air intake and cai

[Scarab 1]

I think ANYTHING with a heat shield is better than what I did prior!

[NYBugman]

I've been experimenting with intakes recently and here are my findings thanks to the ol' butt dyno...

My old CAI was nice for noise and bragging rights, but the short-ram (cone filter in the engine bay) allowed for better throttle response and spool-up. I am running the stock airbox right now and it is quiet, but is the best for low-end torque among all 3, hands down. The CAI had more low-end than the short ram, but the CAI choked the turbo in the upper RPMs. Throttle response has gone down with the stock airbox, but the return of low-end torque has offset that.

All in all, the stock airbox is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The CAI is fun for sound and turning heads, the short-ram was best for throttle response and quick reactions, and the airbox IMO, is best for the street.

So I say do what you want when it comes to the intake. You're not going to win any races by changing anything there.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Well, every car and setup is different, not to mention the individual needs of each driver.

Fortunately for me my CAI setup yields substantial and noticable performance improvements on my engine throughout it's entire power band with no ill effects, the CAI's positive effects have become more and more evident with every power/tuning modification.

On my engine, the stock box with or without a K&N drop in filter did seem to work alright, that is until I installed my CAI, I A/B'd the setup's many times before concluding that without a doubt, I would never, ever, put the stock air box back on my car in any way, shape or form.

You gotta go with what feels right for you and your car.

[r0nd3L]

Too Cold, by CAI do you mean tube going down to lower bumper area or short-ram intake? CAI (Ex. AEM), as in cold air intake, draws air outside engine compartment as opposed to short-ram which draws air inside engine compartment (ex. P-Flow).

[angelusnhc]

i love my neuspeed to death.

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Any air flowing through the intake will be cooler than the air the turbo is compressing, I use the under hood CAI, not the CAI design that pipes air in from ground level.

[r0nd3L]

Originally Posted by Too Cold NB1.8T

Any air flowing through the intake will be cooler than the air the turbo is compressing, I use the under hood CAI, not the CAI design that pipes air in from ground level.

Don't call it CAI then, dude! CAI is CAI and short ram is short ram in my opinion, doesn't matter if it's NA or FI engine. Confused me like no other, hehe

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Sorry for your confusion but, it is what it is.

[r0nd3L]

Short Ram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_ram_air_intake

Cold Air Intake
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_air_intake

[Too Cold NB1.8T]

Nice links but it seems like there is a need to convince, as I said, "it is what it is".

I think it might be time to move on now.

[FineExampl]

my god man you take things way to seriously.

[r0nd3L]

Originally Posted by FineExampl

my god man you take things way to seriously.

Ohhhh shut up

Ok, fine, I'll stop now. lol

[missingman]

With The P-flow do you get a really loud swooshing sound or is quiet?

[noR]

They're all loud.

[juston]

Its a little louder, when you get up on higher rpms like on the highway you can hear kinda like a sucking sound of the engine. As for p-flow.. get something cheap on ebay. They all do the same thing

[juston]

Also I sold my Beetle, then bought it back. The dealership installed the factory air box and got rid of my open element filter, Id have to say it doesnt perform well at faster speeds.. I guess the factory chokes the engine. I used to get up to 120mph on my 2.0 but now after just switching back to the stock air system Im having a hard time hitting 110mph. It also doesnt sound as good.

[r0nd3L]

Short ram definately performs better than stock airbox. I have Eurosport heatshield and AEM Dryflow filter and decided to install stock airbox back in to see how it performed. The car seemed much slower, but it was pleasantly quite inside. In the end, I'd rather have higher performance than quitness.

[RABBIT170]

Does the 06-09 new beetles have a snow box too and is it the same to remove it as the older beetles?

thanks