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

[waitn4sno]

Looking to put a cold air intake on my vert.I see lots of direct replacement kits on Ebay for $30 to $45. Seems cheap to me. The one I saw for $45 comes complete with a name brand filter (K&N).Are these kits worth the money, or are they junk???Sucks for us Canadians, as the shipping is more money than the product from ebay most of the time, & I do not want to spend my money on Junk!!!.Comments welcomed. - Thanks

[Eikon]

Can you include a link to the ebay auction so we can look at it directly?

Some ebay intakes are junk, while others are just fine. In general, I hate spending $100+ for a brand name (AEM, Injen, etc...) for such a simple product. It's just a tube with a bracket for the MAF and a filter on the end, with a couple small fittings on it.. why should that cost so much...

I'd lean toward the ebay kit as long as it's decent.

[le_ryan]

after ALOT of research i would opt to only drop a K&N in the box, and modify the bottom of the box with a bigger inlet tube to allow more air in.

(take your box out and look at the bottom, theres a hole where the air gets sucked in from a yube that brings in cold air. Cut it and attatch a bigger tube, BAM, cold air intake .. )

But thats just what i would do ..

[waitn4sno]

here the link to the one I was looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/91-94-Nissa...wItem

[Eikon]

I think that looks like a pretty good air intake. I'd buy it.

[94_240sx]

here the link to the one I was looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/91-94-Nissa...wItem

It's going to look like this once installed. You might have an issue with fitting it right. Just make sure there's no vacuum leak and hook up MAF right and you are good to go.

[adrianfromthecastle]

the only thing you're paying for when buying the name brand ones is the CARB sticker that exempts that product from the cops. all others are considered an "illegal modification"

[Loki]

Let me know if you're buying this. I very well may buy one of these and it'd be nice to have user feedback on it.

[cmkelly]

I'd be interested in some feedback too. I doubt the 15-20 hp increase claim but even a few here and there helps.

$32 for shipping is criminal!!!

[ishkabibble]

here the link to the one I was looking at.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/91-94-Nissa...wItem

That one should be fine, but get it without the filter. Best intake filter is Apexi, second best is AEM Dryflow.

When the engine is cold, the tube gives you 5hp, and the filter another 5hp. When the engine is warm, the benefit of an intake is pretty much negated unless you get cold air to it somehow.

vroom-chirp's solution would work, too, but I stay away from oiled filters on 240s... there are anecdotal reports of the oil ruining the MAF sensor.

[Loki]

I think pretty much every intake selling on eBay now sells with the filter. Maybe you can cut a deal with them, like "You keep the filter and cut ten bucks off" type of thing, but I doubt it.

[ishkabibble]

I think pretty much every intake selling on eBay now sells with the filter. Maybe you can cut a deal with them, like "You keep the filter and cut ten bucks off" type of thing, but I doubt it.

Just get one with a worthless POS filter then.

[Loki]

Ha, like half the one's on there with just a random air filter with no name? That might work, I saw a few intakes that were around 30-40 bucks like that. How much do Apexi filters tend to go for though?

[94_240sx]

That one should be fine, but get it without the filter. Best intake filter is Apexi, second best is AEM Dryflow.

Very true. There's test data that backs up about Apexi filter being the best. Don't know about Dryflow. I tried to get 3 inch Apexi filter, but couldn't find one. I called Apexi USA and they had no idea when it was going to available, so I bought Dryflow instead. Review was very good, and it's been working just fine.

When the engine is cold, the tube gives you 5hp, and the filter another 5hp. When the engine is warm, the benefit of an intake is pretty much negated unless you get cold air to it somehow.

I got the cold air extension and I really can tell the difference. Pipe narrows down where the intake meets extension, so I cut that part with dremel.

vroom-chirp's solution would work, too, but I stay away from oiled filters on 240s... there are anecdotal reports of the oil ruining the MAF sensor.

Yes, I've heard so many horror stories about K&N filters after people put too much oil after the clean up. Dryflow is supposed to be very easy to maintain and cheaper than Apexi.

[ishkabibble]

There's test data that backs up about Apexi filter being the best. Don't know about Dryflow. I tried to get 3 inch Apexi filter, but couldn't find one. I called Apexi USA and they had no idea when it was going to available, so I bought Dryflow instead. Review was very good, and it's been working just fine.

FRSport was the only place that had the Apexi when I last checked. It's like $65 or so at most places. Apexi was in bankruptcy for a while or something, so they weren't shipping anything out for a long time.

Dryflow is much cheaper than Apexi (look for Dryflow on Ebay) and probably is only marginally different. They both flow and filter well and have velocity stacks.

[wirelessalpha]

The best intake is NO INTAKE...

NEways....if you must an intake, get a cheapo unit. Your money is better spent on real performance stuff. The 1-2 extra hp over another brand ain't worth the extra $100+ whatever dollars.

Also, keep in mind that tested performance numbers are not guaranteed to be the same for your car.

[Nismo94]

[QUOTE=94_240sx]

It's going to look like this once installed. You might have an issue with fitting it right. Just make sure there's no vacuum leak and hook up MAF right and you are good to go.

[/Q

Hey that looks exactly like my engine........WAIT THAT IS MY ENGINE! Ya she breathes nice but i have to add a couple things to help it, u guys think that filter looks ok or should i go with a bigger K&N filter????

[94_240sx]

Hey that looks exactly like my engine........WAIT THAT IS MY ENGINE! Ya she breathes nice but i have to add a couple things to help it, u guys think that filter looks ok or should i go with a bigger K&N filter????

Sorry. I should have mentioned it. Yeah, I got the pic from your post.

[Nismo94]

Sorry. I should have mentioned it. Yeah, I got the pic from your post.

Dude its all good man made me kinda feel happy that u used a pic of my car as an example . Thanks

[wmdavis007]

I have this cold air intake and it looks, sounds and fits great. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors...ZWD1V

Before I spent 76.95 on a no-name coldair intake I would save for another month and get a nice one that won't look like crap in 4 months. Plus with the AEM you get the dryflow oil-less filter and you can pick polished, red or blue...so you can dress up you engine bay some...like this:

[ishkabibble]

I have a no-name intake (paid like $10 for it used, but it's less than $40 shipped on Ebay) and a universal 3" AEM Dryflow that I got for $30 shipped.

Fits fine, performance is probably within 1 hp of the AEM and Injen kits. $70 instead of $160. Not as pretty (your engine bay does look nice, wmdavis), but I'm not into engine dress-up on my own cars.

I was initially against intakes, but then I realized I can box the filter in so it only draws air from outside the engine bay (future project).

[Boostedrex]

they're decent i had one on my car

[94_240sx]

I was initially against intakes, but then I realized I can box the filter in so it only draws air from outside the engine bay (future project).

My filter used to be in engine room, but moved it to fender well. I like it better that way. I also have Dryflow with hydro shield on. I had a coupon from Autoanything, so I got the shield for free. Some say it works, and some say not.

[ishkabibble]

My filter used to be in engine room, but moved it to fender well. I like it better that way. I also have Dryflow with hydro shield on.

Do you drive in the rain? I'd be worried if I had that setup and no fender wells.

[94_240sx]

Do you drive in the rain? I'd be worried if I had that setup and no fender wells.

I have fender well cover and as far as I know, the whole filter has to be submerged to get your engine hydro locked. Some splash should be okay. What you can do is... leave the filter inside of engine bay and place elbow pipe right after the vent to draw cold air from outside. You know what I mean? One trip to Home Depot should be enough for that mod.

[ishkabibble]

I see what you mean. Right now I have my filter right over the hole where the intake resonator box used to be. I figure it draws about half outside air, half engine bay air. If I box it in, I figure it will draw about 90% outside air with almost zero chance of hydrolocking.

[94_240sx]

I see what you mean. Right now I have my filter right over the hole where the intake resonator box used to be. I figure it draws about half outside air, half engine bay air. If I box it in, I figure it will draw about 90% outside air with almost zero chance of hydrolocking.

Carboard for a template, metal plate from Home Depot and some rubber molding from auto part store will do the trick. I've seen write up on custom air filter box on Miatas and they looked nice.

[cmkelly]

Okay, I just ordered the same AEM intake that wmdavis007 has installed. I'll admit I wanted mine to look cool and was willing to pay the extra bucks to that end.

I'll take some pics of the install process and post some real-life results on 0-60 and quarter miles times and speeds to see if these things really do anything other than look cool.

I should get it in a week or so.

Vroom!

[Loki]

Just make sure you do 1/4 miles and 0-60 tests BEFORE you install

[cmkelly]

details, details.....

I was planning to.