Stillen intake rattling problem?
 

I noticed that the intake kind of just floats and isn't tied down. This can't be good for the car. A z shop seems to solved the problem by making their own brackets.

"I need to say that everyone here at Z Car Garage was let down by the fit and finish on these two products. The exhaust rubs and hits in at least two or three places, its painfully annoying. The intake system comes with no brackets of any sort and the front part is left to bounce around to rub on and destroy anything it pleases (see video below.) We have made our own brackets and changes to the intake to prevent any sort of serious damage, we were even forced to wrap the air conditioning lines on the driver’s side to prevent the intake from inevitably rubbing through."

Can anyone with these intakes confirm?

this has been talked about. the result is because they cut the holes too big because with the gen 3 intakes you have to enlarge the hole but they did too much. so installation fail rather than stillen's fault.

+1. The only thing that video proves is the ineptitude of the installers. I have this intake and it doesn't rattle at all.

This was the reply by Zcargarage on youtube.

maybe a rubber seal can solve this so the rattling can stop, like those window seals or something.

That's sorta what I did, actually. Here's the reply to them I just posted on YouTube:

Btw, using something to line the edges is actually mentioned in Stillen's instructions, if I recall correctly. So technically, if you follow Stillen's instructions, everything should still be okay. (Not that a bracket wouldn't be an improvement, mind you.)

Thats funny because mine don't do that. As a side note, though, mine are installed correctly. Hmmmmm

"Destroy anything it pleases"? "Serious Damage"? These guys need to chill out and learn how to install things with a little more common sense.

lol Dude whoever installed your intake is a H-A-C-K. Did your local Nissan dealer do it? Mine are solid.... Stillen did a great job with these. Thank you for the laugh this afternoon.

You guys have to see this Vid! lol

when i installed mine on my G37, at first it was loose, but not that loose...you need to keep playing around with the rubber couplings and the clamps...it will eventually tighten up...to be honest, mine had a lil bit of play after i was done...not much but it was annoying...i took a heavy duty zip tie and held it down behind the bumper...you cant see it and it gives the piece of mind that its COMPLETELY solid...

on a side note, the passenger side is VERY close to a wiring loom and its holder, try to keep it above it or keep the pipe as straight or pretty much high as possible, i noticed when ihad the pipe lower the car did not feel as it should, so i took it back off and redid it and sounded different and felt better...

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...a/IMG_0949.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...a/IMG_0939.jpg

You guys crack me up.

I think I would be a little more comfortable with a good clearance gap and a properly designed bracket rather than some "weather stripping" to protect my new intake.

Does the G3 intake come with anything to line the hole with? Does it specify how large the hole should be cut?

Well, when you cut the hole, you've got the tube sitting right there in your hand. If the tube doesn't fit in the hole, keep cutting. When it fits, you're done. It's pretty simple really, and works fine as it is.

Agreed. My Stillen Gen 3 intake fit with no issues at all. Contrary to my experiences (still on-going) with their exhaust, I have nothing but great things to say about their intake. It doesn't rattle, i'm not worried about it breaking anything, etc. I DID also follow their instructions about taking one of the segments of silicone tubing and zip-tieing it around the metal a/c lines (i think they're a/c), and everything fits just great.

njlakeshoreg, that's one clean looking engine bay!

Wouldn't the engine vibrations be an issue with the hole cut to fit tight enough to hold the intake? I would think it would rattle like crazy or, at some point, the contact would wear through the piping.

I guess you guys will have to let us know how it works out and if it causes any long term damage.

I know they rub on the inner wheel well on the G37. fix has been to place a piece a rubber inbetween.

I think it's ok if it's tight. I would guess that the silicon couplings would be the point to absorb the movement if the intake tubing is held tight in the hole.

Wow, that is horrible install. Ouch, hope someone got their labor money back. We just finished a gen 3 install and it's perfect, piping doesn't move at all. You just have to make sure the tube hole you cut is perfect. We used a circle saw drill bit to size it just right. Don't let this video stop you from purchasing, obviously someone didn't know what they were doing. Finding a good installer usually solves 99.9% of the problems with aftermarket products.

Mine's been fine so far. There were a couple of spots of concern, but not the holes themselves. More like little tabs of metal that come near the pipes elsewhere. I put little pieces of rubber in a couple place where I thought it might be necessary, but I'm kinda anal about these things anyways, and they probably weren't really needed.

I agree, if it rubs you just gotta loosten the clamps and fidlle with it a little, just like every single CAI ever made!

Ok, after looking at a Gen3 installed with a "snug" fit, I still think a larger opening with a bracket is the way to go.

I'd prefer not to have it rub at the radiator support or flex at the relatively narrow silicon couplers. In my opinion, I would be reluctant to have metal to metal contact especially with everyone explaining that the hole needs to be cut "perfectly" for it to come out "right".

At that point, it's probably less time consuming for the shop to simply cut an oversize hole, fabricate a simple bracket and use an existing mounting point in the engine bay to bolt the brackets down. It will probably also minimize the possibility of scratching the chrome pipes while sliding them through the hole like what you might have with a "snug" fit, especially if you're making adjustments while you fit everything.

The hole is cut in plastic. There is no metal to metal contact other than maybe the AC lines but you can just wrap them with piece of hose. Brackets would have been nice I agree but they are not really needed. Its really a pretty easy install don't let that video discourage you.

+1

An install definitely gone wrong..Simple solution for future self-installers..

Stillen could provide templates for the pipe. Course you could just make your own template..Pretty simple if you ask me.

Rich
ny

It's really not that sort of thing. It's not like you're cutting a new hole. There's an existing hole that's slightly taller than we need, but not wide enough (it's basically a rectangular shape, with the longer part vertical). The amount you shave off to fit the pipe is just a small arc on one side of the rectangle, perhaps 3/8" depth at most, I didn't measure. You just take a dremel tool and shave a little from the side to get the pipe through. This really isn't rocket science, and doesn't need a template or a bracket :p

Got ya..understood :-).. So "Easy does it"..when your carving the hole.

Rich
ny


Still undecided . 350(Nismo) or 370(prob. is dealers round me only have 1 stock wrong color and options for me)...

LOL. I just noticed the tags on this thread.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1243473732

Okay, who's the genius who tagged a thread on intakes with exhaust tags? :icon17:

Interesting... I don't have any tools right now that I'd be able to cut anything at all, so should I just have a shop install them? I haven't purchased the car yet, (maybe by tomorrow though) so I don't know what it looks like. Is it something I could just use sand paper to open up a little?

No sandpaper won't work, I would just go buy the cheapest rotary tool you can find and use it. You can get a basic rotary tool pretty cheap now.

My friend has a crap load of air powered tools. I know he's got something to cut with there... I'd likely do the install in his driveway. LOL

it's roughly 10-12 x 60mm that needs to be removed.

i used a Dremel bit that resembles a drill bit, except it's designed to cut rather than bore holes. from memory, it was bit #561.
cutting the plastic was a piece of cake.

if you cut a bit extra, say 14 x 60mm then you can wedge some high density foam as a cushion. i used EVA 75.

i also used the same foam to prevent any rattles from occurring due to the cables near the piping. the foam should also prevent the AC lines from
being eaten up too.