Compare & Contrast: ZTube+K&N vs. ZTube+JWT Pop Charger

[extreme4377]

Just got my JWT Pop Charger and Heat shield from UPS this morning. Thanks, IntensePower for another positive buying experience. If you haven’t ordered from them before, you should definitely keep them in mind for your next upgrade.

Packaging: Packaging was good. I was disappointed when I read on the outside of the box and almost threw a fit. The writing says G35 coupe JWT pop w/o heat shield. But, much to my disbelief the heat shield was in fact included and I was a happy man.

Quality, Fitment, & Installation: The quality of the filter is great. Fitment is good, besides the AC line issue which I solved by wrapping the area with a few layers of black electrical tape. Installation was easy. Took me longer than expected only because of the rubber parts of the heat shield. Those are never fun to install but I made it through. Compared to the stock air box and K&N panel filter, this installation was simply more time consuming then the K&N but much more worth the time.

Looks: Simply beefy. The filter is huge and the heat shield gives it a more serious look. It looks much better than the stock air box and K&N. It helps move the look away from stock and more towards the aftermarket sort of appearance. The blue filter is a nice addition to the black and silver under-the-hood look and the heat shield is a nice contrasting color too.

Sound: Well, a hell of a lot better than just a Z-tube and K&N that’s for sure. The pop charger sounds like there's a bear underneath your hood. It roars all the way to the cutoff. When you reach 5K RPM, that’s when it really screams and the car is more responsive than before too. It’s a much deeper and more aggressive sound than with the boring ol K&N filter. With the Pop charger and Injen exhaust, I turn many people's heads in my direction. It’s much louder and sounds so, so sexy!

Performance: Definitely more responsive then before. I think with the Injen exhaust and the Pop Charger my car is noticeably quicker then with just the Z-tube and K&N. It pulls harder in the high end, that’s for sure. I haven’t noticed any heat soak as of yet but I’ve only been driving it for a few hours now.

Overall: Kick-***. I love it. It was well worth the money to replace my K&N with the pop charger. I give it a 9/10 just because installation was more of a pain in the *** than I thought.

[Calvin]

good review.. been thinking about upgrading to the stillen high flow air box but just for the sound..ive heard the stillen air box is just a tad bit quieter than the p/c but i prefer my engine bay to look stock

glad to hear youre happy with your choice

[Gordgee]

Originally Posted by extreme4377

Performance: Definitely more responsive then before. I think with the Injen exhaust and the Pop Charger my car is noticeably quicker then with just the Z-tube and K&N. It pulls harder in the high end, that’s for sure.

It's possible that your combo with the exhaust that gave you the performance boost, but with the old stock exhaust, I found the opposite. In a series of 0-60 timed runs, the Pop-Charger/Z-Tube combo consistently lost me about 0.3 to 0.4 seconds. Dyno runs later confirmed a loss of power. No power gain at the top.

I went back to the stock box very quickly. Not sure what my experience would have been with a modded exhaust.

The Stillen seems to be the only aftermarket intake that has had very consistent positive reviews from all posters I've read.

[extreme4377]

I can definitely feel that my car is more responsive now. May or may not be quicker but its definitely more responsive if that makes any sense.

IMO, very worth the money.