Z1 smooth tubes worth it?
 

Is it worth it to try to cram 10 pounds of crap in the 3 pound bag that is the distance between the airbox and the TB? How the F*CK does this part even fit? No room.

I am assuming that you are referring to the Z1 silicone post Maf tubes! I have never seen a set myself in person but the concept is real simple and makes sense. By ditching the slinky style stock post Maf tube and going to a smooth tube you will decrease air turbulence. Anytime you can do this you will increase velocity. Now in the case of this car in N/A form the gains would be very minimal. Personally I would need to see a dyno chart comparison to believe there would be any gains.

However, if it was my car, for the minimal cost, I would probably invest the money in them for peace of mind!

Thanks, Tony

Been there, done that. They were worth it to me. I'm not sure about the HP gains

For the money, yes.

That + K&N (or other high flow panel filters) gets you within 5 +2 whp or so of the pricier G3's.

Some wrestling is required, but it will all fit.

Okay, now that it's installed, it's worth it. I don't know if it gave me anything, but it looks nice and in theory it gave me something. It was hell installing.

It is a bit tricky. I pulled the stock airboxs out and removed the strut brace to get more room.

I have mishimoto MAF tubes and k&n drop-ins. I isntalled them together. I def. feel gains in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, but not as much in 4th to 6th. Then again, with only 800 miles on my car, I limit how many times I go WOT to redline.

I did this and STILL couldn't get them in! They don't even seem close to me. If I attached them to the airbox and tried to slip it back in, the duct on it was a good 1/2" from clearing the front fascia. Any ideas or tips? I wrestled with one for an hour before giving up. Here's a photo. I don't see how it could ever fit.

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...in/Z1tubes.jpg

IMO, they're worth it. I bought hoping they would add a little HP on the topend of the powerband (which helps a ton if you raise your revlimiter).

No dyno result but I do have some track results:
I gained a little more than 1mph in the 1/4 mile after adding 2-piece front rotors and post MAF tubes. This was in similar temperatures/DA on the same track, several runs for each night.

Which mod made the most difference? who knows. :icon17:

I did dyno comparison and I saw Zero gains over stock using the K&N filters and post Maf tubes.

Maybe others have had better luck then I did with this setup.

I think it's something you feel as the responsiveness of the car rather than numbers on paper or computer.

I got mine installed. I removed the air-boxes and attached them first to the TB, then got sex nuts and retard strong on it. I forced it to work. Then re-installed the air-boxes. (I kept them CLOSE to in location while attaching).

Other mods to the car? Dyno chart please?

Did you remove the negative battery terminal and reset the ECU? Or get a tune afterwards?

The ECU bases WOT response on closed loop look-up tables + MAF input in every other car I have owned. This wouldn't effect that.

Even if it did, after a certain number of key on/off engine on/off cycles, it should adapt, no?

I gave up on making mine fit also. Plus on my Nismo the breather tube on the driver side is different than the passenger side but on the tubes they are set up the passenger side way, if that makes sense. Just stuck my K&N drop-ins, in and called it good. I Get my Fast Intentions exhaust tomorrow tho:happydance:

I get my FI exhaust tomorrow, too!
I did finally get the tubes to fit - had to trim about an 1/8th of an inch off the passenger side. There is a noticeable difference in throttle response. A lot more than I would have ever though possible just going from the corrugated tubes to smooth tubes.

Ive had the tubes before and now I actually begin to question if the slinky/ribbed style tubes arent actually beneficial. if you look at several high performance vehicle engines (lamborghini, ferarri, vipers, corvettes) they all appear to have the slinky style intake tube. There must be a reason. I doubt its for sound, mpg or emissions. Maybe the ribs cause just the slight amount of turbulence actually needed for smooth air intake flow. I also wonder if maybe smooth tubes are beneficial on forced inductions vehicles? Ive had numerous intakes both CAI and SRI as well as silicone tubes on the VQ.

I think they OEM tubes are there to allow for any engine movement.

Example, my old fox body mustang had an aftermarket cold air intake (drew air from the fender). It was old so the motormounts were a bit worn. Every now and then if I shift a gear hard enough the tubes would pop loose from the silicon couplers.

The ribs tend not to be on the inside.

:D

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Hehe very true

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I think it's worth it. Makes it a little cleaner under the hood. Put the air box side on first. It's a bit of a wrestle, but they will fit. I did not have to cut them. For a little help, you can get some cheese & crackers & use the red plastic spreader to help get them onto the throttle body without marring them.

Hey Tony, I'll swing by in a couple of weeks & you can see mine if you want. A little busy right now, so it will be a couple of weeks.

Rob

you know..i didnt think about that.

note for those who install these (like i have), check the tubes every so often for loose fitment! i check my oil levels religiously every few weeks so i'll just add this as another thing to jiggle to make sure its tight :)

I wouldn't worry about these coming loose after hard driving. ;)

There were a few reasons why it would happen on my old Mustang. There wasn't much of the piping for the couplers to attach to, combine that with the old motormounts and you got a problem if you're not careful. It was pretty easy to tell when it was loose, CEL would pop on and it would run kinda choppy... almost sounded like it had a really aggressive cam in the motor. :icon17:

Put red Z1 tubes in this morning along with drop ins and the fang vent mod. I must've gotten a good set or something cause my tubes went on no problem (I did remove the strut brace and air boxes before installing, though). I've only had the car a week so idk if i could really distinguish a hp gain, but it definitely revs faster. Overall totally worth it imo

they arent that hard to install. People need to quite whining, These things are strong and not meant to bend alot, so yeah it might be a lil tough to get it on, but if i can do it (and im a weak mother fucker) all of you can also. Want to do it without much effort, pop the who intake off and do it that way.

Ya I know, way to dig up an old thread but was wondering about the oem intake tubes myself. Installed Z1 post maf tubes today and the oem ones ARE ribbed on the inside. For her pleasure. Made me feel better dropping a hundred bucks on these knowing they are smooth vs stock ribbed.