The purpose of other intake.

Originally Posted by MightyBobo

It helps clean the smog out of the air. Cleaner the air, the more efficient the burn in the combustion chamber. That helps create more power. Very significant in California, but gains arent as noticeable in, say, Hawaii.

Originally Posted by Azroadster

Imagine that your engine is an air pump. It sucks air in and exhausts it thru the exhaust. The less restriction that it has on both sides - intake and exhaust - the more horespower it is capable of making. Your ECU will adjust to the amount of air entering the intake (up to a point) and add more fuel to match the corresponding air that a new intake will deliver. The stock system is pretty good in that our Z's make pretty good power from the factory, but it could be better, hence the aftermarket systems.

The other issue is the temperature of the intake air. Cold air is more dense than warm air, so the colder the charge the more your ECU can do to increase the horsepower. Of course, there is a point where the system cannot do more than it is programmed to do. I think you will find that the most that the best intake out there can do for you would be about 15-18 horsepower. An less restrictive exhaust will add more as well. Then you can look at high flow cats and such. Good luck with your search for the perfect intake.

AZ Roadster

Originally Posted by Matt

Many dealerships will not install aftermarket, non-nismo parts on our car. Talk to your dealership's service techs, the actual guys that would be working on the car, and see what they say. Just ask general questions, not specific install-specific questions. You don't want to raise a red flag.

For instance, if my dealership was asked to install a CAI on my car, they'd refuse and then absolutely everything that went wrong on the car would be blamed on the intake.

Best bet is to find a trusted mechanic nearby. Good luck!