Stillen G3's those who own with real results please Chime in

BOLIO 671 · 09-24-2010, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by esfourteen

And the person who told you this owned these intakes, did before and after dynos and determined that he lost power by installing them right? Please stop spreading fud.

You may not make 18whp as they claim, but theres a definite power increase along with a much nicer growl. Nissan designed a great intake system, but to pretend that it was designed to make the most power without regards to cost is naive. You bought a $30k sports car, not a ferrari.

furthermore TONGMAN Idk why getting 15-20whp from this performance part would be hard to accept for a N/A motor when some members showed/proved that they Made these gains while running independent dynos...

TongMan · 09-24-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BOLIO 671

furthermore TONGMAN Idk why getting 15-20whp from this performance part would be hard to accept for a N/A motor when some members showed/proved that they Made these gains while running independent dynos...

Not to bash, but just to further a conversation about this. I did not say that I do not believe the power gains, I just said that it was hard for me to accept. I've personally seen dynos in the past for naturally aspirated vehicles and the most I've ever seen in person is about 8whp on a cold day. On turbo applications, I would definitely believe that a single CAI mod will produce gains of 20+whp. No doubt that one would feel a difference before and after a CAI. I'll check out the dyno forum for CAI gains.

So I found this about the Injen CAIs.

So you gain the peak hp from 7k rpm to 7.5k rpm only.

I found RCZ's thread when he reviewed the Stillen G3 intakes. He dynoed 20whp from the intakes, but seeing that his bumper cover was off and air was directed directly to the filters, it would resulted in the high hp gains.

STILLEN Longtube G3 Intakes. Review, Dyno and Impressions.

But RCZ did state that " I was pretty much speechless. I have never seen a 20HP gain from intakes on an N/A car. "

BOLIO 671 · 09-25-2010, 07:11 AM

Tongman....I do appreiate the info that you are bringing to the table...after all we are all here to learn from eah other based on our info and individual experiences.... I too was at one point lead to believe that intakes do not produce significant gains....however based on all that I have read regarding the Stillen G3's I am pretty confident with the numbers that they produce and strongly feel that they are a great performance part.... don't get me wrong...not all intakes produce good results for the Z...for instance the Takeda short intakes as well as other intakes seem to produce little to negative power for the Z....however when talking about the STILLEN G3'S I feel its safe to say that based on what has been said about this part as well as RCZ'S and Semtex's reviews/dynos...its pretty clear cut that these particular intakes produce good results....

You're right about RCZ produing 20whp with his bumper off....but in Semtex's thread he did his dyno with the bumper on and produced 14.7WHP... Also in Semtex and RCZ's threads it was debated about the whole bumper on/off deal and some people posed some good things to consider...such as when you're on a dyno that you are at a stand still...so taking the bumper off and having the fans blow could probably fabricate a real actual driving experience where your car is traveling on the road having wind/air being forced into the grill area...some also pointed out and argued that the amount of wind/air that the fans are blowing into the filters with no bumper on can not duplicate real actual wind/air as compared to when driving on the road and not at a standstill such as a dyno run...of course this is subject to debate and interpretation....but they are both good points to consider...I have found supporting info to prove that other intakes don't produce good numbers...but it seems that Stillen got this product down to produce decent gains....I mean RCZ, Semtex, and ZEliminator got great results and all of them did independent tests/dynos to see whether Stillens claims of Whp gains were in fact true.... I have not found one thread yet that negates with actual proof anything bad about the STILLEN G3'S...

The reason why I started this thread was because as I was conducting research on this particular part I came across a post made by NYBLADEZ on a Stillen G3 thread that was posted by Elia CID..in. which I quoted NYBLADEZ's comment on the opening post of this thread on Page 1....I couldn't figure why he and others felt this way about the Stillen G3's when all the research I did on this forum said and proved otherwise...

370Zsteve · 09-25-2010, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TongMan

When you cross reference the cost and the hp gain...its not worth it. Claiming 15-20whp from a CAI is a little hard to accept on a naturally aspirated motor. From what I've been told, the stock air boxes are not restrictive and provide the best hp and torque for the motor.

No question about it. Never, I repeat, NEVER believe a vendor's claim of added HP. Subtract about 50% for a more realistic gain.

Slynky · 09-25-2010, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

No question about it. Never, I repeat, NEVER believe a vendor's claim of added HP. Subtract about 50% for a more realistic gain.

LOL

Check my comment above...I said half and if I got 10 out of their 17.5 I'd be delighted.

NOW, for some of you who have heard or are saying the G3s are actually not as good as the stock box or have no measurable difference...some stats on today's trip.

I installed Friday and drove about 70 miles to the Z Nationals around noon today. I zeroed the MPH/MPG when I hit the interstate. About 65 miles later, I registered an average speed of 64.4 and a MPG of 30.5! We all know a CAI improves gas mileage. I've never pulled much over 27/28 before. Never in the 30s.

So what does this mean? It means the G3s are doing SOMETHING better than the stock airboxes. Maybe it's not a huge noticeable power increase (I THINK I notice a difference/increase but I'm allowing for it just being my wishful thinking). But the increase in MPG means the G3s are getting better air inside the engine and it's running more efficiently and if it's doing that, then it's making more HP.

And it was around 90 when I made that trip.

Another trip I routinely measure is from home to work. I'll see how that one turns out next time I drive to work.

PS: I didn't get this thing for increased MPG. It's a side benefit. I'm just using the numbers as proof something good is happening.

370Zsteve · 09-25-2010, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slynky

LOL

Check my comment above...I said half and if I got 10 out of their 17.5 I'd be delighted.

NOW, for some of you who have heard or are saying the G3s are actually not as good as the stock box or have no measurable difference...some stats on today's trip.

I installed Friday and drove about 70 miles to the Z Nationals around noon today. I zeroed the MPH/MPG when I hit the interstate. About 65 miles later, I registered an average speed of 64.4 and a MPG of 30.5! We all know a CAI improves gas mileage. I've never pulled much over 27/28 before. Never in the 30s.

So what does this mean? It means the G3s are doing SOMETHING better than the stock airboxes. Maybe it's not a huge noticeable power increase (I THINK I notice a difference/increase but I'm allowing for it just being my wishful thinking). But the increase in MPG means the G3s are getting better air inside the engine and it's running more efficiently and if it's doing that, then it's making more HP.

And it was around 90 when I made that trip.

Another trip I routinely measure is from home to work. I'll see how that one turns out next time I drive to work.

PS: I didn't get this thing for increased MPG. It's a side benefit. I'm just using the numbers as proof something good is happening.

If you are getting better gas mileage, then your intakes are making less power. There is no free lunch. More power = more fuel consumption.

Slynky · 09-25-2010, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

If you are getting better gas mileage, then your intakes are making less power. There is no free lunch. More power = more fuel consumption.

As much of an authority as you seem to be, I thought it was pretty much accepted that CAIs increased power and economy. You'll pardon me if I side with Wiki over you...

Cold air intake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

A cold air intake is a device used to bring lower temperature air into a car's internal-combustion engine, to increase engine power and efficiency.

Standard air intake systems tend to be very restrictive sacrificing engine power or efficiency in order to eliminate engine noise. Aftermarket cold air intake systems come in many different colors and sizes, and are easy to install when compared with other performance-increasing modifications. All cold air intakes operate on the principle of increasing the amount of oxygen available for combustion with fuel. Because cooler air has a higher density (greater mass per unit volume), cold air intakes generally work by introducing cooler air from outside the hot engine bay. However, the term "cold air intake" is often used incorrectly to describe an air filter system with an exposed filter in the engine bay, which actually increases the temperature of the air entering an engine.

Some strategies used in designing cold-air intakes are:

Increasing the diameter of the air intake, reducing airflow velocity and pumping losses.
Smoothing the interior of the intake to reduce air resistance.
Providing a more direct route to the air intake by eliminating muffling devices.
Shortening the length of the intake.
Using a less restrictive air filter, usually trading filtering quality for increased airflow capacity.
Contents [hide]
1 Advantages
2 Disadvantages
3 Application
4 See also

[edit] Advantages
Other advantages to having a cold air intake installed include:

Increased horsepower and torque
Improved throttle response and fuel economy in most cases

[edit] Disadvantages
Hydrolock - The intake opening is lower to the ground than a standard air box, and more likely to introduce water into the engine when fording streams or flooded roads. Hydrolock generally does not occur unless the filter is fully submerged in water."Bypass filters" can be purchased which prevent most water from entering the engine. Some people use hydro shields to prevent this from occurring, however hydro shields are not completely water proof if the intake tube is completely submerged in water.
Noise - Stock air filtration systems usually include resonator-based muffling tubes. Removing them reduces pumping losses but increases noise.
Can void the engine warranty - Many auto manufacturers are denying warranty repairs of vehicles that have aftermarket engine modifications.
[edit] Application
Intake systems come in many different styles and can be constructed from plastic, metal, rubber (silicone) or composite materials (fiberglass, carbon fiber or Kevlar). The most efficient intake systems utilize an airbox which is sized to complement the engine and will extend the powerband of the engine. The intake snorkel (opening for the intake air to enter the system) must be large enough to ensure sufficient air is available to the engine under all conditions from idle to full throttle.

The most basic cold air intake replaces the stock airbox with a short metal or plastic tube leading to a conical air filter, called a short ram air intake. The power gained by this method can vary depending on how restrictive the factory airbox is. The placement of the filter is usually directly in the engine compartment, those without a shroud to prevent engine bay heat ingestion are known as a "hot air intake". The overall benefits depend on the specific application. Power may be lost at certain engine speeds, and gained at others. Because of the increased airflow and reduced covering, intake noise is usually increased. This effect is usually amplified on applications where a resonator, a part intended to reduce intake noise on some vehicles, is replaced by the intake.

Well-designed intakes use heat shields to isolate the air filter from the rest of the engine compartment, providing cooler air from the front or side of the engine bay. Some systems called "fender mount" move the filter into the fender wall, this system draws air up through the fender wall which provides even more isolation and still cooler air.

Air bypass valves are gaining popularity in cold air intake manufacturing. An air bypass valve is a filtered spacer that is positioned more into the engine bay, between two connected pieces of the cold air intake assembly. This prevents hydro-locking by providing an alternate route for air to come in, thus eliminating the vacuum that causes water to be sucked in from a puddle. Foam filters are a simple piece of foam that is air permeable, and most have no valve. It is argued that this reduces power, but in actuality it provides more surface area for air to enter the engine when the driver accelerates. When driving at moderate speeds, the suction caused by the engine is not enough to activate the air bypass valve. Cloth filter bypass valves only allow air in if the valve is sucked open as result of the vacuum pressure caused by a blocked filter at the bottom of the intake.

jpit · 09-24-2010, 03:08 PM

Here is what a top Nissan tuner had to say about the G3s after his dyno test on an automatic. It tested out a little better on a manual.

"Since the stock intake system is so efficient we were pretty sure that the Stillen intake was not going to make much difference and we were both right and seriously wrong. When running on the dyno, the Stillen intake produced on the average 3 more whp but less torque at 270 whp and 216 lb/ft with the power gains coming high in the powerband above 6700 rpm. Below 6700 rpm, the Stillen Intake lost a slight bit of power and torque. This isn’t the whole story though. For the sake of curiosity, we removed the front bumper fascia and ran the car with the airflow of the dyno’s cooling fan blowing straight on the filters. We were amazed to see that the Stillen intake belt out an additional 10 whp nearly completely across the board! Not believing our eyes, we ran the car with the bumper cover off for many pulls and the numbers repeated. We then replaced the bumper cover and the power numbers dropped to what they had been.

Stillen’s cold air intake is clearly a superior design with great power potential but the bumper traps hot air in the vicinity of the filters which nullifies most of the gains. We hope Stillen reads this and creates a bumper vent and heatshield kit so that the full potential of this great intake can be realized. Since people do not drive without a front bumper we are only going to show our with bumper cover power results."

Chriz · 09-24-2010, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpit

Stillen’s cold air intake is clearly a superior design with great power potential but the bumper traps hot air in the vicinity of the filters which nullifies most of the gains. We hope Stillen reads this and creates a bumper vent and heatshield kit so that the full potential of this great intake can be realized. Since people do not drive without a front bumper we are only going to show our with bumper cover power results."

DIY: Fresh Air Ducting for Stillen G3 Users
problem solved

370Zsteve · 09-25-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpit

Here is what a top Nissan tuner had to say about the G3s after his dyno test on an automatic. It tested out a little better on a manual.

"Since the stock intake system is so efficient we were pretty sure that the Stillen intake was not going to make much difference and we were both right and seriously wrong. When running on the dyno, the Stillen intake produced on the average 3 more whp but less torque at 270 whp and 216 lb/ft with the power gains coming high in the powerband above 6700 rpm. Below 6700 rpm, the Stillen Intake lost a slight bit of power and torque. This isn’t the whole story though. For the sake of curiosity, we removed the front bumper fascia and ran the car with the airflow of the dyno’s cooling fan blowing straight on the filters. We were amazed to see that the Stillen intake belt out an additional 10 whp nearly completely across the board! Not believing our eyes, we ran the car with the bumper cover off for many pulls and the numbers repeated. We then replaced the bumper cover and the power numbers dropped to what they had been.

Stillen’s cold air intake is clearly a superior design with great power potential but the bumper traps hot air in the vicinity of the filters which nullifies most of the gains. We hope Stillen reads this and creates a bumper vent and heatshield kit so that the full potential of this great intake can be realized. Since people do not drive without a front bumper we are only going to show our with bumper cover power results."

IMHO, the metal of the CAI gets extremely hot in a closed engine bay. Removing the front fascia allows much more air into the engine bay, possibly cooling the pipes to release more HP. Another angle to consider.

Red370 · 09-25-2010, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

IMHO, the metal of the CAI gets extremely hot in a closed engine bay. Removing the front fascia allows much more air into the engine bay, possibly cooling the pipes to release more HP. Another angle to consider.

I actually touched my tubes after a few drag passes immediately after opening the engine bay and they were ICE COLD, i dont think thats an issue.

370Zsteve · 09-25-2010, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red370

I actually touched my tubes after a few drag passes immediately after opening the engine bay and they were ICE COLD, i dont think thats an issue.

You G3 tubes were ice cold? lmao. Then the engine was too.

Vegitto-kun · 09-25-2010, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

You G3 tubes were ice cold? lmao. Then the engine was too.

lol I touched my intakes after a whole day of racing on francorchamps they were quite cool even though my engine was pretty much overheated.

and more mileage means less power?

if the engine can burn its fuel more effectively than stock and the ECU adapts then I don't see why its impossible.

hell I know plenty of people who chiptuned their car and got more power while drinking less fuel.

Red370 · 09-25-2010, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 370Zsteve

You G3 tubes were ice cold? lmao. Then the engine was too.

see, the purpose of a cold air intake is to pull in cold air... being that I just made a drag pass, the engine is required to take in quite a bit of air, being that the air was cold, it then in turn made the metal surrounding it cool, its a pretty neat concept. I've touched them after doing a bit of city driving as well and found them to be cool, apparently THEY ACTUALLY WORK.

christian370z · 09-24-2010, 03:39 PM

I think that the Stillen intakes are a great buy not only for some high rpm breathing, but it changes the character of the car completely above 6k rpm. It makes the car feel much more aggressive and eager both in the throttle response/power/sound which I think suites the character of the car. Match the Stillen intakes with fang vents to force air up to the filters and you have a great intake setup.

09-25-2010, 07:11 AM	#3 (permalink)
BOLIO 671 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: GUAHAN Posts: 1,198 Drives: To & From then Back Rep Power: 3401	Tongman....I do appreiate the info that you are bringing to the table...after all we are all here to learn from eah other based on our info and individual experiences.... I too was at one point lead to believe that intakes do not produce significant gains....however based on all that I have read regarding the Stillen G3's I am pretty confident with the numbers that they produce and strongly feel that they are a great performance part.... don't get me wrong...not all intakes produce good results for the Z...for instance the Takeda short intakes as well as other intakes seem to produce little to negative power for the Z....however when talking about the STILLEN G3'S I feel its safe to say that based on what has been said about this part as well as RCZ'S and Semtex's reviews/dynos...its pretty clear cut that these particular intakes produce good results.... You're right about RCZ produing 20whp with his bumper off....but in Semtex's thread he did his dyno with the bumper on and produced 14.7WHP... Also in Semtex and RCZ's threads it was debated about the whole bumper on/off deal and some people posed some good things to consider...such as when you're on a dyno that you are at a stand still...so taking the bumper off and having the fans blow could probably fabricate a real actual driving experience where your car is traveling on the road having wind/air being forced into the grill area...some also pointed out and argued that the amount of wind/air that the fans are blowing into the filters with no bumper on can not duplicate real actual wind/air as compared to when driving on the road and not at a standstill such as a dyno run...of course this is subject to debate and interpretation....but they are both good points to consider...I have found supporting info to prove that other intakes don't produce good numbers...but it seems that Stillen got this product down to produce decent gains....I mean RCZ, Semtex, and ZEliminator got great results and all of them did independent tests/dynos to see whether Stillens claims of Whp gains were in fact true.... I have not found one thread yet that negates with actual proof anything bad about the STILLEN G3'S... The reason why I started this thread was because as I was conducting research on this particular part I came across a post made by NYBLADEZ on a Stillen G3 thread that was posted by Elia CID..in. which I quoted NYBLADEZ's comment on the opening post of this thread on Page 1....I couldn't figure why he and others felt this way about the Stillen G3's when all the research I did on this forum said and proved otherwise... __________________ 2013 Nismo Z34 / FI TT #091 / IG: @lilzilla_z34 Last edited by BOLIO 671; 09-25-2010 at 07:19 AM.

09-24-2010, 03:39 PM	#15 (permalink)
christian370z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Newport Beach Posts: 3,900 Drives: 2010 370Z/Saab 900se Rep Power: 433	I think that the Stillen intakes are a great buy not only for some high rpm breathing, but it changes the character of the car completely above 6k rpm. It makes the car feel much more aggressive and eager both in the throttle response/power/sound which I think suites the character of the car. Match the Stillen intakes with fang vents to force air up to the filters and you have a great intake setup. __________________ -320whp / 259wftlbs- SP Rays -- RE-11s -- SpecialtyZ Tune -- Swift Springs -- Stillen 25R Oil Cooler -- Stillen G3 Intakes -- Berk HFCs -- F.I. 12" CBE -- Stillen Sway Bars -- Es14 Spring -- INGS+1 lip -- CF Spoiler -- GTR Start Button -- VLED Parking Lights -- PWJDM V2 shift knob

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09-24-2010, 03:08 PM	#8 (permalink)
jpit Enthusiast Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Washington State Posts: 440 Drives: 370Z Tour MT w/Spt Rep Power: 18	Here is what a top Nissan tuner had to say about the G3s after his dyno test on an automatic. It tested out a little better on a manual. "Since the stock intake system is so efficient we were pretty sure that the Stillen intake was not going to make much difference and we were both right and seriously wrong. When running on the dyno, the Stillen intake produced on the average 3 more whp but less torque at 270 whp and 216 lb/ft with the power gains coming high in the powerband above 6700 rpm. Below 6700 rpm, the Stillen Intake lost a slight bit of power and torque. This isn’t the whole story though. For the sake of curiosity, we removed the front bumper fascia and ran the car with the airflow of the dyno’s cooling fan blowing straight on the filters. We were amazed to see that the Stillen intake belt out an additional 10 whp nearly completely across the board! Not believing our eyes, we ran the car with the bumper cover off for many pulls and the numbers repeated. We then replaced the bumper cover and the power numbers dropped to what they had been. Stillen’s cold air intake is clearly a superior design with great power potential but the bumper traps hot air in the vicinity of the filters which nullifies most of the gains. We hope Stillen reads this and creates a bumper vent and heatshield kit so that the full potential of this great intake can be realized. Since people do not drive without a front bumper we are only going to show our with bumper cover power results."