Stillen Intake + 3.5 6MT = :(

[leifab]

So my Stillen intake arrived last night and I was super stoked. This morning I assembled it and went to install it in the car....and I ran into a snag. On the 6MT's (i'm assuming the same thing applies for the 2.5'ers as well) there is no place to mount the holding bracket to as you can see from the pics below. I did come up with a creative solution, although it's not the best. I must admit, i was a little disheartened because this comment turned out to be false:

So do we have any confirmation on whether this will fit the 3.5 6mt or no?

Yup...3.5 6mt...coupe or sedan...

Kyle, I want you to know I am in no way blaming you for anything. Nor am I angry/upset at Stillen in anyway shape or form. The product is amazing...and the sound it makes (especially above 3500rpm) is awesome. Kyle, maybe you can take my pictures to the R&D guys so they can fab up a bracket that would work for future 6MT buyers. Oh...and another suggestion...put sum blank screw studs in the screw holes for the MAF before you powder coat. Getting the screws in was a PITA due to the powder coating inside the holes. I had to use a ratchet and it almost felt like i was cross threading the screws. And now without further ado, the pics.

As you can see, no place to mount the bracket.

Closer shot

How it looks without the bracket sitting down on the transmission

My creative solution!!!

How it sits with my solution. As you can see, its clearly not laying on anything

The whole package.

Questions, Comments, and Criticisms are all greatly appreciated.

~Leif

[mcheddadi]

I hate it when this happens...

the dampers had an install "problem" too.

and the Stillen bumpers sags sometimes.

either we are not installing those right (which means, WRITE BETTER TUTORIAL STILLEN R&D GUYS!) or they didn't test it on the 3.5SE 6MT and made false claims.

well, I'll wait for their response first for this

[niztec]

damn that sucks...i was just gonna buy that...

[theoctopussi]

i had the same problem, sucks ***.. I was gonna bore out the hole of the bracket and use one of the bolts that holds the battery down, but ur idea seems easier. I was really happy with the product until that happened. it didn't make me wanna continue buying stillen products, and I probably won't anymore.

[niztec]

i had the same problem, sucks ***.. I was gonna bore out the hole of the bracket and use one of the bolts that holds the battery down, but ur idea seems easier. I was really happy with the product until that happened. it didn't make me wanna continue buying stillen products, and I probably won't anymore.

do you have pics of yours??

[theoctopussi]

yeah, I'll add them to my post about the intake...

[theoctopussi]

WHAT did you use to bend the bracket?? thanks!

[leifab]

2 pair of pliers and some good old fashioned elbow grease. Took a few test fits to get it right. If you do this trick, mount the bracket to the intake first...it makes it ALOT easier.

[theoctopussi]

unfortunately my 2.5 is a little different and the screw you used doesn't exist in my engine LOL but there's one closer to the strut that I'mma use... this sux a$$ man lol

[dldjros69]

I hope the K&N fits up better than the intakes so far.

[kyle@stillen]

Wow I dropped the ball on this one...Sorry for the delayed response guys...

In regards to the intake that was 100% my fault. I thought that the R&D guys had signed off on that car but after going back through my emails they clearly stated that it had not yet been test fit to a 6MT...I'm sorry for that.

When it comes to the hood struts, there is nothing wrong with the installation instructions or mounting position. When developing these parts our R&D team spoke with the engineers who make the shocks and they said that it would be no problem to mount them upside down. They only recommend mounting them shaft side down so the seals stayed oil...But, when the hood is shut it is pretty much irrelevant since they sit nearly flat anyways. So unless you drive around with your hood open, the way our engineers recommend to install the struts is perfectly fine.

[pcpower]

Seems to be a common error among aftermarket parts developers (not ensuring the instruction guides are 100% on-target).

When I had an Injen intake put into my coupe by the instruction guide, the heat shield was resting on other parts, not cool. Had to really mess with the thing for a while at different angles before I could get it to leave some clearance between it and the other parts.