Ebay CAI Review, Bought and Installed

[thejobman]

I just recently bought a generic CAI from a eBay vendor "trackracing". I paid approximately $125 for it, shipped to my door.

The quality of the pipe was OK and the filter was a KNN filter. Unfortunately, the vendor included parts I did not need and did not include a part that I did need. The part not included was a vacuum plug, used to seal a hole in the pipe. I went to my local parts store, purchased a $2 rust proof bolt and fitted it through the hole via the provided rubber grommet.

After this, I preceded to install the CAI in parking lot of the parts store. It took a whole 10 minutes.

My immediate impression:
-a sound difference that is noticeable in 1st and 2nd gear at WOT, but thats about it
-little to none power increase

My impression, after driving 500 or so miles:
-sound difference much more noticeable, in all gears at WOT or close to WOT
-maybe 2-3hp gained, something definitely got better (my ego? maybe)

My priorities were to add a bit more bark for my 540i... and this product succeeded in doing so. I just wanted to add more sound and my only power related requirements was that this product should not make my car slower... (and I feel it did not from my "seat of my pants" meter).

If you want the most HP gain, this is not the product for you.

I will post some sound clips and pictures I get a chance...

[Eric S.]

Cool! I look forward to some sound!

[thejobman]

Sorry no sound clips yet seems that the device I was planning to use isnt up to snuff in sound recording quality... I have not tried using my dvd camcorder... might have to bust that out...

Here are some pics:








My ghetto vacum plug:

[Eric S.]

The vacuum plug works!!

The only intake I've ever tried that made a noticeable gain in power was an "Iceman" cold air intake I bought for my old '91 Civic Si. I didn't run any computational fluid dynamics flow models or anything, but I AM an engineer, and a visual inspection revealed why it boosted low-end power: the plastic intake tube was tapered, decreasing in diameter from the filter to the throttle body (sort of the opposite of your intake). The gradual decrease in diameter was made possible by a molded two-piece design, where the two tube halves were bonded together and smoothed. Anyhoo, the diameter reduction seen by the intake air on its way thru the tube to the throttle body accelerates the air's speed, giving a little bit of a frequency-specific boost at lower revs, and a little more turbulence entering the intake manifold.

That's my theory anyway. I'd try an intake with that kind of design. Meanwhile, I'll just stick with my whisper-quiet stock sports sedan (sigh)...

[thejobman]

Yea, there definitly is an increased response at 20 mph, in 2nd gear... if you floor it right then, you get a nice burst of low end power and whooooosh to go with it... it really feels great!