K&N Typhoon Install problem
 

Anybody else run into this one?

I was attempting to install a set of K&N short intakes on my car this afternoon ('10 370z Tour/Sport), and everthing was going fine until it was time to connect the new intake tubes to the valve cover vents.
K&N thinks the hoses are one size, when in reality they are another size (i.e the hoses that they gave me are too small to fit on the valve cover vent connectors).
Anybody else run into this or have any suggestions??

And of course, now I have to spend part of tomorrow putting everything back to stock :mad:

Update: Saturday, 9/11/10
The key is 3 tries, a little bit of extra knowledge, boiling water, and liquid soap.
Before attaching the 1/2" hose to the 5/8" vent covers, put a little bit of liquid soap on the outside of the vent cover, and soak one end of the hose in boiling water for about a minute. You still have to work fast, but it can be done.

I just forced it in and put clamps on it. I thought I was forgetting something and kept referring to the pictures but it looks like I did the right thing.

2k miles later, everything is still working correctly so I'm fine with it.

Yep I had the same issue. The hoses are too small and I had to force them on. I heated them and used some soap to try and get them on easier. PITA

Update - Sunday afternoon
 

Well, you guys must be a little bit braver than I am.
I went down to the auto parts store this morning and was able to get a couple of straight 1/2" to 5/8" connectors.
Although they might work, I didn't like the way they went together.
I think I'm going to get a couple of 1/2" to 5/8" 90 degree connectors and then try again.
Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate them.

I was so glad to see the responses and find out that I wasn't crazy that I forgot the major questions.
1) do you like them (and does it make a difference)?, and
2) did you do any thing to get them fresh air (like fang vents, etc)?

I like them, they are easy to install/maintain and look/sound great. I also did a Dyno and I made 6RWHP across the board. But the after dyno was 20 degrees hotter than baseline, so I am sure the # could be higher. I do feel the power increase as well.

I added this resolution to the bottom of the original post, but wanted to add it here as well.

Update: Saturday, 9/11/10
The key is 3 tries, a little bit of extra knowledge, boiling water, and liquid soap.
Before attaching the 1/2" hose to the 5/8" vent covers, put a little bit of liquid soap on the outside of the vent cover, and soak one end of the hose in boiling water for about a minute. You still have to work fast, but it can be done.

Thats exactly what I did. I did recall trimming one hose a little as it was too long and had a kink when installed. They need to supply better hoses IMHO. :gtfo2:

I installed mine today, and ran into the same exact problem. Everything went fine until I had to connect those last 2 hoses for the ducts. I spent 2 hours trying to push it on, cutting my fingers on everything sharp within the engine. Finally I checked this site and came across this post, thankfully!! After putting hot water into a Pyrex measuring cup, then into the microwave for 2 minutes, I then put that water into a pot on the stove that was on high. This allowed me to get the water to a boil in less than 4 minutes. Once it was at a boil, I added the 2 tubes. I let them boil for 1 minute. During that time, I put Palmolive on my fingers, then on the 2 plastic pieces the hoses need to connect to. When I was done with that, I brought out the pot with the tubes still in it to the car. I used gloves to grab the tubes, and quickly pushed the tubes on. You do have to be quick about it and you also have to be careful where the natural bend in the tube ends up. This is because if you're not careful, you could force the tube to crease, aka fold, and reduce the airflow. I'm really happy with the end product and they look great once installed. Haven't taken the car out yet but I did start the car to hear how it sounds, and I'm very happy with it.

K&N should throw in a free package of Ramen or mac and cheese given all that water you had to boil!

What exactly are the smaller hoses for? I heard something like a "breather". Also, when installing mine, It was hard to ensure a 100 percent perfect fit so is it a huge deal if one of these ends up coming disconnected at some point?

I ended up using the stock tubes and then used the clamps, worked great

Minor issue but one that should not occur, if a part is sold for a particular vehicle it should fit, if it does not then its just sloppy design, that **** pisses me off no matter how insiginificant.

I installed hte system last week and had no problems at all. All you need to do is cut a small 45 degree chamfer on the insidede of the end of the hose that goes on the valve cover with an X-acto knife and hit it with a little WD40. Mine went right on. The only thing I noticed was that the passenger side hose was way too long an after cutting it to a length that kept it from kinking, I did the same mod to the valve cover end and it went right on.

When I first got my Z last month I immediately replaced the factory filters with K&Ns, as I have been doing on my vehicles for the last 20 years or so and kept the stock airboxes. I noticed a mild gain, and then bought the Invidia exhaust, but still nothing exciting. I then decided to take the plunge and get the Typhoon system, which I got for a little over 300 bucks on eBay, and the difference in perofrmance is astounding. I live at close to 6000 feet, so perhaps the extra airflow accounted for the noticeable increase in performance, but having read all of the threads about how only the Stillen tubes will give a real performance gain and that the Typhoon is little, if any better than the stock airbox with K&Ns or other performance filters, that definitely has not been my experience. Definitely worth the investment.

I have the hoses on but my question is what are the hoses for in the first place?

Crankcase ventilation. Rather than have vapors from the crankcase go into the atmoshpere they are fed back through the intake system and burned.

I think that one reason hte K&N hoses are smaller than the stock ones is to reduce the amount of flow from the crankcase which increases hte flow through the main tubes.

Hey guys, anyone have any issues with their K & N's? Thinking about putting them on my '11 Z Touring when I get it delivered in April. Everyone keeps suggesting to get the Stillen long tubes but I don't want to hassle with the install. Is everyone happy with the Typhoons so far??

I'm happy with them, no complaints from me!

:iagree:

Good to know. So you guys see a HP increase and a difference in sound as well?

Although I didn't do a dyno, I'll say yes to both.

I didn't notice any significant increase from these intakes and they are pretty noisy. they attract too much attention for me. I just got the hps post maf tubes and switched to stock w/ the hps tubes. to me it sounds and feels better. just gonna go the k&n drop in route with the tubes and be happy. It's also pretty cost effective. the stock intakes are pretty well designed.

I was running the stock intakes with K&N drop ins and the change to the tubes for me showed a change in performance that was dramatic. Noise is not an issue, since I run the Invidia exhaust, and compared to the noise on my BMW K1300S with a Remus pipe, it is no big deal.

After the install, did anyone have any "check engine" lights come on, or is it just a simple "plug and play" with nothing else to do. Is a Dyno necessary? New to all of this...

No check engine light. It is sorta a plug and play. A Dyno is just to see the HP gain it is 100% not needed.

heat soak is also a very big reason I took mine off. if u sit at a light for a few minutes the drop off in performance is very noticeable. I notice it alot less with the stock system with the drop in filters. only intake really worth getting are the stillen g3. proven numbers but expensive.

off topic, but selling my typhoons. any takers?

Never had an issue with heat soak. Especially a noticeable performance difference...

I don't have heat soak issues, then again I live in Seattle. lol

I did a Dyno and got around 6-10 rwhp increase across the board.

Was that with the F.I. exhaust and HFC's already installed before hand? Was that gain with or without a tune?

Well, bottom line here is that I'm not going to race my new Z...just looking for an intake that's easy to install, will add a little hp, and hopefully will inprove the exhaust note as well. So, guess I'll go with the K&N after all once my Z is delivered. I sure appreciate everyones input though!

I really don't think you'll be disappointed!

Sibze, IS there a noticable sound difference after installing the K&N's?

100% yes. There is a noticable difference. In the auto 4th sounds great!!

Sweet!

:tup:

dont want to start a new thread, so ill jsut ask here.

How straight forward is the install on these, I havent done a whole lot of work on cars, and don't want to have to pay a shop to install these. How long did it take you guys?

Installation is very easy and straight forward.
If you're not sure what you're doing, it will probably take you about 2 hours, reading, re-reading, etc.
The hardest part is the installation of those tubes from the vent covers to the intake tubes. It's a tight fit and there's just not a lot of space to work.

It is quite easy. Just follow the instructions step by step. The only problem you may have is fitting the hoses to t he crankcase breather tubes, but a little WD40 makes it pretty simple. You may also have to shorten the hose on the passenger side to keep it from kinking.

I've run several intakes on my 370z:

Takeda Short Ram
AFE Pro Dry Drop ins + Smooth Tube
K&N Typhoon

I do not have dyno numbers to back me up but the K&N Typhoon seem to perform the best and are easy to install. I did not want to hassle with the bumper so I didn't go with a Long Tube route like the Stillen G3. The K&N Heat Shields are pretty good I like how they utilized the stock box mounting holes for the heat shields. It’s just a very well built product and sounds amazing. The Dropins + Smooth tube work well but I felt it still restricted intake air flow. The K&N Cone filters just flow better then the panels.