I'm taking off the intake...
 

I've been thinking about putting my stock intake back in for some time and I think that I will do it today. I'm taking it off for the following reasons:

1. No gains in speed
2. Loss in low end torque
3. Decreasing gas mileage (I can't take it anymore at $2.05/gallon)
4. That damn SES light won't go off
5. The growl is starting to get on my nerves

Now these may not necessarily be true and related to the intake, but I didn't have these problems before I put the intake in. So it's coming off. I just hope I can remember where everything goes. In addition if anyone wants a Frankencar intake, let me know. I'll be putting it up for sale in the 5th gen classifieds later.

SES light is weird...idk why its on....but if you get the code pulled then youll know why

i like the growl at WOT....at low RPMS i hear nothing

and i didnt feel any loss in th elow end torque deparment

but less us now how you feel when you take it off
-J

Those are the same reasons why I removed my midpipe. The low end growl was getting annoying. I left the Apex'I filter on and the car still makes a lot of noise when you get on it.

I think this is why I'm holding out until I have the spare funds to buy a PR CAI. If I'm going to do an intake, I might as well get something more out of it besides growl, reduced low-end and a bunch of $$ wasted. And that would be the real benefit of having cold air all the time--especially during the hot summer months...

i never understood the apeal of an aftermarket HAI. there are cheaper, better cosmetic mods. i guess the sound is cool enough. this mod reminds me of putting playing cards in the spokes of your bicycle.

and CAI is for apperance and so you can say you have it. it doesnt do that much more then a WAI or GAB stock.
CAI = growl, apperance, bragging right,1-2 hp, and more money
WAI/GAB = growl, 1/2 hp, and cheap

I feel the same as whitemaxi here......I have no clue why your noise annoys you I never hear it while cruising or slightly accelerating.
Mine has great GROWL at 5 to redline though. I love it...... :bowdown:

That might be the case with the Injen. The Frankencar intake makes the engine sound as if its strugginling at low RPMS. When you reach crusing speeds, the engine is quiet. Get on the pedal to go around someone, even at low RPMs, it sounds BAD. It's nice and quiet now without the midpipe.

Exactly. It's quiet while idling and okay when maintained at cruising speed but any exceleration and I can almost see my gas gauge decreasing, especially when going uphill. And after working all day it would just annoy the crap out of me when I wasn't even driving aggressively. But then when I did want to beat an Accord at the light, I couldn't even do it because the low end torque was MIA. I just took it off and put the oem airbox back in and now i'm on my way to autozone to get that Blue Magic plastic cleaner. So I'll let you know what I think when I get back. But everything you guys said about it being nothing more than a card in your spokes is correct. I guess if I got the whole exhaust setup it may be a different story but I don't so, oh well.

Actually, I noticed an improvement in gas mileage on mine (about 1 - 1 1/2 mpg). Having more air would make engine more efficient, I would think. The noise is only there on hard acceleration except for a wooshing sound at very low rpm's. Overall a good mod for me. Sorry it didn't work for you.

:gotme: I'm happy with my PR CAI, It's not loud, and i can defiantly see that needle climb faster.

I disagree.

Reasons *I* went back to stock and bought a CAI:
1)Noise is less
2)Colder air is EASIER on engine
3)Stop/go with heat soaked engine bay and WAI is a dog, CAI doesn't have that issue(I've heard)

AE SEoulchild...I'm just curious...you have the intake listed as a CAI in your sig...what makes it a CAI? To my knowledge Frankencar is purely a WAI.

Yeah, that's a mistake. It's not a CAI.

I just went around the block to Autozone, Target, and The Home Depot. And I must say that I'm happier with the intake off. The excelerations are easier and more responsive. Of course it's much quieter and as for gas mileage...we'll see with the next few fill-ups. Who knows maybe it's a figment of immagination, but I'll still have an intake for sale.

By the way, the intake has been sold. That was damn quick.

lol, that was quick, what a whole 4 hours!??!

With my WAI (FrankenCar) gets me 25.3 mpg. What does everyone else get?

I have a pr cai and I must say it's awesome. It whistles and chimes, and it makes those riceboys think that I have a turbo..Hahaha I like it mostly because it whistles instead of growls..Anyway if you hate the growl why did you put it on in the first place?

I took my HAI out a few months ago, just to have something to do.

Here's some things I notice after returning to stock:

1. welcome back low end!
2. downshifts during spirited driving are a little slower (slower response).
3. gas mileage has DECREASED.
4. higer RPM idles.

I'm contemplating on putting the HAI back on due to the lower gas mileage.

The main things I noticed with having a HAI:
1. noise
2. increased throttle response
3. lower idle

Strange that some are getting better gas mileage with stock set-up. Mine is the opposite?

It's not that I hated the growl. the sound is nice and deep. But even when I wasn't pressing the gas hard, it sounded like the engine was working hard. I didn't mind it when I was on the highway zipping through traffic. But in stop and go traffic is when it was annoying to me. And I bought it for more than the sound, or so I thought. After having it for about six months, during warm and cold weather, I just didn't see the benefit, other than the looks...oh yeah and the sound. As far as the gas mileage goes, it appears that people are having mixed reviews, but I know that since I put the intake on, I have not been getting the 300+ miles per fill-up like I was before. I've been averaging 260-280 lately with no changes in driving conditions.

i would change something if i was getting that average on a tank too. i get around 320-360 with all city driving and i run it to redline a couple of times a day. ive got a berk but there should not be much difference in mileage between the two unless your filter was completely clogged/dirty.

It get 415 miles on a tank of gas. I accelerate pretty hard, but not to redline. I think something is wrong if you're not getting atleast 300.

Okay well I just noticed you guys have 01 maximas. The 02 tank is 18.5 gallons so it may give me more miles per tank.

I almost called you a liar outloud when I read 415 miles per gallon. I didn't know the 2k2/3's had 18.5 gallon tanks. I'm not sure exactly what ours are, I'm guessing around 15. If I continue to have sub 300 miles per fill-up numbers, I'm gonna have to take her in to get checked out.

Aren't the 00/01's gas tank 18 gallons?

My mileage stayed the same when I put the Berk on - however I rev it up a lot more than I used to on the highway, etc. to hear the growl - before I barely ever took it over 3k RPM. So I guess I'd gain mileage if my driving habits had remained the same. I get 290-ish before the gas light comes on (about a 15 gallon fill-up if I take it right to the gas station after the light comes on), and have since I bought the car a year ago. This is 50/50 city/highway.

Funny thing i ran into this post. I just removed my Frankencar this morning and returned it back to stock. Only thing i did different was leave out the resonator and modified the mid pipe to fit.

Let me get something straight...If I have an intake as my only mod it's basically useless except for the sound? But if I have an intake with a y pipe the intake does a good job of getting more power out of the y pipe?

I know my car has 18.5 gallons from the Edmunds.com Specs and I average 350 miles/fill up.

On each gas stop I fill up around 16 gallons. This is about 70% highway and 30% city driving. It comes out to about 21-22 mpg.

If you're getting 415 miles per tank that's damn good. I'd have to drive all highway miles to get 400+ miles per tank.

I average 23.XXmpg city AND hwy, however my hwy is at 90-100+mph driving like I stole it so that's why.

Wish I had a 6spd on the hwy though.:slant:

How does your car fells like after you clean the intake manifold.
BTW, do you need to change the robber seal?

My sentiments exactly about my Stillen pop charger. It robbed me of my low end and didn't give me that much on the top to offset the low end loss. I took mine off and made a really cool CAI.

I removed the white resonator box below the black part of the intake before the filter. This left a three inch hole! I then took a piece of three inch heater tubing (Home Depot), a coupler w/2 hose clamps attached to it (HD) and ran it down to the bottom of the car. I drilled out a three inch hole in the splash shield, attached a three inch plastic drain cover to the shield and shoved the hose onto to the backside. A couple of hose clamps later and it kicks *** for what it is. By the way, I cut out all the bars in the drain cover to make it an open three inch hole.

As far as gas mileage, if you run different size tires it can make your mileage read different. Last, but not least, 2k Maxes also have an 18.5 gallon tank.

how are you all figuring your mileage...is the gauge cluster accurate enough to go by?

i've had the gab for a couple weeks now and haven't noticed much of a difference.

Clean your injectors and intake every 15k.

Why didn't nissan just make a "current MPG" guage like the BMW or my friend's impala? This is horse Shiat. Fuking Nissan Fuks us over more and more......:mad:

Each time I fill up with a tank of gas, I reset the trip meter - when I fill up again, I note the total gallons, and do some division....bout as accurate as it gets :)

My 03 Max does, you just need the trip odometer option...

http://www.hedrington.com/maxima/tripodometer.jpg

Runnin about 26.6 mpg right now! It also tells distance to empty, outside temperature, average speed, and amount time you have been driving.

-Ben

on the intake issue, I think I will remove mine as well, but I will wait unti lafter summer to see how my mileage is. I didn't see much of a performance improvement, more for aesthetic and sound. I don't know about mileage since I also installed some 18's with rubber and those were two inches larger than my stock rim and tire setup.

which brings me to my next question, for the guys that have seen improvements or losses in mileage, did you take into account of the tire size difference or just go by what you fill up with and your trip odometer?
(this affects me since I had installed my rim/tire combo around the same time as the intake, so my numbers may be a little low due to the overall larger tire size.)

Thats just great, my Berk arrived yesterday. Don't want to install it if it doesn't do anything except make more sound and give me a headache!
:rolleyes:

The mileage computer only shows "average" consumption since the last reset. Some cars actually show a real time consumption. BTW, the computer mpg reading is not very accurate (optimistic), but consistant. It can be used for comparison, but not for accuracy.

the berk intake is a quality product. i have not noticed any low end loss. during warm temps, 70 and up, there can be a hesitation because its pulling air from inside the engine instead of the scoop that the stock airbox does. i get better gas mileage with my intake than without. i have never had any ses lights associated with the intake and i love the growl. its all up to personal opinion and experience.