Hello all,

mi_cistemz_loudr, previously sent me his Ebay intake to dyno test on my car. I received it and completed dyno testing it against my stock intake and my Minnam Intake. I'm ONLY posting up stock vs Ebay intake since this post isn't about my Minnam intake. Let's cut to the chase.

Car: 1997 2.2ltr Subaru Outback Sport Wagon (AWD/Auto)

Current mods:
Unorthodox underdriven pulley
2.25" cat back exhaust/Dual Remus Muffler

Using 89 octane gas. Tire pressures are good. I did 4 runs a piece (12 total if you count my other 4 for the Minnam intake [not shown]). 2 runs were done at a time and the ECU unplugged until intake temps dropped below 89F (measured by a laser temp probe). Once temps were cool enough, ECU was plugged back in. HP/TQ figures used are the 2nd highest of the two most consistent runs.

*I need to pick up my wife shortly so I'm posting this up quickly*

Here is a horsepower graph showing the Ebay intake vs the stock intake in 3rd gear.
http://home.comcast.net/~thomasck/EbayIntakeHP.jpg
*Note at 4800rpm, the Ebay intake makes 94.88whp vs the stock intakes 84.88whp. A full 10whp difference in some areas on a 2.2ltr engine.


Let's look at the torque curve.
http://home.comcast.net/~thomasck/EbayIntakeTQ.jpg
At the same rpm point, the Ebay intake makes 103.33lb-ft of torque vs the stock intake 92.43lb-ft of torque. That's a 10.9lb-ft of torque increase. Not bad at all.

Here's the breakdown of how the Ebay intake is from the bottom of 1st gear to the top of 3rd gear.
http://home.comcast.net/~thomasck/Ebay1st-3rd_Gear.jpg


Here's a pic of the owner of the Ebay intake on how it would look in your engine bay.
http://img137.exs.cx/img137/7012/overallintake8ho.jpg


Gains could possibly be more on the bigger displacemented 2.5RS. So there you have it. I have to run out to pick up my wife. Questions and comments are welcome. Ebay intakes kick arse! :lol: Stop wasting your hard earned $$$ on Cobb and other really expensive intakes. I've been saying this all along.

This also disproves the 'theory' that a Torque Box is needed. My Impreza has that container/box thingamajigga attached to the intake. With the Ebay straight pipe, torque was gained tremendously as you can tell.

Nice work. Way to make TONS of people feel a bit ripped off after spending a boat load on the "only" intake that showed gains. I've always been hesitant to get an intake as I thought the COBB (hi $$$) were the only ones that actually did anything and I wasn't willing to spend that kind of money.

Now an ebay intake on the other hand is much more in my budget... :devil:

Jared

Great thread.

Now is when all the cobb and injen boys get a nasty sinking feeling.

Thank you so much for taking the time to prove that just because something costs alot dosn't mean its better. I really want to dyno my intake now.

I bought a very similar intake from Rallitek for my '99 RS a year ago:
http://www.powerlabs.org/images/underhood.jpg
Besides being the loudest thing I've ever heard under my hood, it also caused the engine to lean out a LOT. So much, in fact, that at 5500RPM the ECU would force a fuel cut as though I had hit redline. I ended up having to buy and install an S-AFC and run the following air/fuel correction curve:
http://www.powerlabs.org/images/interior.jpg
(notice 21% extra fuel at redline). Then it made what seemed like some extra power, but I ended up selling it and installing an Injen. I'm more satisfied with its sound and it does not lean out the car as much, though its still around 11% extra fuel at redline.

hahaha. Kevin, you just made my day. I'm printing the dyno charts out now...

:banana: man i knew i gained something, but 10 more hp and lb/ft? thats crazy! :eek: :lol:

well the intake was bought for me by a friend. that and the parts to make it fit right. Ill send him the link to this page. He'll be nutz.

Thanks Kevin for taking the time and money to do this. :)

-Shaun

Thats sweet. I've been on the fence about an intake, but I think this has convinced me

Thanks! I hope your post helps put an end to the NASIOC Board Legend that "You can't do much to improve your EJ22 so you might as well swap in a EJ25". When I added my supplementary hoodscoop fed intake, the power increase was noticeable and I think you have to have at least a 5hp gain to notice the difference with any mod.

http://number6.homelinux.net/gallery/albums/album34/DSCN3018.sized.jpg

these numbers are very interesting. I have an indentical intake, except for an additional silicone joint in the bend. However, I use a Ractive "heat shield" filter, and the filtration area don't look as large. I like the heat shield because it will be easy to convert it into CAI by adding a tube and run it into the front fender. I also tought about taking a broken headlight and make a ram-air intake for drag racing days

i bought a ebay intake, i got the wrong one tried to return it, dude left and killed the account on ebay, so im 50 bucks out, anyone know if its cheap to re-bend a pipe? or sum how remedy this badboy

I didn't want to comment on the Ebay intake(s) but I think I should say something on this. These intakes are not bolt-ons. You can't just purchase an Ebay intake and expect to just install it without issues.

They have to be modified. For example, the IAC valve and hose may have to be enlarged. You may have to drill a hole or somehow tap into the intake to attach an IAC, PCV or valve cover vacuum hose. 'May' is the key word since all of these intakes are not alike. I only tested this one version that was modified this one way by Shaun.

Also, you probably are going to have to purchase a Maf adapter. I didn't use the one that was provided by the owner (Shaun). I used the maf adapter I have for my Minnam intake, which is a perfect fit. It looked like Shaun had to modify a maf adapter to make it fit.

3rd note is that some of you ARE NOT going to like the air filter. I was going to include pics but when I swap cars, I left my digital camera in the other car. I'm sending this intake back today and it's all boxed up so I can't give you detailed pics. What I can tell you is not the quality of the filter element but the top of the filter looks similar 'to a thin metal screen'. Sure it will filter out some stuff but it's not an 'air filter' type of material. It's almost like sticking a panty hose over your maf sensor. :lol:

There's a reason why it's cheap. That wasn't the point of this thread. I wanted to see if the intake actually made or lost hp/torque and where it did it at. I was very curious. I'm putting up this post now because I feel some what responsible if a noob hurries up and go out and purchase one of these, only to be left at a standstill when they are ready to install it because they can't. Now you know! ;)

any comment on the a/f ratios? when is a lean condition dangerous?

i had a feeling that with my gravel sport and my aem cai that they were leaning out the fuel... at the very top end. the sound was just different as the ecu relearned... too bad the safc/safc2 doesn't work in the long run with MY03 OBS (MAP).

the larger the intake diameter the leaner it runs, yes?

I think that greater hp gains are realized with the engine mods on this car. If you just slap on an intake, it's not going to make much of a difference. However, the catback has to help things out. Also, if you added some headers, I'm sure the intake would be working to its fullest potential. It seems like anything that helps the engine on the exhaling end would make the intake that much more efficient.

BTW, thanks for the comparison. I feel vindicated.

Hey Kevin, where are you located? I don't think it would be possible for an Intake to make those gains here in Park City (7000ft), or am I just crazy?

Oster

alrighty. my ebay intake ABSOLUTELY WAS NOT A BOLT ON!!!!

it did not fit, hoses didnt match up, etc. it was labeled for my car thoh. we blocked 2 hose thingys (one for breather), made our own mount for the one hose, had to cut the pipe, make our own MAF adaptor (didnt know they made them, will buy one when i get the intake back), etc. LOOK ON THE ORIGINAL EBAY INTAKE PAGE for a BREAKDOWN OF MY INTAKE.
i took us 6 hours to get it right, mainly brainstorming.

i used the filter included, but its now dirty so im gonna get a new one.

i just cant believe the gains. i mean i believe it, but WOW!!! neways, the dyno starts at 4k rpms. thats where the car goes from "stockish" to.. uh... well thats where it really starts pulling

yeah. the intake was originally S shaped

00
-00
--00
----000
------000000000
----------0000000000000000
-----------------------000000
----------------------------000
------------------------------00

crap. that didnt work right.

it was like an S with half a curve taken off, or a 5 without the flat top taken off.

the larger the intake diameter the leaner it runs, yes?

I honestly can't answer this directly. Despite what you may read about your car not learning at WOT, it does. Every run I did with an aftermarket intake, the air/fuel ratio got richer and richer. Even after disconnecting the ECU after I did two runs and reconnecting it to do another two runs with the same intake. It seemed the ECU took up where it left off before and continued to make the car run richer, in all gears.

Also, different Subaru ECUs work differently. I noticed through dyno testing that an Impreza ECU the same year as mine just made a little later runs leaner. It's as if the ECU mapping is different. While my ECU keeps adjusting richer and richer until above 5000rpm, the air/fuel ratio can drop as low as 10.0:1, the one made later on the same year as mine won't go below 12.5:1. :confused: I haven't gone about trying to figure it out. I just understand that this is the way it works. :cool:

In short, I'm trying to say that different intakes are going to work differently on different cars (even of the same make/model and year). Even your modifications will determine how rich/lean it's going to run. Each one will be a case by case test. I know my car just dumps a load of fuel above 5000rpm on everything except for the stock setup after it gets used to an aftermarket intake.


I think that greater hp gains are realized with the engine mods on this car. If you just slap on an intake, it's not going to make much of a difference. However, the catback has to help things out. Also, if you added some headers, I'm sure the intake would be working to its fullest potential. It seems like anything that helps the engine on the exhaling end would make the intake that much more efficient.


Is there a reason why this reasoning wouldn't apply to the stock intake as well? :confused: I'm an idiot so I'm sorry if it's a simple explanation. Someone else said the exact same thing on another forum where I posted this up. I never heard anyone say this about the Cobb intake.

wok wok. next up, ebay underdrive pulley.

hey, i may be short on cash, but 'i'll do what i can with what i got'

:)

-shaun

hey man congrats on those numbers. You told me you were sending it away and im happy you did. Proves to alot of ppl that cheap mods can be good too. I know im a broke college kid.

Hmm Seeing these test results make me want to go see what my car acts like on the dyno with my modified Ebay intake. I think I will go do that when I got some spare change floating around. But that will be after I get the Perrin Pulley I just ordered. Although these results are pretty good if not dam good. I am still going to be selling my ebay CAI for an Injen (mainly for looks). Now here is an interesting question though. IN my area there are only FWD and RWD dyno's and my car like everyones here on NASIOC is AWD. My car can be put into FWD by use of a fuse any idea if by doing this I would affect the dyno results? But once again thanks alot for finnaly putting this debate to rest. SCORE ONE FOR THE CHEAP GUYS !!!!:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Makes me wonder how it would compare to a true CAI in 100 degree Tennesse heat with the hood down.

taking out that fuse doesnt make the car truely fwd. i forget what exactly it does, but i read on the forums somewhere that, for example, if you wanted to tow your car, you still need a flatbed or you'll break something.

another thing. a friend of mine has a 1st gen talon. it broke so he had to get it towed. the guy said that even thoh its AWD, he can tow it with a regulat tow truck.

they made it all of like 3 feet. now, not only is it not running, it is RWD. and if you saw the small connections putting power to the rear wheels, you'd be afraid to put power through them too...

It make me smile how some people would believe in god, and still not believe a dyno chart.

even if there's other mods on the engine, it prove one thing. these engine are highly restricted both ways. 10Whp is achievable with a simple ebay intake and a catback exhaust. let's say 50$ for the intake, 50$ for a large midpipe, and 50$ for a generic hi-flow muffler, and you're done. maybe i'm optimistic but it can be done for 200$ for sure.

then, think about what an hi-flow can and a headers can do.

Hmmm... Not to be pessimistic, but I still wonder what the gains are on a 1.8l with no other mods...

-Josh

What do you guys think about a EBAY intake on a 01 RS? do it or not? i'm cheap...haha

I say do it and then get it dyno'd before and after so we can see what it does to the EJ25 Hey 10HP for $50 who can complain about that.

FWIW, a couple years back I dyno'd my car with a JC Sports intake. Very similar to the so-called Ebay intake - didn't fit quite right, filter vacuum/PCV hoses didn't match up right, etc. I saw zero gain - I actually went home from the dyno and put my stock intake back on, because I figured at least with that I'm getting cooler air from the fender.

I then installed an Injen and went back to the same dyno a while later (not sure how long, but this was not a same day, head-to-head comparo like Kevin's) and gained about 7.5hp.

In other words, your results may vary....

Pat Olsen
'97 Legacy 2.5GT sedan

well im satisfied with MY results. (huge understatement)

Summit Racing sells 3" mandrel bent tubing... give me a year. i wanna see how hard it would be to make these suckers.

Also, you probably are going to have to purchase a Maf adapter. I didn't use the one that was provided by the owner (Shaun). I used the maf adapter I have for my Minnam intake, which is a perfect fit. It looked like Shaun had to modify a maf adapter to make it fit.

3rd note is that some of you ARE NOT going to like the air filter. I was going to include pics but when I swap cars, I left my digital camera in the other car. I'm sending this intake back today and it's all boxed up so I can't give you detailed pics. What I can tell you is not the quality of the filter element but the top of the filter looks similar 'to a thin metal screen'. Sure it will filter out some stuff but it's not an 'air filter' type of material. It's almost like sticking a panty hose over your maf sensor. :lol: \;)

ok. apparently i didnt read this too thoroughly before. yes, there is a very thin metal screen at the end of thefilter. and no its not good. i have a VERY fine dust on the inside of my intake cuz of it. first thing i do when i get the intake back, other than install it, is to get another filter. i dunno the company, but its 25$. its the typical cone filter with a inner 'V' filter. ill post [ics when i actually get it. /v\ <- thats the jist of it

another thing. i didnt mod a MAF adaptor. i made one. at the time, we didnt know there was such thing as a MAF adaptor. we used a bend we cut off the intake, and made our own with that and some spare sheet metal. i say spare but we paid 10$ for it. thats another thing i plan to get with the new filter(the adaptor).

another thing, to back Kevin up. if you plan to go out and buy an ebay intake, i can assure you that, if you get one from the same company i got mine from (which you prob will) it wont fit out of the box. it wants to put the filter in place of the strut tower(i have 1 pic of the intake before surgery). cutting, silicon, hosing, clamps, etc are all involved. yes this intake appears to make more power, but with that power comes work and fabrication. i posted in the original ebay intake post about this.

a breakdown of my intake is here:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699378&page=1&pp=25

i would be happy to answer questions or take more pictures if anyone is interested.

-Shaun

Is there a reason why this reasoning wouldn't apply to the stock intake as well? :confused: I'm an idiot so I'm sorry if it's a simple explanation. Someone else said the exact same thing on another forum where I posted this up. I never heard anyone say this about the Cobb intake.

I suppose it would apply to a stock intake. Saying that was a little redundant, since any mod will make more hp if it's in conjunction with something else. Take underdrive pullies for instance. Don't they "make" more power when used with, let's say, a larger turbo? BUT, I think you would realize much larger gains with something a little less retrictive than a stock airbox. I am a master of stating the obvious, by the way.

ok. installed the stock intake (and looking, realized that my CV boots are cracked) and took it for a run. bogging is gone. 0-60 feels much faster, but isnt very measurable.

ok. reinstalled the ebay intake (and looking, realized that my CV boots are cracked) and took it for a run. bogging is gone. 0-60 feels much faster, but isnt very measurable.

I did this test in 2001 and everyone thought I was full of crap, I'm glad to see that I'm right. I bought one of these intakes for the MAP based imprezas, made an MAF adaptor similar to a Kartboy out of plexi and 3" exhaust tubing, then relocated my filter in the fender. I had to add a few more breather tubes because the 97 had 4 vaccum lines, that was done with simple copper tubing and fast setting JB Weld.

Being innovative and thrifty pays off, I paid 80% less then what a Cobb costs and got more power from it.

These intakes work well for the 93-02 Imprezas, the 03-04 Impreza have an IAT sensor that for some reason causes the intake to make this awful high pitched whistling noise when an intake is installed. I tried the ebay, AEM and one of my own custom jobs and still had little success in making it stop whistling.

FWIW, a couple years back I dyno'd my car with a JC Sports intake. Very similar to the so-called Ebay intake - didn't fit quite right, filter vacuum/PCV hoses didn't match up right, etc. I saw zero gain - I actually went home from the dyno and put my stock intake back on, because I figured at least with that I'm getting cooler air from the fender.

I then installed an Injen and went back to the same dyno a while later (not sure how long, but this was not a same day, head-to-head comparo like Kevin's) and gained about 7.5hp.

In other words, your results may vary....

Pat Olsen
'97 Legacy 2.5GT sedan

I remember this at Adrenalin motorsports, I had a very similar set-up at this time, JCSports 3" piping and a short extension for the filter and got no results either, switching to a 2.5" diameter pipe made all the difference.

I remember this at Adrenalin motorsports, I had a very similar set-up at this time, JCSports 3" piping and a short extension for the filter and got no results either, switching to a 2.5" diameter pipe made all the difference.

I've been thinking about for sometime. I'd like to do another test to test this out though. I'm thinking that a 2.75" diameter piping would yield the best results. There's so much to learn in this area. The maf sensor housing is 2.5" but the throttle body diameter is 2.75" (from my measurments). I always seem to notice that my air/fuel ratio takes a steep dive after 5000rpm or so the more you keep doing a dyno run on an aftermarket 3" intake. There's something to be said about this. Other people have reported the same thing.

I know that after 5000rpm, the intake velocity is at it's peak (of course) and that all of my 3" intakes are the loudest at this point. I'm wondering if the drop in air/fuel ratio (sometimes as low as 10.2:1) is attributed to the 3" intake piping's length, diameter and/or sounder resonance coming from the cylinders.

Again, all of the 3" intakes I've tested has the air/fuel ratio taking a dive above 5000rpm. Someday, I'm going to figure out what's the deal with this. Maybe someone else will or have though.

Perhaps I can get some plumbers plastic piping together to test this all out. :p

Kevin - I want to test 2.75 inch pipe as well. I have tested several intakes on my now ex's 2003 RS. The stock intake is 2.5 inchs, i made one intake that was 2.5 inch and a few different 3 inch intakes. All three intakes were from the stock air box to the fender, the 3 inch intakes were attached to a modified stock air box. 3 inch loses lowend, some of the punchyness was gone, but pulls to red line so well. I think there would be no loss in low end torque with 2.75 inch, but with good gains in the mid and top end. However i like to use abs plastic because it won't soak up heat like metal, and i have never seen 2 3/4 abs.

I still think 2.5" is the route to go. It seems that when one uses a pipe bigger then the throttle body, all it is doing is slowing down the airflow to the manifold. By staying consistant throughout the piping you can keep the same flow rate into the manifold.

Basically by decreasing the effort to pull in air it seems to make more power. The volume of air coming in from the 2.5" piping seems to be the most efficient.

Much like putting something like 3" or 2.5" exhaust tubing on our cars, it does nothing but create dissonance just outside the cat and the muffler, too much air trying to leave at once. I know backpressure is a factor, but there are optimal sizes to maintain and even increase low end tq. and gain HP.

The "perfect" set-up for the 2.2 and 2.5 seems to be consistant through-out the years of testing and observation:
2.5" Intake pulling in actual cold air, not heated from the engine bay
2.25" Catback exhaust.
Proper Air to Fuel Adjustments
= Optimal Performance.

People are claiming more power with eBay intakes than brand name intakes such as Cobb and Injen.. I haven't actually seen an eBay intake vs a brand name intake dyno plot in this thread yet.

No one is claiming more HP then anything, we're just saying we spent 80% less for the same effect. I can tell you from dyno testing years ago we gain nothing from the JC Sports intake, but I gained 11hp at the wheels with a modded ebay cheapo.

JC sports has since gone out of business.

Just curious, Kevin, what type of gains did you see with your Minnam?

People are claiming more power with eBay intakes than brand name intakes such as Cobb and Injen.. I haven't actually seen an eBay intake vs a brand name intake dyno plot in this thread yet.


I haven't posted the Minnam intake results because I wanted the thread to be stock vs Ebay. Also, Minnam intakes came with a Greddy foam air filter if anyone remembers the SCC (Sport Compact Article). The JC Sports intake had a K&N air filter. My Minnam intake has a K&N air filter on it. I never tested the JC Sports intake with a K&N air filteron the Impreza.

I can post up the Minnam intake with the K&N air filter alongside the Ebay intake if anyone wants to see it. The Ebay intake beat it on the top end. The Minnam intake was the first intake I did 4 dyno runs on before changing it out for the stock intake, then the Ebay intake. All were done on the say day even though I had previously tested the Minnam intake before.

Somehow, I still don't think this would be convincing enough for peeps. :p The Ebay intake was 'custom'. It's likely all of them will be custom because they may have to be modified.

Wife calls for dinner. I'll post up the Minnam intake results so you can decide. :D

What do you guys think about a EBAY intake on a 01 RS? do it or not? i'm cheap...haha

I dont think you'll see the same results on the MAP-based cars. My '00 RS ran disgustingly rich with a Minnam intake. My gas mileage was down almost 30 miles per tank.

I don't know if the 04 is that much different then the 00 aside from IAT sensor and fewer breathers, but y2k245678910door is right, MAP based EJ's run rich after adding an intake. I've noticed my car is running much richer after the addition of an intake. I have it conservatively tuned with an S-AFC II until I can get to a dyno to tune it.

Well, I had this thing on my car for about 15k, then took it off and put the stock box on sans piping for almost another 15k to present.

I'm not totally sure of this things history, but I do know at one point it was McDade's then RS22b's, and now mine. Supposedly it was an SPT intake. It does seem to be decent quality. I have no install issues whatsoever. I do need to get a new rubber gasket to connect to the TB. I also bought silicone hoses for the vacuums.

I just had it powdercoated to match my GFB pulleys and am preparing to put it back on. My car ran rich with it on, and as far as I can tell with it off as well. Either way, my mileage sucks. I have currently a borla header and stromung axle back. I had at one point with both intakes a single high flow cat section. No difference in mileage. HP was "alot" better with the highflow though. Some of you might remember this as McDade's intake of death... It was originally red...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/DJ9iron/ssint002copy.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/DJ9iron/ssint008copy.jpg

I dont get the point of the breather being where it is, but at least it looks cool.

If it's like the one I bought, there is an extra hole in the tubing that has no use. The breather is there to cover it. I just plugged mine, but never thought about putting a breather on it. Pretty smart.

I dont get the point of the breather being where it is, but at least it looks cool.
Yeah, I don't exactly see the point either... Thats the way I got it, so I'm just leaving it as is... :)

But you might just be making turbulence if air is comming in there. I guess its not a CAI so it really dosen't matter that its sucking in hot air too.

But you might just be making turbulence if air is comming in there. I guess its not a CAI so it really dosen't matter that its sucking in hot air too.
My hoodscoop is open. And if you say it doesn't get cold air from the scoop you're crazy! I can take a drive, stop, pop the hood, and when you touch the intake(where the breather is) that thing is downright cold! So... Yeah, sitting in traffic it will take in hot air, but is that when you are realizing benefits from an intake?

Well, I had this thing on my car for about 15k, then took it off and put the stock box on sans piping for almost another 15k to present.

Nice looking intake. I was about to say I don't see a use for the breather as well since I was assuming you had a maf based Impreza. On a map based impreza, if your car has a restriction in the intake forward of the intake piping, the breather could make up for it by letting air get in through it. Seems it would help out by leaning out the air/fuel ratio a little bit if the car were to run rich anywhere in the powerband.

Just curious, Kevin, what type of gains did you see with your Minnam?

8 months later, I figured I'd answer this question. I hate leaving things unanswered. I just never read it. Ran into this searching for dyno graphs. Well, here it goes.

http://home.comcast.net/~thomasck/mini-EbayvsMinnamHP.jpg


http://home.comcast.net/~thomasck/mini-EbayvsMinnamTQ.jpg

Good lord, the change in your power delivery alone would make it worth it...

hey Kevin. prolly purchasing a used Weapon R intake and putting the ebay one to pasture (well, keeping it for sentimental reasons and such) cuz it has that bung for the idle air control valve hose, the one causing me all those problems. not that youd want to shell out the money for that (ebay was one thing, this one wouldnt be a biggy) but if you are for some reason going to a dyno anytime soon i can ship that to yah for shizs and giggles

I have a noobish question. How can you tell if your car is running rich or not? especially at specific RPM's.

My car was purchased with a secret weapon intake and the power has always seemed good on the low end (similar to the power delivery illustrated in the dyno results).

wow. i figured it might make some diff, but didn't expect it to be that much.

now it's official. best $20 i've ever spent on my car. :)

delete

delete

speak and be heard:rolleyes:

so who are the good sellers for this ebay intake?

yea, i would like to know this also since i am getting my 2.5rs soon, hopefully :)

I have the original Ebay intake Kevin tested, but its not listed anymore. It also didnt fit correctly, required some modding to make it fit (cutting, turning, and moving a section of the intake)

this looks like a corrected version (that fits) intake, including the hardware and same filter (bad filter, I would definatly not reccommend using it, i had dust in my intake from it)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-01-Subaru-Impreza-Air-Intake-System-WRX-96-97-98-99_W0QQitemZ8010804653QQcategoryZ38634QQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem

try to find one with a 3/4 bung welded onto it though for the idle air control valve. bogging and stalling could (in my case, did) result if not...

wow.... long live the ebay intakes..... I'm putting mine back on!!

AH! HA!

-MAc

I was looking at this intake since atleast the filter is reliable

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/97-01-IMPREZA-L-2-5RS-AIR-INTAKE-w-K-N-FILTER-98-99-28_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ38634QQitemZ80111989 62QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

I honestly can't answer this directly. Despite what you may read about your car not learning at WOT, it does. Every run I did with an aftermarket intake, the air/fuel ratio got richer and richer. Even after disconnecting the ECU after I did two runs and reconnecting it to do another two runs with the same intake. It seemed the ECU took up where it left off before and continued to make the car run richer, in all gears.

Also, different Subaru ECUs work differently. I noticed through dyno testing that an Impreza ECU the same year as mine just made a little later runs leaner. It's as if the ECU mapping is different. While my ECU keeps adjusting richer and richer until above 5000rpm, the air/fuel ratio can drop as low as 10.0:1, the one made later on the same year as mine won't go below 12.5:1. :confused: I haven't gone about trying to figure it out. I just understand that this is the way it works. :cool:

In short, I'm trying to say that different intakes are going to work differently on different cars (even of the same make/model and year). Even your modifications will determine how rich/lean it's going to run. Each one will be a case by case test. I know my car just dumps a load of fuel above 5000rpm on everything except for the stock setup after it gets used to an aftermarket intake.

I think it's because after 5,500 rpm or 5,250 rpm, the ECU ignores the knock sensor, MAP/MAF, and O2, and runs on a preset map. This may very from car to car, but I do know that at least the knock sensor is ignored over 5,000 rpm.

I used 3" ID PVC pipe for a homebrew intake. I added some spiral shaped foam (superglued in) for noise reduction and to improve the flow through the bends. At 5,000 rpm, the intake would get obnoxiously loud right ot redline. Hard shifting at redline resulted in a massve backfire out the intake, which was often loud enough to deafen everyone in sight. It would backfire during a hard shift anywhere above 5,5,00 rpm, but it would be amazingly loud right at the rev limiter. I'm thinking that it was backfiring because it was running so lean, it wasn't able to detonate on time, and during the sudden slam shift, it would almost blow up my intake every time.

Go with the Ebay tube you can modify it to work if it dosen't fit for some strange reason. I made it work on my 99 RS & still retained the stock MAF sensor location definatly the best $11 dollars plus $25 shipping :furious: ever spent and my Denim dyno says so too! :devil:

what do you guys think about using a MAF cone filter adapter with a stock Legacy tube. Would that be just as good as the ebay intake, or is the power increase from the metal intake?
like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/turbo93impreza/DSCF4493.jpg

Disclaimer: Here comes the noob.

Isnt there some kind of wrapping you can get that shields against high heat? does cold air get heated at all by the temp of the intake pipe itself as it is (no shielding)?

EDIT -IF- by some chance wrapping it does something...who cares what it looks like.

Disclaimer: Here comes the noob.

Isnt there some kind of wrapping you can get that shields against high heat? does cold air get heated at all by the temp of the intake pipe itself as it is (no shielding)?

EDIT -IF- by some chance wrapping it does something...who cares what it looks like.

I used heatwrap on my PVC intake. Insulation is thick, and doesn't stick to itself sometimes, which makes it a PITA to use. Also, it does heat-soak after a while, unfortunatly. :(

So, after a while, the inside of the tube or pipe gets so hot, that the heat shield is just holding excess heat in the tube. If you have a CAI coming from the fender well, that may be different.

I used heatwrap on my PVC intake. Insulation is thick, and doesn't stick to itself sometimes, which makes it a PITA to use. Also, it does heat-soak after a while, unfortunatly. :(

So, after a while, the inside of the tube or pipe gets so hot, that the heat shield is just holding excess heat in the tube. If you have a CAI coming from the fender well, that may be different.
ah ok. well im going to try and get a small "L"-ish shaped tube and put the filter right smack behind the open hoodscoop. I need to figure out what to do abour rain tho. I was just wondering if wrapping what i have now

ah ok. well im going to try and get a small "L"-ish shaped tube and put the filter right smack behind the open hoodscoop. I need to figure out what to do abour rain tho. I was just wondering if wrapping what i have now
It might help you more than it would hlep me. I just did a short ram, sucking in hot engine bay air.

I think I'll do a more elaborate intake mod sometime soon. My engine bay gets dirty, and I don't want to have too much hassle with air filters or problems with dirt getting sucked in my engine. =\ Actually, a snorkle would probably be my best bed for clean engine air...

**I like the Legacy intake** What is the part# for that intake? What year/model Legacy is it from?

On another note, you will always here the arguments about the short ram vs cold air intakes. I have a 'short ram' or hot-air intake on my XT6. Yes, it does affect off-idle throttle response during the summer months. The car seems a bit slower. My engine bay gets HOT. Even still, driving down the street, performance does not suffer. Going from stock intake to stock snorkus routed to the foglight netted a 3mph in the 1/4 mile. 78mph to 81mph. When I switched to my hot-air 3" intake, the car gained another 1-2mph. I ran high 82 to low 83mph in the 1/4 mile. My hot-air intake even ran a faster trap speed than removing my air filter from my stock intake and having the air 'rammed' into the foglight, directly into the intake. I had my intake tubing sticking part way out my foglight (ghetto but good for experiment). You could tell it was affective because my air-fuel ratio gauge read leaner (.71-.75 vs .82-.85, Jumptronix air-fuel ratio meter) the faster I went. On the highway, it would read dangerously lean the faster I went.

So yes, it does help in some cases. I understand the logic with the cold air and all but sometimes, simply testing something goes a long way. I tested my hot-air intake and it is staying on my car due to how it worked in application, not theory. If you have the opportunity, test these things out.

Here is a nice looking one. I'm not gonna try it, but if anyone was interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COLD-AIR-INTAKE-SYSTEM-97-99-Impreza-RS-2-5L_W0QQitemZ8010399403QQcategoryZ38634QQssPageName ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

-Gagan

Just to tell the rest of you on Gagan's progress, he has had some fantastic results with that ebay intake also. Turns out its a complete OBX rip off.

Just to tell the rest of you on Gagan's progress, he has had some fantastic results with that ebay intake also. Turns out its a complete OBX rip off.
which is ironic, since last i heard OBX has been screamed at for ripping off other people's "designs".

Yep, it's apparently very similar to the Injen intake, which aint no bad thing.

what do you guys think about using a MAF cone filter adapter with a stock Legacy tube. Would that be just as good as the ebay intake, or is the power increase from the metal intake?
like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/turbo93impreza/DSCF4493.jpg


Don't. Just don't. Well. You can, but you'd see more gains from the ebay intake. My legacy got a snorkus (lost torque, gained sound), then I swapped on the ebay intake to my stock box with snorkus, and tons of torque returned.

The inner diameter of the legacy pipe is 2.25-2.5" I think? The ebay intake is an iinner diameter of 3". Not to mention the bends are very abrupt and the accordian ruffles disrupt air flow.

By the way, I have a sound clip of my setup in the CAI/Exhaust thread. I think I'm the last post.

SO I have been seriously thinking of just putting a 3 inch K&N filter on my stock tube with one of those MAF air adaptors.. has anyone had any experience with this? any gains? I have a 2005 rs

Here is a nice looking one. I'm not gonna try it, but if anyone was interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COLD-AIR-INTAKE-SYSTEM-97-99-Impreza-RS-2-5L_W0QQitemZ8010399403QQcategoryZ38634QQssPageName ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

-Gagan
LOL... in this post, i said I wasn't going to buy it.

after waiting 5 weeks for cobb
2 weeks for injen

I bought it... and man am I happy

Just to tell the rest of you on Gagan's progress, he has had some fantastic results with that ebay intake also. Turns out its a complete OBX rip off.
Actually, my intake, the one in that link, is an OBX intake.

Here is a nice looking one. I'm not gonna try it, but if anyone was interested.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COLD-AIR-INTAKE-SYSTEM-97-99-Impreza-RS-2-5L_W0QQitemZ8010399403QQcategoryZ38634QQssPageName ZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting

-Gagan

:lol: That's the same intake I ordered. From the same seller! Except UPS lost mine. Well, their site says they delivered it to my front door (dec. 13th at 3:30pm if you're curious) but I was home at the time and they sure the hell didn't. When I called them up the rep told me that the driver left my package at the front door as per the website. If that's the case, then the inconsiderate mofo didn't even bother to ring the doorbell or knock. I emailed the seller and got him to file a claim with them but he clammed right up when I mentioned a replacement. It's a damn shame because I wanted to see what kind of a difference there would be going from a hot-air intake to a cold-air.

:lol: That's the same intake I ordered. From the same seller! Except UPS lost mine. Well, their site says they delivered it to my front door (dec. 13th at 3:30pm if you're curious) but I was home at the time and they sure the hell didn't. When I called them up the rep told me that the driver left my package at the front door as per the website. If that's the case, then the inconsiderate mofo didn't even bother to ring the doorbell or knock. I emailed the seller and got him to file a claim with them but he clammed right up when I mentioned a replacement. It's a damn shame because I wanted to see what kind of a difference there would be going from a hot-air intake to a cold-air.


I remember reading about some UPS drivers who don't like driving to the ends of their routes. They will input a successful delivery, but the package goes back to the distribution center. There was one guy on another forum had several packages "delivered" but they were found at the distribution center when he called.

I didn't want to comment on the Ebay intake(s) but I think I should say something on this. These intakes are not bolt-ons. You can't just purchase an Ebay intake and expect to just install it without issues.

They have to be modified. For example, the IAC valve and hose may have to be enlarged. You may have to drill a hole or somehow tap into the intake to attach an IAC, PCV or valve cover vacuum hose. 'May' is the key word since all of these intakes are not alike. I only tested this one version that was modified this one way by Shaun.

Also, you probably are going to have to purchase a Maf adapter. I didn't use the one that was provided by the owner (Shaun). I used the maf adapter I have for my Minnam intake, which is a perfect fit. It looked like Shaun had to modify a maf adapter to make it fit.

3rd note is that some of you ARE NOT going to like the air filter. I was going to include pics but when I swap cars, I left my digital camera in the other car. I'm sending this intake back today and it's all boxed up so I can't give you detailed pics. What I can tell you is not the quality of the filter element but the top of the filter looks similar 'to a thin metal screen'. Sure it will filter out some stuff but it's not an 'air filter' type of material. It's almost like sticking a panty hose over your maf sensor. :lol:

There's a reason why it's cheap. That wasn't the point of this thread. I wanted to see if the intake actually made or lost hp/torque and where it did it at. I was very curious. I'm putting up this post now because I feel some what responsible if a noob hurries up and go out and purchase one of these, only to be left at a standstill when they are ready to install it because they can't. Now you know! ;)

I had absolutely no problem installing mine. It fit perfectly and yes it was a no name manufacturer. As soon as it arrived, I trashed the filter it came with, measured all aroung the c/a intake filter area and went to advanced auto to buy the biggest k&n cone filter w/ a 3" outlet I could find. Bam, now I have a k&n cold air intake for all of $85.00. :banana:

On a side note, anyone foolish enough to buy an AEM intake would do well to look at the filter. It's a k&n, which costs $50.00 at advance auto. The rest of the $230.00 cost is basically a cheap pipe with an AEM sticker on it. ;)

:lol: That's the same intake I ordered. From the same seller! Except UPS lost mine. Well, their site says they delivered it to my front door (dec. 13th at 3:30pm if you're curious) but I was home at the time and they sure the hell didn't. When I called them up the rep told me that the driver left my package at the front door as per the website. If that's the case, then the inconsiderate mofo didn't even bother to ring the doorbell or knock. I emailed the seller and got him to file a claim with them but he clammed right up when I mentioned a replacement. It's a damn shame because I wanted to see what kind of a difference there would be going from a hot-air intake to a cold-air.
Man. It does say on their ebay page that they are not responsible for anything that happens once UPS picks up the package, and they are right. They pack the box well, it comes with shredded paper has cushioning.

I'd try to get something going with them again. what do you mean by clammed up?? refused to send a replacement? refund?

-Gagan

On a side note, anyone foolish enough to buy an AEM intake would do well to look at the filter. It's a k&n, which costs $50.00 at advance auto. The rest of the $230.00 cost is basically a cheap pipe with an AEM sticker on it. ;)

Or at least realize that the AEM short ram is $150 at the most ;)

I did, however, buy the Ebay intake for my Teg and will be swapping the crappy filter out for an K&N... full cold air set up for like $40 is nice... I got the K&N free from back in my Honda days.

Holy cow. I just was cruising rallitek.com and saw that the weaponR intake is the ebay intake but with more clamps and probably a different filter. Price ranged from $150-200. I got mine for $15 with no filter. :banana:

Gagan- I mean, the seller stopped answering my emails. He would reply within hours up until I asked if there was the possibility of getting a replacement sent to me for the one that got lost. That was on Monay. Never heard back since....

Gagan- I mean, the seller stopped answering my emails. He would reply within hours up until I asked if there was the possibility of getting a replacement sent to me for the one that got lost. That was on Monay. Never heard back since....
They might be taking the week off. Lets see if you get an e-mail back on the 3rd or 4th. If not, give them a ring.

-Gagan

Yeah, that's what i'm thinkin. However, I can see that they have completed some sales and shipped out product this week. In fact, they even got on and left some buyer feedback on the 27th. Maybe they're just playing catch-up...

Do it Ebay!

Well... Got my OBX cold-air intake kit (97-99 Impreza) yesterday. Seems like the UPS driver "misplaced" my package instead of delivering it like the site said. Go figure. Anyways. To my dismay, this kit ended up being a half-assed collection of crap that didn't fit without hardware replacement and modification.
All I got aside from the pipes and filter was: 3 hoses that weren't long enough, 2 couplers, and a handfull of random sized hose camps, none of which fit without having to be opened up all the way and forced. No MAF adaptor was included as opposed to the picture. Luckily I already have one as well as the correct hoses and clamps. The filter they sent me wasn't the one in the picture and actually needed MORE hardware to install, which was not included. You need a 2nd maf-adaptor-like plate and a 2.75" coupler.
Installation was way more painful than it should've been. I had to cut off the mounting bracket, sawzall the hole in my fender to a completely different shape, and then jam the fender pipe through there, only to discover that it ends up at a weird angle in the bumper which makes it IMPOSSIBLE to fit the included filter into the space it's supposed to occupy. I ended up using the filter off my current intake and contorting it to fit.
(Oh, while I was down there I also discovered that my car had been in an ACCIDENT before I bought it. The bottom of the front of the frame is actually bent out of shape on the passenger side but the bumper hides it nicely.)
So anyway, I finally got the damn thing installed and started the car up. It sounded sweet when I revved it up a couple times so I backed it out of the driveway, dropped it into first, and it died on me! No CELs, no sputters/bucks, just straight died. Now it refuses to start. I'm changing back to my old intake today to see if it makes a difference.
The moral of the story is, if I didn't already have an intake and a sawzall I would NOT have been able to install this kit. The picture and ad are really misleading, so be careful fellow MAF-users. Plus I have bad luck. :lol:

EDIT: Turns out the intake wasn't what killed my car... So after my bloodlust had sufficiently subsided, I contacted the seller about my issue and he had no clue it would need extra hardware for a MAF-based car. He was under the assumption that the OBX rep knew their shyte and that the kit would fit ANY 97-99 impreza. :rolleyes: I also hit him up to compensate me for my frustration/disappointment and wasted time as well as misinforming me and possibly hundreds of others (yeah I laid it on a bit thick). No response yet.

Well... Got my intake yesterday. Seems like the UPS driver "misplaced" my package instead of delivering it like the site said. Go figure. Anyways. To my dismay, this kit ended up being a half-assed collection of crap.
First off, it's missing pieces of vital hardware to install. All I got aside from the pipes and filter was: 3 hoses that weren't long enough, 2 couplers, and a handfull of random sized hose camps, none of which fit without having to be opened all the way and forced. No MAF adaptor was included as opposed to the picture. Luckily I already have one as well as the correct hoses and clamps. The filter they sent me needed MORE hardware to install, which was not included. You see, the base of the filter doesn't have a nice hose with a clamp on it that just slides over the pipe, but a metal plate with a hole in the middle of it that's about as big around as the fender pipe. Around this hole are 4 smaller, threaded holes for mounting another plate. This would then need to be connected to the fender pipe with another coupler.
Installation was way more painful than it should be. I had to cut off the mounting bracket, sawzall the hole in my fender to a completely different shape and jam the fender pipe through there, only to discover that it ends up at a weird angle in the bumper which makes it IMPOSSIBLE to fit the included filter into the space it's supposed to occupy. I ended up using the filter off my current intake and contorting it to fit.
(Oh, while I was down there I also discovered that my car had been in an ACCIDENT before I bought it. The front of the frame is actually bent out of shape on the passenger side but the bumper hides it nicely.)
So anyway, I finally got the damn thing installed and started the car up. It sounded sweet when I revved it up so I backed it out of the driveway, dropped it into first, and all of a sudden it died on me! No squeals, no sputters, just straight died. Now it refuses to start. I'm changing back to my old intake today to see if it makes a difference.
My point is, if I didn't already have an intake and a sawzall I would not have been able to install this. The ad is really misleading, maybe even deceptive in my case. Plus I have bad luck. :lol:
um, which ebay intake did you get???

My install was not that hard at all! It was an OBX for 97-99 (MAF cars)

Here is the write up of mine:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=890960&highlight=obx

-Gagan

Just cut a hole in your fender and stick the filter out through the hole.

Here you guys go. This was my install. It was a cake walk and I loved the results. Granted, some impreza owners will have a different install, because of the stock piping but should be pretty close.

http://www.sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?t=1479&start=0

um, which ebay intake did you get???

...It was an OBX for 97-99 (MAF cars)...

-Gagan

It's the same one you and I talked about earleir in this thread.

Oh, as for my car not starting- I think I managed to figure out what's wrong.
Here's what I came up with: Unplugging the MAF would have cause the car to start if it was the problem, but it wasn't. When cranking the engine, you could smell gas out of the tailpipe so the fuel system wasn't the issue. The lack of spark when I pulled a plug out and cranked the engine clued me off to the ignition system. Fuses, plugs, and wires checked out OK. That left the coil pack... I measured resistance across the connectors on the coil pack wiring harness and they checked out fine. Hence, the primary coils weren't the issue. I then measured resistance across the secondary coils via the spark plug connectors (1-2 and 3-4) and they read 13.1 KOhms. They should read 18 at minimum. Bingo! We have our culprit! :disco:
So, once I get my new coil pack in I'll let you guys know if I'm an idiot or if the butt-dyno reads a difference from the new intake!
EDIT: Coil #2... Resistance is only 14.5... :mad:

so i just posted my review of the $10 ebay intake:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12191726&posted=1#post12191726
-so i won't post the whole thing here.

i had a great time modifying it and it works better than anything for 10X the price!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

here a pic of the installed pipe:
http://www.solisearch.net/ims/pic.php?u=16330B1KX1&i=257978
(see review for explanation)

z.

my injen had no problems at all .. ha

mad doe though

I am doing a write up on everthing i can find with proven performance gains. I have a 98 L with the EJ22 motor in it. the only performance mods i have is the Ebay CAI with a K&N Air Filter and the Borla Cat back. and here is my dyno. this is not a before and after


http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/1/web/361000-361999/361805_67_full.jpg

Finally got mine re-installed this weekend. Haven't had it on since I put on a high flow cat. Seems like a nice mid-upper range gain.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/thedj/sili0002copy.jpg

no MAF, DJ 9iron??

and now i just need to fashion a dam to separate the filter from the rest of the engine bay so it's not sucking warm/hot air.

2000 = Map

Looks damn nice in that engine bay, much nicer than mine ever did.

Now its sporting the largest Nasioc.com sticker I could fine.

Im assuming N/A engine refers to the engines that get no love on this we love subaru forum (lol, irony)

okay heres my deal. i have a 97 impreza outback, ej22 engine. I know I can get some more juice out of it, and I don't think I should have to spend a fortune to do it.

I already knew that the ebay part would provide considerable gain over the stock part, it's a given. just eliminating the airbox and using a filter with more surface area, more surface area=more air intake at any given time the engine is running. that being said, i have a few things to say about this.

1) i believe the filter matters more than the tubing, so using the ebay tube, (ugg properly adjusted to fit even though they promise no mods required) or even the stock tube, with a great filter will make most of the difference.

2) i dont know about you guys,(being sarcastic) but my outback sport, came with a scoop and 2 vents on the hood. one of those vents seems positioned just right to squeeze some cooler air into that open element air filter, or perhaps, allow some heat to escape, hmm...

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/4672/caihoodventtn5.jpg



3) it seems subaru made all kinds of room for mods in my 97 engine bay, and provided no performance parts or kits to upgrade with, whats worse than that, is they left me stuck with a one peice MAF tube that must be used in any CAI scheme

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9968/stockfilterms9.jpg

find one here: http://search.stores.ebay.com/subaru-air-flow_W0QQfromZR40QQsbrexpZWD1SQQsifZ1QQsofpZ4QQssP ageNameZWD1S



--- they sure were right about an engineer weeping...http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/8348/320x240copyzf1.jpg(remember that commercial), but can't we just use the maf from say, an 03? or any other sooby where the maf can be removed from the oe tube via those 2 screws and inserted into the aftermarket one? perhaps the plug is the same or can be rewired? it's still obd2 and the type of data it sends out is the same, so i don't see why this can't be done to make life easier.

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/415/c5d91af9.jpg

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/6676/overallintake8hocopybe4.jpg


also, to solve the rain coming through the vent and into the filter problem, i was thinking, just using a big magnet you can throw over the vent when it rains, like the ones people use to advertise their businesses on their cars, they make em pretty big and strong.

comments? questions? FAQ

Q is that your car

A no but I have the same exact model. and i was thinking about painting it that color, till i found this pic, now im thinking about paining the woodland or urban cammo pattern or maybe taking all the paint off like a delorean

imagine a stainless steel colored scooby... hmm, maybe i can even modify the doors...

and when that baby hits 88mph...


of course, i can always chrome plate the entire body, and get a licence plate that says "blingthsbich"


and people will stand there as i pass by saying ooohh shiny...

so what is your plan? i read all of that like some kind of haiku

and that my friend; is exactly how i feel, welcome to my world.


basically, right now I'm still scouring the forum for ideas, and answers before I ask over asked questions, I'm looking at my options.

I am however trying to figure out what i can do, if anything at all (besides having a shiny new paperweight) with a Mitsubishi te05 turbo, someone might give me, it was pulled from a 94 saab 900. but that's not at all related to this thread, so i'll stop there.

i am thinking that a dry foam open element filter might do some good with the ebay intake tube under my proposed idea, perhaps if i wash it, frequently like i wash my home a/c filters?

hmm, there is no order in your thoughts; you listed numbers but they are almost all just scattered ideas..

i'll just comment overall;

the maf adapter idea, you can't be sure that your specific maf for your car will fit in every maf adapter ever made, maf's are different between the generations that had them, my maf wouldn't work with yours and so on.. so just simply switching the wires wouldn't make the ECU happy

also the maf section that is used in all cai applications for that specific maf is there for a reason, thats why 05+ CAI's use a specific thickness as air flows past, or the MAF is not as effective, thats why when i made my DIY SRI intake; i used the OEM maf section because well; it's the best. what's worse than skewing the flow of air than skewing the flow of air past the sensor that controls how the engine runs ;)

best off just doing what the image says, even with the giant "LOL" Plastered on it, but with the filter element of your choice


unless the rain water directly falls onto your filter element i wouldn't worry about it, i backed up once into this spot which my car would roll down, it rained hard; i have a reverse cowl that let water in drip down the intake and soaked my filter.. but no damage done after that, just no flow and the car had trouble idling, thats all. all this talk of hydrolock garbage is pure speculation of the ultimate punishment of water in a engine...


the turbo, i won't start.. :lol:

I get that. and my thoughts reflect my feelings about the information I find when researching this --erratic and fragmented and a bit of eccentricity, but unless you're rich, your not eccentric, you're just crazy.

I know not just any MAF will work, but I do want to know if anyone has ever tried using one of the easier to work with ones on a car, that has that retarded one? what were the results?

my maf died some time ago and my replacement part came out of a 91 legacy. an obd1 vehicle, the part is the same, the connector was wired differently, so i wonder, if we reset the ecu, and figure out to way to wire the maf, probably just plug and play, will my stock 97 imp-o/b ecu accept it?

or will it boot up and say hey who the hell are you and what did you do with my buddy then panic and stall the car

Qcanfixit: Um, take your intake apart. The MAF should be almost identical to the one you have pictured, there's just a hose clamp holding it onto the accordian like connection tube. It also bolts to the airbox using 4 screws.

I pulled my intake apart, and saved the 4 screws and the two "Nuts on a bar". I have a weird cone filter with a metal back plate, I simply drilled 4 holes and mounted my air filter directly to the MAF sensor.

If your current MAF is dead, your best bet would be getting a replacement off the same engine type you currently have. If you have a 2.2 liter motor, grab a MAF off another 2.2.

If the signals and voltages are the same, just with a different pinout, then if you can correct the pinout, your ECU wouldn't know the difference between the Original MAF (when it was working) and the replacement. However, MAF's are strange beasts, so goooooood luck with that.

My ebay intake robbed alot from me...from like 2.5-5k rpms I would make no power.... threw the stock one back one but I kept a cone filter on there and its so much better, sits right under the vent to.

My ebay intake robbed alot from me...from like 2.5-5k rpms I would make no power.... threw the stock one back one but I kept a cone filter on there and its so much better, sits right under the vent to.

So, at 6,000 rpm, and under 2500 rpm, it made tons of power?

Basically, all you did was an airbox delete. As long as it works for you... :)

very interesting results. im new and there's a lot of things that i have to learn about my subaru but this is a great post for people like me on a budget

1) i believe the filter matters more than the tubing, so using the ebay tube, (ugg properly adjusted to fit even though they promise no mods required) or even the stock tube, with a great filter will make most of the difference.


Don't believe, know what makes the best difference. I know what I felt (even now) is not always what it actually is. Test the differences out, come to a conclusion and post up data.

Also, the tubing changes so much on how your car behaves vs an air filter. A huge vs small air filter will makes some difference but tubing length and width differences can move your powerband all over the place.

Earlier in this thread, I posted up the difference between the Minnam intake and the Ebay intake. Look at the powerbands. Totally different but with the same air filter. I do not have dyno data but I know when testing a JC Sports intake on another Scooby I own vs just using a panty hose over the maf sensor (Sheer Energy recommenced - ;) ) made no difference in my 1/4 mile time.


2) i dont know about you guys,(being sarcastic) but my outback sport, came with a scoop and 2 vents on the hood. one of those vents seems positioned just right to squeeze some cooler air into that open element air filter, or perhaps, allow some heat to escape, hmm...

It does both. At idle and low speed, it allows a tone of warm/hot air out (especially if you have your hood scoop opened up). At higher speeds, the faster, the faster the cooling IF you have a passenger side WRX bonnet hood scoop installed. Without one, you have no way of guiding air to your intake or engine bay.

http://home.comcast.net/~thomasck/mini-Bonnet2.JPG
I also wanted to add that I have had this scoop on since about 1998-1999. That's 7-8 years going through car washes and rain downpours. I have never had a problem with water. Don't worry about it. ;)



3) it seems subaru made all kinds of room for mods in my 97 engine bay, and provided no performance parts or kits to upgrade with, whats worse than that, is they left me stuck with a one peice MAF tube that must be used in any CAI scheme

Kinda lost at this thought. There are a lot of intakes, exhausts and pulleys to choose from. An aftermarket header is an option as well. Grounding kits may help some as well. As for the intake, you will have to be creative to make different setups. Over the years, there have been all kinds of homemade intakes made up with the maf equipped models. Good fun! :)

If have my scoop open. I notice it bogs slightly at lower speeds, then as airflow build up... Well, that went away mostly when I went from crappy spark plugs to VPower.

I got an ebay intake, and it took no modding to use. Though, mine was pre-shortened by the previous owner, I simply bought a brass fitting from the hardware store, stuck it into the MAP sensor hole, and ran the idle bypass vaccume hose right to the fitting.

Anyway, the bracket I was using to hold my air filter and MAF sensor stationary compared to the car's body broke, so I'm going to put the original airbox on, after a snorkusectomy (I'm going to have to buy a new splash guard for my passenger side, mine won't come off without breaking, tearing, and shredding like crazy. :().

i have the same exact intake for my 1997 subaru impreza 2.2L base 4 door model. i was wondering what all did u do besides use the adapter and the rest of the things that i can see from the photo, is there anything that i would need to do besides the stuff i can see in the pics?

I have a MY 98 Impreza with a 2.2L. I was wondering if any of these cheap shortrams would replace the "torque box" and flex hose to the MAF? So essentially a want to remove my intake silencer in the fender, use my stock airbox and MAF location, just use a short ram to go from the MAF to the intake.

Here is my theroy, with the intake silencer removed the stock airbox would draw air from outside the engine compartment. With the air flow through the stock aribox the MAF would still be properly calibrated for its environment, and the short ram would provide better flow to the intake (less tubulent). So I can make a CAI without the pitfalls of screwing up the AF.

Am I even remotely on to something here or have just completely lost my mind?

Thanks! I hope your post helps put an end to the NASIOC Board Legend that "You can't do much to improve your EJ22 so you might as well swap in a EJ25". When I added my supplementary hoodscoop fed intake, the power increase was noticeable and I think you have to have at least a 5hp gain to notice the difference with any mod.

http://number6.homelinux.net/gallery/albums/album34/DSCN3018.sized.jpg

Can someone tell me how to do this!?:huh:

Ok first off this thread has been beaten like a dead horse

Second and my own experience opinion

Get a CAI like the injen or the cobb i use the Injen and it works great easy install took under 2 hours and showed gains even over my short ram intake that i got off ebay and modified like everyone else. sure it is more expensive but search the for sale section sometimes these can be had for under $200. im not flaming since i am the guy who is giving up the NA world and turboing my 2.2L yes I AM BOOSTING MY EJ22 SOHC Single Port Exhaust

Can someone tell me how to do this!?:huh:Unfortunately, you can't even think about it until after you've converted your engine management system to MAP. If you did that on your MAF car, you would be letting in a bunch of unmetered air, which would cause it to die off-idle and even if you were to get up to speed.. you'd blow your motor in short order from running extremely lean.

What is the install on this like? I have a 2005 Saab 9-2x Linear, which is basically an Impreza wagon. It has the 2.5 engine in it. My friend got the ebay intake for me, and I want to know how to install it.

I want to do something like....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=d7kd1xymN0Y

Just an intake tube like this, with the proper 3 vacuum lines. Obvious that is for the WRX and such. Strap it on the stock box, and BAM.

Now I'm much happier about my e-bay intake. :D Knew it wouldn't fit so took it to a shop (i'm 18 and have no welding experience whatsoever) and 3 hours later (and $45) it was ready. Best $65 i've ever spent! didn't know it created that much power, but sure felt like it

I might actualy buy one of these now...



~Josh~

Now I'm much happier about my e-bay intake. :D Knew it wouldn't fit so took it to a shop (i'm 18 and have no welding experience whatsoever) and 3 hours later (and $45) it was ready. Best $65 i've ever spent! didn't know it created that much power, but sure felt like it

Just make sure you swap out your filter to something good. It took me a while to notice it, but the air filter on the ebay intake was actually letting alot of dust into the intake. I ended up swapping my filter out for one by HKS, and replaced all the clamps and couplings with HTS products for added bling. :cool:

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/8876/dsc00609ff6.jpg

http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/1087/2145d2ui5.jpg

Just make sure you swap out your filter to something good. It took me a while to notice it, but the air filter on the ebay intake was actually letting alot of dust into the intake. I ended up swapping my filter out for one by HKS,

Although it may be slightly better than the ebay filter, the HKS mushroom filter has been known to let lots of particles through, much moreso than say a K&N or AEM and provides no more performance benefit for the lower filtration

One of the biggest things I've noticed with the price difference of a ebay vs. an AEM or like, is that the AEM, at least, are CARB approved, and you can't be hastled by the man. The ebay ones are only... cheap guy approved
Granted, you won't run into many issues having a CARB or non-CARB approved intake, but the extra cost is there for a reason (R&D, certifications, etc...)

I won't deny that an Ebay intake can give you gains, but if you're looking to stay 100% legal, that extra $50-100 can save that much in a possible fine later on, and also give you a much better out of the box fitment. leaving you with a 10 minute install, instead of hours of headscratching and cursing to get
an ebay intake to fit. The cheap intake, plus the price of a good filter (~$40-50), will bring your total cost that much closer to a good branded unit. Just save yourself the hassle and get a good intake, even if it's used

hmm, took me 10 minutes to fit a 2002 RS intake (now with a green cone filter) on my 05 RS, i.e. diff, intake manifold plenum, different sensor type, cut tube shorter because its smaller engine bay, routing the breather hoses etc.

it varies upon ability to work on cars between people..

but i won't deny the fact; if you want to spend the money for that fresh feeling in the back of your head knowing that you ' did it right '. More power to you.

Meh, don't get me wrong, i enjoy the feeling of buying something that i know will produce the best results for something

but face it, an intake is an intake, and as long as you have common sense, you really cannot do much of a hack job of it.

Wow!!! That green filter is too porous. I wouldn't run that as the only filtration device on anything I have.

Wow!!! That green filter is too porous. I wouldn't run that as the only filtration device on anything I have.


I don't recommend it but I have been running a 'crappy' filter on my Outback Sport forever. The car runs just as good as it ever has and the intake tract is clean. I don't know what to say.

Oh yeah, one more thing I wanted to note... the CARB approval only really means something to those in California

...and SiFuSpEc, I'm not disagreeing with buying an ebay intake, just putting notes out there to those looking to buy an intake that yes it will provide gains, but it can be a PITA to install without the right knowhow, and to add a good quality filter that actually does it's job and increases performance will cost probably $40 minimum unless you find a good deal somewhere. So if you spent $50 on an ebay intake, and $40 on a good filter, you're at close to $100 and you may have to modify piping etc... to make it fit, which without the right tools (which many people looking to buy cheap don't have) can take lots of time to do, and without the knowhow would have to have someone else do it, which costs money. Even say a cheap rate of $20, now you're over $100, with something that may or may not fit 100%. From what it sounds like, it's hit or miss whether you get an intake off ebay that doesn't need to be modified much, but for the guy looking to order the intake and install it right away, if said person doesn't have all the right tools, they may want to look at a branded intake (even a used one)

Then again, many people don't care about the cheap filter being on there, and for those the ebay intake is a perfect choice. They will see a power gain, but may not be able to simply bolt it on. Just trying to help people make an educated decision and that cheaper might be best for you, but for others cheaper may not be an option

Theres always the Cosmoracing intakes that are inbetween the price of a Ebay and an Injen. SRI cost me $95 shipped. Extra piping could be had for around $20 to make it a CAI.

if you don't swap out the useless ebay filter with a good one you are asking for trouble. take it from someone who knows and who had to clean all the dirt out of his intake pipe when he realized that maybe the screen-door screen at the tip of the cone filter probably wasn't the best design idea in the world.

Cn's; the filters that come w ebay intakes will let an entire gravel pit waltz right through.

same thing here. i bought an intake for my civic "ebay" it's kinda hard to install and needed tons of mods.I was thinking of buying one for my 97 impreza outback. Should I buy the Ebay or the Weapon R or AEm if they have it.

I bought an OBX CAI off ebay and it was great. I paid $65 for it opted to go with a AEM dryflow filter ($35 from a local shop). The fit was perfect and I didn't need to modify it in any way.I know its buyer beware when it comes to ebay but I highly recommend this intake for the pirce.I was a little worried about how low it sat in the fender well but I had no problems all summer, even in heavy rain.I'm sure gains were minimal but for the price I'll take it.

Thanks for the reference to COSMORACING earlier. I checked and can get a short ram that will actually fit without mod/homebrew for less than $100 or a cold air version for just over $130 (around $175 shipped to the house).

I checked out E-Bay and asked 2 or 3 sellers (who claimed in the ads that their short-ram kit would fit my 98 without modification) about a MAF adapter since none were shown in their pictures.

I got 2 replies from sellers who didn't know what I was talking about in regards to having to have an adapter to mount a cone filter onto the RS MAF with the flange mount. The 3rd seller claimed that if MINE had a MAF, then the kit would not fit but only would fit the "98-99 Impreza RS 2.5s WITHOUT a MAF"...

I think I will avoid THAT seller and just go with something a bit more but still not waaay overpriced. I don't really see the common sense in spending close to $300 (plus shipping) for a CAI that will deliver MAYBE 5-7 actual HP. $300+ would be a great down payment on other more efficient power adders (though admittedly not nearly as pretty!).

HbL

Yeah, I know this is a long and tired thread but there is a bit of useful nfo to be found here for those of us "noobs", especially those of us with families who can't or won't afford $300 CAI systems when there are alternatives...after all that's what it's all about if you are doing the stuff yourself, as efficiently and economically as possible.

Just for those interested in the E-Bay intake. I did get one response today from an E-Bay seller who said that the short ram system he is selling comes with the MAF adapter, if it is required, so should be little or no mod/homebrew required. The link to the item as follows:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170217675211&sspagename=ADME:X:AAQ:US:11

Hope that helps...

Tnx,
HbL