Cheap cold air intakes on Ebay - Are they worth the money?

[94_240sx]

I also want to know 0-60 when engine is really hot.

[ishkabibble]

Oh and make sure the conditions are exactly the same for the two tests.

And use averaging.

[cmkelly]

I'm working on my wind tunnel now...

[94_240sx]

I'm working on my wind tunnel now...

It was a good one... haha...

[AE86Gio15]

If i was to get one i would get one thats is coated or painted b/c the cheap polish one look like crap rather quickly, Intake is a long term investment you will see better power gains as you make more modification to your engine. keep in mind that if you plan on getting an engine swap or going turbo it would be a waste to get an intake.

[cmkelly]

I don't plan on going turbo or SR swap any time soon. I'm just looking for a HP bump here and there. If I do swap I'm sure someone will be interested in the spare parts anyway.

What I really want is the 5-speed swap but after reading so many of the posts regarding all the parts you need to accumulate and trying to make sure everything still works as it did before the swap has got me a little apprehensive.

I remember pulling the engine out of my buddies Renault, replacing the clutch, cutting a hole in the hood to create a ghetto forced air induction system but those days are a long time ago and I don't want to car to be a beater.....

[DeXteR]

man... this is a long thread.

i say cheapo is the way to go. i'm not planning on running the na-setup for long anyway, so there was no point in me spending mega dollars on an aluminum tube.

[AE86Gio15]

5 spd swaps are not as hard as people make them seem. if you take your time with it you'll notice it was easy.

[94_240sx]

5 spd swaps are not as hard as people make them seem. if you take your time with it you'll notice it was easy.

That's my very next mod. My car runs very strong, suspension is tight, but I'm missing something big time which is manual transmission. I'll enjoy that for a while and go for sr swap later down the road.

[cmkelly]

The kit came in and was installed in about two hours - more time than needed but I took it slow.

I did my before times last night at 7:30 pm, 85 degrees. The engine was cold for the first run and warmed to operating temperature by the second. I did 4 "before" runs and averaged an anemic 9 seconds from 0-60. It was 8-point-something but close enough to 9 to get depressed.

Tonight I do the “after” runs. The temp should be the same and I’ll do it under the same conditions, cold engine, four runs, etc.

Initial thoughts: The engine sounds great from 4000-6500 rpms. It really has a nice howl that isn’t noticed until you hit the upper rpms. Also the power “seems” to kick in there as well but that’s subjective having not redone the runs at the same time and temp.

I have one question though; I have a leftover open hose now at the lower left side of the engine (facing the car). It did not have a place to connect it on the new intake. Any ideas?

Results tonight….

P.s I didn’t take any pictures of the process because the pics are provided in the instructions. The text is not great but the pictures in the directions are all that’s needed.

[David B]

If its a big hose by the fan shroud then it goes to a resinator box. All it does is quite the stock intake. Its a dead end hose. Don't worry about it.

[DeXteR]

I have one question though; I have a leftover open hose now at the lower left side of the engine (facing the car). It did not have a place to connect it on the new intake. Any ideas?

i believe this would be the one that goes to the resevoir on the passenger side of the fan shroud. i have no idea what it's for.

here's how i ran mine:

i ran one hose to the "recirculation manifold" (i think that's what it's called, i don't recall). the other two nipples i ran into a T-connector and ran it into an inline filter and then up to the pcv.

there are definitely some fitment issues with the cheapo ebay intake. first, the adapter for the mafs needed to be drilled out and i had to run bolts with nuts through the holes. mine only came with 2 couplers and three were needed. the provided hoses are not sized well. there's nothing even close to the size of the pcv outlet. lasly, i have no idea what the brakets are for... i can't figure anything out for those and i don't usually use them anyway.

my price was something like... $50 shipped +$15 or so to make it work is a much better price than $200 for name brand. just be prepared to make modifications.

i'll still recomend going the cheap route, but expect i

[biggie]

Never seen anyone run a filter on the valve cover release.

I've just got my vavle cover hose and iacv hose T'd into one connection on my Injen intake. But All of my other connections are removed (no emissions stuff).

[David B]

My ebay intake fit perfect. I'll have to take a picture when I get home. I spent over a week just looking at the different intakes to see which one looked like it would fit the best. I still have all of my emissions stuff too.

[DeXteR]

Never seen anyone run a filter on the valve cover release.

the egr and pcv allow a LOT of nasty stuff to enter your intake. the egr can be blocked off without ill effect. the pcv, on the other hand, requires a vaccum source to function properly. some people will run it to a vented catch can or just put a little breather filter on it. however, this doesn't do anything to suck the dirty gas from inside the engine.

so, in order to get vaccum on the pcv, you'd have to run some elaborite catch can that had a vaccum on it. or you can do what i did and just run a small in-line fuel filter. it was only $4.

[biggie]

the egr and pcv allow a LOT of nasty stuff to enter your intake. the egr can be blocked off without ill effect. the pcv, on the other hand, requires a vaccum source to function properly. some people will run it to a vented catch can or just put a little breather filter on it. however, this doesn't do anything to suck the dirty gas from inside the engine.

so, in order to get vaccum on the pcv, you'd have to run some elaborite catch can that had a vaccum on it. or you can do what i did and just run a small in-line fuel filter. it was only $4.

Never really thought of that. Not really sure if anyone would be able to actually tell a difference over time, but a good idea none-the-less.

[ishkabibble]

Here's my setup: well-used Ebay intake tube out of a junker ($10), Hitman's old MAF adapter - with nipple! ($7), AEM Dryflow ($30). Grand total $47, fits great.

[David B]

Heres mine. No fitment issues.

[biggie]

The ones with the factory mounting point on the passenger's side rad support would definatley be the ones to get. Yall should point out which store or 'brand' on ebay you got them from.

[94_240sx]

The ones with the factory mounting point on the passenger's side rad support would definatley be the ones to get. Yall should point out which store or 'brand' on ebay you got them from.

Guys, what biggie said is REALLY important. Make sure to get the one with this mounting point. Otherwise, you will have a hard time fitting it right.

[DeXteR]

Never really thought of that. Not really sure if anyone would be able to actually tell a difference over time, but a good idea none-the-less.

you'd be able to tell the difference next time you open up your intake manifold. i didn't take my intake in to get tanked or anything, but i did a decent job of cleaning the inside. in about a year and a half or so when i take the engine back out, i suspect i'll open the intake manifold and it won't be very dirty at all.

we shall see.

Guys, what biggie said is REALLY important. Make sure to get the one with this mounting point. Otherwise, you will have a hard time fitting it right.

ABSOLUTELY! i really wish mine would have come with that mounting tab.

i got mine from x3racing on ebay. great for strut tower bars, poor for intakes.

[biggie]

you'd be able to tell the difference next time you open up your intake manifold. i didn't take my intake in to get tanked or anything, but i did a decent job of cleaning the inside. in about a year and a half or so when i take the engine back out, i suspect i'll open the intake manifold and it won't be very dirty at all.

we shall see.

Ah ok, I was assuming that you wouldn't be looking inside of it anytime.