Model: 97 Nissan Maxima SE ( 5 Speed Manual )
Location: Mississippi
Climate: Very Hot and Humid !
Needing: Off the line, 1/4 mile acceleration and speed, stop and go


Hey, hope that covers each detail for some good advice. Like many people im having a tough time making a selection on what I need in the intake department. I presently have JWT popcharger, and im planning to get the Frankencar Midpipe. But I continue to wonder if the very best CAI would be better for me, than adding the Frankencar midpipe to what I have. If off the line and 1/4 mile gains are close. I guess I shouldnt worry about it, but i just dont know. If you had my car and was planning on running at the dragway and wanted good green light acceleration on the city streets. Which would you recommend? And im not concerned with speeds over 100-110.

My mods presently:
JWT Pop
Y & B Pipe
Magnaflow Muffler
Eibach Pro Kit Springs
KYB AGX shocks

Upcoming mods in order:
Frankencar Midpipe: ??????????
Warpspeed Metal Substrate Catalytic Converter
Unorthodox Underdrive Pulley
JWT ECU

 

Midpipe is going to give you better power throughout the powerband and not drop off like the CAI. This is on reason why so many people have gone for the midpipe design.

 

I was in a similar situation when getting my intake, and I just added the midpipe...Cheaper, apparently doesn't drop off, and sounds ALOT sweeter than with just the pop charger...
There is one for sale in the FS Forum...http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....hreadid=226255

 

i have the same dilemma as you! stuck between an ingen cai or frankencar shortram. whats better? what gives more hp? whats this dropoff youre talking about? any advice or links appreciated.

 

I had the frankencar midpipe/jwt setup before and it was good, but when i got the injen it better suited for my taste. The injen has a nicer tone and low end feels better/more responsive. the drop off that others are referring to is at the higher rpms.. I don't really drive my car hard so that drop off doesn't really matter to me. Both intakes are good, so just take your pick.. i don't think you'll be disappointed either way.

 

i wouldnt get the injen, i'd rather get a midpipe, it doesnt nessecarily have to be frankencar, but that would be a plus - great quality pipe, flawless finish

 

I have the Frankencar. I got it because it was inexpensive, and the people on this board gave it great reviews. It sounds so sweet. My friend who is pining over the Mustang GT he had to sell (too high maintenance) gets in my car and cannot get over the sound of my intake.

Moreover, I've heard that the CAI is great on the dyno, but when the car is actually accelerating, the difference in air temperatures in the engine bay and at the wheel wells becomes insignificant when you consider how all of the tubes complicate the airflow.

 

im still undecided. so many ppl here with frankencar but i find myself leaning more towards the injen cai. dunno. do you have to drill through your wheel well to put in the cai? somebody told me that you do and im curious on the where and how.

 

injen u dont have to cut, any other cai u do

 

the midpipe ownz, lowend didnt go anywhere like it would without it. Very pleased.

 

Just get the Frankencar midpipe. It will be cheaper too since you already have the JWT popcharger...

 

or u can build ur own midpipe for about 15$ see the pics on my homepage

 

I too am happy w/ the FCP mid/JWT POP combo.

 

I am just wondering what is w/ you guys and the intake sound?? I have a stillen w/ a midpipe and yea it sounds good, but a lot of you guys seem to get, I dunno, excited about the sound. Maybe I'm just used to it because its been on there for a year and I have the exhaust with it.

 

Not many cars can sound like that with just an intake.seriously

 

Get a CAI for stop and go driving bro. I had both a WAI and a CAI and like the CAI much better because of and actual increase in TQ at lower rpms rather than just NOT LOOSING TQ at lower rpms with the WAI.

Peace.

 

Gee, no I've never heard it w/ just the intake since I had that on the car for months before the "turdpipe". I'm not saying it sounds bad, I just wouldnt go up to anyone and say, oh you have to hear this or my car sounds great... I'm a V8 guy who got stuck in a V6, the sounds dont compare.

 

If you want the power to drop off, get the CAI. You can't go wrong with the hybrid intake. Hybrids give power throughout the whole powerband.

Plus when your moving, the air under the hood is cooler than you think. I've driven hot hot summer days with my intake and when I stopped for gas, I would feel the midpipe and it was cool to the touch.

 

for people that have frankencar midpipe with pop charger, how loud is this intake? i heard injen cai before and sounds nice...

 

Thanks for the good advice on the midpipe...i am difinitely getting it...

 

when you say you went back ot stock box, do you mean completely or just the cleaner-box and the resonator behind it?

 

whats wrong with Place racing ????????

 

some always takes care of that

 

My Injen sounds incredible, I frequently get compliments on the look and the sound. It is pricey though, at $200.

 

How did do your comparison test of the stock vs hybrid? Did you test them both the same day and in the same weather conditions? Plus, in your sig you say that your tranny is slipping so how can you really say its the intake that made you slower?

I ran fast times with my stock box but I know my car is faster with the intake. I just need to get to a track and test it.

 

Can you tell me how to make this? How did you make the attachment for the hoses? Based on the pictures, you eliminated the intake resonator, am I right? Did your CEL come one at all after doing this mod?

 

Wha tha frill is going on ? this cant be true, i just bought the frankencar midpipe and i did it all to slow myself down?!?!!?!? can anyone dispute this claim, or is this the truth? ANYBODY?

If this is true, well then , the truth hurts !

 

When I got my Frankencar, my buttdyno said hey, were goin faster!

 

This is interesting! I have seen this happen before. Truly, automobile manufacturers have spent countless hours and money on R&D when they design a car and all its functionalities. We as consumers and enthusiasts have been conditioned to think that aftermarket bolt-on power adder is always better, yields to better performance...but this is not always true. I have seen similar stuff in real life when an OEM setup does a better job than aftermarket. The problem with the CAI and RAM designs is that the filter is exposed in the engine compartment, which has the tendency to suck in hot air. The hotter the engine and outside temperature gets, the hotter it gets inside the engine bay. That heat will bog down your engine performance. That's why car manufacturers have always designed air intakes incorporating an airbox to keep hot air away from the filter and the induction part of the intake system. And to think that people rip off the stock pipe work for the intake system only to replace it with a system the sucks hot air into the engine, that's insane! I think the only true cold air intake is this system called Volant. Has anyone ever seen it? Too bad they don't make kits for older vehicles like the 95 Maximas because their design uses the newer vehicle's stock fender well air inlet system to direct cool air into the intake. Their design also uses an airbox and inside it is a conical type filter found on CAI and RAM systems. The box has an opening where the air from the wheel wells go thru, then the air filter sucks it right up.

 

I also built my own midpipe. Cheack my homepage. there will instructions up in a while.

1. Go to a local exhaust shop and ask for about 16" of 3" exhaust piping. If you do this well u can use chrome piping and this would look good if u didn't scratch it up.
2. Take of ur intake and bring it into Home Depot with you. You need two brass fittings which will be tapped into the midpipe. The one is a 1/2 brass fitting with threads on one side. The other one is really small, don't know size but its for the vacum line. I could find a fitting this small with threads on only one side but whatever. Also, go to the plumbing section and get a 3" hubcentric rubber conector thing. This will connect the Midpipe to MAF.
3. Now go to a local auto parts store and get a breather filter. It doesn't really matter which one. I got a APC style from Checker. This will be used to dead end the 1/2" line coming from the valve cover.
4. Now that ur done shopping, go home and cut the pipe with a dremel. Anywhere from 8-13"'s is fine. I did mine to 12.75" and had to dremel out the sheetmetal a little, but this makes it so i don't need a bracket to hold the intake setup up.
5. Now that everything is bought go home and begin work. I mounted the 1/2" brass fitting in about the same place as on the stock resonator. I did the vacum connector on the bottom so it wasn't visible and more clean. Drill through the pipe and thread and silicone these fittings into the pipe. Wait till its dry and go for a drive.

I have since painted the pipe and MAF with red engine enamel and it looks professional. Now that i've told my life story i have some ?'s. I made the pipe longer to keep it as far away from the engine as possible. As said earlier my homemade pipe is almost 13" instead of 8". Is this robbing me of high end as CAI does. If this is true, why don't we make he pipe three inches or none existent.

 

anymore feedback?

 

I just sold my homemade mid pipe. I think that its for looks and sound over speed. I'd get a CAI.

 

Read this and then decide if you want a midpipe or want to keep yours.
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....3&page=4&pp=30

 

hey Ceaser, i bought your first frankencar, remember me . I also just bought a PR CAI used for a great price. I plan to put it in jsut to test out how well it works. I did feel KIND of slower when i put the frankencar in. before that i had the midpipe of a PR CAI which i have once again. I already have the hole from previous owner, thats why i was interested in it again. I dont plan to put it in anytime soon but one of these days i'll clean it and test it out. Looks better IMO than a midpipe, and sounds better to me too. I had a PR CAI on my first max but forgot how it felt.

Just wanted to ask when changing intakes, do u automatically feel the difference or is it like a y-pipe, the car has to adjust and/or u have to reset the ecu?

Also where's the cheapest place to get a K&N filter recharger/cleaner?

 

well with the choices i went with injen ...i thought hey what better time to test it out that through this cold season coming up. if for some reason its not for me then when summer hits, i will try what others call a (TRUE CAI SETUP)

for my 4th gen i just didnt notice any louder sound and i actually wanted more noise ..hard of hearing .. lol

i have nothing really negative to say about the frankencar midpipe.. i may have felt the car a tiny bit slower ..i still was squeking out a 14.8

this new injen product is looking real good and goes more along the lines of what i want the engine bay to look like in the future.

each driver has to find whats right for them

 

All that stuff is very informative but why do people get consistently better times with midpipes on quarters.