RedG37SNC and Nogoodname already left good detailed reviews so I am going to piggy back on theirs and explain some problems I had with the install and how to fix them.

Packaging -Excellent, no way this thing should get damaged during shipment, tons of bubble wrap ect.

First Impression/Looks - I ordered the black chrome and it looks awesome. The filters and all components of the intake are built well, no complaints.

Installation - Ok, first of all the instructions suck. The pictures are tiny, black and white, and washed out so they will do you no good whatsoever. The written instructions aren't great but they help a little I guess.

Installation should be straightforward and fairly easy. This is not a huge rocket science project. That being said I had more problems than most.

First, if you get black chrome or any other custom painted finish than you will probably have paint in the threads where the MAF sensor screws go into. Nogood and a few others had this problem as well so I know it's not isolated. Nogood used a screw to get as much of the paint out as possible. Even with that you will have to wrench the screws down pretty hard. DO NOT force the screws too much. I broke a MAF sensor screw off while trying to force it into the threads. Take your time and use a socket wrench, not a screw driver as you may strip the head of the screws which I did as well

OK, the next problem I had was the crank case hose on the passenger side intake (the small hose that fits on to the main intake tube halfway down) as you can see in the pics the only way to get these on was to bend the hell out of the hose and it just didn't fit well. Another forum member mentioned he re routed the crankcase hose and I did the same. It fit much better once the hose is re routed. Ed from R2C is going to include this step in the instructions from now on.

Pics of crankcase hose before re routing





Pics of crankcase hose after re routing





After the hose was re routed the rest of the passenger side install was easy with no problems.

Next Problem I had on the drivers side is that the crankcase hose was just an inch or two too short to fit on the intake tube. I loosened the hose up from the engine and pulled it off/back and inch or two and this fixed the problem. See pics below

Pic before adjustment



Pic after adjustment



Finally the finished install




One thing I wold like to mention is that Ed from R2C was extrememly helpful through out the process. He even sent me extension hoses and maf screws. I ended up not needing them, but his customer service is top notch. He is also very interested in improving the intakes in anyway he can. He is going to make the inlet tubes on the main intake tubes a bit longer to make installation easier and nogood said he is talking to the paint people about fixing the MAF thread issue. Bottom line if you have any problems with the intake contact R2C and they will make it right.

Pic of ext hoses Ed sent me


Driving Impressions - I've only had the intake on for two days. As soon as you rev the engine up you can tell a huge difference, this bad boy makes some mean noise at high RPM's. At low RPM's you can't really tell difference which is good. I haven't notice a HP increase or decrease yet. Time will tell on MPG.

One slight problem I am having is close to redline a get a bit of vibration while driving. I don't get it when parked and reving the engine, just when I'm driving and only right at redline. I mentioned this to Ed at R2C and he said my heat shields may be too high. I have to apply some force to get the hood to close so this may be the problem. I am going to adjust them down a little and will update if that fixes the problem.

 

nice write up and congrats on the long waited install...lol

time for vids i say

 

Man you and Red already have vids up, mine won't be any different.... Unless the 2009 dominates the 2008

 

nice writeup.


I like the idea of them not being noticeable at low rpms. Where would you say they are noticeable and only during hard acceleration?

 

it does hurt for more vids... always fun to watch

 

Great pix and review Lucas

 

Thanks. I would say they start to growl around 4k RPM's and especially under hard acceleration.

 

nogood I'll get some vids of me reving the engine up, but I don't really have a good spot nearby to do a drive by

 

I had the same exact problem with the hoses. I PM'd the vender (Kyle, I believe), he gave me R2C's number. I called and spoke to someone there, very nice. He told me he was going to send me a length of the correct diameter hose to replace the OEM hoses. I was happy. The package arrived quickly. But, when I opened it there was not a long length of hose for me to replace the existing hoses with, instead there were 2 pieces similar to what you have at the top of the you have in your last picture except the attached hoses are WAY shorter. I didn't even bother using them. I'm probably gonna call them back and see what's up or just go to an autoparts store myself and buy a length of the right type of hose. I also with the nipple positions were a bit better for clearance but I do like the intakes. Black Chrome you have looks very nice. I went with the Black Powder Coated. I noticed that the intakes are not loud though. Unless, the sound is hidden by the roar of the Berk Test Pipes and MXP exhaust.

 

The passenger side is easily fixed re routing the hose. On the drivers side I think there is something inside of the hose,not sure what it is but I would make sure you find out before replacing the hose completely.

My intake is loud anytime I punch it especially at higher RPM's, above 4K or so. I have stock exhaust so maybe I notice it more.

 

I wish you were in So Cal, so I can hear it in person :/

Nice write up, nevertheless.
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I wish I was in So Cal too, Arkansas is not the mecca

 

I lowered the heat shields about an inch or two and the rattle I mentioned seems to have gone away. I used tape to make sure I was still getting a seal with the hood so should be good to go.

 

that's good.... it's pretty loud with stock exhaust.

even driving on the highway at lets say 100km/h (60mph)... floor it to redline and sounds like a jet plane behind you....lol

 

Nice write-up and thanks for the heads-up during installation. Yeah just what we need is another video of the tailpipes while you rev the engine, not. I am also glad that the sound is not that loud at low RPMs. That is a requiremnty for me. I appreciate you guys braving the bleeding edge so when I install it everything will be just right. Thanks again for the write-up and the work to help resolve the problems with R2C. I need to order mine soon.