Just wondering if anyone here has an RPW CAI system on their 3.5lt?

Pics here...

http://www.rpw.com.au/Photos/Cold%20Air%20Induction%20Kits/magna%20stainless/magna%20cai%20kit%20top.jpg
http://www.rpw.com.au/Photos/Cold%20Air%20Induction%20Kits/magna%20stainless/magna%20ai%20kit%20middle.jpg
http://www.rpw.com.au/Photos/Cold%20Air%20Induction%20Kits/magna%20stainless/magna%20cai%20kit%20bottem.jpg

If so can you give me some feedback please? Thanks.

interesting.........
where did you get those pics from?

cos that kit is the "th Smoker" kit...

anyway, this kit is worth the investment if you are using a pod filter. if you dont want to chop wires and locating the pod under the bumper, theres the EZ Boy kit that is available.

forgot to add this... if you wish to do it yourself....

http://members.dodo.net.au/~thsmoker/cai/diycai.html

Ta cheif. I got the pics off the RPW website.

Wow, this is surprising. :redface:

Wow, this is surprising. :redface:

What is, champ?

That someone else's design has ended up as an RPW product.

That someone else's design has ended up as an RPW product.



I kno RPW is shyt from what i see, from there price list... almost $500 for there "THSMOKER" kit... i made my own for $35 without filter.. with filter would be $150 + $35 = $185.... almost $500 if ***in outrageous

Dave's using proper silicone bends, and hes is not uising any part of the original snorkal, just the pod, airflow meter, bends and pipe. Proper kit that fits batter than the smokers kit, not that its bad (I have it on my car and have got no probs with it, apart from the extremely tight fit)

Dave's using proper silicone bends, and hes is not uising any part of the original snorkal, just the pod, airflow meter, bends and pipe. Proper kit that fits batter than the smokers kit, not that its bad (I have it on my car and have got no probs with it, apart from the extremely tight fit)


ok apart from the "proper" silicon bends... what size pipe is he using? if the same size ( 3 inch) then his is a tight fit also.


just still think the silicon bends are worth the extra $200 still think its shyt. no offence but you guys that buy from him are getting raped in the azzzzz

You need to be fair about this and compare the difference though.

The kit comes with polished stainless steel piping, comes with proper 90 degree silicone hosing, it comes with the proper K&N rampod filter, it comes with metal brackets for full mounting options, no need to manafacture anything, and is the full kit not utilising any of the origonal piping. And its also 3" tubing.

I won't deny there are cheaper ways of building the kits - but we went all out to produce a show qaulity package along with one that is fully kitted with all the fittings and brackets.

It purely comes down to a personal choice - a DYI kit or a pre made kit with the correct filter.

Check out the prices of the proper silicon elbows sometimes there worth around $45.00 each and theres three of them in the kit. Polished stainless steel piping, which has to be cut up, cleaned up with a die grinder where its been cut etc etc etc.

I've had an RPW kit installed for about a month now (pics below if you're interested). Kit includes K&N oval pod filter (almost $200 worth of filter), 3 sections of 3" diameter S/S piping, 3 90 deg bends and a reducing piece to go from the MAF to the first bit of piping, all hoseclamps and a couple of 'brackets'.

Fitting was a pain in the a$$ - took me a whole day (10am - 5:30pm). The main issues being space, cutting of a couple of bits of plastic to make it fit, and working out the best way to get it all in (ie: which bits to preassemble - cause there's a few hoseclamps you have no chance of getting to once it's all together on the car). I also had some issues with the supplied 'brackets'. One of which needed to be slightly modified, and I ended up fabricating another to support the pod and MAF sensor at it's final location (I now have 2 brakets down there).

Other than that - I think the kit has made a significant difference over stock intake/stock filter combo, and has dramatically improved the under hood appearence (judge for yourself). As far as wether or not it's worth it....... it depends how much $500 is worth to you. I'm sure it's possible to make something very similar for cheaper if you can be stuffed sourcing the parts, and as far as comparing it to the "thsmoker" kit - good luck finding one - I'm pretty sure he stopped selling them.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5004/p10100547fc.th.jpg (http://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p10100547fc.jpg)

I think also with the RPW kit, the filter sits horizontally, instead of vertically. But correct me if im wrong.

And yes, those rubber/silicone bends are around $40 each. Coz i made my own CAI and i paid that much for each bend.
I must say though, the RPW kit does look awesome. Nice bright colour and works well. Saw BlackBeard's install :)

Thanks for the informative replies Black Beard and Mitsiman. I think you made my mind up for me, i'm definately going to get the kit! Be a nice christmas present :cool:. I'll have a go @ fitting it to start, but I think i'll end up getting someone else to fit it. :redface:

i thought TH smoker copied the RPW kit not the other way round ?

anyways i got TH smokers version, works well, sounds good,

only thing is it dont look the best ... ive priced up geeting it made up at an exhaust shop in stainless steel for less than a 100 dolers so my kit will be for sale soon if ppl wanted it

yeah the rpw kit is good, fits up nicely and replaces all the stock induction.

i managed to fit the kit up quite easily once you take the front right wheel off.


enjoy ! :cool:

today is really hot and damn does it suck when its hot though :(

I think the wya things worked is that we brought into australia initially the K&N pre manafactured plastic kits which were the same type of design.

Then the TH smoker kit came and we decided to go the same way as that kit because we may as well use australian suppliers / components rather than bring in the overpriced K&N complete kit. Freight was a killer on hte kit although the kit itself was a good upgrade.

I know what your saying, me being from the US i think im the only one from the US to have this kit and it cost me a total for prolly $200 for everything including the proper k & n ram pod filter withed polished stain less. not baggin you but just tryin to justify the price but i guess you need to make a profit huh? im going for a mandrel bent top piece so there only one 90 rubber bend and make it look better even though it looks great.

Was that $200 US or $200.0 AUD$. The K&N kits we were getting were the full eclipse model ones with plastic piping, pre filters and everything. Not the metal piping ones.

Just wondering if anyone here has an RPW CAI system on their 3.5lt?

Pics here...

http://www.rpw.com.au/Photos/Cold%20Air%20Induction%20Kits/magna%20stainless/magna%20cai%20kit%20top.jpg
http://www.rpw.com.au/Photos/Cold%20Air%20Induction%20Kits/magna%20stainless/magna%20ai%20kit%20middle.jpg
http://www.rpw.com.au/Photos/Cold%20Air%20Induction%20Kits/magna%20stainless/magna%20cai%20kit%20bottem.jpg

If so can you give me some feedback please? Thanks.
what happens when it rains and u suk up dirty water through your induction system??? not to mention the hot air that is produced bby the hot road???

Was that $200 US or $200.0 AUD$. The K&N kits we were getting were the full eclipse model ones with plastic piping, pre filters and everything. Not the metal piping ones.



$200 US k & n 3000gt model, i bought the stainless piping

to "fresh"

the induction kit in those pics looks pulled forward too much, but nevertheless.

i have the rpw cai kit (the DIY one), and i must say i was nervous driving all through winter, but the car never missed a beat. Somehow i even went through puddles that splashed as high as the windscreen and still the air-flow sensor and all the induction worked fine.


Also you can buy a "dry-sock" which fits over your oval filter and protects it from dust, water, road-grime etc, whilst still delivering the same flow (or very very similar flow)

And , if the road ever gets as hot as my engine bay, then i may have to get rid of the CAI, but i doubt the road will ever get to 100C + + lol ,, so i guess that answers your query about the hot road .


later


:cool:

to "fresh"

the induction kit in those pics looks pulled forward too much, but nevertheless.

i have the rpw cai kit (the DIY one), and i must say i was nervous driving all through winter, but the car never missed a beat. Somehow i even went through puddles that splashed as high as the windscreen and still the air-flow sensor and all the induction worked fine.


Also you can buy a "dry-sock" which fits over your oval filter and protects it from dust, water, road-grime etc, whilst still delivering the same flow (or very very similar flow)

And , if the road ever gets as hot as my engine bay, then i may have to get rid of the CAI, but i doubt the road will ever get to 100C + + lol ,, so i guess that answers your query about the hot road .


later


:cool:
true about the engine bay but thats why you have heat boxes. to inclose cold air however the road may not produce 100C it does on a good day produce 25 to 40C heats which will obviously not benifit your engine just a point made out from experience as black tar does absorb a great deal off heat.
as for the water you may be lucky at tymes but the pod may suk in a lot harder on difernt throttle responses. im not dissing the system i have my own custom pod setup using the standard CAI and i have excellent response i just dont see the need to risk alot of things for the sake of repositioning your air intake.

well alot of ppl have this kit and no one has had any problems

i was nearvous bout the pod being so low as well but i have had it for 6 months now and now troubles touch wood

I know what your saying, me being from the US i think im the only one from the US to have this kit and it cost me a total for prolly $200 for everything including the proper k & n ram pod filter withed polished stain less. not baggin you but just tryin to justify the price but i guess you need to make a profit huh? im going for a mandrel bent top piece so there only one 90 rubber bend and make it look better even though it looks great.

Be nice to get those sort of prices but in AUS the pods themselves cost us 200, and silicon is nutcase expensive we deal with it all the time at work. An example is Landrover wants around 300 dollars for a pair of 90 bends, basically an S shape, cost us around 130 to do the same, whichever way you cut the mustard thats nasty :( so 500 sounds expensive but it's all a matter of whether you want to do the work yourself or just bolt it in and save the hassle, it all comes down to labour costs. Myself I'll stick to my panel and 100mm piping :P it's cheap and nasty.

Matthius

Note: If the roads hot, the engine bay is hotter, regardless of how much sheilding you do (boxes, heat sheilds etc).

I have the K&N CAI kit which is from the US eclipse which I got through RPW about 12 months ago and I love it, I think its great but was very expensive at the time so the cost per hp gain wouldn't have been worth it.

But I like it, it really dresses up the engine bay (especially now that its painted metallic blue) and sounds fantastic. I definately did gain some top end power and it doesnt suffer that dead feeling when taking off at the lights with normal pod systems that just suck in under bonnet air.

Im not really a fan of stainless / metal CAI kits as the metal tends to heat up a fair amount which heats up incoming air which sort of defys the entire principle of the kit (although it does look very nice lol)

You do have to be careful in winter though as if you do go through a deep puddle you will definatly suck in some water and either destroy your MAS sensor or your engine (hydrolock is a nasty nasty thing).

I've never had any problems with water however thanks to a dud battery overflowing and leaking acid onto my pod it destroyed the pod and silicone adapter which cost me a bit lol

You are right about the metal piping being able to be heated up - thats why we went for the large and very long silicon elbows which cost so much as we were able to reduce the amount of metal piping in the bonnet in order to reduce heat soak.

And remember $200.00 US$ is around $280.00 AUD$.

Note: If the roads hot, the engine bay is hotter, regardless of how much sheilding you do (boxes, heat sheilds etc).

I have the K&N CAI kit which is from the US eclipse which I got through RPW about 12 months ago and I love it, I think its great but was very expensive at the time so the cost per hp gain wouldn't have been worth it.

But I like it, it really dresses up the engine bay (especially now that its painted metallic blue) and sounds fantastic. I definately did gain some top end power and it doesnt suffer that dead feeling when taking off at the lights with normal pod systems that just suck in under bonnet air.

Im not really a fan of stainless / metal CAI kits as the metal tends to heat up a fair amount which heats up incoming air which sort of defys the entire principle of the kit (although it does look very nice lol)

You do have to be careful in winter though as if you do go through a deep puddle you will definatly suck in some water and either destroy your MAS sensor or your engine (hydrolock is a nasty nasty thing).

I've never had any problems with water however thanks to a dud battery overflowing and leaking acid onto my pod it destroyed the pod and silicone adapter which cost me a bit lol
im not dissing the CAI if anyone wants to use by all means im just stating the facts that it can possibly suk in water and do a hole bunch of damage as wit the hot air produced ny the road. as for the engine bay getting hoter thats not entirely true unless your car doesnt have a thermo fan. your thermo will read that its hot and cool down the engine bay correct?

im not dissing the CAI if anyone wants to use by all means im just stating the facts that it can possibly suk in water and do a hole bunch of damage as wit the hot air produced ny the road. as for the engine bay getting hoter thats not entirely true unless your car doesnt have a thermo fan. your thermo will read that its hot and cool down the engine bay correct?

Nah usually the harder your thermo is working the hotter your engine bay is(your radiator is throwing serious heat out if the thermo is on), the only real way to cool your engine bay is to space the hinges at the back up or have some serious vents.

Matthius

Nah usually the harder your thermo is working the hotter your engine bay is(your radiator is throwing serious heat out if the thermo is on), the only real way to cool your engine bay is to space the hinges at the back up or have some serious vents.

Matthius
point taken either way im sure having the duktin furthr from the engine bay cannot be good for the intake bbut hey everyone to themselves hey.

im not dissing the CAI if anyone wants to use by all means im just stating the facts that it can possibly suk in water and do a hole bunch of damage as wit the hot air produced ny the road. as for the engine bay getting hoter thats not entirely true unless your car doesnt have a thermo fan. your thermo will read that its hot and cool down the engine bay correct?

Thermo fan is designed to suck cold air thru the radiator element to reduce the temperature of the cars cooling system, control of the fan is based on the temperature of the coolant - not the air in the engine bay. By the time it's sucked the air thru the radiator - it would be just as hot if not hotter than the air already inside the engine bay.

Bonnet vents are your best bet for reducing the ambient temperature in the engine bay.

*beat me to it*

im not dissing the CAI if anyone wants to use by all means im just stating the facts that it can possibly suk in water and do a hole bunch of damage as wit the hot air produced ny the road. as for the engine bay getting hoter thats not entirely true unless your car doesnt have a thermo fan. your thermo will read that its hot and cool down the engine bay correct?

I have a great CAI fitted to my car. It sucks air from in front of all the hot bits, so as to get the cooler air. It is also about 800mm above the road, so no hot air from the road on a hot day. Geez it even has a trap to catch water/rocks that may find their way into the intake. How much do I hear you ask? Nuthin, It's free. You get one with every Factory Magna you buy :P

I have a great CAI fitted to my car. It sucks air from in front of all the hot bits, so as to get the cooler air. It is also about 800mm above the road, so no hot air from the road on a hot day. Geez it even has a trap to catch water/rocks that may find their way into the intake. How much do I hear you ask? Nuthin, It's free. You get one with every Factory Magna you buy :P
lol which is why i believe the standard cai should remain its still working well for me

Thermo fan is designed to suck cold air thru the radiator element to reduce the temperature of the cars cooling system, control of the fan is based on the temperature of the coolant - not the air in the engine bay. By the time it's sucked the air thru the radiator - it would be just as hot if not hotter than the air already inside the engine bay.

Bonnet vents are your best bet for reducing the ambient temperature in the engine bay.

*beat me to it*
yeh but doesnt the heat coming from the engine add to the heat in the engine bay?? wouldnt reducing the heat deminish a percentage of the heat present under the bonnet?

I have a great CAI fitted to my car. It sucks air from in front of all the hot bits, so as to get the cooler air. It is also about 800mm above the road, so no hot air from the road on a hot day. Geez it even has a trap to catch water/rocks that may find their way into the intake. How much do I hear you ask? Nuthin, It's free. You get one with every Factory Magna you buy :P

It also gives your car a nice handy 6/7kw power loss(gimme a buzz if you want a dyno printout showing this) as it's blocked by the bonnet seal and has to draw air from over the headlight and across the radiator support, what a POS. Could have been a nice CAI with some more thought, but as they designed it it's nearly as bad as the rear muffler for restrictiveness.

Matthius