Just about done here with the testing fitment and measurements, some observations on the intake bluebomber has sent to me and the kit he's putting together -
Very good quality materials and fabrication. Nicely 3 inch aluminum mandrel bent tubing from the TB out to the MAF. The bungs have a tight, precise fit and nicely done welds, a nice 360 deg bead outside, no gap inside:
The placement of the MAF is spot-on in relation to the distance to the TB. With my old short intake, this distance was
too short:
Cheap intakes even weld this piece in two sections using stock bend tubing, and if you have pinholes, cracks, or any issues with this piece, you're ****ed - the motor will lean out and stop running, which is why I pay a lot of attention to the section from the MAF to the TB. Placement that allows the three B13 tubes to attach without extreme angles also a big plus.
You really want to keep the MAF out closer to where it lived in stock trim, not so close to the motor. Mike K mentions this distance in some of his SR tuning advice. This is where this intake places the MAF. The difference as I mentioned before running this is very quick throttle response. Someone smarter than I am would have to explain why this is so, but it's clear that the popcharger venturi ring in that close plus a very large K&N sounds "good" (if louder and deeper exhaust is your goal) but down under 5000 rpm, the throttle response sucked. Autocross you live and die by good throttle response on corner exit.
Most knock-off eBay short ram intakes make this mistake, and all they do is make a lot of noise and no power. LOL, I recently looked at an eBay special "CAI" for about 40 bucks, the filter I would generously call a roll of toilet paper, the welds look very lacking in fillet/bead support for the bungs, prone to cracking or breaking. If any of these three bungs fail on the first intake piece, you get air flowing in
after the MAF, a lot more than it's giving fuel for. Extreme lean conditions under high load usually leads to broken motor bits.
The two pieces after the MAF give you nice ability to adjust the final placement of the air filter in the fender. One thing that bothers me about using one piece here is you have very little say over where the filter lands. If you don't like it extremely low, too bad if you have a single piece. AEM for example tends to place the filter lower than I am comfortable with.
Piece #2:
However AEM and Injen both do some other things well, like a quality powdercoat for both finish and heat soak resistance, which is what this will have - the bare aluminum is for fit and testing. I've noticed cheap intakes are usually very shiny, since polishing is cheaper than coating and does nothing to help with heat issues, but it raises the bling factor for people who want shiny things under their hood, the "chrome it all" crowd.
Sorry for all the delays, I finally have my cutout done using the supplied template to allow the 3" tube to exit into the fender well. If you live in New England lately you may have noticed it's been damn cold, and I also was waiting on a MAF adapter I ordered to use for test fit instead of my huge martian standard one (bluebomber makes his own and it will be included in the kit, much nicer than the "universal" 3" MAF adapter).
The elbows where silicone joints are clamped use a very good quality material, a lot like my Thermaflex tubing. Cheap silicon in pretty colors has a bad habit of cracking over time unlike quality stuff. If you're OK with using duct tape I suppose that's workable.
I see a lot of CAI/WAI discussion around "just buy the cheapest eBay intake, then go get a decent filter at Autozone" or similar. I've looked at a lot of these lately and that's just not true. The first tubing piece is critically important in dimensions, materials, and quality of fabrication, it has a significant impact on how your motor behaves, how responsive it is. If anything fails there, you're screwed. The pieces after the MAF are also important, but there assuming good materials and nicely flowing bends, adjustability is key when you're trying to route a 3" tube through a cutout between the inner fender and esp if you have a normal battery.
I'll post back when it's all assembled as a true CAI, then take it apart and send it back, I expect they'll be available soon thereafter.
Overall, people who want the cheapest possible intake available, that's not the market for this setup. Ditto for someone who needs an AEM sticker or similar, or just wants to spend up to a hundred bucks more. The people who like this will be looking for quality and performance at a reasonable price, good fitment, and not having to carry that roll of duct tape around in case your intake falls apart
I'm in the middle category where I want the things that work and can hold up, and on that count I'd say this rates a big "thumbs-up".