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Top intakes right now?

Abilor

Abilor

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Albany, NY
Howdy folks,

Just finished installing all my motor mounts, and turning my eye towards future projects. It's probably not the next thing I do, but what intakes are folks recommending these days along with a Stage 1/2 tune? Currently looking at APR or ECS carbon fiber systems. Any others I should be considering?

Thanks!
 
Sir_Mk7r

Sir_Mk7r

Ready to race!
Location
Atl
Do you know if you want to go with a closed or open system? as far as closed goes, I personally like the vwr r600. If you were looking at an open system I have heard great things about the IE unit.
 
M

mc55

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
GTA
I have the Unitronic Intake and enjoy it. Fit was nice and its not obnoxious in terms of sound.
 
Abilor

Abilor

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Albany, NY
Sir_Mk7r said:
Do you know if you want to go with a closed or open system? as far as closed goes, I personally like the vwr r600. If you were looking at an open system I have heard great things about the IE unit.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking closed; I like noises, but it's all about power first.
 
Wild Hare

Wild Hare

.: MR. BIG STUFF :.
Location
Nortvest
Car(s)
2015 Golf R (TUNED)
Abilor

Abilor

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Albany, NY
IanGolfR said:
I have the Unitronic Intake and enjoy it. Fit was nice and its not obnoxious in terms of sound.
Click to expand...

Didn't even know Unitronic had a product... Plus they have carbon fiber for the snorkel...
 
A

Al_in_Philly

Autocross Newbie
Location
Philadelphia USA
If you don't want to lose power from a non-stock intake, make sure that it ducts the air straight in from behind the grill and not just hot air from under the hood--some do. Those filters which grab their air from under the hood are frequently louder, but the heated under-hood air pretty much nullifies what your intercooler does. Beyond that, it's mainly a matter of what eye-candy you like, as any performance gains are minimal, at best. Even worse, most performance gains (if any) come from allowing larger particulate matter through the filter element (they are seldom larger in area than the stock filter), increasing the wear rate of many of the mechanical components in the engine.
All of that said, the S&B filter suggested by GolfRRRR appears to avoid the issues just mentioned, as it still draws its air from behind the grill, and offers the option of a dry paper filter element even lager than the stock VW one.
 
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Wild Hare

Wild Hare

.: MR. BIG STUFF :.
Location
Nortvest
Car(s)
2015 Golf R (TUNED)
GTI Jake

GTI Jake

Autocross Champion
Location
Charlotte, NC
Al_in_Philly said:
If you don't want to lose power from a non-stock intake, make sure that it ducts the air straight in from behind the grill and not just hot air from under the hood--some do. Those filters which grab their air from under the hood are frequently louder, but the heated under-hood air pretty much nullifies what your intercooler does. Beyond that, it's mainly a matter of what eye-candy you like, as any performance gains are minimal, at best. Even worse, most performance gains (if any) come from allowing larger particulate matter through the filter element (they are seldom larger in area than the stock filter), increasing the wear rate of many of the mechanical components in the engine.
Click to expand...

Not at all true. The difference from a open vs closed intake is negligible. Both have been proven to make more power than stock, neither an impressive amount though. At the end of the day it depends on what 6-12whp is worth to you on your personal budget. A sufficient intercooler makes 200% more difference than any intake can. So the guys spending $800 on an intake with a stock intercooler are gonna get gapped by the ones with a good intercooler and cheaper open intake or even a stock one.

All open intakes have a heat shield, and airflow is still from outside when you’re moving. The turbo compressing the air adds as much as 250* to ambient temps and the intercooler cools that back down. Comparing my logs with the Injen open intake and diy grill scoop vs IE closed on Shaggz car are identical. Both running the same intercooler, both stage 2 tuned

Another common misconception is that AEM and Injen use low quality filters. This couldn’t be further from true. They’re dry filter technology is the same as Amsoil (all three filters are made in the same factory/same company). Far superior filtration vs cotton oiled filters like K&N or APR



 
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oddspyke

oddspyke

Autocross Champion
Location
Delaware
Car(s)
2016 GTI, 2018 ZL1
Jake pretty much nailed it. The improvements in flow are more important than where it gets the air if you have a proper IC. That being said, I think there's more to be gained by messing with the grill and duct to get more flow than the intake pipe or filter. Manually mod them or get an intake that replaces the duct IMO. Just depends on taste and what you want to spend (and how handy you are I guess).
 
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