Injen Intakes Installed! Pics, Vids, Dyno: Results added 8/22/09
 

Last week I ordered the Injen intakes from forum vendor THMotorsports. Nick at THMotorspots offered great pricing and his free 3-day air shipping special is awesome. I ordered early Thursday afternoon and the intakes were delivered Friday morning. Sweet!

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1250395001

The kit comes in a bright red Injen box. It's neatly and safely packaged. All of parts are quality pieces, and the instructions are pretty detailed. There are 85 images in all. Some can be a little bit confusing, but if you take your time and think them through it's pretty simple.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1250395082

Installation requires removal of the front fascia and the factory washer fluid tank (located on the passenger side). The intake kit includes a smaller volume tank with mounting brackets to make room for the air filter. The only downside to this is that the factory washer fluid filler neck needs to be cut so the included rubber hose can be fitted to the new tank and freshly cut filler neck. This is the only cutting required.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1250395156

I know a lot of people are intimidated by removing the front fascia. It's really not that difficult at all. Simply remove two bolts and two clips inside the fender wells, unbolt the bottom of the bumper, and remove the clips at the top of the fascia and gently pop it out. It will probably take you 15 minutes your first time. Reinstalling is easy as well.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1250395156

I'd say the most difficult part of the entire install is dealing with replacing the washer fluid tank, but all-in-all it's really easy.

Anyways, on to the good stuff.

After everything was put back together it was time to fire up the car. It sounds the same as stock on startup, but when you rev it you hear the "woosh" from the intakes sucking in a ****-ton of air. When you're on the road it's a deep growl that's most noticeable from around 3k-5k.

As far as the butt-dyno is concerned... it's hard to tell. I haven't really been able to go all-out with the car yet... low and mid-range power feels unchanged. If there are gains up top I haven't really driven the car in such a manner to feel them yet. This is what I expected, though, as it seems like the intake systems make their gains at the very peak of the RPM range whereas the exhaust mods seem to provide solid gains all throughout.

I did disconnect the battery during the install and I will be giving the car the rest of the week to adjust to the new intakes. Earlier in the day I took a trip out to Function Tuned in Dulles, VA where I had baseline dynos performed on their Dyno Dynamics machine. The stock result is 258.1 whp which is in line with stock 370s on this type of dyno. Be advised that different dynos measure whp differently. Dyno Dynamics tend to read quite a bit lower than DynoJet, for example. I'm sure I'd be somewhere between 275-280whp on a DynoJet.

http://www.the370z.com/attachment.ph...1&d=1250426084

I will be going back to Function Tuned next Saturday for another dyno. I'm hoping the weather conditions are similar to today (87*F at the time of the dyno, will have to check for the humidity) and hopefully we'll see some gains. I'm going to take the car out again in the morning and find some places to stretch it's legs and report back.

For now, here's a short video of startup/revving and some light acceleration.


Results 8/22/09:
I took the car in for a dyno this morning and saw a +7.3whp gain for a total of 265.4whp. Based on the conditions and type of dyno, I think this is more or less in line with Injen's +15whp claim (on a DynoJet). I will post the comparative dyno graph when the shop e-mails it to me on Monday (printer ran out of color ink), but I can say that it looks very much the same as the Injen and Stillen G3 manufacturer supplied charts. Minimal or no gains until around 7,000 rpm when the stock intakes become a restriction.

My thoughts? I think the only intakes worth buying are long-tube designs... whether you choose the Stillen G3 or Injen's is up to you. I think both systems, tested in identical conditions, would yield very similar results.

I believe that the stock intake system functions very well on a stock n/a car. It is not a restriction until the very top end of the RPM range, where only the long tube intakes provide any gains. I don't think short-tubes are a worthwhile investment.

great write up !! :tup:

cool can't wait for the results to come in~!

Thanks!

:tiphat:I like the placement better then the stillen. It looks like it would be easyer to route that Modshack fang vent tube to it. Also doesnt set in front of a hot radiator. Whats price on this?

You would probably have to cut a hole in the plastic plate next to the filter but it'd be pretty easy. I don't know how that would work out for rain driving, though. I think the filter has easy access to cool air where it is right now, so I'm not sure if there would be any material benefit to routing the fang vents.

As far as pricing... PM the vendors. They can't publicly post the special pricing due to agreements with the manufacturers.

BTW, my apologies for the dirty pipes. I will clean them up tomorrow and get a pic of them clean and shiny. :) I'm really glad I opted for polished over powdercoated black.

Awaiting dyno results!!!

I agree, when I first saw these I was going to get powdercoat black (eventually), but the polished looks really, really good in there!

thanks for the writeup man, this thread, dpending on your dyno results, will determine whether I get the Injen setup or not.

I love Injen, I had them on my 350. Great product. My only concern is people talking about cutting those corner plates. If you do that you will expose the filters to direct elements. I wouldn't advise doing so. BTW..nice write up. I wish I had these on vs. my stillen.

you know what would make these even more sexy?
Black Chrome tubings :D

I dunno, I think black anything would get lost in the engine bay. The polished tubes really stand out and look great.

No problem!

Looking good! I might just join you again next Saturday. ;)

:icon18: Do it! They have a 1PM slot open... I'm sure they'd start you right after me. I will get some vid of yours on the dyno. :tup:

Great report and pics! Thanks!

Don't know.. I agree w/Shunya... I am thinking the black would look awesome!

My concern is that those side 'pockets' where the Ingens sit don't have as much airflow access as the Stillen kit gets right in front of the radiator.

I took the front fascia off to replace the horns and those lateral areas seem very isolated from good airflow. This just puts the intake filters in their own isolated little pockets once the fascia is back on. I'd be surprised if the gains for the Ingen come anywhere close to the Stillen GenIII.

In for results.

I can't wait to see results!

yay for good taste

Cool intake and nice write up! Im eager to see results too!

They seem that way, but it's not like they are sealed off or anything. A fair amount of air that enters through the front grille makes it's way to those pockets.

If it's really a concern, you could always remove the "dividers" and completely open that area up, but then I'd worry about getting the filters wet in rain driving. Your best bet would probably be to cut holes in the dividers and use Steve's (Modshack) technique to divert some more air into that area.

BTW, I was able to get on it a bit today. It feels like there's a little more "pull" as you approach 7,500 RPM.

But by far the biggest noticeable difference these make is the sound. The mid-range growl sounds awesome and overall the engine/exhaust is a bit louder.

We'll see on Saturday if these things actually make any power! :)

Absolutely awesome write-up. Thank you sooo much. I know myself as well as the rest of the board really appreciates it. :)

ahhhh saturday...so much waiting!! One question. Is the filter on the injen a dry filter?

Yes, it's a dry filter.

dyno results;)

:icon18: I can't wait for 'em.

:tup: +1 Steve!

Good writeup, and great pics and vid!

giving the ecu time to adjust is a good idea, I'm still allowing mine time to adjust.

I was getting around 17.4 mpg before the Takedas, and immidiately after I was getting around 14.2 mpg. I am up to 15.2 mpg at this time. I will wait till I get the FI catback and do a before and after dyno then. I really feel like the ecu needs more time to lean out.

17 MPG? Are you WOT all the time? I'm getting about 25 MPG with mixed driving.

i get around the same avg 17 18 mpg i hardly ever go wot its just the gas mileage sucks haha.

yep, all city driving here...no highway cruising...

my avg says 20.2mpg, all city, I usually stay in a high gear/low rpms, I always shift @ 2k, this should help some of you lead-footers out there.

Great write/pics/video up there m4a1mustang, like yourself I'm on the order list for the F.I. Exhaust. Also getting intakes coming, hopefully delivered in the next couple of days.

Cant wait to see the after Dyno.

in for results :tup:

Holy! I pat myself in the back when I get more than 14.

I get 23 combined city/highway when most of my highway is in stop and go traffic...

I'm monitoring fuel consumption and it looks normal.

I'm right there with you. Last tank I averaged 13 mpg. I will take a little video with my cell next time I fill up. Its pretty funny.