Had a true CAI installed going into the fender, put the stock intake back on and wow Im and idiot for getting rid of it. I drive an automatic and throttle response has greatly improved, lower rpm tq seems to have come back and my car accelerates so much smoother now. I never believed ppl saying that the stock was better than everything out there, but I do now. Nissan built it correct the first time, just keep it as is.

 

Open up the stock setup a bit by opening up the resonator box under the battery tray. Take it out of the car, open it up by drilling some holes in the side that faces the inner fender.

There are absolutely no negative effects on this mod, no additional sound, absolutely no loss of low end power or throttle response, yet the intake has the ability to pull in additional air from another source. The snorkle is actually the restriction in the system, the rest of the tubing is large enough to flow plenty of air, buy opeing up that resonator box, you allow another source of air for the system to breath.

Trust me on this one, you woun't regret it!

 

Ill look into it, also what about drilling a hole in the lower resonator box but make it like 3in wide and run a tube from the hole to the front right (when looking at car) foglight hole, I dont have fogs so its all air coming in. then again this could just be overboard and useless.

 

I would have better gains this wya than with my injen?

 

I Have An Frankincar In Take Until I Got It I Had Lost My Bottom End. I Didn't Get It All Back But My Is Good Not Great But Good. My Top End Is Great. When I'm Running About 80 And Step In It She Runs Like A Max From A Civic. When U Make A Mod There's All Ways Give And Take. Most Of The Time We Get Noise. Intake 2in Pipe Bigger Wheels Cross Drilled Slotted Rotors.

 

speak english

 

why would it be called a gain if it was a stock part?

 

The Injen intake is useless, your buying a $280 worth of sound.

 

glad i never bought an injen intake lol..i put the stock back on and completely removed that pos under the battery tray..much better than the stillen....
hey anybody wanna buy my stillen intake off me for 40 bucks? lol

 

For some strange reason we are hood winked by true racers/ people that wanna be racers. If we see it on a race car we think it will make our vehicle fast. My opinion is that alot of mods are made for people who race, like a CAI really benefits 1/4 mile racers that could see a constant 100mph+ more than on a blue moon like an average driver. Same thing with drilled rotors, all of a sudden these things crack at the holes from everyday driving, but we seen them on a race car so we think they would be good, same thing with wings,running straight pipe with no cat, cut springs, etc. I had a full CAI until I read the thread about the stock midpipe putting out more hp on the dyno and put it back on, unfortunatley I sold my stock snorkel years ago, so, oh well, at least I got some hp and throttle response back with the stock mid; going boosted in a couple so, I'll survive til then.

 

this is 100% correct ... stock intake is the best for hp ... who cares about sound

 

hmm...i see more throtle response with my frankencar...i'll have to throw the stock back on and see how it feels

 

wow.... any dyno comparisons to back those opinions up???? stock intake vs aftermarket CAI...
not saying anyones wrong im just curious as the results

 

Just for kicks, my mechanic and I took off the bottom resonator box completely and just zip-tied an ordinary section of flex pipe to the hole in the bottom of the snorkel that goes down to just below the front bumper. Ghetto lookin' as hell, but when I rev it, it actually draws almost all of its air from that flex pipe. Intake sound didn't change much, but it's enough to make the car sound different. Combined with a K&N drop-in filter, I'm almost positive the butt dyno has something to say about it, although of course I can't prove it....

But ya, there's another thought.

 

I think I'll just stick with my stock airbox, K&N panel filter and stainless steel Budget y-pipe. I don't like noise and it works for me.

 

I would love to see those with stock intake pull next to me since i usually like to shift from 3K and up when at 3K i go WOT and you trying to copy my license plate number....lol....i indeed agree isnt' for averga daily driver 2K-3K rpm but i am personally used to be over those rpms right where my power band is and feel it take off unbelievablly.

 

I just put my stock intake back on for the summer, and damn, the midrange and lower are so much more torquey. Power band seemed to smooth out a bit too. Had some fun on the twisties today, so it'll be awhile before the cone goes back on.

 

wow, that max looks sweet in red blueC

 

yea..i think the stock intake system is alot better..i had my ypipe and catback on as well. later changed to injen cai...i didnt feel any difference...maybe loss of power in the low end and paying that much money for sound..i was just pissed if that this stupid intake didnt fit right on my car n i broke something on my car doing it.

 

ok then when it was stock i wanted more so i got a k&n filter i got more top end but lost my take off (torque) I then got a frankincar in take my take was better but not as good as stock but my mid to top rpm was great so it all in what u want from your car and if u test me i get up over 100mph once a week also the k&n was burnmore gas by it's self but with both frankincar and my K&N gas is about normal

 

you the man

 

Nissan got it right! I switched back from HAI to a modified stock airbox. I was going to remove the elbow from the snorkel to the resonator under the car battery to direct more flow into the airbox instead of the resonator then to the airbox. However, njmaxseltd's idea seems better. I will try that first. Just a question, is that resonator up against the inner fenderwell sheet metal? I'm thinking of cutting out anther 3" hole thru that, if its there. Then cutting the same size hole into the resonator and using a short 3" ducting to join the two to prohibit hot air from the engine compartment from coming thru.

I gotta try this next week.

 

Depends IMO. With the 3.5 I don't mind the (slight) low end loss but I will tell you it certainly pulls harder at the top end, it's not just the sound. I have enough traction problems, I don't need more power at low rpms, and when we race we only use 4k & up.

 

3.5 is a different beast! I wouldn't mind the slight low end loos myself when I have about 60 horses more.

 

Even with a 3.0 I would say the top end gain is worth it. When you race you never use under 4k anyway. I trap 102 mph with the CAI and the crappy 2k2 manifold, so I say it was worth it.

 

1/4 mile times should be tested....not dynos. Im willing to bet a run with a aftermarket intake would be faster than one with the stock. for everyday driving the stock is better becuase the average maxima driver doesnt take there car to 5k rpm everyday, but for racing the aftermarket CAI or even popcharger/midpipe is better. atleast in my opinion and experience.

 

Racing in a family sedan... Different strokes for different folks. I think everyone mods their intake for their own reasons. It is evident, you guys race your maximas. I don't. Not everyone frequents the race track either. I just mod my car for practical reasons and to have a bit of an edge over a bone stock one.

 

Better than racing an economy car **cough* Civic *cough**. Plus you have to take age into account, not calling you old....but you are older than most people who mod or even own 4th gen maximas, so you are less likely to race your car than we are.

 

I'm one of the oldest guys on the .org and I'd race if I could find someone to race against, other than my stupid friend with the 98 Honduh Accord V6 who has given up taunting me now that he realizes I'd whip his sorry a$$.

 

1/4 mile times are inconsistent. a dyno never lies...i agree though that there is no proof that the stock intake is better. i ran a 15.04 in the 1/4 w/ JUST a CAI so untill i see some dyno numbers i am keeping mine!

 

Yea, but dynos simply tell us how much power we are puting out at different rpms. A car with less HP and the same weight can do better simply becuase the power band is more consistant rather than it being only at particular rpm. Generally people mod cars to make them faster, not to get higher numbers. What's the point of having high numbers if it means nothing at the track? and dynos do lie....=P I have personally dynoed my car at different places with the same mods(weather was about the same, car was running the same etc.) and had over 20 hp difference between the two.

 

Give me a Porsche Carrera and I'll go racing. BTW, there are still a lot of guys "my age" in professional racing. I don't think its got something to do with age, it's more of what you are going to race with and what is racing to you.

Oh...Larry, there's this thing called elevation. Dyno results there can differ from here.

 

we are not comparing cars here...we are talking about horsepower. go to a dyno w/ the stock intake on. run it and then put the cai on and see if the horsepower goes up or down. those numbers wont lie.

 

i dont care about elevation! if you go to the dyno and test w/ a cai and then test w/ the stock intake, then you will know if it is a mod worth doing. how is it that nobody understands what i am saying? who cares where they get the dyno! as long as they get it at the same place and the same time the numbers will be accurate! i doubt the elevation of the shop is going to change in the 10 minutes it takes to put a cai on!

 

im never going back to stock. i added my full CAI after running 16s at the track all day. After adding the CAI, and doing nothing else, im now down to 15.2s consistently. I might go to a dyno once i have a reason to go, maybe once the 00VI is on, but for now, my proof at the track is enough to keep it on.

 

u loose low end and gain top end with an injen CAI..i own one and wouldnt go back to stock no matter what yall say...if u own one ull enjoy it...anybody wanna clean my fliter?

 

i would never buy an Injen "CAI", because its not a CAI. It sits inside the engine bay right behind the fans, and next to the motor. A true CAI you will have to drill a hole into your fender for.

 

I just put my stock intake back on yesterday and took off my mid-pipe/k&n filter. Took 10 minutes to do, and now my car is way quiet at idel now.. I don't have that air sucking noise anyore. Also i have my low end back.. My car drives fine now since I went back to stock.

 

you wouldnt lose your low end if you had a true CAI, not short ram, or injen style cai

 

I'm still stock on mine too, however on my older '93 Altima, I bolted a K&N cone filter (largest that would fit) inside my airbox using a MAF adaptor and gasket material to keep it airtight. I also pulled the resonator box out of the fender and ran 2" (changed to 3") ABS piping from the fender to the airbox. I kept my bottom end power (easily able to spin the 205-60-15s w/auto) and retained the top end that I had w/my JWT POP Charger....plus it was a fun experience....

Jeremy