Evolution Motorsports high-flow intake installation

[sd_boxster]

I installed an Evolution Motorsports high-flow intake in my '03 Boxster. Disclaimer: This is not a DIY guide - I'm writing this up to give you an idea of what you're in for if you elect to do this install yourself. As the directions state, this is a difficult install - if you're not a DIYer (i.e. you don't do brakes or oil changes), this install is probably out of your league.

No instructions come in the box. You will want to have the EVOMS install guide handy.

I removed my factory airbox in pieces (I'd seen someone else describe using that technique). This was not my initial intention - I was going to remove the driver-side intake manifold per the instructions. After removing the throttle body and half of the manfold bolts, I wussed out, put those parts back together, and used nippers to cut the OEM airbox in half to get it out.

Getting the old airbox out, whether you demolish it like I did or go the classy route and loosen the driver-side intake manifold, is the hard part of this install. Whichever route you go, this part's gonna suck. If you use the technique I did and break up and remove the factory airbox, BE CAREFUL! There are injector wires, sensor wires, and wires for stuff I couldn't begin to explain in the area of the airbox, so don't get sloppy!

Installing all of the Evolution parts takes all of 15-30 minutes. Piece of cake. The most difficult part of the install is threading and tightening the two bolts in the bottom edge of the new air enclosure. A combination of reaching down from the top and reaching up from below (a floor jack and a creeper really come in handy) will help a lot.

I rate this a 7 on my own DIY difficulty scale. For reference, I'd rate brakes a 2, rotors a 3, headers a 3.5 or a 4, and secondary cat bypass pipes a 6. It's definitely doable.

After I get some more driving time in, I'll post a response with sound and throttle impressions.

[sd_boxster]

Before installing the EVO, my Boxster had a subtle dip in power nearing redline. In my dynoless opinion, that dip is no longer present - the 2.7 pulls nicely all the way to redline with less variation than it used to.

Answers to questions you may care about, or may not:

Q. Does it seem quicker?
A. Yes, but only incrementally.

Q. Does it sound tremendously different?
A. No. Granted, I was expecting the great sucking sound I heard when I installed an Injen intake on my last car, so the subtle difference is far, far less than I was anticipating. My bias aside, I don't think you'll be blown away.

Q. Am I happy with it?
A. Sure. The install had a happy ending, and my car runs (completely subjectively, of course) a touch better than it did before I started.

Q. Knowing what my car feels like before and after, would I do it again?
A. Probably not.

Q. Would I recommend this to someone else?
A. Depends on what you hope to get out of it. Want the satisfaction of a job well done and the installation of a reusable cone filter (and potentially the privilege of fouling your MAF )? Yes, get one. Want to feel power like you've never felt before tugging the fillings from your molars, ultimately filling the back of your throat with the bitter taste of fear, the tang of excitement, and the odd metallic flavor of decades-old amalgam? No, not so much.

All my opinion, of course. Your opinion, mileage, and overall experience may vary. Odds of winning depend on the number of entries, no purchase necessary, offer void where prohibited by law.

[JAAY]

If you really want to see how great that intake is, monitor your intake air temps. You will see a amazing diiference between stock and evo. I noticed about 20degrees. Difference. The difference being that the evo box allowed more engine heat to the filter making my temps high resulting in less hp. I'm rolling with a stock box now and a drop in bmc.

[sd_boxster]

After seeing fitment of the Evo unit, I can understand how. The Evo is still a far cry better than a lot of "short ram" intakes available for import tuners that replace the factory airbox pulling cold air from the fender with a cone filter sucking hot air directly from the engine compartment.

I have seen some folks fab up a top for the Evo "box" to ensure that air gets pulled through the vent instead of from the engine bay - I may give that a try, and I may also seal up the gaps around the perimeter of the Evo unit to seal it up. Or I may just drive it the way it is for a while.

[Wingnut2u]

IMO the EVO intake is not worth the cost, effort or performance gains/loss

There are other modifications or upgrades that you can do where your money is better spent

[Boxtaboy]

Thanks for that assesment. Pretty much expected that there was no appreciable power increase but I have always read that there was a huge difference in sound from stock. Surprised that you said there was no big difference. Did you have you car desnorked prior perhaps, and that's why not much difference in sound?