Cold Air intake

Mike Kozak

Any thoughts on K&N Cold Air intake system for the new race car?

Upstatemax

If you were worried about voiding the warranty with a muffler, you should never look at a cold air intake.

Way too easy for the dealer to deny warranty work for common engine issues like mass air flow sensors. Let alone if you have a serious engine issue.

It's not even a matter of blaming the product, they even go as far as telling you it was installed wrong (bad seals, loose bolts, under oiled, over oiled) and it caused X,Y and Z.

Your best bet is to contact the dealer and ask them if they have approved performance parts/divisions that you can work with to maintain the warranty. A lot of them will want to install the parts, it will cost more but helps keep you in good relations with the service department if there is an issue. You install it, they can blame you all day long for the issue.

Many of them have performance divisions. Local to me, Denoyer Chevrolet has an entire performance division that will set you up start to finish no matter what your looking for. If there are major issues with the car, they even have a reputation for buying the car back to make sure that you're taken care of.

exalted512

if you have any issues, just keep the OEM one and install it back before you go to the dealership.

If you ever want to fight stuff like that, just site the Magnuson-Moss Act - which generally says if you're going to void a warranty because of an aftermarket part - you have to prove (not just 'because i said so') that it was the part that caused the failure.
-Cody

tonyb

exalted512 wrote: »

if you have any issues, just keep the OEM one and install it back before you go to the dealership.

If you ever want to fight stuff like that, just site the Magnuson-Moss Act - which generally says if you're going to void a warranty because of an aftermarket part - you have to prove (not just 'because i said so') that it was the part that caused the failure.
-Cody

Unfortunately that takes time and possibly some legal fees while your car is in limbo. Upstatemax's suggestions are the best possible route to take when trying to avoid warranty issues. Just sayin'.....

Upstatemax

Magnuson-Moss Act is all fine and dandy, but it's also not difficult for a dealer to point to you changing an intake as a very real reason something went wrong.

Obviously if you have a bad wheel bearing they can't say that the intake was the issue, but if you have anything go wrong with the induction system, they will have a very easy out because of it. Plus they also have the excuse that modding a car to increase it's power puts extra stress on drivetrain parts, leading to premature failure. Usually this is if you add real amounts of power, not an intake. Point is, proof is very easy to come by. Simply saying that this part was deigned to handle X and you're giving it Y is usually enough to confuse the issue.

For something that is not going to add any real power, mainly intake noise, and it's going to waste more gas. I don't see the point in risking the warranty. Unless you REALLY want that extra noise...

It's one thing if he had a full exhaust and had the car re-tuned to actually make use of the extra air flow. But just bolting on an intake and a muffler is not going to make any real world difference on a bone stock car that tips the scale at nearly 4,000lb.

Mikey081057

I have a K&N COI on my Lexus GS and it added 4 mpgs on my gas mileage and and 0-60 went from 5.6 to 5.4.

Easy add on takes about 1 hr.

It will pay for itself.

My dealer said "cool" when he saw it... any dealer that would deny you warranty service based on that would be telling you never spend any money here again...

Upstatemax

If it's truly doing what it's supposed to be doing, it's physically impossible for it to increase fuel economy...

Colder, more dense air will result in a decrease in fuel vaporization, decreasing efficiency. Plus if it's pulling more air, the ECU will HAVE to increase fuel to keep air/fuel ratios proper.

Having said that, unless any of these K&N "cold air intakes" run the filter out of the engine bay, NONE of them are a cold air intake. If you're pulling air from the engine bay it's a warm air intake, just like your stock unit. The only reason to run a cold air intake is if you have a boosted engine. Running higher PSI's, you need colder air to safely run at the increased compression ratios. But most of these have intercoolers anyway making the cold air intake fairly redundant. Daily drivers will not see benefits from a true cold air intake.

Let's add the sensors (MAF/MAP/O2) in the mix now. Your car is going to start learning the new intake and do it's best to put itself back into factory specs, electronically defeating most of the reasons to add an intake.

That's why I mentioned a re-tune to see any actual gains from any intake. However a re-tune is a sure fire way to void your warranty (unless it's one of the VERY rare factory approved tunes).

That's awesome that your dealer said "cool", I just would just like to see if they have the same reaction if something goes wrong in your induction system.

Intakes can be like cable arguments.

I think intakes can do great things, but not by themselves. You need a full supporting cast to really see them do anything.

Mikey081057

On my vehicle the air comes thru the grill in an area where it is ducted and routed from the outside. I get increased fuel mileage that i have measured. The new induction system is less restrictive by far. My vehicle has many performance features to start with...Quad cam, 2 fuel injectors per cylinder and over 300 HP to start with in a 3.5L V6. K&N intakes are not new and have hundreds if not thousands of testimonials of people that use them. Dyno tests have also been done stock vs K&N. Over the lifespan of my vehicles (and I usually get 250 K miles before I sell them) I have never had an issue. I consistently get 50-60 more miles per tankful depending on how fast i drive but usually cruise 70-75 on the hwy with winter or summer blend. YMMV. Also a washable filter costs less for the life of a vehicle. K&N also has drop in washable replacement filters for most vehicles. I am also sure a less restrictive exhaust system would improve performance and mileage on my vehicle. I can't speak for others. BTW Lexus installs this as a dealer installed option on my specific vehicle so very doubtful that it will void the warranty. They also install a performance exhaust and brakes and a host of other DIO's.

Upstatemax

I'm not here to rain on your parade.

I just know what I know from my experience with modding and tuning cars and what I've had first hand experience with, with my brother who is a speed shop mechanic...

My brother is VERY familiar with this guys Camaro, as he has built many of them. The ones that leave my brothers hands typically push 650-700hp.

As a test, I sent a txt to my brother about his thoughts on the K&N intake on this car and his exact response was:

"Total waste of $$. If he insist on an intake get a Vararam Intake. It's the only one worth putting on a Camaro. K&N is a joke setup."

He does this for a living, I'll trust his input...

Mike Kozak

Money has been spent, maybe I should have done more homework.

vmaxer

Mike Kozak wrote: »

Money has been spent, maybe I should have done more homework.

Opinions vary, but if you are seeing better fuel economy and better performance, enjoy. Also, the other intake may be better, maybe try it and let us know??