WAI vs CAI vs K/N Drop In-Final Results

[bk2kmax]

For those of you who have questions here is the final results:

Final Results Are In - Stock vs. CAI vs. WAI
Alright. I intentionally waited to install my extra performance parts until I put this issue to rest. So here's the deal.

I have a 2002 Maxima SE with a 6 speed tranny. I had no modifications other than a MagnaFlow Street Series muffler. I dyno'd my car in the following conditions (in order from air intake to throttle body):

CAI: Monsterflow 3.25" filter -> PR CAI lower tubing -> MAF -> PR CAI upper tubing -> TB

WAI: Monsterflow 3.25" filter -> MAF -> PR CAI upper tubing -> TB

Stock: Stock airbox scoop -> K&N Drop-In Filter -> Stock airbox exit -> MAF -> Stock upper tubing/assembly -> TB

Each time, the car's ECU was reset by unplugging the battery for a minimum of 25 hours (24 was too questionable). The car was then started for the first time on the new setup. Parts were swapped during the 25 hour period that the battery was unplugged.

Once the car was started, it was allowed to idle for 10 minutes under no load (no A/C, radio, subs, etc). Then the car was driven under normal daily conditions for the first 100 miles. The engine was not revved over 4500 RPMs during this time. Once 100 miles had passed, the car was driven with an emphasis on performance (READ: driven like I stole it). Only after the next 100 miles was passed (200 miles total) was the car dyno'd.

The car was dyno'd at the same facility on the same dyno for all 3 different intakes. The only variables were the time of day and temperature, which the SAE adjustments fix. 3 runs per intake were done. Once the 3 runs were completed, the best run was chosen for that intake. These runs were the runs that are posted below.

There was no filter cleaning performed on any of the filters between dynos. All 3 intakes were dyno'd less than 1.5 months apart. This time was only increased by the fact that the car was disabled for almost 2 weeks at the dealer (trying to get a new clutch installed). Other than that, the intakes were back-to-back-to-back. This way, the ECU got to learn the intake, but not learn any one intake more than the other.

Then, in order to avoid miscalculations on the host computer, all 3 runs were inserted into DynoJet's RunViewer software (available at their website). The results listed below are based upon SAE corrections, with a smoothing factor that produced the highest HP/Torque numbers for all 3 runs (smoothing level of 4).

And the moment you've all been waiting for:

The Stock intake produced:
208.61 HP and 234.92 ft/lbs Torque

The CAI intake produced:
209.08 HP and 237.09 ft/lbs Torque

The WAI intake produced:
213.67 HP and 240.03 ft/lbs Torque

So the clear winner, by a decent margin, is the WAI.

And finally... I'm done with this issue. The Y-pipe, B-pipe, and Cat are now installed, so I won't be testing this issue anymore. And personally speaking, the WAI is nice, but the "butt-dyno" tells me that the CAI has the most Torque under normal driving conditions. But this is strictly debatable.

Any questions???

[MaxRX7]

that's cool. You didn't say in what order you installed the filters (which one was 1st and which was last).

thanks

[99maximagxe]

cold air intakes only give about 1 horsepower??

[n1smo]

I want to see the dyno charts. Max power is not as important to me as when the power comes. I'm sure the CAI will provide more TQ gain down low which is more important to me.

[bk2kmax]

You're absolutely correct on the power delivery of the CAI but overall is where this test measured the true gains of all applications.