Takeda Stage 2 CAI Installed - Highly recommended

Originally Posted by JTTZR

Hi mate,

No problem. I'll start by telling you that I am no mechanic - so when I say this was a bloody tough DIY it's definitelyalso because I have a pretty poor set of tools and am not super knowledgeable on the 370z's engine bay.

The hardest bit for me was trying to reach the area under the front bumper - where the main filter unit needs to be installed. This was because the Aussie spec car (basically being almost full spec) has a fair amount of cables attached from the engine bay to the lower section of the front bumper. I was unable to detach these cables (maybe I was just too scared to pull too hard) which resulted in me not being able to take off the bumper altogether - rather I had only a limited gap between the body of the car and the front bumper when I pulled it back (as it it was still attached to the cables). THe second issue I faced was that the area where the filter unit goes was full of attached cables as well - these cables I was able to unclip and move behind the filter unit. For good practice I was able to attach them in a slightly different area to avoid them dangling around.

Those that are actually more knowledgeable on this may be able what these respective cables are actually for. I think the ones attached underneath the front bumber may have have been for the headlight washers. The ones I relocated I am not sure about.

Any, long story short is that the lack of a good set of instructions complicated this install for me.

Otherwise - the good news is that the car runs really well - I actually had a CEL light on previously as I have Exoticspeed HFC's installed. After installing the Takeda intake my CEL has gone OFF. Brilliant! The car is more responsive and it sounds so much better. One thing to note is that the sound is not as loud a classic short ram intake. Rather, it's a really tasteful sound that delights again and again when you hit the throttle a bit harder. THe car feels faster, but that could easily be the result of the improved sound playing tricks on my butt dyno.

Overall: highly recommended. I am looking to complement my HFC and Takeda setup with a Tanabe exhaust soon - I can imagine the car will sound unbelievably good.

As for the discussion on intake temps - when touching the metal air intakes after a long drive out (the engine bay os HOT) the intakes are always cool. Again, I am no pro on this, but to me it seems that this intake is prety effective at getting you plenty of cold air (as long as you're not stuck in a trafic jam).

My five cents again.