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Has anyone tried one of the manufactured cold air intakes?


colinnwn
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Hi,

 

My air intake snorkel is cracked and deteriorating from being old plastic. Rather than patch it up or risk a junkyard one, I'd rather just get something new. The factory replacement seems to only be available now from PartsGeek for $205.

 

https://www.partsgeek.com/ss/?i=1&ssq=W0133-1851736&x=0&y=0

 

If I'm paying that much, I've wondered if anyone has tried one of the cold air intake options out there? I only found 2 brands.

 

K&N makes one that looks pretty high quality and runs $300

 

https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/nissan-pathfinder-occ-38.html/nissan-pathfinder-19962004-r50-pathfinder-occ-38_1322.html/19962004-r50-pathfinder-air-intake-systems-occ-38_1322_1427.html/nissan-pathfinder-fipk-air-intake-system-by-kn-20012004-35l-ocp-60394.html

 

Weapon R makes 2 versions, both of their versions look pretty cobbled together and racerboyish. They run about $200 from various retailers. Here is 1 version. But I can't find a single picture of one put together, and the method for mounting the MAF looks fairly ridiculous. But sometimes ridiculous works fine.

 

http://www.weapon-r.com/products/2335-2001-04-3-5l-v6-nissan-pathfinder-dragon-intake-black

 

I guess I 'm wondering if others have experienced a small increase in power, or decrease in fuel consumption, that would make one of these options worthwhile? Or has anyone had problems and wouldn't recommend a cold air intake?

 

Thanks.

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I bought an OEM one from Nissan for my 92 a few months ago for like $80. Did you try Nissan?

You mean a cold air intake? No i didn't think to try that. Thanks I will. I have noticed over the past 2 years lots of R50 parts are being discontinued, the factory air snorkel included. So part support from Nissan seems to be dwindling.

 

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Edited by colinnwn
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No I meant the factory air duct. I thought you were only looking at CAI because the air duct was to expensive.

The air duct does seem expensive, especially when 6 months ago as Nissan was selling off its final few, they were $150. Since I'm already at $200, I was wondering if spending another $100 would pay off in marginally better performance or fuel economy.

 

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Where is it cracked? Mine had some cracks along the corrugated part of the duct but the upper end by the throttle body was still solid. I cut off the cracked portion and replaced it with a section of straight intake pipe and a coupler at the MAF end. See the pic below. The stock piece has some resonators/silencers attached but you can go without those.

d98d17ba510a2df1ca239c352bd889f8.jpg

 

 

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Where is it cracked? Mine had some cracks along the corrugated part of the duct but the upper end by the throttle body was still solid. I cut off the cracked portion and replaced it with a section of straight intake pipe and a coupler at the MAF end. See the pic below. The stock piece has some resonators/silencers attached but you can go without those.

d98d17ba510a2df1ca239c352bd889f8.jpg

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's pretty looking. Mine is cracked from the throttle body to the first rib.

 

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In that case youd need a 45 degree coupler to replace the upper portion as well. A quick search on siliconeintakes.com showed you can get a 45 degree coupler, 1 foot of aluminum pipe, and a straight coupler for the MAF end all for about $33. You need 2.5 inch diameter for all of it. There is an egr fitting in the upper end by the throttle body so youd need to make a small hole in the 45 elbow to accommodate that fitting. You can get fittings like that at any auto parts store if you look in the custom air intake section. Overall youd have a solid repair for under $50. Thats my suggestion anyway if youre looking for the best repair for the least expense.

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To answer your original question btw, any aftermarket intake like that will give you some increased intake noise (which likely sounds really good on the 3.5), but you wont notice any measurable difference in performance or mpg. I havent run an intake specifically on the pathfinder, but Ive tried many different intake types on a lot of different cars and the result is always the same. The only time Ive seen an intake actually result in real power increase is on turbo cars, but thats because the turbo is able to make better use of the increased air flow.

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I run the K&N system in conjunction with my snorkle and I like the performance. While its considered by a lot of folks to be a "Cold air intake", its anything but that unless you route the filter into the fender or use a snorkle with it as it pulls hot air from the engine bay.

 

Make sure to clean any pre-lubricated filter prior to installation. The oil on the filters will damage your MAF sensor.

Edited by TowndawgR50
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I run the K&N system in conjunction with my snorkle and I like the performance. While its considered by a lot of folks to be a "Cold air intake", its anything but that unless you route the filter into the fender or use a snorkle with it as it pulls hot air from the engine bay.

 

Make sure to clean any pre-lubricated filter prior to installation. The oil on the filters will damage your MAF sensor.

 

If I go with a K&N system or create a similar setup with a cotton gauze filter, are you saying I should run it completely dry? Or to just be sure there is only a light application of the oil on the filter?

 

I had a JWT Pop Charger on my 1990 Maxima and I thought it said you need to lightly oil the filter after cleaning for it to catch dust effectively, but be careful not to over oil it to prevent damage to your MAF sensor. On that car I never ran into a problem. But modern sensors may be more sensitive.

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No, if its an oiled filter by design a very minimal amount of filter oil is needed (don't use WD40 or other non-filter specific oils). I found that many of the pre-lubed filters I've used in the past are saturated right out of the box. I like to use compressed air to clear them up or you can wash them and apply a light layer of oil. K&N re-charge kit is super cheap. 10 bucks if I remember and I've had the same kit for years and I've used it on all my cars equipped with oiled filters over the years.

 

Another thing to consider is how willing are you to maintain an oiled filter? Is it dusty where you live and potentially go off-road? Oiled filters will become clogged very quickly and require a lot of maintenance in dusty conditions. A dry filter will not perform as well as an oiled but its pretty much set it and forget it, with no major issues from dry, dusty climates and very little maintenance. I prefer the performance and accept that I have to check my oiled K&N filter all the time. Food for thought

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  • 5 months later...

I found the K&N system barely used on eBay for $180, and that was within my budget.

 

The install was easy. K&N only made a couple small errors in the instructions and hardware included. A couple bolts were missing from the previous owner.

 

I'm very impressed. This made a much bigger difference than the POP charger I put on my 1990 Maxima.

 

I probably had some leaks from the old cracking intake tube. It smoothed out my idle, the truck is noticeably peppier, and it seems to pull harder where I have to let up on the accelerator more quickly. It also has a nice growl above 3000 RPM.

 

It's better than I expected. I would still have problems paying $330 for it. But at $180, it's a no brainer for me.

 

 

 

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