jus installed the ztube and the k&n filter.. took a ride around the block and felt the difference right away.. wow.. very nice..
jus one ? did any of u guys heard a diff in the factory exhaust sound?

for some reason i think the exhaust sounds a lil deeper not like factory.. or is it jus me

 

Nothing towards you bro. This is basically a confused memeber here...

Now on to my message:

Why is it that some members say they feel gains with the Z-tube and/or K&N Filter individually or as a combo, and some say they feel no-gain, and even some state that you might get a LOSS in power from the K&N replacement filter by itself?

See,,,,,I'm wanting to do the Z-Tube/K&N mod as my VERY FIRST de-virgin mod, BUT I'm getting dizzy reading one post after another with such HUGE variations in outcomes.

All our cars have the same Engine, so what's the OVERALL Opionion here...? Or for that matter what's the overall "Facts" or "Results"? In other words, "For a Fact" this mod listed above = [this] <--insert positive/neg/no results. I'm thinking some of ya'll might reply "Dyno is the only way". So anyone have Dyno's to show GAINS or LOSSES!?!?!?!? PLEASE POST IF YOU DO!!!

I just find it CRAZY that so many members are getting so many different outcomes with this mod.

The LAST thing I want to do is drop a K&N filter into my Coupe and have it worst off, including my wallter.

I still find it amazing that, a loss with a K&N scenario is even possible. I guess I've just never heard of a negative outcome coming from anything "K&N"???

I have a 1996 Dodge Avenger that I put in a FULL AEM CIA into with the cone right by the front grille, kind of like the Nismo 350Z CIA in our cars and I personally didn't need a Dyno to know immediately that the car actually moved when I pressed on the gas, not to mention the add "music" it made, but I wanted POWER, more than SOUND you know? and I got it. BUT...that car is like SLOW to begin with and that really helped out a good bit. Maybe our cars just HIDE gains, b/c they are so "tuned" to begin with??????

Will someone please straighten me out, and help me get enough valuable data/feedback to help me make a decision on this, so I can post my own thread that says, "Hey, I did the K&N by itself and WOW, or I did the COMBO, Z-Tube/K&N and WOW, or, "Oh well just forget it", LOL

No pressure,

 

well its the same reason why some members are getting more on the dyno stock then others...each engine takes differently especially since everyone drives the cars differently...even if they think they felt a drop at 1500 rpm what are you doing at 1500 in your car to merit needing more torque besides trying to spin your wheels...if you make gains from 2000-5500 rpm and even out to redline that would be a good setup since you are making driveable hp...

 

Good points, but what I really want to know is, will we GAIN or LOSS from this combo?

 

well all i can say is that i love the ztube with the JWT filter. not to much of a gain but damn does it sound awsome. i would buy it just for the sound

 

if you want to REALLY hear a difference, go remove the 'POWER DUCT' from the air box, you won't regret it, esp. above 3 1/2k RPM

 

Sound aside for a moment...

What I really want to know is, will we GAIN or LOSS from this combo?

 

My take.
I have no dyno data to back this up.
I actually just took off my k&n. I ordered the amsoil. I put the factory filter back on in the meantime. "To Me" I felt the step in was weaker with the k&n. I actually had to rev higher from a stop to get a smooth launch. I also have
the z-tube and love the sound of that mod. "To Me" the k&n felt like it allowed the engine to breath freer at high revs. But the trade off was not worth it for me. WhiteonWheat, if you want to try a k&n I will send you mine, it only has 3000 miles on it. You will have to pay shipping but I am not going to use it anymore so you are welcome to it. PM me if you are interested.

 

nothing noticable

 

No loss. Perhaps a slight gain.

These engines are tuned much better than older Detroit iron so you will not feel the kind of difference with any mod whether intake or exhaust etc.

I put a K& N on a Dodge Dakota 5.2 an could really feel a difference and saw one at the pumps too. With my car now it's much less difference.

 

Binar,
PM sent!

Everyone else...
Thanks for the input...keep it coming. I'll try Binar's filter to see for myself once and for all and will update later....I will be surprised if the K&N makes lower RPM's harder and higher easier...that's just crazy sounding to me, but we'll see for sure soon!

 

The 350Z has a z tube obviously so if you notice a loss in power, maybe the maf got a little dirty or the ecu needed to adjust, etc. No way should it cause a loss in power but then again a 2hp gain should not be noticeable either.

 

i highly doubt anyone can feel a 3-5hp loss or gain. i believe its all psychological when people just blantly state " oh i felt a gain" or "i felt a loss in performance". its all subjunctive, i have seen dyno's of ztube + stock airbox/K&N/PC, they all show minimal if not any gain. intakes for our car are useless in the means of performance but appearance and "noise" are awesome.

 

You won't lose any power from the combo.

Without a doubt, you'll gain fuel economy(I've methodically tested this to inhuman extents and am 100% certain of a 1-2 MPG fuel economy gain across the board from an aftermarket drop-in air filter and Z-Tube combo).

As was mentioned above... you really won't feel a 5 HP gain, but that is about what most people have said they get on the dyno from this mod combo. I haven't heard of anyone losing power from the Z-tube and intake. CAI is usually where people have claimed to possibly lose power(torque specificly).... but think about it.... a Cold air intake has a lot longer of an intake path with more kinks along the way, so that would make some sense as to why you might lose some power at various points along the powerband. I honestly never agreed with the whole concept of a cold-air intake anyways. How much colder do you think the air really is if you suck it into the engine from the height of 1.5 feet above the ground in comparison to sucking the air in through the factory height? Maybe 1 or 2 degrees at best? Hell.. if it's summer, you might actually suck in more heat with a CAI since the tar will be emitting emense amounts of heat with it being low to the ground(despite the fact that heat rises... it's usually hotter when you're closer to the point of heat emission... in this case, the ground).

Those are just some things that I've meandered about in the past and part of the reason why I decided to go with a Z-Tube instead of the CAI approach.

 

i had a JWT popcharger in my 4th gen max. it sounded awesome and it felt like i lost a tiny amount of low end torque, but high rpm breathing was more responsive. on this forum many are saying the K&N drop in filter is just as good, plus shielding away the heated air from the engine bay. i think i'm over the great sound the JWT offers. my number one priorities are cost and functionality. unless someone can prove the JWT can get better mileage or higher output, i'm going with the less expensive K&N/Ztube combo. i wish someone could compare the flowrates of the cone filter vs. panel filter. one would think the cone filter would outflow the panel since it has a greater surface area correct? also, the JWT kit has a velocity stack. does anyone know if this design had a lot to do with topend breathing?