So my intakes came via FedEx yesterday as I was heading out the door for work; of course. Needless to say, the install had to wait until today.

Shipping was from CA to VA and was pretty quick, no complaints. They shipped it the same say I paid for it and Kyle was cool in making sure it got out to me that same day. He was also very quick to respond to my PMs.

So let's rate things a little.

1) Packaging - 10
a) Everything was well wrapped and protected
b) No missing parts
c) No damaged parts
d) Instructions included

2) Out of the box quality - 10
a) Everything looked really nice
b) No scratches
c) No dents
d) All welds looked great, no slag or sharp edges

3) Directions - 6
a) Not enough instructions for the average DIY person
b) Black and White - color ink is cheap enough these days

4) Install - 5
a) Overall it is a pain in the ***
b) Screw hose clamps are JUST big enough to go over hoses
c) You have to cut the plastic on the front core support for the tubes to get through
d) You have to install all the parts and leave them loose to do the final fitting
e) The drivers side tube is WAY too close to the strut tower. The passenger side has an extra bend, not sure why they did not include this on the driver side.
f) The breather hose needs to be cut in two and honeslty that makes them too small
g) The other hose gets split and put on the AC lines becasue the tube is GOING to lay right on top of them. They could have split this hose for us.
h) Do NOT like the way the filters connect to the front bracket and the bracket did not give me clear access to the passenger side bolt.
i) Do not like the goofy air filter shield. It covers one filter more than the other. I may pull it back apart and modify this so it fits better

5) Final fitting - 8
a) I started at the filters and worked my way back to the intake as this seemed to be the best way after a few attempts.
b) Overall, with a few tweaks, this would be a perfect fitting kit. I am sure there must be reasons for things being the way they are if they really did 50 prototypes to get to these

6) Test Drive - 10
a) Butt dyno says WOW, it just seems to pull all the way through the RPM range now
b) Sound is there from 1000-redline, not at the last few thousand like the JWT

7) Overall - 9
a) Other than the PITA for all the cutting and a few fit and finish issues, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a real CAI and wants to tackle this. I would leave a good 4-5 hours to take your time and do it right.


With that out of the way, let me just get into it.

I popped the hood, removed my JWT Pop Chargers, and began to remove the engine bay parts as mentioned in the directions. I then proceed to remove the cover in front of the radiator and unbolt the OEM air box tubes. With all the removals done, it is time to look at the cutting part. I happen to have a Dremel, with a flexible wand, and every attachment. At first I use a carbide cutting bit but it was too agressive and too hard to control. I then went to the round tool with the barrel sander on it (I will post pics tomorrow). This proved to be the ticket and I proceeded to remove all the plastic that I felt needed to be removed. The pics show a circle but what I did was remove all the parts with the "lip". This "lip" is about a 1/2" piece of plastic that protrudes into the engine side of the support. I felt that this was the best way and allowed me to easliy grind away until I had the size and shape I wanted (I will post pics too).

Now the hard part, getting the front tubes in. I chose not to remove the bumber or the grille, I used as much caution as I could but did end up with a scratch on one tube (already fixed with wet sanding 200/400/800/1000 and the polish). To fix this, I removed the bracket for the hood latch, this gave me enough room to get the tubes in but it was NOT easy. I will remove the grille or bumper if I have to do this again.

Once those were in I proceeded to install the rest of the parts. The clamps for the breather hoses and the throttle body are damn near to small......

After all that was in place, I proceed to work from the filters back to the throttle bodies and adjust parts as necessary to get the best fit.

As I said before, I do not like the filter bracket, the protector and the DS tube it way too close to the strut tower.

The other thing is that where the tubes pass through the core support, even with the plastic cut, there is metal there that could rub....to fix that I put some foam on the tubes in those spots just to be safe.

I wish I would have done photos while I was doing it but did not feel like messing with it.

I would do this again, and could do it quicker....

If you are thinking about it, get it, you will like it!!!

Pics will be up tomorrow

Link to pics of scratch repair. https://www.myg37.com/forums/d-i-y-installations-modifications/188072-diy-scratch-removal-on-polished-intakes.html

 

ugh, i just received mine today and am dreading the install, im going to see how much some of the local shops would charge me to put it in, spending a couple hundred might be worth the hours of frustration it will cost me installing it myself.

 

nice write up bro.. even though you shoulda given 1/10 for install from all the complaints you had
i'm still waiting for freakin R2C to come up with something to compare otherwise I'm stillen
or should i wait for a 4th gen
congrats bro and please do vid's! which is louder you think the HFC or the intakes?

 

**** i want this intake so bad but i know i cant install it myself and i dont want risk it with shop cause every shop i have gone to or call has neither told me this is there first g37 and might take awhile cause it took them 3 hours to install my springs. So i dont want risk cutting my A/C line!

good review !

 

Congrads bro, glad you like them. =)

 

If you are mechannically capable, I would do it myself, Theres nothing better to do than to enjoy a Sunday in the garage or driveway modding your car. Its not like you gotta drop the engine out and get all greasy and dirty. Its all bolt on, nothing hard, just time consuming. Enjoy modding your own car, the feeling afterwards is awesome

 

Honestly, the hardest part is cutting the holes, and for some removing the radiator cover.

 

Umm, no its not, the hardest part is getting the intake to actually fit nicely without hitting anything. The driver side is a bit longer than the passenger side, and it sits dangerously close to the AC lines. the passenger is barely long enough to connect. You really have to play around with this intake system alot, the plastic piece that covers the two intake is a joke to put on also, not the easiest thing to do, really dont know how do ppl put that part in without taking the bumper off.

 

man yours shipped the same day...i ordered mine on nov. 29th and on dec. 1st got a email saying "proccessing order" and its been stuck at that since...i was hoping to get them in this week but its already almost friday and they still didn't even ship.
Not to mention CA to NJ which will prob take another week anyway.

 

I thought unbolting the cats from the headers was the biggest PITA that I could run into with this car, but I handled it. I'm not mechanically savvy, at least not particularly with cars. I can build computers and solder mod chips in ps2's, but cars are newer territory. I'm systematic, not mechanic. Doing the exhaust work wasn't bad, but this I am going to try. After all, if I f' anythng up I guess it all can be replaced. Dremel tool with accessories can be had at Amazon for $55 and a wand is $20.

 

its really why im having 2nd thoughts

 

MAn I cannot wait to get mine.

 

Ditto^^^

GROUP BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!

 

OH we should buy them together and get a discount.

 

This is not HARD per sea, just a PITA....