Cold air intake
 

Has anyone added one to thier car? I have a 1997 boxster, I bought one and in the instructions it says I have to remove the left intake to get the old air box out...are the gaskets reusable? I already removed the snorkel so I can skip that instillation step...is it worth installing a cold air intake? Will I notice a difference in power/sound? Already sounds great thanks to Fister muffler...My car is running great now so not sure if it's worth installing the cold air system or not...all feedback is appreciated.:cheers:

It isn't. Your car came from the factory with a cold air intake.

Despite varying opinions regarding the install of a CAI oiled filter system I installed an Evolution Motorsports unit on my '99 Boxster. At the time the unit was being sold by Suncoast and cost $389. I picked mine up off eBay, new in box, for $125 from a guy who bought it and wrecked his car before install.
The entire OEM intake system has to be removed, which is a project as some of the screws are up inside the wheel well. When the OEM system is removed two baffles in the system are also removed whose purpose seems to be to dampen intake sound.
I can't tell you if my car recovered the claim of 7-8hp gain as I did not dyno the car before and after. I can tell you that the sound of the intake is awesome. At idle you hear a hissing sound and when the car reaches 3K rpm it turns into a roar that a friend of mine said sounds like a Formula 1 car.
I've had the unit in for a little over three years and have had no issues. After the unit was installed I bought a second filter cone so I could swap out every 10K miles with a cleaned and re-oiled filter. Having a second one allows me to clean, re oil and let the filter sit for months so any excess oil drains off and I've not had any MAF problems.

And in your 60s-70s you can buy hearing aids for about what an IMS replacement costs.

An air filter is there to filter dirt out of the air. Most of the oiled filters do a very poor job of doing that.

You already have a cold air intake.

Your car, your $, your choice. Good luck in whatever you do.

If you want the oiled CAI strictly for Bling factor, go for it.

If you want it for better performance, ignore. Just change the paper filter with every oil change for best performance. :cheers:

All to make a little more noise............

Yes, and it's a glorious noise.:dance:

I'm 68 Mike, still have perfect hearing and replaced the IMS four years ago. "Most" has a lot of space left in it for those that do a good job. Look into Evolution Motor Sports and you will find their CAI units are in a lot of Porsche models including track use and at one time were sold by Suncoast and could be ordered by my local dealer. Porsche no longer sells them because of some state laws that prohibit modifying a car even if the mod makes it run better.

It doesn't. We have run before and after dyno runs with EVO and other suppliers systems, the differences where very very small (less than 2 HP), and sometimes where even negative. A lot of money to spend for those kinds of results. But enjoy the noise.....

So JFP you can tell us you've never spent any money on something that gave you pleasure regardless of what other people think about it. It is my money, not yours, and if you read my post I never said anything about a hp gain as I don't believe in them either. Besides, it's not noise it is a flat six symphony.:cheers:

Actually, you did: "I can't tell you if my car recovered the claim of 7-8hp gain as I did not dyno the car before and after."

But you are absolutely correct in the fact that it is your car, and your money to spend anyway you please.

Running a shop, we get inquiries all the time about CAI, DME ref-lashes, aftermarket exhaust systems, larger throttle bodies, intake plenums; you name it. And we always answer the question to the best of our knowledge and experience, even if it pisses off those asking the questions......

I've only seen two independent tests of oiled filters versus "paper". Consumer Reports and some reputable car mag, which one escapes me. Both results were more dirt and in larger particles made its way to the engine. Lots lots more.

If you are willing to trade that for noise, go for it.

I don't live in a high air particulate area and if I did I might not. By your own admission, Mike, you have been out of the arena you were once in and in your statement you allude to things that you have no concrete evidence for, in particular a test of the EVOM CAI system so perhaps it's best you enjoy your retirement and stop giving unsupported advice.

Actually no I didn't, if I had said I felt it gained 7-8 hp I would have made a claim but I said I can't. There is a difference in those meanings. Perhaps JFP to the best of your knowledge and experience is not always the final word on things for everyone and if you resort to sarcasm, the way you have here, I can understand how you would piss people off.

I did not make any statement relating to the Evcom product.

I merely injected some independent testing results re oiled filters into the discussion. It always helps if the OP has the most info from which to make an informed choice.

Ageism comments don't belong here.

i think the issues with the aftermarket CAI are threefold:

1 - oiled filter. if over-oiled you can ruin your airflow sensor. been there, have first-hand experience with that.
2 - oiled filter. when first installed the oil does a good job of capturing particles, but with no oil, the openings in the filter are larger than on a standard filter, so, you've gone from a 'default safe' situation (oem filter will just block more particles as it ages and plugs-up) to 'default unsafe' (oiled filter will pass more particles as it ages). oiled filters were not originally designed for performance, but for recyclability, so make sure you keep you maintenance up.
3- cold air. engines are very sensitive to intake air temperature (iats - important enough that your engine has a sensor for it). the oem intake draws ALL air from outside the car. the aftermarket CAIs do not seal well against the side or top of the engine bay and, if you do a search here, you will find tests that show a significant increase in iats when running an aftermarket CAI because they draw in a significant amount of air from the hot engine bay (I think it was jake, but could be wrong). easy enough to test yourself; iat is one of the obd outputs that you can track with a cellphone app.

"If you are willing to trade that for noise, go for it."
And neither does sarcasm.

thanks
 

The first post says "all feedback appreciated." True, but not apparently by L2B, who seems to know what he wants to hear, both literally and figuratively.
Anyway, thanks to JFP, Mike, and TRK for your insight and shared experience on this forum.

+1,000,000

I always cringe when I see these types of threads because I am afraid that our significant contributing members of the forum will get fed up and leave off from it (ala JD)

Thanks For All The Advice...sorry If It Caused Trouble...I Bought A Cold Air Kit Off Ebay For About $300.00...Debating On Installing Or Selling..lol Still Undecided...:matchup:

Here's some more information for you that hopefully will help inform you and not start a dog fight here.:cheers:
Cold Air Intake Systems - Facts and Myths About Aftermarket Air Intake Systems

Great read thank you. :cheers: still not sure if I want to install it or not...:dance:

I don't know why people are so vehemently opposed to a mod that provides modest HP but serious sound improvement. I could not be happier with the change in sound after installing the cat delete pipes and top speed muffler and that did not add very much HP. I have considered installing an after market intake just for the sound.

I also note most of the people who are against it are people who have not actually installed one. I can't recall seeing too many "why did I install this it was a big mistake" aftermarket intake posts.

I installed a bmc direct air injection cai and it was a big mistake - killed the maf. it is now out of my car and I have a 987 airbox (oem, sealed to the outside, cone paper filter, sounds fine) in it. much better.

I bought a car with a bmc carbon dynamic airbox in it and, guess what, killed the maf. it is now out of the car.

Keep the stock airbox or put in a 987 box.

Using reputable test equipment and methods, a test of a BMW k-bike was performed
The test compared
Stock filter
Stock filter half blocked off
No filter in airbox
K&N filter installed

NO difference in airflow was measured among the 4 configurations.

Given this along with the experience of many that K&N has trouble providing rectangular filters in correct dimensions and that the filters themselves are known to deteriorate/collapse, they are simply items for fools. Indeed enjoy the noise

If you go to K&N's FAQ, they state 1 to 4 hp might be possible. They also state that nobody has any proof that their air filter will kill a MAF sensor and that their air filters will not kill a MAF sensor stating " it is both impossible and ridiculous".

Lots of info there.

K&N Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I've been using K&N air filters since the late 80's and never had an issue with using them.

I agree with JAAY, either leave the stock air box or use a 987 air box.

hah! it happens so infrequently they had to devote an entire page of their website to it. what did shakespeare say? "methinks thou dost protest too much." regardless, I have no empirical evidence, just cause and effect - no maf problems for life of car, add oiled filter element, maf fails. twice. and this is the supposedly more robust 125.01 maf in both cases. perhaps just poor luck and bad timing, but I won't take the chance again.

lol TRK. I don't buy into them saying it can not happen. I took a leaf blower to mine before I installed it to push out any excess oil. It didn't look to be over oiled, but I didn't want to chance it.

I decided to keep my stock box...I'll put the cold air on eBay and put the $ towards another mod...thanks for the feedback!:cheers:

Scared
 

You guys are scaring the be-Jesus out of me. The first thing I did 3 years ago was put a K&N in the Boxster. I'll be replacing it with a stock filter tomorrow before I head to the Parade.

3 years and you think it's going to hurt your car now? :confused:

Not really. If it has done any damage it's already happened. But I am getting tired of cleaning and oiling it. If it made any difference in the performance I guess I'll find out. I have a K&N on the Harley as part of the stage 3 ensemble. I would think HD would have tested this out.

Just to add some references to this thread for future readers.

When I googled "oiled air filters test" these were the first three to be displayed. None of these were the car mag and Consumer Reports mag tests I referenced in another posting. The conclusions in each were consistent with each other and what I remembered.

I did not go beyond the first three because the references were to data from makers of oiled filters who are presumed to have a financial interest in the way they present things.

Air Filtration Test Bob The Oil Guy

http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/kn-vs-oem-filter.html Nissan Club Member

Air Filter Comparison Study - GM Truck Central

Almost everything we choose is a trade off. It is OK to have different priorities.

One from 2007 and two from 2012 performed on GM trucks and this is the conclusion:
"we can't say that all oiled filters are worse than dry filters, but from the data we saw, it is worth noting their placement."
Each of us takes our own risks/rewards for the mods we choose to spend our money on and the debate over CAI/oiled filters will continue just as the debate over which oil to use or which spark plugs are best. I know this, after 3+ years of oiled CAI use, my Boxster, with 117K miles, runs just as good, and perhaps better, than it did with a paper filter and restrictive OEM air box. Max torque and hp kick in around 1K rpm sooner than with the OEM filter. The oil that is drained at 5K miles, and the filter, are almost as clear as the new oil put in. If there is any motor wear after three years it doesn't seem evident. I've never recommended anyone do the mods I've done, it is their choice, I only give my experience when asked.:cheers:

So all of this is not to be believed?...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN_h9juITLk

Leave the stock filter, remove the snorkel and remove the air-vibration expansion/damper (replace with a rubber cap and worm clamp). Huge noise, cost $3.

You lose the 'tuned' aspect of the stock 986 intake track by removing the expansion chamber, but my butt dyno doesn't notice a difference while my ears certainly do!

I don't know numbers, but at some point more air must better than "tuned" air, no? I mean, can you even give an engine too much air?

if you want more noise, just de-snorkel it

By removing the expansion chamber, the engine still physically has access to the same amount of air(didn't change the size of the intake or intake tube diameter), but removing the chamber actually makes it harder for the air to get into the engine because of destructive interference with the resonant frequencies that are no longer dampened by the chamber. I'm not sure how much of the chamber was for performance versus for US intake noise regulation however...