I was asked this question last night by a friend of mine who is looking into buying s 2001 SE. I told him i read many post on this forum and others who said there 3.0 didn't benifit from any intake that was placed on there engine except the GAB. I can honestly say i gained when i added my Injen, i gained throttle response, mid to high end punch, and increased my gas milage from 23.8 to 24.6. I lost some low end punch.Was $210 worth the price of admision, i think so! My friend added a Cattman intake to his car ,2002 SE like mine, and we switched cars, i honestly can say there was no diffrence in performance.The only diffrence was sound, his sounded slightly and i meen slightly more agressive.Maybe the dyno would tell diffrent, but the butt dyno felt none. But we both agreed that the intakes helped our cars instead of hindering them like most 3.0 Maxes.

After i installed my custom exhaust , i really noticed it complimented my Injen intake. I regained my low end punch again, quicker off the line starts,constant pull through the rev band instead of just at mid to high end,the sound is sick, and my gas milage went up again from 24.6-26.0.I think with the 3.5 the Intakes benifit more with other breather mods(H,E,Y-pipe).

Why in the hell there is not that much diffrence with the 3.0 is beyond me.....

I am sure others in this forum with intakes and exhaust applications can attest to the performance gains instead of just having a intake and nothing else.

 

you get a little more HP because the car a breathing better but their a not a huge difference.

 

Correct, but most 3.0 owners who have installed there intake whatever one they choose, say they barely feel any diffrence from stock. While most 3.5 owners say they feel some diffrence in performance. I am wondering why this is? Does the 3.0 not adapt to mods well, are owners of 3.0 Maxes not in best running condition,etc? I can't do a comparison now because i added a exhaust to my car, but before i did that i wished i could have tested a 3.0 w/ a intake to my 3.5 w/ a intake, and see what results come out of it.

 

99% sure that the (minimal) benifits are pretty much the same on both engines.

 

3.0 engines are already squeezing out all that they can...the 3.0 engine has been in the Maxima for the past 2 Generations..each time the engineers at Nissan, changed the intake and changed the exhaust till they couldnt do more and then they probably went with the 3.5 which has more potential to grow...

 

The biggest difference between the 3.0 and the 3.5 (in 5th gens) is the displacement. The block is the same it has just been bored and stroked. Apparently the 3.0 is actually more likely to be blown or boosted because it is stronger. I'm not sure if this is 100% accurate but the 3.5 is actually less strong because of the increase in displacement over the 3.0.

In the end, and at this point, the 3.5 is improved more by NA mods and the 3.0 is improved by turbos or supers. Hence the aftermarket products. The same goes with most cars: The larger the displacement the more likely power will be achieved with NA mods and smaller engines--as long as they are strong--will see big improvements with boost.

 

Makes sense to me...

 

gains without empirical evidence cannot be used to judge the benefits of a modification.

expect 1-2hp for any variety or brand on intake. Modifications usually work better in combination with others.

and yes, the 3.0 is "stronger" because its a stouter engine from the short stroke

 

I am relatively new to the Board and am not into noise. I installed a K&N panel air filter 2 months ago and a Budget Y-pipe a month ago. I am not into noise so don't want an intake. I noticed some difference in performance with just the K&N filter and obviously more with the Y-pipe in combination with the filter. I question how much more performance I would get out of an intake or popcharger relative to my stock airbox and K&N panel filter. I am not into hacking the airbox and as I said am not into noise.

So in the final analysis I question the incremental gains a CAI or hybrid would provide relative to just a K&N panel air filter, which certainly wouldn't be as loud.

Any opinions?