There's no doubt it definitely looks REALLY clean, are there any plastic partitions available to isolate them from the hot engine air?

 

We're getting off topic since the op was asking about intakes with no ther mods and no tune. But again I'd have to disagree, dollar for dollar tune is actually one of the worst mods you can do, especially if you don't really need one (that's why I mention FBO that actually need a tune to maximize gains)

Regarding Motorvate and his results, he is one of the most thorough and informative youtubers in the VQ community. He is very knowledgeable and has done some in depth videos on many subjects. Of all the how to and results videos posted online, I would probably question him the least. Also 14whp is totally believable. That's 7whp per side which is in line with what I've seen in the past on 4cyl single throttle body vehicles.

Edit: should mention most tunes only pickup an average of 10-14 whp.

 

Nice looking intake, I would definitely monitor intake temps with something like a blutooth obd dongle with app. It will flow greater than stock, but I'd be concerned about underhood temps and the possibility of hot air pooling in that area heatsoaking the pipes and filters, possibly making less power than stock.

 

Serge, All,

I agree with the amount of engineering that goes into these cars and others these days. It is substantial. The detail level they go to with tuning, using resonant frequencies with air flow into engine and exhaust out is amazing. Another area where they tune resonant noise is look at your stock exhaust system to see the many vibration dampers installed to tune out vibration, drone, and resonant noise frequencies. I was so impressed with amount of tuning that went into stock exhaust (which sounds great from outside vehicle btw, just quiet) that I left mine in place for 10.5 years. I only changed it because I have a six speed manual and I could never hear engine enough, with windows rolled up, to know when to shift by ear. So I finally installed FI cat back system. I can definitely hear what’s going on with engine now windows up no problem.

Another problem with G35S 6MT is clutch pedal feel or lack thereof. I have driven manuals for 40 years and none has ever been as difficult to drive smoothly without stalling as this G35. 6 months ago I found out about and installed a RJM Performance clutch pedal. Now I can launch and shift smoother than an automatic. It has literally transformed driving experience. For first time in 11 years of driving my G, I can enjoy it 100%. Clutch pedal feel was so bad, that it was always a distraction keeping me from enjoying the drive 100%. I had tried several mods I learned about on this forum, which provided some improvement but not 100% solution.

Now with easy to modulate clutch and really great VQ engine audio sound track to shift by, I am ready to continue driving and enjoying this car for another 11 years! I am so happy I hung onto this car. I almost sold it because clutch was so annoying.

Now that I have freer flowing exhaust, I’m thinking, how can I let more air in? So I installed HKS Hybrid air filters a week or so ago and didn't notice much change at first driving around town. But today while driving, I noticed car is more responsive and seems to accelerate easier 3-5K rpms. On fwy home, with usual amount of throttle, car was doing 90-100mph effortlessly. Usually I go 80-85. I looked at speedo and was surprised. Maybe there was some tail wind. Maybe it takes some driving for ECM to re-calibrate to increase in airflow. Maybe some K&N's or AFE pro5R’s in stock air boxes is the answer for me, since I am mostly looking for improved low to mid-range performance for street driving at less than full throttle conditions.

There are definite gains to be had with CAI and there are several before and after dyno charts to show this. Some sites have a third dyno chart to show what adding a tune can do to optimize new CAI with impressive results. I was a bit doubtful but I have seen several dyno charts and talked to a local tuner who agreed with gains. He has set up and tuned several Nissans for street and for race. However all tests I have seen are not with stock exhaust. Basically they are set up to let more air in and more exhaust out. Initially I wanted him to optimize tune on my car but he suggested to get my money’s worth to do something to let more air into the engine first. A tune will improve how car runs, responds and fuel economy in most cases. But with more air coming in, tuning improvements are even better. He has a pretty serious shop where they flow bench heads and manifolds, have Mustang AWD chassis dyno. Just looking at the cars in his shop and various projects in progress… I trust his opinion and ability.

After some research, and speaking with tuner, high flow cats and porting intake plenum and manifold both boost midrange a fair amount on VQ engines. I am considering these changes. Problem is high flow resonated cats will make car a bit louder.

Circling back to CAI, they do improve performance, especially with a freer flowing exhaust and with a tune, performance is improved throughout the rev range quite noticeably. But I want to keep my car reliable and part of me worries about putting air filter out front exposed like that, and driving through rain and puddles. A friend’s wife hydro locked their stock Sienna minivan driving through a deep puddle. So this can happen and the odds probably increase with air filters out front like that. So although this mod is proven to improve performance, I am still struggling with going through with it. i think other mods would get me mid-range performance I want but without the top end performance a high flowing CAI would allow.

I should get my car tuned as it is now and see how runs with tune. Then, if I make additional changes, at least I will have a base line dyno run to compare to.

Man, sorry about long post. But that’s my whole story on why I haven’t done CAI just yet.

 

Ming! hey congrats on getting your intake done. They look nice. I agree with heat soak concerns. Were there no heat shields with kit or am I just not seeing them in photo?

 

Stock Filters 22k miles. LH back side, RH front side.

Part number shown on side 16546JK20A
I checked out Motorvate video too and I don't think those were stock filters he made first run with. I may be wrong but when I bought stock air filters from dealer for my car some time ago they were oiled pleated filters. So were the ones I was replacing. Not sure if material is paper or cotton but they definitely have oil in them. I get it on my fingers when handling them. I have a 2008 G235S but G37's use same air filter 16546-JK20A. One in video looks like a WIX or Fram paper air filter or something. Here is photo of my stock air filters with ~22k miles one front and one back shown in photo. They do not have orange surround and filter material is burnt red, not yellow. If those orange and yellow filters were used in base run, they are not stock.

 

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll have to recheck the motorvate video.

I still have my oem filters and thats what they look like, however I think oem, Fram, purolator all are pretty much the exact same thing. IE. a restrictive paper filter and perform about the same, although I've heard oem has more pleats per square inch allowing them to filter better than some others.

P.S. by the way there should not be any oil on the paper surface, or at least they don't come pre-oiled when you buy one.

 

Serge,
I thought they were oil impregnated when I got them but not 100% sure about that.
After watching Motorvate's video comparing G37 stock with addition of air filters and cat back, maybe what I was feeling on freeway today was not fantasy. Maybe my car with essentially similar mods, is performing a bit better.

 

That's what I noticed using the Ecutek bluetooth app, if you are moving upwards of 60 mph the intake temps drop since air is moving into the bay, but at low speeds and sitting in traffic your temps will go up fast and a lot. Once that happens, they stay up and even the higher speeds don't drop it down enough.

But as long as you are happy with how everything is, the sound and looks, that's all that matters. We all mod for different reasons.

 

Short rams here and car is so sluggish temps are 50 or 60 and intake temps are north of 120 easily. Avoid them at all cost. Going with z1 cold air.

 

Another issue is the hot air getting sucked in helps my oil temps go up and constantly hover in the 220s.

 

Thanks everyone for the compliments. I really like how the intake and the filters match the colors of the engine bay and the vehicle overall, albeit unexpectedly. I also like that the filters are each an inch longer than the Weapon R ones which filled more the empty space where the stock intake used to be. I haven't noticed any reduction performance because of the Ram intakes, at least yet. Maybe because in MN the weather is still pretty chilly. Can you even notice the difference of a heatsoak on the pedal? How would it feel? Will having this intake with summer weather possibly reduce my engine life span? I like to open the hood once I return home from my drive to check the car, and even though I feel some engine heat, I can still touch the intake with my hand. So pretty good so far?

Keep in mind this is NOT a competition car nor am I racing people on the streets lol. Just a daily driver looking for some fun.

I didn't go with CAI because I didn't want to risk anything with the weather up here nor did I want any rattling in my engine bay because of the cutouts to fit the CAI.

Any recommendations on Bluetooth OBD to test the system?

 

Oh by the way, the Weapon R intake does not come with heat shields. At the moment I am running the car is shown in the picture. I have been thinking of creating heat shields. Let's be real, do they even help?

 

Something you can do to mitigate radiant heat energy soaking up the metal tubes is to wrap them in a heat reflective tape, or for a more expensive approach have them coated. It won't do anything about sucking engine bay air but it does help overall.

 

OH I have no doubt. If you have a decent catback and KN drop-ins you will for sure see a power increase. I will probably do exhaust down the road as well, but with a full header back system with HFCs, bigger ypipe and magnaflow mufflers,