i’ve been saving for z1 3” intakes, isr headers, and a z1 tune, the intakes require the tune, i was about to place the order for the intakes and talked to my dad and he essentially scared me out of it, would my engine be fine? do i have anything to worry about? i’ll have those 3 along with the z1 y-back and that’s the only power mods i plan on doing, it should be fine right? i’m at ~110k miles mainly highway driven

 

What exactly are you and your dad’s concerns? That will help to sort fact from fiction. There’s a LOT of variables but, to a degree tuning the car for power will almost always reduce the life of the engine and other driveline components.

 

reply: i think what he’s worried abt is all those variables, i just know he’s worried abt it handling all the power and doesn’t want me to mess with the ecu, my main worry was how long all this could last on a 110k mile motor and if i’d be out of a car every other week,, in other words is it even worth it or should i just keep the y back and be happy , i have actually placed the order for the 3” intakes already but can cancel it or return or resell if necessary

 

I wouldn't worry about "all that power". You're not boosting the engine, you're just adding bolt-ons.

However... why go with 3" intakes? The added air volume at the MAF sensor is what necessitates the tune. There's nothing wrong with getting the standard long-tube intake. For that matter, there's nothing wrong with the OEM intake. And why bother with aftermarket headers unless you're genuinely building the engine. The OEM headers are fine. (You know your OEM exhaust manifolds are headers, right?)

My recommendation: get a full cat-back (not a Y-back, not an axel-back) and leave the OEM headers alone. Also leave the air intake as-is. You'll get a nice little power bump un-tuned, and it will sound great. Then make some long-term plans for a set of high-flow cats and a tune afterwards.

In other words, do this stuff in stages, not all at once.

 

Dear @natesvq, as a parent of two motorhead boys - now well out of school - working age - jobs, etc., it might be that your dad just wants you to have a functional unmodded car that starts everytime you need it and brings you home each time without late night calls to him for a rescue, a ride to the parts store, ad-nauseum.
Your dad is just trying to avoid all the auto drama I have lived since they each got their first car ... and still goes on, still get those calls, still loaning out our extra sedan...(groans.)
At least that is my guess as to what is going on.

 

If you live in a rainy state, or a state that rains often, you will find that you might shoot yourself in the foot with LTIs, no matter the size. Unless you get some kind of cover (which defeats purpose) or filter wraps (which arent fullproof), your filters WILL get wet. I've had way too many instances of my car stalling cause it got rained on too much, even with filter wraps its happened twice. I now run 2 filter wraps per air filter in hopes it doesnt happen again, but coming from personal experience, its just such a dud of a mod for the gains. You can run a more "safe" route by modifying other parts that equal the same amount of gains as the intakes would, and if you were really concerned, get some K&N or AEM (my personal fav) drop in filters, and swap out your stock hose for like the Z1 silicones, and run some catch cans while you're at it (you can find them on ebay/amazon cheap). If you or your dad are concerned for some sort of reliability, LTI's should be your last suggestion. And dont consider getting short ram intakes, just waste of money for an honest loss of gain from heat soak.

TLDR:
- Dont get LTIs if it rains alot AND you daily it - Definition of unreliable
- If you want LTI's that badly, for shame, but get filter wraps, you're gonna need em
- 3 Inch Intakes REQUIRE tune. You will stall, jitter and jatter, your motor and I will cry
- Get power from other mods to make up for your LTI gains wish | Manifold Porting, Catback, Performance Filters, Etc
- K&N/AEM Drop Ins + Z1 Intake Tubes + Optional Catch Cans to keep it clean
- No Short Ram Filters (Useless, Heat Soak)

 

I agree with Rochester. Save your money and get a nice Catback setup. Buy some K&Ns and Silicon Air Intake tubes: https://conceptzperformance.com/czp-...php?quantity=1

Also reseal the intake inlet to the grill as the stock seal dry rots after time:


Stillen has their Catback on sale, plus they are offering another 15% off discount code: https://stillen.com/collections/exha...-system-504377

19WHP and some additional torque. They even claim that your mileage improves on the highway.

 

Big thanks to everyone who’s commented or messaged me from this post, gotten a lot of help. I’ve since decided against the long tube intakes for now especially the 3” and don’t think i’ll be wanting headers , again thanks so much everyone for the help, plan on getting a k&n filter, and silicone hose for intake, then some sway bars for now , also I know everyone’s recommending a cat back, but rn I have a Z1 y-back that was $1400 and at 18 I definitely don’t wanna just disregard it and save for a new one 🥲

 

Sebastian at Specialty-Z definitely stands by their 3" intake with dyno coverage and expertise on the platform, but that mod is part of a more comprehensive set of aftermarket upgrades and tuning, along with some drivability trade offs.

 

Unfortunately i dont know if you have personal experience but I do, LTIs have been the nightmare mod of my car ever since I got them. Let alone having to remote tune going WOT on a highway full of cops lol.

I had a comprehensive recommendation posted on r/g37 about my experience with them and how I solved 90% of the issue with it raining (as I daily this car). Its not 100% full proof but it helps.

Regardless, now from personal experience, id say LTI's would be one of the last mods I'd do. Id probably even go FI before wanting to stick those back on there. (in my opinion)