intake temperature, you loose approx 1% of hp. So if you're running 280hp, you'll loose 8.4hp for a 30 degree difference. Now theres also the agruement of when driving, how much does it really heat up under the hood with all that air rushing around. I don't doubt that it does, but really how much. I've read that short tube are more for TQ and long for HP, just because of the physics involved. But all in all, and at the end of the day I feel it really doesn't matter. So buy what you like. Droping my bumper to clean my filters really isn't my thing, but to each his own. Buy it for looks and sound cause there is not much difference in the performance. If you think 8hp is going to win you any race (what ever form) consistantly, I'll take that bet. :shakes head:

All that heat soak nonsense is B.S. I have the R2C intakes and while they do allow higher intake temps sitting idle, while moving they are just 8 degrees above ambient; the same as the long intake tubes and stock intakes.

Normal rain won't affect the Injens, but driving through deep puddles will! You do have more clearance with the G3's so if you plan on driving through puddles then I would go with the G3's.

Have you thought about painting the G3's black?

True, the lower RPM's don't have much to show with the G3's, but on the dark side of 6,000 it's a whole new animal!

I agree completely, it is such a screamer above 5k!

This and the fact that the MAF tube is slightly larger too does make the car run lean which gives it most of its gain, so if the MAF on a stock intake was slightly larger too it would do the same. The long tube intakes location themselves do little to improve gains as the stock intake is a true enclosed CAI, its the MAF and its size. Any open intake regardless of its location is going to get heat. If you stand by the side of a Z while its running you will feel the heat from the engine like crazy so an open intake a foot further away isnt going to keep IATs down but a couple of degrees. My stock intake with K&N drop ins IATs are the same as the long tubes IATs. I measured it with my COBB tuning device. If I remember right (its been awhile since I did this) my IATs were about 7-8 degrees above ambiant when driving. And were sucking in 400 G/S, and since its a dual intake, I think thats 400 G/S per intake but not sure.

I just installed the K&N short ram. Totally did it for looks and sound. Very happy with it so far!

I understand that a CAI will most lickly give you more HP but thats not what i was looking for.

I was looking for sound and looks and the K&N Sounds great and looks great

what is considered base or avg temp?
like... i am currently in fresno where avg is like 100... lol...

what is the average for the car?

a good intake should have the ambient temps about 5-8 degrees above the temp outside while driving. At a light the temps will go up alot but will go down when the air hits the front end.