What's up people.......I am now ready to get an air intake for my new max. But before I commit myself I'd like to hear the opinions of fellow 5th gen max owners who have one of the following intake systems in their car:
1) Stillen Hi-Flow Intake
2) JWT Pop Charger
3) The "OSCAI"

What type of sounds do you hear at low rpm's/ normal driving speed (around speed limit)/ and high rpm's?

How much performance enhancement do you actually feel?

How much did it cost you?

JWT and Stillen high flow are basically the same.. although stillen <i>may</i> get CARB approval. They are both louder than the "OSCAI".

OSCAI is a mod to the stock airbox. Check my sig. It supposedly yields a .2sec faster 1/4 mile over a popcharger or stillen intake.

Place Racing CAI may give the best performance but you have to cut a hole in your fender.

I say give the OSCAI a try first. It's cheap, easy to hook up, and can be changed back to stock in a flash. You can hook it up and see if you like it. I am pretty sure it will do better than other under-hood intakes like the pop-charger. Plus, it's probably isn't that loud.

hmmm
 

to be honest........I'm not a very "handy" guy.
And it scares me to even think about putting my hands into my car and cutting things and pulling things and sticking things in. My friends nicknamed me TAZ cuz I have a tendency to break things upon contact. With this in mind the OSCAI is something I'm hoping not to do. I am definitely looking for a nice deep growling coming from within the hood so if the OSCAI is quiet then it's definitely not for me.......thank god. I know the Placeracing CAI is supposed to be the best performance wise but I'm a bit worried about water getting into it.
New York weather can be pretty unpredictable.

I saw somewhere (Avalon Racing? Its on one of the sites previously listed in the three page listing of Max mods posted last week) that there is a cover that you can get to put over your CAI to keep out water... I forget how much it costs (it wasn't overly cheap) and I do not know how well it works or how much of the performance gain it takes away.

Well.. they make these valve things for CAIs now that will prevent the whole water thing. But a PRCAI ain't for a novice. It's more involved that the OSCAI.

Go with the OSCAI because it has potential. You can route it to different places depending on what the situation is.

Kev will try and get you to "supercharge" it with a hair dryer.... don't listen to him!

Stillen Hi Flow
 

I don't care about 1/4 times. I like the feel more than what the paper says. I can't handle a wrench either. I picked the Stillen for $179 and had a friend install it for me. It was simple. I think the CAI costs twice the price of the Stillen. After installation my car felt a lot faster probably because of the new nice deep growl. I love it.
The stillen guy told me that the CAI needs cutting and with the CAI it will have more power on the top end, but lower power with regular driving. He said with the Stillen Intake you will gain power and not lose on the regular driving. I think if you are a regular guy like me, go for the SI. If you live on the track and race often, do the CAI.
I figure that the CAI power isn't that much greater (if not the same) than the SI. So paying $300 plus installation fees seem excessive to me for a few (maybe no) more HP.
Plus with the CAI, you have to get that thing that protects the intake from sucking in water.

With my popcharger I felt like I lost low end torque... a stillen intake is basically the same thing. Stillen will tell you anything to sell a part. If you're really undecided, get a K&N panel. That definately won't hurt.

Hey now... no taking chat conversations into forums. ;) j/k

I did like the idea of the "cool shot" being considered "boost". Good for 10 hp ya think?

:laugh: Hehehehe... sshhhhhh! It's our little secret. :D

I definitely lost low end with the underhood style of intake (aka SI). My best 1/8th mile time went from a 9.25 to a 9.6! ACK! I put the CAI back on and POOF...ran 9.2-9.3 1/8th's and 14.3-14.5 1/4's. Without the CAI, I couldnt even come close to these times. Yet, on a dyno, they tested out the same ;)

I also like the OSCAI. I would have gone for the OSCAI in a heartbeat had I not already purchased a SI.

I haven't really noticed that much of a performance difference with the SI. The intake definitely sounds more aggressive than stock and throttle response seems to be marginally improved. However, I did experience a detonation problem after I installed the SI that may or may not be the SI's fault.

I just switched to Chevron Supreme gasoline from Unocal 76 and ran a couple of tankfuls of Techron Concentrate I haven't experienced any more detonation since I ran the Techron, but I'm on straight gasoline now and I'm waiting to see if the detonation returns. If it does, I'll remove the SI, reinstall my stock airbox, and try the OSCAI mod.

detonate?
 

what does that mean? Can somebody clarify that for me?

knocking and pinging I think

Yes, detonation is when the combustion occurs prematurely in the cylinder. This causes pinging or knocking in the engine.