If you can go to Autozone and buy some metal tubes and then put a Top Secret Emblem on it and it beats the overall gains of the Top Secret Intake on an actual dyno run, I'll buy you a Top Secret Intake.

You people have to be out of your gourd to want $1100 for that thing. You and just about every other 3rd-party Z part manufacturer are consumer predators when it comes to providing parts for these Z cars. And yes I know perfectly well there are two intakes but the entire apparatus shouldn't cost more than $400 to $500 tops for the actual amount and kind of physical material being purchased.

Why don't you people learn to quit acting like carpet-baggers guouging the hell out of the Z consumers? And don't even try to excuse your behavior using that "cost to produce" :bs: because we all know for a fact your profit margins are 3 to 4 times what standard profit margins should be to create something like that. :shakes head::shakes head::shakes head:

lol :icon18:

fix'd

Can you comment on how this is different from other short ram intakes? I'm curious as to how it produces so much more power. Maybe a shot down the tubes with the filters off?

That's a little harsh, don't you think? Swat is just the retailer. Chances are that this thing is overpriced at the wholesale level. Point being, while I think your sentiments are actually somewhat justified, I think they'd be better aimed at TS rather than Swat.

Hey ZKindaGuy,

I appreciate your imput and opinion and am sorry you feel that way about Top Secret. I can tell you that Top Secret Intakes are not for everyone and yes, they are expensive. You need to consider though that Top Secret is in Japan and is very well known for developing the best possible products no matter what it is. Top Secret goes to great lenghts to produce the best possible parts for your car and that is the reason my company offers them.

Top Secret products are expensive and rare but perfectly made. They are not for everyone. Just because they cost more than other products does not mean that they are overpriced or price gouging. They are simply the best products on the market. There are so many other products from hundreds of manufacturers around the world that are chaeper and do an ok job. I will stand behind Top Secret no matter what because Smoky Nagata is a genius and makes beautiful, precise, perfect products.

Who can argue or blame them for offering these products?

Ken Sanders
Swat Performance

Sem, he did say "Z part manufacturer", which would imply that he is talking about TS. But i understand how you could take that as being towards Swat.

Ken, where is cypress, TX? Might be interesting to put them up against my injen's as well as a stillen CAI on a car with full bolt-ons (which most people that have intakes have).

Hey Caravanshaka,

Cypress, Tx is on the upper NW side of Houston. I think that is a fantastic idea. We can dyno both one right after the other and post up the results. Hey, I welcome everyone's ideas!

Ken

you are a long way from me unfortunately, are you near Spring? My wife is from there so that is the only place I know, lol.

We do have some people in the houston area that could probably help with that. theDreamer and TX370 and kdo2milger come to mind.

Oh. My bad for not catching that. :o

If these are made in Japan and are considered JDM, then that alone would explain why they're expensive compared to parts made in the US. Anything that's JDM is going to be priced high. Just look at exhausts and even oil coolers.

^exactly why I support US when I can :tup:

And again I ask, what sets this set of intakes apart from others with similar designs? How did Nagata-san specifically 'tune', if that is the correct word, a short air intake to beat a long tube CAI, which ostensibly is a better system due to its ability to get colder air than what is available in the engine bay?

From an engineering perspective I see nothing that can justify the price, even considering it as a JDM item. I'd love to compare these side by side with the HKS Suction Reloaded and see what exactly has changed. I'm all for JDM, just look what I'm doing with Amuse. But this is one of those parts that really raises some concern for me.

With that said, I'm not on the market for these, so I'll leave my thoughts at this.

I don't mean to discourage buyers interested in Top Secret products, I just want to get a better understanding from a more...'academic' standpoint, I suppose.

In terms of parts and performance, TS has been around for a long time, and has a great reputation, so if someone wants them, by all means go get them.

Ken, about those parts I asked for...lol