Intake

[brian.t.]

Ive been reading up forums on intakes but i still dont whether to buy a SRI or CAI i herd its controversial. Getting less horsepower than CAI but CAI gives hydro lock i would like some suggestions what would be the best fit for a 03 Z

thank you guys.

[NSRsheets]

I also have a 03 350Z. I'm defiantely going with the nismo cai intake. It gives you the most actual gain. Plus it makes the car sound even more pissed off.

[TwoOhThree350z]

Haha, word.. I went with the Jim Wolf Pop charger... Sounds nice to me

[rollin Z]

whats the difference bet sri and cai? whats the pros and cons? tnx

[flyguy2618]

whats the difference bet sri and cai? whats the pros and cons? tnx

Ya i was wondering this too, i think im going to get an intake put on real soon and i was wondering which one everyone would recoment, which ones give the best horsepower gains, look the best, and sound the meanest, if i could get that all in one it would be perfect but i love it when cars sound mean and the meaner the better if ya know what i mean.

[Trey Fifty Z]

I also have a 03 350Z. I'm defiantely going with the nismo cai intake. It gives you the most actual gain. Plus it makes the car sound even more pissed off.

did NISMO come out with air intake for the 07's?where can i find nismo parts....isnt it a lot more expensive

[NSRsheets]

I don't think the nismo one for the 07 has come out yet. They are a little more expensive, but they are engineered for the car by nissan and usually don't void the waranty like other brands. You can find Nismo parts either at the dealer or I believe the sponsors on NICO have some.

[flyguy2618]

Ya i have looked around and i think i like Nismo for intakes.

[NSRsheets]

The difference between the SRI and the CAI is that the SRI still sucks in some of the warmer engine air while the CAI is more in line with outside and sucks in colder air. You also get more of a power gain from a CAI due to the colder air.

[page02wrx]

whats the difference bet sri and cai? whats the pros and cons? tnx

Without a doubt if any of this information is incorrect anyone feel free to correct me, I'm not all about posting wrong information on forums but this is my knowledge of the SRI vs CAI

SRI (Short ram intake)

Pro's: Shorter intake tract meaning better volumetric efficiencyCon's: Sucking in hot air in the engine bay

CAI (Cold air intake)

Pro's: Cooler intake chargeCon's: Longer intake tract meaning worse volumetric efficiency

Summary: With a CAI you trade VE for a cooler charge, with a SRI you trade the cool air you could have for better VE. I would recommend buying which one depending on your climate. In a hot climate I would definitely go with the CAI, not only will this give you more performance than the SRI, your car will run better in daily driving conditions such as stop and go traffic. With a SRI you will continuously suck in hot air, which after a few mins of sitting in traffic may cause the car to begin pulling time (if the intake charge gets hot enough). This will cause your car to run like absolute **** for the next few minutes until you get moving again.

I would personally go CAI, they say CAI's can potentially lean your car out, but this is the reason intakes make power. On an n/a car like ours the lean mixture isn't really a big deal considering our EGT's don't get as hot as a turbo car. On a turbo car, an intake can cause deadly egt's after prolonged abuse.

SRI's are commonly used on turbo cars with intercoolers or meth injection, because the hot air sucked in can just be cooled by the intercooler/meth to avoid detonation - And most FMIC's run where the CAI run's, so a lot of FMIC's can't be used with CAI's. This means a lot of owners of turbo car's HAVE to run SRI's even if they want CAI's.

[joe603]

Nice write-up!

It was explained to me once that the difference between short ram and cold air intakes is similar to drinking from a straw. It's easier to drink from a short straw than a longer one...I don't think that having the filter that low will really help that much in every-day driving.

With JWT or Stillen intakes, they provide a heat shield, which helps prevent hot engine air from being sucked into the intake. The cold air version will get hot air from the pavement...both will have a colder charge when the car is moving.

[NSRsheets]

You won't suck in that much heat from the pavement, but you will suck in the colder air comeing into the front of the car as you drive.

[s14tan]

FTW

zerothread/284432

[flyguy2618]

This is a stupid question but what exactly do you mean by lean? I never totaly got what that means is that real bad for your car? What does it mean?

[NSRsheets]

Lean means it's getting less fuel than it should.

[flyguy2618]

Lean means it's getting less fuel than it should.

Why does an intake have any affect over that and wouldnt the ECU correct that?

[NSRsheets]

The intake sucks in more air therefore the the MAS should tell the ecu to adjust it.

[page02wrx]

The intake sucks in more air therefore the the MAS should tell the ecu to adjust it.

Intakes cause the ECU and car to run lean on SOME INTAKES because the inner diameter of the MAF housing has increased. It has nothing to do with more air going in (in retrospect) because all that will do is increase the MAFV to the ECU. So instead of 4.2V you may see 4.3V due to more air coming in. BUT if you increase the ID on the intake, your car may actually be pulling in 4.3V but due to the larger ID, the MAF reads 4.2V. So it gives the car less gas for more air that it doesnt even know its getting.

On your stock maf housing, the MAF is specifically designed to fit that exact inner diameter. When you put a cheap intake on, the inner diameter COULD be bigger - which is what a lot of intake companies do so they can claim it makes power.

It makes power because it makes your car run lean - on purpose.

[flyguy2618]

o ok i got it, thanks for the explanation i know exactly what your talkin about now.

[chester_ff7]

sup! this thread has alot of interesting opinions... well here goes mine... i was in the market for a 350z and i was shopping around for an Intake... i wanted the Nismo R-Tune CAI it looks sick! and its make by Nismo... i was talking to some guys that have 350Zs and they told me that Nismo was not the way to go! first, its not CARB legal! (so if a cop sticks his nose under your hood and notices the intake... thats a ticket) second, you know how much work it is to put on this intake right? you have to remove the front bumper, and drivers side head light... (thats mission with all the clips), and third, you cant see the filter.. so you wont know when it gets dirty, and when you go cold air the get dirty fast! and everyone knows that a dirty air filter affects HP...

they recommended that i get a Jim Wolf POP Charger! first its easy to install, second, it comes with a heat sheild (so it will block off a lot of that engine heat) and third the JWT Pop Charger is ratited to give you more HP... (JWT 6.5 Vs. Nismo CAI 5.5) oh and last... the nismo CAI will cost you a pretty penny, the pop charger will run you no more the 150!

Now dont get me wrong... I LOVE NISMO! and i wouldnt doubt it if i did get the Nismo CAI (just cause it looks so sick! ) but in the end its up to you!!

[NSRsheets]

From what I've heard from other people with 350Z's the only one that's makes a real difference is the Nismo cai. I've heard that the short rams don't always get that kind of gain, even with the haet sheild, because they still suck in warmer air. Plus the nismo one was designed by Nissan so it should work the best with it.

[flyguy2618]

first, its not CARB legal! (so if a cop sticks his nose under your hood and notices the intake... thats a ticket)

Wait how does that work, so if you have something "illegal" in your car like the intake your talking about and a cop pulls you over for something they also have the right to say pop your hood? I thought unless there was a reason or serious suspission they couldnt say anything or search anything, and even if they ask i thought its in your right to decline and not get penalised for it. Second how many cops actually know what to look for in terms of what is and isnt legal? Im just wondering because it sounds rediculous to me.

[chester_ff7]

From what I've heard from other people with 350Z's the only one that's makes a real difference is the Nismo cai. I've heard that the short rams don't always get that kind of gain, even with the haet sheild, because they still suck in warmer air. Plus the nismo one was designed by Nissan so it should work the best with it.

like i said i would still get the NISMO one!!

[chester_ff7]

Wait how does that work, so if you have something "illegal" in your car like the intake your talking about and a cop pulls you over for something they also have the right to say pop your hood? I thought unless there was a reason or serious suspission they couldnt say anything or search anything, and even if they ask i thought its in your right to decline and not get penalised for it. Second how many cops actually know what to look for in terms of what is and isnt legal? Im just wondering because it sounds rediculous to me.

off my S14s intake...





this is what they look for... and if you tell a cop "NO" on popping your hood... they will know something is up... and cops know, when you add stuff to your car, they just dont say anything...

[flyguy2618]

O didnt know about the stickers but what about things you cant see as well like headers and stuff like that idk this is a question that isnt goin anywhere but i guess the thought of some cop telling me to pop my hood so he could see if it was legal kinda makes me mad in a way but ya i dont know, just thought if you dont pop it or they cant see it for sure then they cant proove it and if they cant do that then they can do nothing about it.

[NSRsheets]

I haven't had a cop yet ask me to pop any of my hoods on one of my cars. Most of the cops I talk to say they really like my cars. I guess I'm just lucky.

[chester_ff7]

yeah i dont like it either, but if a cop ask me to pop my hood.. im going to open it... id rather do that then make the cop think im hiding something, and puuling me out of the car and putting me in the back seat of his cop car... besides... they are only "fix-it" tickets... those are easy to fix!!

[chester_ff7]

I haven't had a cop yet ask me to pop any of my hoods on one of my cars. Most of the cops I talk to say they really like my cars. I guess I'm just lucky.

yeah dude some cops are real cool! most of the time they look for hondas with swapped engines... but now since everyone is going SR, they are starting to look for that... but you have nothing to worry about in a 350!

[flyguy2618]

cool thanks for all the answers man.

[NSRsheets]

I was at the gas station the other day and two of the local cops said they really liked the Z. I think almost all of the local cops know me. Luckily it's not from doing anything illegal.