Air Intake Kit? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

AtlantaBoxster · 11-12-2005, 01:52 PM

Alright, I have read enough! I have now decided to get an Air Intake Kit as my first add-on to my recently purchased 2001 Boxster. I was thinking of starting off with putting in a new speaker system but why do we buy these cars, for the performance and sound or to listen to Wierd Al's "Eat It" while cruising down the highway?

On that note, I would appreciate any advice on reliable sites to purchase the an air intake kit and preferable who the the best manufacturers are.

Thank you for the feedback. I'll be sure to share my progress as I order and install the kit.

Happy Motoring!

Rail26 · 11-12-2005, 04:52 PM

I prefer "Like a Surgeon" by Weird Al.

RandallNeighbour · 11-12-2005, 06:33 PM

stay away from any air filter you many need to use with a modified intake box that requires oiling the filter. These always seem to foul out MAF's ($$$)

Adam · 11-12-2005, 07:55 PM

Not necessarily Randall. I have had my cotton BMC panel filter on my car for 10k miles and have had no problems. From what I've read at other sites, it seems to be less prone to problems than a K&N. I stayed away from EVO cone intake simply because it is a pain in the arse to install plus hp gains have been inconsistent. I bought the true flow system but have yet to install it. I probably will when I put in a new BMC. I've decided to just pay out 75 bucks for a new filter every 15k miles than worry about how little or how much oil to put on the filter. I just bought the true flow for the bigger intake tube. Maybe I'll add a S-Car-Go throttle body someday too.
http://www.tweeks.com/shop?frame=8.81.3417

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/eagleday/pobmcpefi.html
http://www.scargoracing.com/html/boxster.htm

JP-s-in st. louis · 11-12-2005, 09:06 PM

I have an EVO fitted with a K&N cone filter. Works great for me. (just make sure you wipe off the excess oil.

blinkwatt · 11-12-2005, 09:08 PM

My Boxster has a K & N Air Filter and it has not had any issues with it at all. ALOT of the issues related to K & N Air Filters are with the user using too much oil when they initially install it.

MNBoxster · 11-12-2005, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

My Boxster has a K & N Air Filter and it has not had any issues with it at all. ALOT of the issues related to K & N Air Filters are with the user using too much oil when they initially install it.

Hi,

Partly true, but mostly wrong. The K & N allows more air through it because it has bigger holes in it. This means it admits much more dirt as well. You haven't had a MAF Failure... Yet!

This dirt ends up primarily in the Oil, so you need to shorten you Oil Change interval when using a K & N (there go any perceived Cost Savings).

Also, the Filter restricts in 1/3 the time of a Paper Filter, so any perceived Performance Gains only exist in the first 5k-7k mi. after cleaning/installation and then only at the Top of the Power Curve, where few people spend any real time. Wanna pay for Unused Potential? OK that's up to you.

In Sum: A Bunch of Baloney - Automotive Jewelry, good primarily for Bragging Rights only.

Happy Motoring!...Jim'99

blinkwatt · 11-12-2005, 10:11 PM

So if my Boxster has 52k on it and I would like to make it last I should remove the K & N Air Filter?

xclusivecar · 11-13-2005, 04:51 AM

Search Boxster forums and you will see very. very small performance gains if at all from "performance" intakes and occasional problems with oiled filters. You basically end up spending big money for a better intake sound. My opinion...de-snorkel for FREE! Same performance gains, same sound, and FREE!

Brucelee · 11-13-2005, 06:20 AM

As Jim pointed out, one area that is overlooked with these "performance filters" is that they allow more dirt to enter the engine and engine oil.

Think about it: what is the filter there for in the first place? If a K and N were a great thing for performance, well, no filter at all would be better?

Actually, back in the bad old days, we used to just through a chrome cover over the carb and let the thing wail!

No wonder I had all those engine "problems."

See the Motor Oil Bible for more on the importance of a quality air filter to engine life.

www.themotoroilsite.com

my89_928gt · 11-13-2005, 11:34 AM

Over oilling is the biggest problem with oiled filetrs like K&N. The mass on the Boxster is very close to the fileter.
Hmmm, I have nearly 20K miles on my Boxter with a K&N. No problems at all. The intake is a louder than just desnorkling.
Performance gains I can't tell any differance. So, with that said I will most likely put the stock fileter back in at the next cleanning(witch it's about time now). Not worth it to me and do not want to take a chance of screwing up the MASS.
I don't go for the shorttning of engine life. Makes sense that it may allow more dirt through. Maybe it dose maybe it dose not. How ever I have had K&N on 2 previous 928's one of witch was on their for 5 years as a daily driver. No, problems and compresion was still good when I sold it(did not check before hand)
Also, have a very good freind who had a 89 928GT(yes, I had one to) and at around 60k miles he put one in. Near 8 years later and 184K miles the car still ran perfect(car got totaled).
Also, had a Nissain Altima several years ago that ran with a K&N from about 80K miles to 197K miles when I sold it. Car was haveing issures, but engine was still sound.
So, dose a K&N realy shorten engine life? Maybe, but if it dose it must not be by very much. This of course is my opinion.
Would be nice if some Consumer Co. could do a study on that so we could no for sure.
Personaly I have about given up on K&N anyway as no car that I have ever had with it any realy seemed to make a diffence to me. Just improved the sound a bit.

Richard

nastyboxster · 11-13-2005, 04:20 PM

I researched for about 2 months before I installed the Evo Air intake. Great sound and performance increase. Installation could be a handful. The shop quoted me 2 hours to install, but took actually over 5 hours. Luckily, they only charge me for 2.

The website dynoed 8 hp increase, but feels like much more. Well worth the upgrade.

xclusivecar · 11-13-2005, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nastyboxster

The website dynoed 8 hp increase, but feels like much more. Well worth the upgrade.

Just curious...can you FEEL 8 horsepower? And what did 8 horsepower cost?

Adam · 11-13-2005, 05:33 PM

8 hp is just what EVO claims it makes. Not likely to happen for the average user. In fact, if I'm correct I believe Clubhead reported a hp and Tq drop after installing the EVO intake. One mod other than a supercharger or or turbo is unlikey to make a perceptible difference. You have to combine bolt on mods in order to really feel a gain.

xclusivecar · 11-13-2005, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam

8 hp is just what EVO claims it makes. Not likely to happen for the average user. In fact, if I'm correct I believe Clubhead reported a hp and Tq drop after installing the EVO intake. One mod other than a supercharger or or turbo is unlikey to make a perceptible difference. You have to combine bolt on mods in order to really feel a gain.

Just what I thought. On these cars your best off saving your money and focusing on something other than "bolt on" go fast goodies. Either do it right and spend the big bucks (engine swap, engine teardown/rebuild) or don't do it at all. Intakes, exhausts, chips, for these cars will run you into the thousands of dollars and yield a measly 15-20 HP or like mentioned above you will LOSE power. Not to mention that nagging CEL. Very touchy, these cars!

jhmcmath · 11-14-2005, 06:44 AM

I've heard from a reputable dyno shop that the EVO intake system is good for 3-4 HP at best. I just tried to have one installed last weekend but my mechanic lacked some screws that were supposed to be sent with the kit but were not. He did de-snorkel it in the process and the sound is much improved. Curious from those who know how much better the sound is with the kit installed than with just de-snorkeling it. Combined with a B&B sport muffler, it's starting to sound like a real sports car.

As pointed out in other threads, this is really seems to be a relatively expensive mod to just get more sound out of the motor. Given that my car was so quiet when I first got it that I sometimes thought the engine had stalled at a redlight, I'm happy to be able to capture some of that 911 style roar when I jump on the throttle.

At this point just wondering if it's worth going ahead and installing the EVO intake or just leaving it de-snorkeled as is.

AtlantaBoxster · 11-14-2005, 10:52 AM

Thanks for the posts. It now seems that it is not a good idea to install an air intake kit. I feel like my bipolar medication is not working properly after reading these posts. From what I gather:

1) Evo air intake might give you a gain in HP but you could possibly lose HP as well.
2) Evo air intake does seem to give a more guttural sound to the car.
3) Evo air intake is difficult to install.
4) Desnorkeling gives the guttural sound without any cost or loss of HP.

Based on this, it seems that I am back to not installing an air intake kit and thinking about desnorkeling.

Are there any issues with desnorkleing? Is there any point in desnorkleing other than having that increased sound?

xclusivecar · 11-14-2005, 01:37 PM

I have been de-snorkeled for a year now. Through snow, sun, and rain. No problems! There has been great debate as to what this part actually does. Some say it brings in cooler outside air...but the way the airbox already is already sealed it can only get cooler outside air anyhow. Some say it is there to keep water and large debris (cigarettes) out of the intake. I never had water or debris problems but some do glue a screen over the air intake to lessen the possibility of this from happening. Search to find info. Still others (like me) say it is there to comply with noise level requirements. Removing this snorkel will only increase the engine intake sound. Heck, thats why I did it! To uncork the sound from this beautiful engine!

Another thing you may do (and I have) is to remove the foam part of the air filter. Just tear it off. This also increases sound and many people have done it without problems. Good Luck!

11-14-2005, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xclusivecar

I have been de-snorkeled for a year now. Through snow, sun, and rain. No problems! There has been great debate as to what this part actually does. Some say it brings in cooler outside air...but the way the airbox already is already sealed it can only get cooler outside air anyhow. Some say it is there to keep water and large debris (cigarettes) out of the intake. I never had water or debris problems but some do glue a screen over the air intake to lessen the possibility of this from happening. Search to find info. Still others (like me) say it is there to comply with noise level requirements. Removing this snorkel will only increase the engine intake sound. Heck, thats why I did it! To uncork the sound from this beautiful engine!

Another thing you may do (and I have) is to remove the foam part of the air filter. Just tear it off. This also increases sound and many people have done it without problems. Good Luck!

How have these mods effected your gas mileage? Improved, same or worsened??

nastyboxster · 11-14-2005, 03:11 PM

The Evo kit was $420cdn and 2 hours labour. $700 Cdn. all together including taxes etc. I can't tell you whether there is actually more hp since I didn't dyno my car. With that said, the only thing that matters is that it feels more powerful.

Afterall, numbers don't mean a lot unless you get the enjoyment. Also, there are others in this forum who installed the intake and was very happy with it. That's how I made my decision to have it install.

It sounds like a lot a money for a small paper gain, but I think it was worth it. That's just my opinion....