I used to drive with an AEM SAI system on My 99 SE-L 5-spd for some 4 months. It took all this time for me to realize that my stock setup was indeed faster. Intake was my only mod - it was done correctly but it really did subtract power instead of adding it Call me crazy but when I finally had enough of the power loss, I coverted back to the stock airbox. I swear that with my stock airbox, my Maxima IS FASTER! My car with the intake just wasn't the same. Acceleration was weird, slow and not smooth at all. Now I can really feel the power, when I speed up there's this boost I felt when I bought the car. People say "get a y-pipe blah blah cause of this, that...etc." but I'm afraid to. I'm afraid I will lose power with y-pipe just like I did with the intake. Also, lots on here said that y-pipe takes away low/mid range power and I think I would hate that. I don't know what to do anymore and I'm very confused because I thought aftermarket parts were suppose to add power, yet all I saw was a decrease of it. I know many people are modded here and are prone to think that their mod automatically makes their Max faster, but that's not always the case. In many cases, people are just too afraid to admit that the mod they just spent a lot of $$ on did nothing or barely anything as far as performance - here I'd like to emphasize that I'm referring to small mods because I know that obviously turbo, SC etc. give you the real power. I don't know, don't bash me for saying this, but I'm only saying what I have truly experienced after driving with a SAI for 4 months. Yes, I did reset my ECU after getting the intake etc. etc. - the intake did nothing for my car but made it slower. Maybe the intake is more beneficial during intake/y-pipe combo setup...perhaps, but maybe it is not. I mean, I look at these tests of dynoed Maximas with say a SAI stillen intake or a CAI and see hp gains of up to 10 hp, yet I feel NOTHING of such, but instead a LOSS. I drive a 99 SE-L 5-spd, one of my friends has an 02 Maxima with also just an SAI so far and he too said that it does crap and that he plans to get rid of it. I mentioned nothing to him about my intake doing crap for me and this one time he brought it up himself. He told me that with his stock setup his Max was way faster. My other friend with a 98 SE 5-spd has gone through the same exact thing. ...And don't get me wrong, I'm not a granny driving at 4k rpm max...noooooooo....I know how to rev it up. So, in the end I ask: WHAT DO U THINK? WHAT'S WITH THE MODS? DYNOS DON'T LIE SO WHY THE DECREASE IN POWER?

 

wow longest non broken up post evar! hehe


yeah i replaced my stock instke with a simple cone intake and haven't felt as much difference as i have heard more sound...

Supposedly you lose power down low, but gain more hp up top... atleast that's what i got from reading here...

as for the ypipe... GET IT! that's one mod that i felt immediately!! literally, it's night and day!

 

I think that it's hard to tell an increase of less than 10hp or so.

I think that you really don't know unless you do multiple comparison runs at the track or a dyno.

I think you should not be worried about the y-pipe not yeilding gains.

I think, by reading your post, that you won't be able to feel your y-pipe.

I think everyone who can tell a huge difference between intakes are crazy.

That is what I think.

 

well hmm i think that just made my mind up.. maybe ill just buy a K&N airfilter cuz the guy took it off right before he sold it to me... o hey and when you guys installed your cai did you have to take off the whole black airbox along with the part that goes out the front cuz id like to keep that part seems like id get more air with that

 

Possibly thats just a problem with the AEM? Many other members here have dyno backing to their short ram air popchargers and CAIs.

Don't base all your judgement on one part, a few members here are n/a and in the 13s completely due to power mods. And obviously it was the mods that got them there. If everyone here was "afraid of mods" we'd all be driving 15s cars.

Also, the gains from just the intake when combined with a full free breathing exhaust, does A LOT better than the gains of just an intake alone. Power is limited to the most restricting piece of the pipe.

And it doesn't hurt to research your mods:
http://maxmods.dyndns.org/

 

well i dont plan on putting an exhaust on my max so there goes the y-pipe and intake ill just spend the money on wheels or dvd

 

Yeah, but what about a CAI...are those better? Lots say that they are at lower rpm but suck at higher rpm. Then, there's this hybrid intake, which is supposedly good for both high and low rpm. It sound all like a bunch of BS to me.

 

I think your intake just sucked. And AEM doesn't even list a Maxima intake on their site. Many intakes are both track and dyno proven here, so I'm not sure what was up with yours.

 

What's a SAI???

 

you're dissappointed in aftermarket parts based on just your one aftermarket part,(and an intake for that matter)

 

Sometimes BOSS all mods aren't gonna perform equally at all levels of accleration.
Sometimes you have to research the mods to see what advantages and disadavanges they have. Some might be good at low rpms and some might be good at high rpms, you have to figure out what you want in your car.

 

this post has been edited due to the fact the poster is ignorant !

 

I read your post up until the point where you said you were afraid of getting a Y pipe because you thought you would lose power.

Stock 14.87 @ 92.7mph
Y pipe only 14.46 @ 96.5mph.

Get a y pipe.

 

Blah blah blah...let's all just switch back and forth based on totally unsubstantiated and unreliable "*** dyno" results until we're completely broke. Y-Pipe has been dynoed...repeatable, verifiable results. Intakes vary a lot with temperature and humidity...

 

get a supercharger then and stop complaining about not feeling things on your butt

 

You can. The JWT ECU adds a solid 10fwhp/fwtq and you can feel it. MikeD, Neal, and Requim will agree with me on this one.


Dave

 

You really should have done a before/after dyno to really tell if there were any gains or losses. Your theory is very arguable as it stands.

 

yeah what is a sai? . Before you loose faith in all aftermarket parts, you might want to consider getting more experience with different parts than just an intake, i bet your intake gave you a little more top end power but took away some of your low end, therefore your initial acceleration was much more poor than with ur stock box. Because of that you automatically assume a loss in power across the band, but in reality you may have gained some in the top end even tho you lost some low end. The y-pipe will not affect your low and mid range but it will help smooth out ur power curve, at least it did in my car even tho the car is smooth as is, and you will get a good amout of power from it above 3k rpm.... but if ur so dissappointed in this mod, maybe you should consider staying stock, but my vote is that you go for it! you'll be more than happy with a y-pipe!

 

True, when I installed my old 'popcharger' I didn't feel much.. If anything except my car being slower, but when I hit the highway and saw the car wanting to fly across 90-120mph it was all worth it to see I actually gained.... get A CAI if you want lowend... wtf is a SAI? Stupid Air Intake?

 

I'll give it one more try...I'll get the warpspeed y-pipe and see how it goes from there cause Y-pipe sounds most convincing based on my review of the posts here. Also, I might as well change my stock intake back to the aftermarket one and see if it's better with the y-pipe. Also, generally speaking, what should yield more power.....a CAI with y-pipe or a short air intake (that's what i meant by SAI...lol) with y-pipe?

 

Where do you want your power? Low End? CAI! High End? WAI! Mid Range? HYBRID!

 

since your a 5 speed i'd recommend a hybrid like the one on my car if u were an auto i'd recommend a cai for better throttle response

 

Is hybrid just the middle section pipe thingy that replaces the stock resonator? If so, maybe that was the prob with my car...i had the stock resonator but I see many people having the pipe instead. ANyway, how come a filter alone gives you lag until high RPM yet the hybrid gives lag until mid-range RPM?? Or am I really confused at this point?

 

SAI=Sucky *** Intake

j/k

 

You want that resonator. It serves a very important purpose.


Dave

 

Can you put the resonator with a CAI? hehe

 

the resonator is the piece that the mid pipe replaces right?

 

You got it

 

I picked the Weapon R intake for mid-end gain, and that's what I got. At 3000-5000rpm, I can feel a slight gain over stock--a little more pull. And I love the sound I get with the mid-pipe compared to the resonator! But it's really all personal preference. That's what's so great about the CAI, Hybrid, and Popcharger.

Dan

 

I think people are misunderstanding some things here. A POP intake isn't going to net "highend", a Hybrid "midrange", and the CAI "lowend". Either they help or they don't.

This is what we know, adding any sort of intake will take away lower rpm throttle response. Why? Because the stock intake is pressurized at speed thanks to it's resonators and single intake port above the radiator. This pressurization helps initial throttle response at almost every rpm giving that sensation of "lowend" power because air is consistent and less turbulent. Taking away the pressuization effect of the stock intake takes away the tip-in throttle response, but tends to elevate the power curve at WOT, only. WOT is important here. Part-throttle acceleration is usually a little worse with the POP/hybrids because the air is initially turbulent at tip-in. This can sometimes be felt as bogginess or lagginess. The autos suffer the worst because they have longer gearing and tend to labor in the low rpms longer. The hybrid intake may suffer the worst because it incorporates a midpipe that replaces the stock resonator. The stock resonator acts as an air chamber that equalizes the intake pulses. Remove it and the air is more turbulent and can hurt the overall power curve. There might be a little more peak power gained with a midpipe, but at certain portions of the rpm range, significant power can be lost (as shown in the Frankencar dyno of thier hybrid intake). As most of us know, peak numbers are for bragging, but overall "power under the curve" is what generates the best performance. The midpipe definately increases intake noise by two fold. More noise is often confused with more power because the senses are overwhelmed by the noise during WOT.

The CAI is different from the POP/hybrid in that it uses a longer (~14") intake pipe that places the filter in the fender away from the heat of the engine bay. All CAIs on the market use midpipes also. The CAI's longer intake path seems to reduce the intake turbulance therefore giving back some of the lost stock throttle response and this is why the CAI is commonly associated with restoring "lowend". Some believe the "laminar" air flow is increased therefore throttle respose is increased at all rpms. The problem I see with the CAI is the midpipe. Some have argued (even myself), that the longer intake path restricts upper rpm performance because it's harder for the motor to suck air thru longer piping. After a lot of research, I've noticed higher revving (8000+rpms) motors don't seem to have a problem sucking air thru longer pipes, so why should the lower revving VQ? Anyways, the CAI piping is still shorter than the stock intake snorkel. The problem with the CAI is the midpipe. Replacing the midpipe with the resonator may be the key to sustaining high rpm power because my VQ seems to be very happy revving to 7000rpms.

As far as I know, I'm the only one running a CAI with the resonator. I hope others will try it out too. To me, the VQ feels stronger at all rpms, stonger on the entry rpm at shift, and more consistent even when the motor is baking. This may be the key to having the best performing intake for the 4th gen VQ.


Dave

 

You've proven me wrong. So if I take out the Midpipe, and put the stock resonator back on, will I regain the low-end gain that I lost?

 

Very well put Dave! I agree with you 110%. I wanted to say something similar to what you have for a very long time, but I was afraid that others would bash me.

 

So would making a custom box around the cone filter and running a couple pipes to the front of the car bring back the low end???

 

I doubt it because the air velocity and resonnance is the same. I think the CAI's advantage is the shape and length of the intake pipe.


Dave

 

Dave, You are a god (of intakes). Fortunately, I did enough research before diving into more expense with a midpipe. I am convinced about the resonator and its purpose.

However,I still have a MonsterFlow cone filter left over from my short-lived 5speed ownership (it never saw the car so I have no relative comparison). I can say that on an awful-matic it introduced a good deal of 'tip-in' lag when attached directly to the maf. Looks like I'll try to find a cheap route to installing a CAI pipe and using my filter. Do you know of a budget CAI solution that doesn't include the midpipe? I see that even the BOMZ units have this. Do you have pics of the hole in the fenderwell? I am having troubles visualizing this.....Tinkerers rule!

 

all i know is, if i were a maxima, i'd like a y pipe

 

u sure n0thing is wrong with your Maxima, you mite have a ghost code or something, Time to pop your screw driver out, O, for 99's its a B*tch to get the screw!!!

 

Or the actually pattern that they give with the CAI.

I am buying the rest of my parts tomorrow (tubing) and have a mass air flow adapter coming from www.arospeed.com ($19). I can hardly build one for that price.

And I was planning from the start to keep the resonator. My thinking was along the lines of....

if the resonator is still there, there will be "stagante" air in the intake tract. This would help the initial tip in b/c there is more air there, and this would give the engine time to suck more are from outside. But this is my

 

After reading your post, I would like to ask some questions:-

1) what do you means by "pressurisation of the air" imposed by the stock intake air port. The opening was quite small and the snorkel after that was relatively large in volume. There should be a pressure drop for the air coming in thru the port into the snorkel and then into the air box!!

2) You also mentioned that the intake air was turbulent (with a hybrid) and therefore caused a lost at tip-in throttle response. Well, as long as the volume of air that reaches the engine is the same, turbulent or laminar flow should not be an issue, am I right. I understand your logic that turbulent air tends to spend more time in the intake path and therefore takes longer getting to the engine (i.e. less volume of air reaches the engine in a same given time period) BTW, how can one demonstrate that the air coming through a cone filter and mid pipe is more turbulent as compared to the stock configuration??

Lo-TSe

 

Hello BOSS:

I suppose the AEM kit is using a big cone type K&N filter.
I suspect that you may need to do an MAF cleaning. The oils from the K&N air filter can build up on the Mass Air Flow sensor element and foul up the readings for the ECU.

You should pull out the MAF and spray some isopropyl alcohol (don't use water since it evaporates slower and doesn't really mix with oils -- alcohol is a good cleaner and it evaporates fast). Get in there with a Q-tip and very gently scrub the metal elements. Let the MAF sit for about 5 minutes to evaporate the alcohol and then reinstall the MAF.

A fouled MAF could cause a poor fuel:air mixture and therefore lead to some pre-detonation which will of course be picked up by the knock sensor and cause the ECU to relax the ignition timing -- stops knocking but also reduces power.

Aftermarket intakes do not add that much power. They are primarily for attaining desired acoustic characteristics. Basically, they don't really feel fast but they sure sound fast.

K&Ns are probably a lot better off to be used in big-block V8 muscle car engines with big carburetors. Oil and electronics don't go well together in modern cars.