Is it worth getting the Pop Charger? Any body have any expierence with it?

 

Many people have experience with it. I have had the Pop Charger/Z-Tube combo installed for a couple months now. I am very pleased with both of them. I was able to install both parts in under an hour. I do not have quantitative data on performance gains, but the car feels stronger. It is certainly louder (due mostly to the Z-Tube) under moderate to heavy acceleration.

I recommend the combo unless you are very concerned about the whole warm air/heat soak thing. In that case, do more research before you purchase. The Pop Charger/Z-Tube is relatively inexpensive and adds greatly to the fun factor on my daily drives. I am not losing any sleep worrying about not having the “ultimate air intake setup of the day”. If this were a frequent drag or track car I might be a little more particular.

*'03.5 MT6 Sedan, Premium, CB*
Z-tube, Pop-Charger, Coupe Mid-Pipe, Autovation pedals

*'00 Saleen S281-SC*
Mucho mods. See it here!

 

I looked at either going w/ the CAI, or Z-tube set up.
I decided on the Z tube because of concerns w/ hydrolock w/ the CAI and questionable benefit when the car is at speed.
Then I looked at K&N vs JWT Popcharger. Decided to go with the K&N because dyno's didn't support improvements w/ Popcharger. I think the mod is more for sound than performance. Plus you have clearance issues w/ the air conditioning line.

Good Luck!

g4ian



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i was advised from someone who had personally tested the injen cai, nismo v2 cai, and ztube/popcharger combo. i was told that intakes in general made little or no performance difference, and in the case of one dyno i saw that the injen cai made negative hp gains. the popcharger and ztube combo seemed to be very popular and from what i was told, made the best sound difference. Dyno tests also showed that it was true to its 7hp power gain. i debated on a cai only for cosmetic reasons.

A friend and i also got our cars at the same time but he got a ztube while i got ztube+popcharger. we have taken turns driving eachother's car in empty lots and the difference is very noticeable. the popcharger adds a "whoosh"ing sound, makes it even louder, adding a unique/dynamic texture to your cars sound. the z-tube alone amplifies it to sound more throaty.

ps: the popcharger clearance issue can be easily remedied: either bend the support bracket so it pulls away from the line housing or use a ziptie/padding to keep the line away from the intake.

 

This dyno chart shows (3) G35 coupes, all are 5AT's... One vehicle is bone stock, one has Z-Tube and P/C, the other has Z-Tube and stock air box with paper OEM air filter.

Keep in mind that this dyno graph was done with cool engiines, the hoods were wide open, there was a fan blowing into the front of the vehicles, etc... These are not ideal or real world circumstances. If the engines were hot and the hoods were closed I bet the outcome would have favored the stock set up even a little more.

The popcharger add confuses me a bit. Check out this ad VERY CAREFULLY on Jim Wolf's own web site, click for link. If you look at the 6.5+ hp gain claim you'd think that this was JUST for the JWT Pop Charger. On the SAME PAGE look at the bottom right corner at the price, it says $179.00. for the Pop Charger and the heat shield.

Now check out this link; Just the Pop Charger. This shows that the pop charger alone costs $65.00 (notice it says fits 350Z and G35)

Does it make sense that the heat shield is $114? It's just a stamped piece of metal.

I bet that this dyno also included the z-tube when they noticed this 6.5+ hp gain. The reason I think this is the case is that the CFL Dyno Day and the Golden Gate Dyno Days both showed that the JWT P/C didn't do anything near the 6.5+ claim that Jim Wolfe makes. However, the z-tube gained about 6.5 hp with and with the stock air box and with the pop charger.

IMO, I would not recommend spending the money for this mod.





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The torque was better with the ztube/popcharger. Maybe the guy with the combo should get ground kit and see what happens then.

 

The torque was better because... 1. the hood was open and 2. there was a fan blowing air directly onto the top of the cone filter. This does not represent real world scenarios and is definitely slanted to benefit the P/C. Also, the engine was not hot, maybe slightly warm when the runs were done. This means there was no injestion of hot engine air upon initial take off.

These are the reasons I feel the stock air box is superior to the P/C. If you've ever been in 100-degree heat with relative humidity in the 90% range, you'll know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. DED, Dabomb, PlatG, Demonteverde321 and SFLG35 all know what I'm talking about...

 

I guess the Pop Charger is only beneficial in colder/cooler climates... I think the consensus is that the Z-tube provides the real gains... the pop charger just adds a different sound and some people are happy with that... I'll probably just get it solely for looks and the sound...

But its strange though that i see a lot of Pop charger praise on my350z and more claims that it increases hp etc... I guess the stock airbox on the Z isn't that great...

 

The best intake mod for Hp is to move to Canada.

2004 G35C 6MT Black. Killer.

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AHHH it may not do crap...BUT IT SURE SOUNDS GOOD!!!!

That I dont think anyone will argue...and besides what do you want for $120???

Its a cool first performance mod...it makes the VQ in the G sound meaner....and thats always good....just watch that A/C line!!! careful

 

YEAH move to Canada, eat maple syrup and put mayo on everything, & race in the SNOW!!![img]/w3timages/icons/tongue.gif[/img]