I installed a Stillen Intake today. I completed the installation in about an hour. I'd read about folks who had trouble with the bottom airbox bolt, but I didn't fully appreciate their problem until now. It took all of 2 socket driver extensions, a socket adapter, a deep well 8mm socket, and a couple new cuss word combinations to drive the bolt home. I didn't even know I had a deep well 8mm socket, but it's a good thing I did!

Before I went for a drive, I did a basic ECU reset procedure. I'm not sure exactly why I did that, as you have to disconnect the negative battery cable during the intake installation. I took it easy today, but I look forward to driving it more over the next few days. I'm happy to say there was no whistling.

I understand this intake is good for 11 ponies on a sedan. (Is that with or without the Stillen sticker included with the kit?) We'll consult the butt-dyno later this week, and report.

Now, it's time for a z-tube and a black, powder-coated V5.

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

Bullseye,

I have a z tube for sale if your interested.

 

I installed my Stillen CAB Friday night. It, too, took me an hour or so, the hardest part being that frickin' deep bolt at the bottom of the Air Box. I cussed a lot too..... lol

I will be doing a simple DIY guide over at g-owners.com on this mod install.

BTW, did you get bruises on your forearms from reaching in to get at that stupid bolt too?!?!?!? I did.....

docron1 aka joepaniolo

 

i have the stillen an Z tube. i never put the bottom bolt in mine and i have been fine for 5k miles so far. i 1st just had the Z tube, then later on got the stillen. the Z tube made no diffrence in sound but then when i added the stillen box the sound they produced together was amazing music.

 

No bruises here. As luck would have it, I just happened to have enough socket driver extensions to reach from outside the air box (at the top) all the way down past the filter and onto the bolt head. It's about 14" or so to span, and the filter really tries to crowd you off of the bolt. The instructions don't indicate you need extensions --or arms like an anorexic teen-- to tighten that bottom bolt without chewing your hands and arms all to pieces. I took one look at that airbox and knew at once I wasn't going to be able to get my hand(s) in there. As I mentioned, I was just lucky I had the tools to tighten that bolt long-distance.

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

How can I reply without offending you...? I was taught at a very young age not to accept candy from a stranger!

With all due respect, I make it my personal policy to avoid Internet purchases from private individuals. I'm not sure I can completely trust my local Nissan Dealership (!), let alone an anonymous fellow who probably lives 1,000 miles away from me. By the same token, I wonder how you can trust me to pay you?

I've seen enough swindles to make me wary. Do I have a great risk associated with such a transaction? No! But if something went wrong, it would surely become more trouble than it's worth for both of us.

Thank you very much for offering, though.

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

It would be great if you can make a brief DIY guide on the installation process. I am looking forward to get mine sometime next week, hope I can learn something before I screw up the intake.

 

That bolt was a bitch!

I used a 1/4" drive with two extensions and 2 adapters. Scotch taped the bolt to the socket and used another long extension to kind of postion it while I tightend. The tape helped a lot and I just broke it during tightening and finish!


2K4 G35x/Brilliant Silver/Graphite/Premium/Wood
Stillen Hi-Flow/ Z tube/ Ground Kit
Coming soon...Crawford v5

 

The instructions included with the kit are actually pretty good. Read them through a couple times before you start. Follow them carefully, step-by-step, and you should not have any problems. I just wasn't expecting the bolt on the bottom of the airbox to be so difficult to access, to secure the airbox to the structural frame upon which it sits. The conical filter takes up most of the room inside the airbox. The space around the airbox is very small. The only easy way to tighten that bolt down is to use a long drive extension. One of those "universal joints" would have been useful, but not necessary. That one bolt was the only sticking point in the installation, and I was able to overcome that obstacle with aplomb, just as most of the folks on this forum have managed so to do, too. It took an hour to complete the installation, but a good mechanic could have done the same thing, perhaps, in about 20-30 minutes. If the installation had been any easier, I would not have felt a sense of achievement when I was done!

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

Just out of curiosity, can the filter that's in the Stillen CAB be replaced with a K&N filter? Even if so, would it be necessary? I've heard dropping one in instead of using the OEM filter in the stock airbox is an improvement, but I've never heard anything about the same kind of trade with the Stillen box.

Just received my z-tube in the mail yesterday and I'm waiting to get the time to install it, and I'm on the waiting list for my Crawford plenum, but after those, the Stillen box is next on my list.

 

I'm not sure what you mean, Hoogan.

The oem airbox uses a panel filter element, for which K&N makes a replacement. The K&N cloth panel filter element is an improvement over the OEM paper panel filter element.

The Stillen airbox uses a conical filter element, which mounts to a velocity stack-shaped aluminum base. It looks like it could be made by K&N, too. The Stillen airbox is designed for the conical-style filter only, but it yields an improvement over a K&N panel filter.

If you're going to install a new airbox, a z-tube, and a plenum, you could wait until you have all three parts, and do all their installs at once. It would save some duplication of effort. Of course, if I were in the same boat, I couldn't wait for all three parts to arrive. I'd probably install them piece-meal as they were delivered. But that's just me...

'03 G35s 5AT, Garnet Fire/Willow
Staggered 18" SSR GT1/Bridgestone PP S03
Eibach Springs/Sways, Stillen 2-pc BBK
Stillen Intake & SS Cat-Back Dual Exhaust

 

I think the Stillen filter is made by K&N....

 

Hoogan,

The Stillen conical filter IS a K&N filter with Stillen's name
planted on the front.

2003 TwBlue 5AT Sedan, sunroof,
Graphite Leather, splashguards, HKS exhaust,
14 wire Grounding kit, 350Z duct, Stillen CAI
Underbody rear diffusers, Drilled alum pedals

 

are you sure that stillen gives you 11hp???
I am struggling on whether to get stillen , pop charger, or CAI

 

the stillen and pop charger are more or less the same thing. i have the stillen box but if the pop charger was out when i bought my stillen i would of went with it and saved some money.