what do ya reckon, gonna get a new intake from my tuning shop and the choices are the hks one or the apexi one, which ones do ya reckon???????????????????????????

 

as long as its not a foam filter I say get it... I had the apex and it worked fine. Foam filters let all sorts of crap in...

 

If the choice is between those two, get the Apexi. Foam filters suck. You will have a tough time upgrading to a larger intercooler in the future with either of those choices (unless you go front mount).

If you want to broaden your horizons, the M2 or rx7fashion boxes are smaller and more compatible with larger SMICs while also only drawing cold air.

 

Originally I was going to go with the M2, and actually bought one, but went with the Apexi instead. I just ended up liking the open filter look better than the enclosed box look. rynberg is correct, with the Apexi you'll have a tough time getter larger SMIC. The Greddy SMIC barely fits with the Apexi intake.

 

Yep, I'll admit the Apexi's do look good, but if I was going to buy an open intake, the Blitz SUS would be my pick (pricey though).

 

Well, I don't think this deserves a POLL however either one will be fine.

There are a lot of people against the foam filters. There was a test which showed that foam filters performed at the low end when it came to filteration. However, even the site that displayed the results didn't perform the test themselves and wondered whether the tests were used as a PR stunt to promote lesser known products (as HKS and Blitz out sell the others and were the two listed at the bottom of the test).

That being said, I chose the HKS unit myself. I had found an old article which also stated that foam filters didn't hurt performance as much as the others if they collected heavy deposits. Unfortunately, I cannot locate that article any longer. That was the deciding factor for me in picking the exhaust (that and holding a filter up to my mouth and trying to breath through one. Much easier to do through a foam filter so I wanted more air for my car).

Many people have been using foam for years without problems on other cars. You do need to keep an eye on the filters themselves as over time they will get brittle from the heat of the engine bay. If they get too brittle, they can break apart and fall into the intake. However, we are talking about quite a bit of time. I change my filters about once or twice a year (depending on how much road time my car has had).

Personally, if I had it all over to do again, I would pick the Blitz intake (and I tried, it was on backorder).

You really can't go wrong on either intake, just make an informed decision as to what you want on your car.

 

I don't claim to be a filtration expert, but I used a HKS foam filter system for over 30K miles with no apparent ill effects. I don't know how foam filters got such a bad name. Just keep an eye on them and you should be fine under normal operating conditions.

 

Won't the airbox stop it from drawing hot air in?

 

I change my HKS filters whenever I change the oil...you can get replacements cheap ($11) at nopi.com.

 

I know its not a choice but, I like my Pettit intake. Its simple, effective, and its makes great noises! The EGR mufflers at light throttle kinda suck though!

 

I like my custom CAI with K&N's...because nothing else will fit with a large SMIC offset to fit a mini battery under the hood

 

yes, this is the downside that you still have to replace like paper filters.

You can probably get the RE-A heat shield to work with the Apexi, similar to the Blitz setup.

 

Personally, I like the T-shirt filter, you just have to be carefull it doesn't get sucked through engine
Honestly though, I have to say I like the concept of the cold air BOXES. You don't suck in hot engine bay air, which I feel is a good idea. The problem with this comparison is that it's a little biased, or unfair. While the little foam filter may give you more HP, you get that at a price, the longevity of your engine. Good air filters are a trade-off of hi-flow vs. high filtration, the more you filtrate the more you choke it down, while the more flow the more you get the particulate matter in the system.
So my money is on an intake that filters good (not foam) and keeps the intake air as cool as possible.
If you want an intake that gets you the most HP, just leave the hoses and filters off your turbos! Just be ready to rebuild your engine soon after cruising down your gravel driveway a couple times.

Regards,
Frank

 

LOL well i only have the choice between the two so i'll go with the apexi and its ok about not being able to upgrade the smic im gonna go with a front mount one in a few months. cheers guys

 

I reccomend going with an open filter style intake. There has been a thread on here before that prooved that the extra air flow that open intakes offers is quite helpful.


well, seeing as the turbos get the air no matter what, the air does get heated up QUITE ALOT. Open style intakes allow the turbos to work a easier, as they get alot more airflow. I do not think that your engine getting hotter air will make the longevity go down that much more. If you plan on modding it, your going to lessen the life of your engine regardless of what intake you get, there is a cause and effect of everything.

The REAL object in cooling air is the intercooler, thats the last place that the air see's before it hits that engine. You want to worry about that and the radiator getting cold air MUCH more then u want to worry about the intake.

I have been using the Apex-i Intake, and I am quite pleased with the results. IF you ever plan on going front mount, good luck getting it to work with the box style intake. Yes the Apexi and greddy systems are difficult to use with SMIC, but it can and hasbeen done.

 

I kinda like the Blitz SUS filters. They are stainless steel mesh. When they get dirty, you can just take em off and wash em.

 

I have the Apex'i, and I love the way it looks and sounds. It's been on my car for close to 20K miles (2 1/2 years), and I've cleaned and oiled it twice, and had no problems at all.

 

Hey VRT, I thought the Apexi Power Intakes don't need to be oiled?

BTW, this is what it looks like:

 

The heat is not what I meant when sacrificing longevity, it was the porous nature of foam filters over paper and fabric types, and the dirt and particulates that flow through those more so than other types of filters.

Frank

 

lol, heat and other problems will kill our rotary engines long before a little dust will.

 

I don't think they have to be oiled necessarily, but Chris Ott at Rotary Performance (where I bought my intake), suggests cleaning and oiling the filters every 15K. They even gave me a K&N Filter cleaning and oiling kit when I bought the intake.

It's amazing how much crap comes out of the filters when you clean them

 

This old argument is invalid and I wish it would die. Even people with large FMICs notice more power and boost when it is cold outside. This is because the turbos are sucking in colder, denser air. So intake air temps DO matter. If open intakes are so much better than a boxed style, why don't they show it on the dyno? The less restrictive nature of the open intake is offset by the higher air temps.

Also, for those of us still using an air pump, running an open intake can dramatically shorten the life of the pump due to the hot engine air it's breathing. Hmm...if hot intake temps kill your air pump, what else could they be doing.....

 

wow that pic looks nothing like my engine bay, whats that big silver triangle thing????????

 

If all you want is open filters, theres a how-to out there for a setup similar to Pettits that uses a couple cans froim the grocery store and two K&N cones.

Theres absolutely no point in paying four hundred dollars for open filters and no box, regardles of wether you think either is better than the other... theres just not enough parts in there to justify the cost.

 

Greddy SMIC with IC duct...