OK heres my problem..

First I was all about the Injen CAI, than after seeing pics after the install I think it looks kinda dumb with the filter showing behind the air dam, slmost looks like something fell out of the engine- Also car washes and driving in the rain I would think will hit the filter with ease.. I know its not enough to harm the engine but past experiences water and dirt makes the filter get old and cruddy looking FAST.. In Boston winters the snow would pack that filter up in a heartbeat.. And also if you hit a large puddle or get a big splash it could stall your car or worse..

Now the Pop charger you might be giving up MAYBE .5-1.5 HP from the lacking cold air and the slightly greater air flow. Now you will still get all the sound and 90% of the power gain for the price of a slightly less modified and snazzy look... This costs about $100 less and takes like 30 mins to install..

Anybody have some pro's and cons they like to share? Anybody have the pop charger? Do you like it? I would love some input!

 

I did a search on it and for some reason decided to not get the POP Charger, I have seen it for 100 bucks.

But you have raised some good points about the placement of the CAI's.

Can someone with a pop charger chime in I am considering one again too now!

 

I been reading treads after treads of people saying they have problems with the pop or they felt no gain or even some say a loss... I think I am gonna toss in a K&N drop in until I see something that is proved to make a gain AND the placement of it is not in the air dam

 

If your really on the fence and don't have the "gotta mod now" bug, then maybe you should wait to see what Nismo will have to offer in a few months. I have a feeling that it will just be the K&N drop in, but if they didn't feel the need to modify the filter to get improvements, then maybe you don't either. Also, AEM is releasing their CAI soon. Don't know if it will be any different than the Ingen regarding your (legitmate) concerns, but it might be worth waiting for just to see.

 

I dropped in the K&N till AEM releases the CAI Version 2 in blue.
It's worth the extra 40 bucks for more flow while you wait.

My concern is that at AEM's website it says M/T only.

What is M/T? Manual Transmision?

Why would that matter?

V2 app table

 

Thanks for that link.. I'll keep an eye on it.. And M/T is usually means manual tranny.. This maybe because the piping may worm downward into the open space on an M/T as where it would be occupied if it was an auto..

But thats actually a good thing for my thoughts because that would mean the AEM CAI filter would sit somewhere behind the wheelwell and not in the air dam like the injen.. I'll keep my eyes open for the release, the gains arn't incredible but its still a gain and a nice exhaust note..

 

i've had the pop charger on my car for about 2 weeks. it sounds a lot better, car has never stalled, idle is fine. i only paid $80 for my pop charger IMO it was worth the investment b/c in due time a chip will be out to work in accordance with the pop charger. i'm not sure if i like the placement of the CAI. i would be lying if i said since i've installed the pop charger my Z has a lot more power to be honest i can't notice a gain. on the upside i definitely can't notice a loss. it was like spend 40 for a k&n filter or spend 80 for a pop charger! my choice was obvious, i hope this helps in some way. if you have any other questions i would be more than glad to help.

 

I have to agree with ppw350z. I put the pop charger on my DB Z when it had 100 miles on it. I have never had any stalling or erratic idle problems. It now has 2200 and I can't honestly say that I cannot notice a big HP improvement. However it does sounds nice and throaty. The biggest improvement I've noticed is in the removal of the resonator as I posted in a new thread earlier. I think the pop charger along with the removal of the resonator has given my z and incredible ballsy sound!

 

I had the pop charger on and it sucks. I just took it off and put the injen intake on and it made the biggest difference. I had no throttle response with the JWT on . NO low output. 1-4 rmp was slow 4-6 it would just take off. With the injen on 1-6 just takes off. I have low and high output now I love it.

 

Take a look at the closeout panel right below the air box at the left side of the grill area. The panel pops out. I cut a three inch hole in it, mounted a flange and ran a three inch ram air tube right up to the stock air box. That little mod with a new K&N filter cost about $52 and probably will work as well as any of the aftermarket stuff. You're also up off the ground with the cold air pickup point and you've got about two feet of three inch hose that will drain the water out if you should happen to get drowned.
Works good, can't see it unless you're looking for it and it works well. I posted the instructions for making the mod on one of the other threads the other night. No pics yet. I have to borrow a digital camera.

 

Cool i'll be looking forward to your mod post!

Anybody have any idea when the AEM will be released?

 

Just spoke with someone over at AEM. They said they are ready to release the standard CAI for the 350Z any day now, but there aren't any current plans yet for a V2 for anything but the Honda's -- possibly in the near future.

I personally give it 2-3 months.