Well I wound up taking it off, for a number of reasons. I wanted the top-end back (either it's leaning out above 6k or starving, likely the former judging by the drone in the sound), the ongoing filter rubbing issue, and my lack of faith in anything plastic. In my defense there wasn't any loosening over 100 miles, nor any heat warping, but my uneasiness won out.

I'm sure it will be remade eventually with welded 2.5" pipe sections into a new 2.5" filter instead of my old crappy one. I'll probably include a tab that bolts down to that tranny mount for the stock airbox I've been fighting. I still give props to Sid for coming up with a cheap enough way for me to try it out to see if a short ram is worth it.

Until then, I gotta live without that sweet sweet sound, darn it all.

 

Have you considered that the increase in low end response could be giving you the illusion that the performance has fallen off on the top end? It may feel that way, but is probably the same performance as stock at higher revs. I went to a muffler shop and they put together a 2 1/2" axle back pipe with an 18" glass pack topped off with a tip I ordered from J.C. Whitney. I can't remember what the tip cost me, but the rest was about $80.00 and the stock pipe and muffler is sitting in the barn with less than 500 miles on it. It sounds better than any aftermarket pipe I've heard so far. It might make a difference. I think that mine did. The intake might work better with only one elbow, I don't think there is any noticeable difference in intake temperature with one elbow and the air flow would be more direct.

 

I wondered if it was in my head so I took some movies with the digital camera. Gotta go to bed right now so I'll encode something up tomorrow.

Once you see it, you can be the judge.

The difference wasn't drastic, except the car wheezed out of breath.

I miss the sound already, it was the best sounding intake I've ever heard.

 

I have to give you credit for eye appeal, looks really nice. There is no way that it is leaning out or starving, because the air to fuel ratio is managed by the oxygen sensor, and the CEL would light up if it wasn't right. I would use the camera on the stock filter first, accelerating in 2nd gear from whatever rpm that your car starts to pull from till the limiter kicks in, then time it with a stopwatch between different points on the tachometer, write the figures down, then repeat using your trick intake. I hope that you come up with positive results. I don't see how you wouldn't. Good Luck.

 

Vid is uploading to youtube, that takes a few minutes to work

It is possible for a GD3 to run lean. There is no mass airflow sensor and the o2 sensors are narrowband. That means when your right foot hits the floor and the throttle opens up, all the ECU sees as far as airflow sensors is the MAP reading about a bar and the IAT. (narrowband o2 sensor is useless at full throttle because it only reads rich/lean; it can't tell between a 12.5:1 rich and 14.5:1 rich, which is actually lean for the conditions.)

I was hoping the video would pick up the droning sound over 6k. It was literally such a loud hum that it made my ears pop. I think it's the 3" piping in conjuction with tight bends allowing the pressure waves to pile up on one another.

 

YouTube - Fit intake comparison

From the videos, I used a stopwatch from 4k to redline a few times for both, and came up with about 3.9 sec for the first one and 4.0 sec for the second one. Pretty much within a margin of error so no conclusive evidence.

I'm not giving up on this quite yet, just need to revise the setup. I'm still thinking 2.5" will give better laminar flow and get rid of that loudness. Besides I don't want to be wearing through filters every 1000 miles like I would be now! Dang airbox mount.

And yes, I drove it to work with the stock airbox and I miss the Sid intake already. It had more part-throttle pep.

 

Does anyone have the part number handy for the red coupler from Autozone that connects the 2 bends together?

 

A few months ago, I did have a little hiccup with my setup. I discovered that at some point, the breather filter fell off, so I was basically driving around without it. I had to make a run to Pep Boys to buy a new one, not to mention some screwdrivers so I could attach it right there in the parking lot.

I've learned you gotta check all those clamps to make sure they are tight enough. I checked mine on Thanksgiving and had to tighten them all. I guess this should be something I do on a monthly basis.

 

Basic maintenance on any aftermarket intake setup. Its weird how those high speed muffler bearings always find a way to back off a little bit.

 

Another SSR intake installed. Mine has a custom anodized red paint job. Will post pics of it soon. I do have a rattle between the battery tray and the filter so I need to put some type of cushion to stop the noise.

 

Hope that works out for ya, though I cannot tell exactly where you are talking about the position of the filter

 

I'm wondering how I'm going to put my heat shield on now...

Haha, decided to give this intake a try, but I used an ITG filter instead, and boy does it sound a lot deeper than before! I wonder if I'll get used to it... it sounds fast now, but it's still hella slow, lmao.

Oh yeah, does anybody know of a place that sells foam breathers? I really don't like the red cone one

 

if you unplug the IAT from the harness will you always get a CEL?

 

looks awesome I've been thinking about getting an ITG filter.. you can get an ITG breather from ITG Air Filters US Distributor - Profilters, Maxogen and Megaflow Air Filters : ITG Breather Air Filter EBF16 or Euro Sport Cool-Flo, and Cool-Flo Race Cold Air Intake Systems

 

yes you need the IAT plugged in.

 

about the IAT sensor. i just kinda taped mine to the pipe (ill drill it in eventually) i had a CEL for a couple hours but it dissapeared when it readjusted.

 

so if it's plugged back in you won't get a CEL?

 

Ok, maybe this will make things clearer:

• The IAT sensor is delicate.
• Simply moving the sensor and harness around can trip the CEL.
• The majority of people have found that if you unplug and replug the IAT, the CEL will be on no matter what you do.
• Then there have been people who have unplugged and replugged the IAT from the harness, and it did not trip the CEL.

Whether you:

1. unplug/replug the IAT,
2. wiggle the IAT,
3. move the IAT,
4. stare at the IAT,
5. dream about the IAT,
6. have a neighbor who thought an IAT was an Italian Army Tank, or
7. you had an Itra-Aortic-Tachycardia while reading this,

within 2 or less driving cycles, depending on driving time, the CEL will go away.
You will not need to:

1. take it to the dealership,
2. clear any codes,
3. disconnect/reconnect the battery,
4. stand on your head, or
5. knock your mamma's jaw loose!

 

heh thanks for clearing that up

 

Looks real clean i was going to do this too paint it flat balck for a clean look but i have a red cone filter.