I have narrowed my choice down to these two CAI's. Though the Pop-Charger cost less the Stillen seems to protect better from the heat in the engine bay.

Your advice is appreciated....


Stillen


JWT Pop-Charger

 

Sorry to burst your bubble but both of those are WAIs due to the fact that the filter is located in the warm engine bay. They both attempt to isolate the filter from heat, but are still classified as WAIs. The CAIs are the Nismo, Injen, and AEM. As for my advice, get the Pop Charger over the Stealin, everyone else does.

 

yeh, the Pop seems to be the favorite. but I've also heard that it gives comparable gains to CAIs...and that CAIs are a bit of a pain given their location behind the bumper. Haven't heard anyone rave about any CAI as they have the Pop

 

I understand you rational on the WAI vs CAI, however, that's not how this product in being marketed.

http://infinitipa.zoovy.com/product/402835

 

yeh dude, none of those are cai. Honestly, since all intakes do the same thing, get the cheapest one you can find that has quality. Or...do what i did and go for the looks. Nismo cai looks bada$$. +u can find the nismo for fairly cheap online. I actually got mine brand new on ebay for only 185 shipped. I dunno.

 

I can see performance wise the Nismo would be a good solution, however, getting water in that filter could cause problems it seems to me, even with a built-in water bypass valve not to mention the amount of other foreign debris getting into the filter much easier as well. This system would require more maintenance and time getting to filter it seems to me.

Thanks for you input anyway.

 

Its Stealin what do you expect. Their philosopy is make it cost more and promise more.

 

I love my Nismo CAI, but I tell people to buy the Pop Charger now cause I am tired of arguing with all the Pop Charger owners. Plus it makes mine rarer and adds more onto the bandwagon.

 

Thanks for the advice and being so candid...

 

No problem. I don't pull any punches. There are lots of Pop Charger owners so it must be good right. If you want my honest opinion no bs. I like the way the Stillen WAI works better than the Pop Charger, but people will just comment how they got their Pop Charger for $125 and why waste money on a Stealin intake.

 

I look for the best over all value not cheapest price myself. IMO the Injen has the best CAI and the Stillen if you prefer an engine bay application at this point.

 

<raves about his NISMO CAI>

 

Reasons?

 

Mostly word of month from other folks changing their current CAI to a Ingen because of gaining a little better horsepower or wishing they would have chosen Ingen instead of what they currently have. Saw a couple of dyno posts on some other forums that indicated it performs close to what Ingen claims the system can put out. I only saw one in person installed on a G35 coupe and it appeared to have been carefully engineered and made with high quality materials. The owner said the install was not that bad and all component fit perfectly.

Basically I personally feel they have a little better edge on performance than the other CAI's on the market with NISMO being the next strongest competitor.

By the way I took a peek at you ride, that is an awesome Z you have.

 

Thanks for the comments. Yeah there has been a lot of hype as of late for the "new" Injen design. They took some of the things I like about my Nismo and incorporated them, but I still don't like the positioning of the air filter.