CAI is better

 

hey guys, I just recently made my own custom intake (pictures to come soon)

basically it looks like the CAI up untill the MAF sensor, but after the MAF I have a 90 degree bend toward the front of the car and I have a cone filter sitting there

for that I moved the battery toward the engine, so now the battery's acting like a heat shield

AND MOST IMPORTANLY, IT ACTS LIKE FORCED INTAKE WHEN YOU ACTUALLY START MOVING

that's very important, because CAI just sits there and gets the same amount of air no matter what speeds you go to (I know, you can remove the foglight, but that's ugly),

I think my setup is much better than CAI, and I personally never thought I would say this but I chirp is 2nd gear now, and my has has never ever did that (well, it did in the snow)

I might be selling it, but I don't know yet

Konstantin

 

It sounds like a nice design, but a 90 degree bend at the MAF? Wouldn't that hinder air flow? What kind of piping are you using?

And you say that it forces air in? The location that your talking about is right behind the headlight, so I'm not sure how strong the air flow is behind the light?

 

Would you run the dyno with the hood closed? Having the hood open would eliminate the Pop chargers weakness. I hope you will also dyno the stock intake for comparison. Sounds like a lot of $$$ in dyno time inless you have conections. I hope you do it though, I am thinking about adding an intake in the spring. I am leaning towards the CAI, but dyno results could change my mind.

 

no, you would be surprised, I first used a 45 degree bent,but that required the removel of the fusebox which I didn't want to have removal, so I used a 90 degrees bend so I can keep the fusebox in the same place, it didn't change anything, the 3" diameter is big enough that even 90 degree bend is still fine

and yes, even though it's right behind the headlight, there is still tones of air coming in through, I mean, that's where the original intake was, so it's perfect at high speeds

clee, the problem to dyno something that I have is that I have a increased air (ram air) at high speeds, how can you do dyno that, unless they have a fan of some sort to compensate for the air coming into the intake

 

Vinipux: Yo_Its_ok made a similiar intake. Does yours look anything like this:


As for the dyno, I'm still trying to work that out. Like I said, it's an idea and as of right now, I don't necessarily have the right connections for such an expensive task. However, I have a couple of months which gives me plenty of time to rack up my phone bill.

As for how I'm going to dyno it. The problem with this study: http://vbxmaxima.8m.com/caivssi.html is that they make no mention of a fan and besides, it's on two different cars.

So... this is going to be my way of doing it (I think it's simple enough ... but then again, what do I know, I've never had a reason to dyno my car before) and please feel free to give me any suggestions as to what else I can possibly do.

One car:
popcharger - hood closed, big @ss fan in front
CAI - hood closed, big @ss fan in front



Any suggestions?

 

You're talking about theblue, right??

Let's go to the fine print and include that theblue took out his seats as well as all the other stuff to achieve that time. Most Maxima guys aren't going that far to get their best time at the track.

DW

 

clee, this is exactly what I have, it doesn't look as nice and my battery is turned so the filter fits better, I talked to Hogan about this, my original idea was to do this but to put the filter where the battery is in the picture, but I moved the battery and it worked great

unfortunatly no inline filter, otherwise it would've been even better

vinipux

 

Yeah, you're right, but then we get into that whole grey area about "run what you brung" and "Is it really fair if you start taking out stuff?" and "You should leave everything in your car and not take anything out."



If we start analyzing every little thing we're never going to get a straight answer. (And I'm doubting that we will even after my dynos.) I mean, sure, some will strip their car entirely and then run in the 14's stock but then people will complain that it's not really indicative of what a Maxima can do because you took everything out. And then if you run with everything in, people will say, well, take out stuff so you can run faster!

Can't please everyone. But as of late, I see no one sticking up for the popcharger. Everyone seems to be flocking towards the CAI. Maybe I'm just being stubborn, but hey, if I'm going to spend $200 for an intake, it better be worth $100 more than my popcharger and right now, just because you or someone else tells me "I'll feel it." just isn't cutting it for me.

 

My bolding, it still leaves the problem of two separate cars.

Moved Edit to new post below.

 

Well, to me, if you deflate your front tires and inflate your rears, then that's still stock. If you take out you spare tire and jack etc, that's still stock. Run on almost empty, that's still stock. If you run on 15s, it's still kinda stock cause the 95-96 Max SEs had 15s. It's still a 100% fully operational Maxima despite all those changes. I can drive that car home and take 4 friends, too.

DW

 

I take my comment back about the fans ... but agreed with the two cars.

 

If we start analyzing every little thing we're never going to get a straight answer. (And I'm doubting that we will even after my dynos.) I mean, sure, some will strip their car entirely and then run in the 14's stock but then people will complain that it's not really indicative of what a Maxima can do because you took everything out. And then if you run with everything in, people will say, well, take out stuff so you can run faster!

Can't please everyone. But as of late, I see no one sticking up for the popcharger. Everyone seems to be flocking towards the CAI. Maybe I'm just being stubborn, but hey, if I'm going to spend $200 for an intake, it better be worth $100 more than my popcharger and right now, just because you or someone else tells me "I'll feel it." just isn't cutting it for me.



[/B][/QUOTE]

EXACTLY what I was trying to say!!!!

I don't want to spend the money if I'm not going to get any SOLID tangable evidence that the CAI actually works $100 better.

 

It wasn't meant to be a jab clee, it is stated pretty indirectly.

It also does not mention what other mods the cars have at the time of the test or a stock intake dyno for a baseline. Why does the bottom of the chart say 'speed' shouldn't it be 'RPM'?

 

Here some real world reasons why the CAI is better;

1. When you do not go WOT, you don't hear the CAI at all, and you still have gobs of torque so you can cruise and not feel that you're missing torque. The POP, as I've heard, is somewhat lacking in torque, and the sound is not always pleasant.

2. The CAI gives more punch than a POP in the mid-band rpms, a point where you will always take more advantage of even when you're not goin WOT.

3. The POP only really shows it worth at WOT and that's it. The CAI has all round benefits.

DW

EXACTLY what I was trying to say!!!!

I don't want to spend the money if I'm not going to get any SOLID tangable evidence that the CAI actually works $100 better. [/B][/QUOTE]

 

I know.

And the second point is another good reason to do another back to back dyno.

 

Wont that make it really loud though?

SuDZ

 

What makes things loud is the muffler. The CAI is already somewhat loud, but the addition of a B-pipe isn't going to change the sound of the car (maybe a very little, but nothing noticable)

 

If anyone really wants to do back to back dyno tests I would be willing to help. I am probably going to get CAI in the spring, if somebody has access to a dyno or is willing to split reasonable dyno costs, I can do before and after dyno runs. If someone wants to donate a pop charger I would be willing to put that on and dyno it also.

But I am on a pretty tight budget, I can not afford to buy a Pop charger just to dyno it or spend a lot of money on dyno runs. Also, I am not a mechanic, I think I can install the CAI myself but it will probably take a while. I am still not 100% sure on the CAI, if somebody did this before I got one it would be even better.

I am in central Mass btw.

 

Even if someone did back to back dyno runs what kind of difference would warrent the extra cost?
What if there was only a 1hp difference?

Also, dyno runs aren't everything. Especially since lots argue that once you get up to 25+Mph, the air flow in the engine bay will make the CAI and pop equal - How does a dyno simulate this?

There has been lots of debate on this, and I'm guessing there is a difference, but there are so many real world factors that can't be seen on a dyno.

I guess it just comes to preference. I have the CAI and I love it, I love how is sounds, I love how it looks in the engine bay, and I love how it performs. But many have the same feelings about the Pop charger.

Don't forget there are also the arguements between the standard CAI without a velocity stack and the pop which has a velocity stack. Guess I'm one of the few lucky enough to have the CAI with the velocity stack

 

Yea but my resoning is that if tons of guys say that the CAI is better than the pop, and even people that had the pop and changed to CAI and said its alot better, and the sure macanics of the CAI in comparison to the pop is better...I'm rambaling but the end result is that there is enough solid evidence, from other guys that own the same exact car as you, that the CAI is worth the extra 100$ in comparison to the pop
peace

 

Some people just want solid proof like dynos before they spend an extra 100. It is not easy to swallow that loss for nothing for some people.

SuDZ

 

Craig-

Did you get the CAI installed? How'd it go?

 

Sup Ian.

I got the Cattman CAI, which is the same thing as the PR CAI. Me and a friend installed it ourselves. You will NEED:

-3.25 hole saw, no size greater or less.
-Drill
-Pliers
-Strength
-Yadi Yadi Yadi


Anyways, the hole we drilled was kinda crappy. So we used this peice that came off the stock throttle body thingy (It is a rubber circular thing) and it fit perfectly and snugly into the hole. We then stuck the CAI tube into it and it fits PERFECTLY. We lucked out.

To this Day it has gone perfect, and the CAI by FAR beats a lousy pop. It is SO worth it, ask any automatic owner who has done the switch. It is a REAL intake.

Now the only problem I have had. Yesterday I painted some of those connector flow hoses, and when we put I put it back on, I didn't put it on far enough. So today at school my revvs were jumpy and my car died. I managed to slip it back on and make it home from the interstate. This was not a defect from the install but my personal screw up.

Some Advice: Make SURE all the hoses are properly secured and clamped. It is vital.

Good luck, and if you need anything else just gimme a holla.

 

Correction... it's a real low-end intake.

A popcharger is a real mid to high-end intake.

 

Y-Pipe+Catback will take care of me on the high-end. We don't need no more stinkin' high end from a pop.

CAI all the way baby.

In due time, young clee, you will see the light.. In due time....

 

still waiting for my PR CAI

 

You know, this debate is going to go on and on. Suffice to say, both are better than stock.

Personally, I feel that the difference between the 2 is more because of the 4th gen, not the intakes themselves. What I mean is that the 4th gen's weakness is that it doen's have a variable intake manifold, so its top end is kinda weak. The POP, with its short pipe length, helps the 4th gen, but the CAI, with its long pipe length, hurts the 4th gen, in top end. These mods make the 4th gen's weakness much more apparent.

Is this debate happening in the 5th gen forum?? I don't think so, I haven't seen it.

There's another thread about a variable intake manifold for the 4th gen. Combined with a CAI, I think that top end weakness will disappear!


Food for thought

DW