I've recently purchase a almost new kenitex v5 plenum and a brand new AEM CAI for the total of $450(parts and labor) installed. Just want to know everyone opinion, 'cause I feel like I got a pretty decent deal but just not sure.

 

that's good

 

sounds like a good deal to me...

 

^ w0rd

 

thanx alot guys, just wanna make sure that i didnt get ripped off.

 

CAI + plenum = loss in power. Been proven, do a search to learn more. In that regard you set up a bad deal...

 

i do notice that i've lost a but of low end torque but i feel like the engine rev a bit faster, and i gain alot of power after 4200 rpm.

https://my350z.com/forum/showthread....ght=plenum+cai

 

4200, that's pretty high for a "gain in power" No point in gaining power when you lose power down low... you basically break even. Doesn't really help in daily driving unless you constantly shift at 4k+. JWT Popcharger is probably your best bet. But as far as the deal goes, great deal!

 

I agree you got a good deal on the spacers, though you might wanna consider selling the cai b/c the loss is common when you combine them..

 

Does this just apply to a CAI?? I have the jwt and was placing my order for the 5/16 spacer soon. Everything I read said this was a good combo...am I mistaken??

 

i think you should be ok, it just converted my CAi into a short ramp in the frenzing cold. I've notice a bit more torque at around 2100 - 2500 rpm.

 

cbrflyer919: Your just fine.

Pictures 2 glasses of water, one has a long straw the other has a short straw. When 2 people drink from the straw, who will win?

There is nothing wrong with the CIA itself, just when you combine it with something like an oversized plenum (since thats all they are, and all the spacer does is make the plenum larger), what good does it do to you if you can't get enough air in there? Thats why short ram intakes (JWT in particular) are so popular. Less distance to travel before the air gets to where it needs to be.

Another example is why you see the turbos open to the atmosphere at the big drag events. Why go through any filter and/or piping. Faster you get the air into the turbo, faster you spool it, etc etc.

Just think about it, draw it out, or have a race next time you hit McD's and youll see what everyone is talking about =)

Or ask Bert, he loves correcting people!

 

Ok that makes sense, and I appreciate the answer but heres my method of thinking...
First and formost lets throw out the differences between a jwt/short ram and a CAI as far as temperature of air getting to the engine. I only want to look at airflow and as you have brought forward, length of time to get the airflow.
If we assume that the pipe diameter on both jwt and CAI are identical and we assume that they are both in good locations to grab air (CAI under the car, and jwt directly in the path of the factory air duct), and lastly we assume that the filter element of each is the same size and shape to allow the same amount of air into the tube. Why would it make a difference as to power between the two?? The way I see it no matter how long the tube is there is air in that tube(unlike a straw with a drink and you have a delay in how much "sucking" you have to do to get the liquid), there will always be air ready and waiting in that intake tube, why does length of tube really matter to performance?? I mean I can see tiny differences in amount of time it takes to get that tube pressureized but not a significant difference in power/torque. Whatya think??

 

alright, Im gonna go get a bunch of identical straws and cut them to various lengths and try breathing through all of them to see if I can tell a difference, haha. Im bored!!!!

 

Just like you said, the engine has to "suck" its air in. It works harder to pull the air further to get the ammount it needs to combust. Now the distance plays a factor in how fast the air is getting where it needs to be. Combine this with a larger plenum, we all know the engine is goingto burn the air much faster than it gets into the system, now not only is the engine pulling all that air through your larger plenum, its also having to work on an extra 2-3' of pipe, vs the 1-2' for the JWT. Add in a free flowing exhaust, etc etc. You can see where its all going.

Now this obviously isn't exact by any means. Im not engineer, or even remotly close to being good with engines, its just the principles that im using as refrence.

In the end, its your ride, go with what you want. I seriously doubt you would notice any difference if you were just a casual driver looking for a few mods to round out your engine. If you were an avid driver trying to squeeze every last bit of HP out of your engine (read Bert, RickDog, etc) then you can see why the CAI gets a bad rap.

 

On my car AEM CAI+Crawford = 243whp. Next week with Pop-charger+Crawford, no tuning or ecu reset same dyno SAE corrected 253whp. Take it for what its worth, others have had similar results. To many people get caught up in the whole "but the CAI gets colder air" yeah like 5 degrees which doesnt add to $hit, and by the time you do get slightly cooler air, your intake pipe is shaped like an elephants broken d!ck and is 4 feet long.

 

you got a good deal , just convert your CAI into short ram.