Long tube intake

bigZ

If I isntall a long tube intake and want to clean the air filters do I need to remove the bumper every time?

Is there a big preformance difference between long tube and short tube intakes?

I have no interest in taking the bumper off except on install since I m going to pay someone to do the work($190) any way.

toxik

Most people will come in here and tell you that taking the bumper off takes 15 minutes and is extremely easy, which is true. But if you're really determined to not take your bumper off, look into some short ram intakes with heatshields, such as R2C or K&N, they won't give you the same horsepower gains as the long tube intakes but their gains are quite substantial on their own as well.

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BLM

Agreed. Stillen does make the best hp gains, but what you read on here about short rams gaining "nothing" is not true. IMO, an aftermarket intake allows for smoother acceleration and improved throttle response. There are power gains as well, but if a short ram make 8 whp and a stillen makes 18, can you feel the difference? Butt dyno's are more a measure of torque anyway, and the only thing that will give you noticeable torque gains are forced induction. Even with an intake, header, and full exhaust with ecu tune you're only going to gain about 20-25 lb-ft of overall tq to the wheels. It will be noticeable, but it's also at least $2000 without installation and tuning fees.

Replacing intake hoses and K&N drop-in seems to be the cheapest intake mod. Stillen makes the most gains but also has the most cumbersome installation and requires removing the bumper and using dremel tools to allow for proper fitment of the intake pipes. I really like the HKS intake but the price is outrageous. HKS makes quality parts but that's a bit much.

theDreamer

Bold part:
Really? Because my dyno results have proven otherwise in the past. Short ram is sucking in hot air, it might show results on a cold engine but the moment you move up to operating temps or higher (which will happen) you are sucking in hotter air.

On the topic of Stillen G3, you have a long time before you have to remove the bumper to even clean them. It is a 20 minute job to take the bumper off and that is if you are taking extra time to be careful. If you want an upgraded intake stick with Stillen G3 or Injen.

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red6spd

You can put like 15 20 thousands miles or more (not sure of exact number) before you have to clean them, it is very worth it. You can put as many heat shields as you want to around a short tube intake your still going to be sucking in hot air from the hot engine bay. Your from TX correct, imagine how hot your engine bay is going to be on a summer afternoon, dont you want those filters way outside the engine bay?? Just my two cents.

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2010 Base+Sport 6spd: Stillen G3, FI Non-Resonated CBE, FI Non-Resonated Test Pipes, UpRev Tuned, Custom 24R Oil Cooler, JDM Rear Fog-OEM Harness.
???Whp ???WTQ (Will find out come spring time)

bigZ

BLM,

That is good advice on the Heat! I am buying Stillen for sure.

What about Exhaust? Any reccomendations?

BLM

Which short ram did you dyno on the 370? Do you have the graphs? I'm just curious. The Stillen is clearly the best out there in terms of performance. I just want to see how crappy the short rams are on the dyno

If they were comparable or even beneficial I'm sure the manufacturers would quote them in their product description as stillen does. I just cant see how there's zero improvement over stock when you are replacing the intake hoses and increasing the surface area via a replacement filter.

I know this happens a lot where one manufacturer is able to clearly out-perform the competition in terms of a specific aftermarket part. It's been a while but IIRC the AEM CAI for the RSX-S gained something ridiculous like 20 whp and the Hondata ecu re-flash completely changed the car.

theDreamer

Before install:


After install:


Takeda short ram intakes.
Which if you follow the design of them all, are the same basically. Where the filters sit and pump air from, will always be hot air after a certain amount of time.

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bigZ

Takeda short ram's are just as good as long tubes?

theDreamer

No, skip the Takeda, they are horrible.

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Red__Zed

Dyno's are always misleading with SRI's though, since you're usually dealing with heat soak that you would never see in a moving vehicle. Watch your IAT's on a dyno, then watch them drop significantly when you get out on the road.

omgZ

I have the k&n because i didn't want to cut my car. Here are some threads about k&n typhoon (dynos included):
K&n dyno results

K&N Typhoon Release

SRI get a bad rap, but members who have dyno'd the k&n's have shown gains. Besides you don't have to remove the bumper.

Here is an article I saw on Import Tuner. They dyno'd the stillen and I believe it got 7 hp or something like that, but I know other members got great gains.
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring - Mobil 1 - Power Pages - Import Tuner Magazine

Yeah, I agree. Wouldn't your car flush out the heat while its moving?

Jordo!

Raw values aside, the G3's netted a gain of just over 2% over and above the gains of the previous mods (i.e., 311.5 * 1.02025 = 318.8).

That is EXACTLY in line with the percentage increase I have seen from K&N panel filters alone. Actually, HPS tubes added another 1% or so on top of that.

Even if we allow for some margin of error in comparing proportionate gains (should still be more consistent than raw value gains, especially going from different types of dynamometers), it points to what I am always ranting about on here:

There is no clear evidence that any aftermarket intake outperforms the OEM airbox (which already has cool air ducting!) with a high flow panel filter and smoother intake tubes.

You only see evidence of higher gains (i.e., > 2-3%) from intakes when it is the FIRST bolt-on. Probably because as you add subsequent bolt-ons to improve flow/exhaust it will result in diminshing returns as you approach max VE (i.e., there is only so much room for total improvement -- more probably possible once VVEL tuning can be done).

I only rant about this because other than the possible sound difference, why spend upwards of $500 bucks for the same gains that could be had at half the price?

Just looking out for fellow car guys...

P.S. Although the above dyno suggests that stillen will outperfom a SRI it doesn't show that it outperforms the OEM airbox with highflow filters.

SRI's are probably going to lose due to poor or no cool air ducting and limited or no heat shielding.

Also, the MAF sensors on our cars are VERY sensitive to air flow tumble effects, so that particular SRI may have done poorly in part due to insufficient R&D to ensure the MAF sensor was aligned correctly and not disturbed significantly by engine vibrations.

The major advantage of the G3 is that it draws air from outside the radiator -- but so do the OEM airboxes. I doubt the longer tubes themselves have anything to do with peak power -- if anything longer intake tubing should move peak torque down, not up.

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Nikkolai

I will agree with you on that. I do not believe the car just becomes a hot box when it actually starts moving. BTW, this was taken from a G37 forum:

BLM

Wow, that's impressive (in a bad way). So it looks like Stillen G3 is really the only worthwhile aftermarket intake mod