After having this on the car and running it to and from ZDayZ this year I think I finally have enough driving time on it to post a review. So here goes...
Initial Impression:
Sturdy construction and well made; similar to the ZSpeed under shield in terms of powder coating. The flat stock used to manufacture it isn't quite as thick though. Thought out design as well, even down to the install hardware. The bolts you use to attach the guide have the washers built into the heads, so you don't have to worry about them slipping/falling off or feeding them onto the bolt at the last second while in a tight spot.
Ease of Install:
(Take this section with a grain of salt as I have the original V1 air guide, not the newly released V2 guide. The V2 guide has additional cuts for clearance and more room for the oil coolers, aftermarket radiators, etc.)
This all depends on what other aftermarket parts you have in the area. I personally have a 25 row Setrab oil cooler with Z1 SS braided lines and AAM Competition cold air intakes (2.75" diameter tubing and K&N filters). So, it is quite the tight fit to run the oil cooler lines behind the air guide but it does all fit. For extra piece of mind I wrapped my oil cooler lines in some thick side-walled vinyl tubing. That way if the oil lines briefly rub on the radiator or air guide from a sudden bump or pothole in the road neither will be harmed. I did this a couple years ago when I originally installed my AAM intake to protect my A/C lines and it's worked great so far without any issues. Besides the tight fit for the oil cooler lines everything bolted up and aligned exactly as you would expect it to.
Performance:
After taking this to ZDayZ and running through the mountains for almost a week I think I can honestly say that I do think this made a difference. The initial force you feel when you hammer on the accelerator seemed to be a little bit heavier. The car also seemed to want to get up and go slightly quicker. There were also a few instances where I got a mild exhaust crackle/burble (sounded AWESOME echoing off the mountains
) when climbing the power band and then letting off at the end instead of shifting to the next gear. You can run this without a tune obviously but it does have me contemplating a re-tune to see if I can pull more power out with it. Especially after seeing the Z1 same day dyno numbers of before and after installing it.
...And before anybody asks,
NO I didn't pull it off at ZDayZ and make a few runs with and without it to see if I could tell a difference. I'm there to have fun and enjoy myself, not spend all day wrenching and testing the air guide lol.
Final Thoughts:
This is a well-made kit that the butt dyno indicates to be worth it if you have an aftermarket cold air intake and factory front bumper (Non-Nismo). Why spend ~$500+ on a cold air intake and leave power on the table due to the front bumper design? At $219.99 this is solid buy for anybody looking to get the most out of their aftermarket intakes.