Just curious to know how many people have experienced Intake System Failures, mainly with the MAF sensors? I'm seriously considering the Berk system, but I've seen previous Maxima owners that switched Intake Systems have MAF sensor failures that have left them stranded on major highways. As fun as that may sound, not really the route I'm looking to go.

 

I just bought my Berk and it's sweet!!!! I put over 1000 miles on the new intake this past weekend with no problems. Someone mentioned in another thread that MAF's go bad regardless of the intake. I agree with this statement.

To help avoid problems I would stick with a dry filter such as the APEXi to avoid any problems with the MAF. I think this is what Berk suggests to do as well. I know the filter is more expensive, but IMHO it's piece of mind knowing that the oil off a K&N, or similar, filter won't be messing with the MAF.

I hope this helps you out. I trust Berk's products, if you have any questions feel free to email Bryan- bryan@berktechnology.com. He gets back to you promptly and answers all questions. He's awesome!!!

 

What real-world benefits have you experienced with these intakes? And how likely is it to get water-logged? I've seen a few people caution about that, and I was wondering if it's something I'd need to worry about.

Thanks,
-Nate

 

If you get a CAI you will risk sucking in water. If you simply replace your OEM in take w a Berk, or similar, I would not worry about it getting wet. This is my third car I have modded with an intake and I never have had a problem with the filter getting wet. You would have to be pressure washing your car with the hood unlatched, but not open, to even risk it getting wet. There are some other posts where users with the Berk intake drove in a down pour for over an hour with out the filter getting wet. I drove my car this weekend in some heavy rains on the high way and had no problems. A non-CAI will work just fine, no worries.

As far as performance from an intake, honestly I don't think there are huge gains by installing one. Maybe 5-10 HP total gain. It does make a difference though on the highway when you need that boost for passing. The car will have little hesistation. It makes it a lot easier on the car to "breathe" and thus less energy will be required to suck air in.
Some claim better gas milage with an intake, but engineers these days do a rather good job designing intake/exhaust systems to maximize on fuel. An intake should help a little bit on fuel consumption when you accelerate hard because the engine has to do less work to suck air in. The best benefit would be to do both the intake and exhaust to inprove overall flow, but again my comment on engineering comes into play.

To sum it all up:
This mod is mostly for looks and sound;the intake growls nicely when you give it some gas. Performance wise you notice a little less hesitation and beter highway response (hard acceleration response).

Hope you find this information useful.