Nebiros

iTrader: (1)

Working in the automotive industry; I understand that feedback and reviews of products helps the developers and retailers of those products as well as the prospective consumers. Hence this review of my interactions with Import Parts Pro and the Momentum Performance Cold Air Intake.

I bought my Z about 9 months ago from a listing on the local craigslist. The previous owner had a Nismo CAI installed by the dealer. Once I purchased the vehicle and started looking around here I found that it was only part of the normal Nismo intake. It was basically a replacement of the tube from the throttle body to the where the factory air box would normally be, with a little Nismo sticker on it. It was effectively a hot air intake - a cheap eBay filter stuck onto the MAF housing and no shielding. Since I purchased this vehicle in the fall I didn't notice how badly the hot intake was performing. Once spring hit and we started seeing higher temps I noticed the car becoming a bit sluggish off the line once it was warmed up. I decided to hook up a scan tool and monitor my intake temps via the temp sensor in the MAF.

Testing conditions - mid 90 degree day, ambient gauge reading 90*.
Initial startup, 136* air
Going down the road at 45mph after 5 mins runtime, 128* air
Idling in my driveway aprox. 3 mins, after 15 minute stop and go driving, 178* air

Temps. that were 38-88* above ambient in my mind were not acceptable on a NA car.

I was in search then for a cold air intake, after much review and research I decided upon the Momentum Performance intake, with the best price & purchasing feedback from Import Parts Pro.

Import Parts Pro - flawless service, receipts immediately after purchase, tracking number as soon as it shipped, and contact making sure I was happy with my purchase. I will not hesitate to purchase more from them in the future, great company.

Once my intake arrived I took it into my work one night to install. With all the aftermarket parts I've dealt with over the years through our dealership, never have I seen a product packaged so well, with such detailed instructions as this intake had. Most performance intakes we put on in our shop for customers come thrown in a box in a couple bags with 1 page parts explosion diagram. This intake had a compartment cut out of foam for each component and protected 360*.

I got the intake installed, very snug & precise fit, took a little wiggling around of the couplers to get everything in the perfect position; bolted up like a charm. Started her up, a co-worker of mine said the intake sounded much deeper than before, I noticed I thankfully lost my cheap eBay filter whistle. I drove home that night, no sluggish feeling from a launch. I waited until another mid 90s day to recreate my test conditions to see if there was any "cold air benefits".

Post intake test - mid 90s, same road, same time of day, same 90* ambient gauge reading.
Initial startup, 100*
Going down the road at 45mph after 5 mins, 98*
Idling in driveway after 15 min. drive, 114*

8-24* above ambient = huge improvement from before. Excellent product by Momentum Performance - looking forward to some of your other products.

Long winded I know but it gives a little history of my situation, testing, and reviews of a good product and a good retailer to buy from.

hellsoldiers08

iTrader: (3)

e30cabrio

iTrader: (30)

Nice writeup.

What year Z do you have? The Z is one of the few cars I know of that had 3 motors in 6 years so it's important to know which we are talking about.

Thanks

jv350z

iTrader: (6)

in for pics + info

DaveJackson

iTrader: (5)

Pic's of what? Him holding the thermometer or of him buying the unit from the parts store!?? It's a pretty thorough description of the whole deal. If you want a picture of the kit, Momentum has pictures and even flashy videos all over the place.

Nebiros

iTrader: (1)

I will post some pics in the morning, long day at work and didn't have a chance to snap a picture. As for the temp readings they were readings from the MAF sensor as it has a intake air temp reading in the pcm.

I have a DE non-revup motor.

I might wrap the intake with some heat wrap since it is the polished unit. The original plan was to ceramic coat it but I got quotes of around $120... more then I felt like wasting on possibly a couple extra degrees

Nebiros

iTrader: (1)

Out with the old.

<img src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/46203_149590301734261_100000498755203_401403_5654849_n.jpg">

In with the new.
<img src="http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/261754_251507094875914_100000498755203_1073332_5645933_n.jpg ">

New filter location.
<img src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/262172_251507301542560_100000498755203_1073333_6160811_n.jpg ">

The filter is easily removable when you take the underbody shield off when you change oil, etc...

Doh-Joe

iTrader: (40)

I didn't know Momentum made intake for our cars. Cool stuff. Would like to see a proper dyno with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4Vh-zrlS2Y

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Great write up, but it does make me think a bit. I did some data logging with my JWT popcharger and the best i got is 8 degrees above ambient (ambient from my internal dash display) then averaged 10 degrees hotter than ambient while driving. Parked is another story, it does get hot, i'm not a drag racer so i don't care.

Recap, same temps while driving with a CAI as a JWT popcharger.

Nebiros

iTrader: (1)

What other modifications do you have besides the JWT? Vented hood? Front bumper intake hole? Etc??

Call me skeptical but considering I had basically the same setup minus the little piece of bent sheet metal I don’t see how that could possibly isolate the filter enough to get those types of temps.

What temps did you see at idle?

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

Stock hood, stock bumper, just the popcharger installed with the heat shield. Standing still at idle the temp does go up a lot, very high, but like i said i don't care. My car is moving when on the roadcourse, i have even data logged on the track with the added heat, still stayed roughtly 10 degrees over ambient as listed on my internal dash display.

Will data log again once i get my V2 bumper installed with the air duct, i want to see if it makes a difference.

Taylor@Momentum

Thanks for the review!

denchan350gt

iTrader: (4)

is the G35 intake done yet and is it similar to this one? I asked about it last month and was told it was still in R&D.

mw9

iTrader: (51)

looks like very good quality stuff, but seems alittle over priced

Nebiros

iTrader: (1)

To some, it may be... But people spend thousands on wheels, thousands on body kits, and then throw a $50-100 intake/filter on it.

I personally chose to put some money into a well thought out and engineered intake, instead of something cheap. To each their own, but I'm more then happy with this setup, breathes even better on road trips at 80mph.

Z1 Performance

iTrader: (564)

The only downside is once temps get to be in the 105-108 range, timing takes a big dip downward. That being said, people have all sorts of different reasons for chaning one part for another, so not knocking the purchase (hell, I had a completely ridiculously priced carbon intake on my car at one point, thought it worked well...and I regret getting rid of it)

You would likely be more impressed from a technical standpoint with a stock, preferably '05 track or any '06 (though the differences are small) airbox back in the mix

mw9

iTrader: (51)

I can agree with that statement.

jarrodh77

iTrader: (20)

I installed the Momentum intake today and did a similar test.

JWT Popcharger with heat shield:
Outside temp: 51*
Intake temp cruising at 55mph: 59*
Intake temp after idling for 15mins: 145*

Momentum CAI:
Outside temp: 46*
Intake temp cruising at 55mph: 50*
Intake temp after idling for 15mins: 102*

Intake temps were logged with UpRev Cipher. I'm happy with the big difference in intake temp at idle. I always worry about heat soak at autocrosses where you make a run then sit in grid for 20 mins or so before the next run.

toniz

does this 1 work good with 06 rev up? cause i think that the rev up best intake is stock

freddys 350z

yes it does. the rev up intake is not any better then a cai. its just a cheaper alternative to a cai. not to mention the momentum cai just looks sick!