Intakes... are they ALL just a scam?

christian370z

The gains are already proven: Stillen still makes the most peak power, second Injen and third are the K&N drop ins and post MAF tubes. However, to get the most out of the Stillen intakes in particular, I still believe that a tune is necessary in order to tune the A/F ratio for safe and optimal power as the different diameter of the G3 intake pipes will cause the MAF to see a higher total volume of air flow.

There are numerous threads on this whole debate already, I think the title of the thread only serves to stir a well documented pot.

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-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

Pelican170

I thought ive heard that these gains are like 14 - 18 or whatever but thats on stock cars. Once you put exhaust pieces on they drop to close to what the Post MAF tubes create with exhaust pieces on. Thats why people go for them. Has anyone with exhaust pieces on their cars dyno'd before and after with any intakes?

Cmike2780

I think you can gain some of it back with a proper tune and net a larger gain overall with the Gen 3's.

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[09][MB][6-Spd MT][Touring][Stillen Gen III][K&N][Borla CBE][Evo-R]

daisuke149

so.. why would the stillens gain be lower when you have an exhaust and not the post maf tubes?

truthfully the gains by both would be lower (if the post maf even gives any gains)

Pelican170

Correct, but im pretty sure the dyno that someone on here had for the post MAF tubes showed like a 10 - 12 hp gain after he had exhaust parts, so that makes them all very close in hp when said and done. Granted, i do feel 10 - 12 hp for those tubes seems high...

pg6speed

I have FI LTH and non resonated TDX. I dynoed without the intake then installed the G3 while the car was still on the dyno and did a few more pulls. The G3 gained another 10hp over the previous pulls.

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STILLEN G3 / F.I. TDX (NO RESONATORS) / F.I. LTH / UpRev Tuned / BC-Racing ER Coilovers / DIY Oil Cooler / Short Shifter

FL 4Motion

Good info, and pretty much inline w/what I'd have guessed, So the G3's are worth around 10whp when in conjunction w/other mods. Wonder how the drop ins w/post maf tubes would stack up under the same conditons, I'd bet they'd be worth around 6whp or so.

Methodical4u

I guess the best way would be to look at people's sigs and see what kind of numbers with each that people are getting with similar mods. It's also going to be what works best for each person... if you have the drop in's and PMT's and have 5 or 10 less hp, is it worth the extra 250.00 or more once you sell your drop ins and pick up a set of G3's? To some it is and some it's not... with an NA car I have learned that every hp is hard to gain so take advantage of what you can get... but you'd be better off to just get it right off the bat instead of wasting money buying something else first.

Glokwork

From what I understand lets say the g3's claim 16whp and that's your first mod, you may reach that. FI TDX claims around 22whp and you add that next, you're not gonna see a 16whp gain and then another 22whp gain. So on and so forth from each future mod, at least that's what's been explained to me, I could be wrong about that but just trying to help with some of the confusion of whp gains people have gotten from the same mod.

shadoquad

It's not a scam. It's just how engines breathe. I'm not technical enough to explain it, but the advertised hp gains are noted against a stock setup, assuming all other parts are factory. When combining the parts, they do not simply stack those hp numbers, because both parts effect how the engine breathes.

b1adesofcha0s

From what I've read, I think usually for most combinations of intake/exhaust/HFC or TP/tune there's around a 30 whp gain. Please correct me if I'm wrong about this.

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Project: b1adeZmobile (2009 370Z) | Uprev Tune by AAM Competition | Berk Exhaust
Project: b1adeZmobile 2.0 (2014 C7 Z51) | Corsa Xtreme Exhaust

Methodical4u

I was trying to find some actual numbers for the R2C's, but there's nothing. It does look like quite a solid design and a very nice fitment.

However as said... there's no real numbers on it.

christian370z

Correct, which is why peak power should be considered. At this point in time, the cars reading the most power regardless of mods with a set of Stillen G3 intakes still nets the most power.

There is a law of diminishing returns as you stack up mods as the engine reaches peak volumetric efficiency. This is essentially because the engine has a set volume (displacement) and while it is impossible to achieve 100% VE due to turbulence/friction/leaks, you can get closer with breathing mods on the intake and exhaust sides. I'm not an expert on this at all, but one of the variables in getting better volumetric effeciency is not only total air flow volume, but also density.

Since the G3 intakes sit in the best location of all intakes, they can intake cooler air than the Injens or stock airbox just on the location alone. Cooler air is denser, therefore it will make slightly more power in all conditions on that quality alone. But it then comes down to a few wheel horsepower between intake setups and whether a person believes pursuing those couple horsepower is worth the extra cost of the G3s or Injens over the K&N drop ins/MAF tubes.


For me, the sound, looks and peak power/torque of the G3s made it worthwhile. However, I also picked them up from a forum member for a fair amount less than a brand new set. I still believe they are the best intakes out there at the moment in my opinion if cost is not an object.

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-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

b1adesofcha0s

Thanks for the info, this is why I will be picking up a set of G3s in the future

__________________
Project: b1adeZmobile (2009 370Z) | Uprev Tune by AAM Competition | Berk Exhaust
Project: b1adeZmobile 2.0 (2014 C7 Z51) | Corsa Xtreme Exhaust

WAGAWAGA

I used to believe this too, but after this thread Stillen vs. Smoky: your take on intakes im kinda confused on how intakes work.