Cold air intake

[trimer]

Ive just heard a lot about them...so I was more curious. I can not imagine spending $600+ for a cold air intake for what they say is 3-4 more horsepwoer. Again - just more curious than anything...

[JAAY]

Especially in you climate stock is best. You can upgrade your intake piping but leave the stock box. Pedrosgarage.com has a good method to do this.

[Johnny Danger]

Originally Posted by trimer

Ive just heard a lot about them...so I was more curious. I can not imagine spending $600+ for a cold air intake for what they say is 3-4 more horsepwoer. Again - just more curious than anything...

First off, the intakes range between $300-$400 not $600. They do seem to be less restrictive than the oem set-up, and the "bark" that they produce at various rpm's is nothing short of ripping ! By the time you're done creating some DIY "chicken scratch" intake, the amount of effort and aggravation involved will probably surpass the cost of the after market part.

[j.fro]

Funny, no one's really answered your questions. If you install an aftermarket intake and filter, it's most likely that the filter is oiled. It is a known fact that an over-oiled filter can foul the mass air flow sensor, and this will cause the CEL. The Porsche ECU has no problem adjusting for any greater airflow gained by adding an aftermarket intake/filter. Yes, there can be an HP gain with a higher flowing filter/intake, but there are certainly things to consider.
Generally, HP gains made by swapping stock parts for aftermarket parts will cost you in street drivability/legality
...which is why I'm starting to show for a trailer (and possibly add another Porsche to the stable!)

[trimer]

Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

First off, the intakes range between $300-$400 not $600. They do seem to be less restrictive than the oem set-up, and the "bark" that they produce at various rpm's is nothing short of ripping ! By the time you're done creating some DIY "chicken scratch" intake, the amount of effort and aggravation involved will probably surpass the cost of the after market part.

600 installed is what I am hearing...part plus install.

[The Radium King]

the cai in the boxster is an oxymoron - the box already has a cold air intake (ps, even with snorkel removed, the intake remains sealed from hot engine air).

the aftermarket units don't seal and will draw hot engine air in, reducing performance as a result. further, a bit of research will show that vendors of cai's (evo, etc.) market the same unit for the 2.5, 2.7, 2.9 and 3.2 and use a common mass airflow sensor housing. strangely, the 2.5 and 3.2 have different maf housing diameters, so you start screwing with the ecu's ability to adapt at this point.

what you want to do is reduce restriction to air intake. cai's do this, but the cost and other side effects are not worth it. instead, remove your snorkle. change the pipe between your throttle body and air box. replace your airbox with a less restrictive airbox from a cayman/987. get a larger intake plenum and/or throttle body (997 unit, ipd, softronic). this will all reduce intake restrictions, keep the air cool, and not detrimentally affect intake tuning.

[tanque55]

My mistake, I looked up desnorkeling on the search. Doesn't really seem like it would add much to the overall performance. Not like it's a F1 machine!

[The Radium King]

well, your engine moves what, 1.6 liters of air per rotation in a 3.2 l engine? at redline that = 11,500 liters of air per minute. sucking all that air in through a 3" pipe (reduced to 2.7" at the throttle body, and even less at the snorkel) takes work, and any work the engine does to suck that air in is power lost to the wheels. any inefficiencies in this airflow have a proportional effect on performance. something as seemingly minor as the snorkel, or the resonance chambers on an intake tube, will increase engine effort which will reduce horsepower. note, on a 250 hp engine, a 1% loss = 2.5 hp.