CTS vs IE intake

[wascally wabbitt]

stock

Do any mods to the stock airbox substantially increase noise? That's pretty much the only thing I want that the stock box doesn't have

 

[Diggs24]

a high flowing panel filter is all you need. it will help a bit with noise but if you want noise get an open intake. just dont make the assumption youll get more power, you wont.

 

[Giuseppe Busso]

Do any mods to the stock airbox substantially increase noise? That's pretty much the only thing I want that the stock box doesn't have

Very little. You need bigger turbo inlet & hose + mods. I also noticed more sound after changing the muffler delete.

 

[messrock]

I can speak specifically for IE remedying any issues with solid customer support. They have been incredibly responsive and even proactive with fixing any issues.

They also make one of the top 3 ICs for these cars, not sure I would call them "garbage."

Based on your mod list of your current car you've only ever owned one product from either of these companies. Why do you hold such a strong opinion on something it seems you don't have personal experience with?
And I fully expect to be called a fanboy for owning their intake on my MK6 GTI and their tune(s) on my MK7 R lol

Solid customer support? The coolant reroute hose comes up to high, rubs against the heat shield and wears through - gotta pay for a new one. Bolts are too short to fully secure the air dam tray, do they offer to send replacements? Nope, go buy them yourself.

Love the sound of the intake, but the coolant reroute hose shouldn’t be a consumable part (the replacement also rubs).

 

[the]

What about my recommendation strays from the request? Maybe you should reread the original post or maybe I missed something.

Listen to what you just said.

"I recommend this."

Why?

"I just wanted to."

It's a bad recommendation. You should care more about your own recommendation than your only concern being "staying within the confines of the request". Just letting you know your recommendation to burn a $100 bill because you "just wanted to" is not a good recommendation.

 

[Daks]

Solid customer support? The coolant reroute hose comes up to high, rubs against the heat shield and wears through - gotta pay for a new one. Bolts are too short to fully secure the air dam tray, do they offer to send replacements? Nope, go buy them yourself.

Love the sound of the intake, but the coolant reroute hose shouldn’t be a consumable part (the replacement also rubs).

Where are you routing it?

 

[Dr Dad]

Solid customer support? The coolant reroute hose comes up to high, rubs against the heat shield and wears through - gotta pay for a new one. Bolts are too short to fully secure the air dam tray, do they offer to send replacements? Nope, go buy them yourself.

Love the sound of the intake, but the coolant reroute hose shouldn’t be a consumable part (the replacement also rubs).

Every issue I've had with IE (whether their fault or my own) has been met with a very quick response and very quick steps on their end to make it right.

My MK6 GTI stage 2 intake pipe was proactively replaced by them due to rubbing issues in the first iteration. My initial pipe never rubbed through.
My MK7 R ECU that was bricked (because my Windows computer decided to auto-update during my flash) was shipped, restored, and returned to me in 4 days.
My MK7 turbo inlet pipe was replaced free of charge due to fitment issues and the replacement fits perfectly.
I've reached out to them with questions regarding my tune and had them answered politely and quickly.

So either I am lucky in the specific parts I've bought being covered entirely by them, or maybe I've got rizz with customer support to get what I want. I'm not that charming of a person though.

My perspective on IE is a solid company with great tunes and great customer support. I only own a few pieces of their hardware, but I know their IC is consistently recommended.

CTS I've heard has fitment issues, but I've never had any issues with the 2 pieces from them that I own.

I'm not sure what brands are recommended as a general consensus around here. I know EQT is gospel, but is Uni good? UM? Is Revo still around? Does anyone tune with GIAC anymore?
APR has been crucified in the past. ECS is apparently dogshit, but I continue to order from them and have never once had an issue with their parts. Then there's the boutiques like sneekytuned and 5150, but I'm digressing towards tuners, not hardware suppliers.

For intakes I'll agree with what is often said: open intakes are only for sound. If you want just performance for as cheap as possible buy a higher flow drop-in filter and call it a day.

 

[ThisGuy]

Listen to what you just said.

"I recommend this."

Why?

"I just wanted to."

It's a bad recommendation. You should care more about your own recommendation than your only concern being "staying within the confines of the request". Just letting you know your recommendation to burn a $100 bill because you "just wanted to" is not a good recommendation.

Let’s forget about all the other dumb stuff you brought up. How is it burning $100?
And if you are going to note something about lack of performance gains I will request you provide a source. “Everyone knows” or “ it’s well know “ won’t work.

I bought them together and I would still recommend it as a package. I’m speaking from personal experience in regards to the original request. I’m guessing you are coming from interment knowledge unless you own a dyno and have personally tested equipment.

But either way I’m guessing “my buddy said”

 

[Sportbikemike]

ReggieKm01, this thread seemed to get a little off the rails so I would say just go with your instinct. I watched a couple of old YouTube videos of the CTS intake and I likes it. I waited a bit for a sale and spent what I could afford.
You're most likely in the same boat as me. Money might be a little tight, you're not building a race car and just want an intake. Will a $200 ebay intake affect your particular driving more so than a titanium and raw carbon, with carbide set screws, and gold plated internal piping? Provlably not.
Build your build.

 

[El_bigote_AJ]

He said cost wasn’t a concern (at least inbetween the 2 options he listed)

If we are just basing it on between the 2 I would go ie before the cts, but that’s got a couple reasons for me - which is looks and in reality the v3 looks to fit good cause they already let hundreds of other customers pay retail for their BETA v1 and v2 Versions that loved to rub on multiple locations (I had a v1, lol)


For me if I had a turbo that still used the stock style Inlet though I would still be picking between the blaze and the 4” proram if I was wanting to buy an intake for sound/looks/just because

 

[messrock]

Where are you routing it?

 

[Sportbikemike]

I know it's said "cost isn't a concern" but dropping $300 vs $600 could be a big difference to some people

 

[swcrow]

View attachment 283259

yup...my IEv2 does this....had to replace hose and make a 100 degree angle with zipties to make it bend in a way it wouldn't rub.........which caused me to leak coolant out of the hose connection ends. I'm about to undo the "bend" and just put some sort of guard on that metal piece.

 

[the]

How is it burning $100?

You are replacing parts for the sake of replacing parts. Your own response was "I just wanted to" and your own argument was it doesn't provide a power increase. That was your argument.

Mine is your recommendation is bad. It's bad because it's based solely on how you feel. No part of it is qualitative or based on any kind of data.

This is exactly how people start going down the coil pack / dv+ / tmd / etc. rabbit hole. Burning money for the sake of burning money.

I don't want to continue this discussion, because your reasoning is more emotional than it is logical. Is pulling my receipts really going to change your mind? There's no need to start slinging insults or calling names, that's a waste of time.

I'm tired of "I recommend this part because I bought it... And I don't know, because I just do!" This is the same energy coming from 95% of YouTubers on this platform, and it's the same reason everyone new to the platform has a big list of throwaway parts that delay meaningful upgrades. Anyway, we're repeating ourselves at this point. I don't want to have an argument with you. If you're okay with your recommendation that's fine with me.

 

[the]

View attachment 283259

You telling me you guys didn't use the IE coozie that comes with the kit?

Edit: this is the coozie ziptied to the stock hose while I waited for the $30 replacement. The leak was spraying coolant directly into the intake.