Just got it in the mail today, and **tried** to install it. No instructions were included in the package. The only instructions were the ones that were on the webpage...which didnt really describe the process well (like which rubber sections went where). Basically, to make a long story short, I think he sent the wrong intake overall. The three hoses that fit into the resonator box do not even reach the mid pipe. only two of the hoses fit, one of them is seriously kinked on its way there, and the third large hose doesnt even reach. On top of that, after I finally figured out the orientation of all the pieces (had to figure it out myself since the pictures on the webpage were of the 2002, which was totally diff), i had everything up to the MAF onto the car. When i went to fit on the filter, it didnt even fit into the space that was left. Either this intake is extremely poorly designed, or he just sent the wrong one. I told him a bunch of times which gen I had...the box label read "4G silver intake" too. whats going on? I cant even leave my house now since i cant drive the car (cant even put the old stuff back on). nobody picks up at any of the phone numbers i called, and no response from aol instant messenger. i'm quite upset right now...

 

if u have a digital cam take a pic of what u did. i might be able to help u out with some pictures of what u got.

 

that sucks

isn't your midpipe bent? I have the non-bent one and i didn't have THAT much trouble fitting it. Without pics i can't really help u much... did u try using the stock hoses to see if those fit? I remember i left one stock hose on there. Also, I used the accordian rubber peice in order to fit it properly.. but then again that was because i didn't get the bent midpipe.

 

That doesn't sound unusual. When I had my old Civic, the intake I got I had to cut down and fabricate hoses for it. What a pain in the rump !!! That really makes me not want to buy one of the Frankencar intakes.

 

ummm... well since the frankencar intake is SPECIFICALLY developed for a 4th gen, it is highly unusual. I have the non-bent frankencar midpipe (the newer ones are better) and i had no real problems with it. I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

Yeah, I had a problem with my Frankencar the first one, so I used the accordian rubber piece to hold it in. Then I found out how to hold it in without it, and fixed it. No problems at all form me and im very satisfyed. Although I DO wanna buy the new Polished Bent one, that one looks really good! Good People at frankencar, very happy customer!

nick

 

the frakencar is very easy to install when you understand the concept of its design. one black rubber connector joins the throttle body to the mid-pipe, another black rubber connector joins the mid-pipe to the MAF, the MAF is connected to the filter with yet another black rubber connector. every connector is held tightly to the pipe with a pipe-clamp on every end of the black connectors. It's easier to understand what I'm talking about if you look at the picture below.

if the pipe seems to be out of alignment (too long, connectors in the wrong places) you might try pushing the pipes further into the rubber connectors.

if that still doesn't fix it try xHypex's suggestion or keep trying to get a hold of steve at frankencar.

 

I have a Place Racing midpipe, and the hoses definitely weren't long enough to reach it. The front hose was too short, and the rear was kinked as mentioned. Those with PR CAIs, and other intakes I imagine have the same problem. It's easily fixed by buying new hose at Autozone, but if you don't know that prior to installation and you don't have a second car to make a trip with you're SOL.
-hype

 

I finally got a hold of the frankencar folks, and found out that they forgot to send me the hose that would replace the one that is too short. He told me exactly which one to get, how long and how thick.

also, with the fitment issue, he siad that they used to actually use shorter K&N filters with a rubber top. Then, for some reason (which I forgot), they decided to switch to a taller, skinnier model with a chrome top. I ended up purshing everything really far into each other. The filter still wouldnt fit, and under the lip of the side of the car in the engine bay, there were a few wire harnesses that were leaving from a fuse box (the fuse box which has the headlamp fuses in it...the one directly to the right of the battery). These wire harnesses were exiting the fuse box towards the rear of the car, along the inside edge of the engine bay. THESE were the ones that were blocking things, so I decided to destroy their support plastic tabs, and snip their wire ties all the way around and re-position downward where the stock airbox used to be. This allowed more space for the top part of the filter to fit in...I managed to shove it in there (hope I didnt scratch any body paint). So overall, a 20-30 min. job ended up taking over 5 hours...I will dread the day I need to take the filter out for cleaning! by the way, I would really take pictures but the camera battery is dead...I will try and do so tomorrow morning!

 

i installed a frankencar intake on a friends car, it was very simple and that was the first time i ever installed one. the hardest part was separating the maf

 

I think compared to the PR CAI's midpipe - the frankencar is a P.O.S. I bent the cheap thing with the clamps! The 3 hoses they supposedly supply I never got, one rubber connector is silicon(apparently the throttle body piece) and another is fire hose (apparently the MAF piece). They let you figure it out for yourself. There's no place to put the ambient air temp sensor. They give no MAF adapter so a filter can be attached, but I think its a separate purchase from the midpipe anyways.
And yes its a tight fit, the wires to the fuse box need to be smooshed if not relocated - no big deal.

When installing the PR CAI and using only the midpipe setup, all 3 stock hoses reach, it has an MAF adapter if you remove the lower pipe, and the connector hoses are all interchangeable. There is a predrilled hole for the temp sensor. Now they aren't perfect either if you go into the lower piping with all the hole cutting issues, but the midpipe design is excellent.

Price Wise - who cares.....we waste so much money....

 

Glad to see that you got everything taken care of... I installed my intake two days ago... I didnt have that much of a problem, my only thing was d@mn give a guy some picture diagrams or something...

 

Had similar problems when I installed mine...here's what I learned (some of this you already did)

- The cone they use now is BIG and hard to fit. You have to re-route those wires that run along the side of the car underneath to get it to fit. You also have to push all the joints together pretty much all the way to get it to fit.

- The directions on the web sound like you are supposed to use the silicone reducer piece to connect the MAF to the mid-pipe. This is totally impossible. The reducer conencts the throttle body to the mid pipe. I know for a fact that this is correct because I looked at the stock accordian-guy and it is a reducer too...with the larger end fitting on to the resonator. So since the throttle body is smaller than the rest of the intake, this is the ONLY place the reducer can go. Very confusing.

- Once you know how to get it in and out it's not that bad to take it out. I took mine out the week after I installed because I was buggin about the whistle and the reducer possibly being in the wrong place. It's a ***** to get out but if you've pushed all the fittings together completely it will come.

- What you said...the hose they include is for the rear one that doesn't quite reach. All the other hoses should just make it.

Overall once you get it in there it's nice. I do think that using a smaller K&N would be more reasonable though becuase taking it out is really a pain in the a$$. They really should write up some better instructions with pictures and stuff. Mayeb next time I take mine out I will do it.

 

What were the sizes for all the hoses?

 

I have been seriously thinking of getting this intake and I was wondering how long it takes from order to shipment if I were to get the basic with K&N and midpipe.

 

Um, when you order the mid-pipe, you should get everything associated with the midpipe. The air temp sensor and the filter-to-MAF adapter have nothing to do with the midpipe.

If you wanted the whole intake minus the filter, that's different.

 

it was 3/4" heater hose, 1 foot long. in my car, i found 1 ft. to be longer than needed. i would say around 9-10" is good, so that you prevent having to fold the pipe in and prevent kinks.

 

You should have just bought a used PR intake..its better then the frankencar.And you can go from cold air intake to hybird..two for one deal..And if you buy a used one its about the same price as a frankencar

 

whats done is done...this being the first intake i've purchased for the car, i'm quite happy with the noise, etc. right now. i may consider what you said in the future if something goes wrong with the frankencar...

 

*bump*

 

I say screw spending $100s on upper intakes and make it yourself such as i did