We have noticed quite a few threads and posts about intake systems. Some with very good reviews and others with pretty alarming reviews.

I believe we will be one of the last supporting vendors of this forum to release an intake kit for the TC. The reason is this; a couple months ago we designed our intake with less parts, a better filter angle and nicer appearance. At least we think so. But, during testing, we experienced air/fuel ratios going crazy. We narrowed it down to the breather connection. We had used a smooth tube, as other manufacturers are using, but the problem is it did NOT have the factory provision to allow the breather hose to seal and lock on. It was leaking and/or popping off during dyno testing. This is the same problem we have seen mentioned over and over again by several members of this forum with other kits.

What was happening was un-metered air, (after the MAF sensor) was being allowed to enter the intake system. The pcm can not account for it since it is not being read correctly. This causes the air/fuel ratio to become extremely erratic. (Not good for a turbo-charged engine under high boost).

The solution is one we have been working on for a long time. There is simply only one correct way to attach the breather hose; by duplicating the factory stub with the correct provision. We are happy so say we now have this part available and will begin testing our own intake systems this up-coming week: both a cold air intake as well as a short intake.

Here is a picture of the factory part as well as the correctly machine part for use with the intake:





When designing a factory replacement part, specifically a part that retains factory sensors, it is very important to duplicate all fittings exactly and maintain factory tolerances. That's why we have taken our time to do proper research before releasing our intake kits. We may have been beat to market by every other company, but our kits will be thoroughly tested and not leave the members wondering why they are having issues.

It's interesting, Vince of TriFecta Performance has noted: currently there are NO existing intake kits functioning properly. At least in his experience with tuning the LNF cars using after market intake kits. Clear Image Automotive is hoping to change that opinion.

 

I havent had a problem with my Hahn CAI yet, atleast I dont think so, LOL. My car seems to be running fine, atleast I believe so. Either way, I might see if I can get my Air/Fuel ratio checked soon.

 

my hahn works perfect

 

CIA, you guys are always listening & learning more & more about these cars.... It is truly amazing! Keep up the great work!!!

 

i haven't had any problems w my intake. im just worried the braided piece will fall off cause its not locked on. i could literally pull it off w no struggle. seems like its ghetto

 

kudos to you guys. It's refreshing to see a company who cares more about the quality of their products and the satisfaction of their customers than they care about rushing to the market to capitalize.

It's that business philosophy that ultimately prevails and more importantly keeps customers coming back. You guys should be proud of what you're doing, as most other companies (car related or not) do not share this outlook.

 

if this is true that is not good i would have put the stock intake back together and been really pissed off but happy knowing nothing bad would happen from a hose sliding off, that's scary

btw, nominated for sticky

 

That is bad news. I had that same issue with my Dejon intake so I removed the stainless line completely and put a piece of 3/8" thick rubber hose and two hose clamps on. That junction needs to seal perfactly!!! I took no chances. BTW A short ram style intake is better on these cars IMHO. My MAF error was only 2% with the SRI ( Stock was 1%). Not only is the ID of the intake critical but the distance from the MAF to the filter is also very important. That is why I believe it is better to get a SRI on these cars. It wont skew your MAF readings (messes with your A/F ratio).

 

nice to see someones trying to correct problems. ^^not to hijack the thread but hows the borla exhaust sound for these cars?

 

Sounds good for a 4 cylinder. Deep at idle and agressive when I get on it.
End thread jack/

 

Im so glad to have CIA as a vender here im deffinetly going with you guys from here on out

 

Did you make the quick connect w/ dimensions per the SAE quick connecter spec? (J2044)

 

Yeah I'm getting their intake for sure. Its under development for the hhr. From what I have seen I like and I will buy

 

you know what is hysterical, I have been running a cheap ass Spectre intake kit since like week 2 of owning this car, have yet to have a single problem... I plan on upgrading in the future(as my kit uses the stock elbow to the turbo so I have the stock breather connection)... I installed it basically as a sound mod until a better intake came out(at the time none were available) as of right now, it seems to be the most reliable....

But good luck in your adventures and this is why I always wait a little while before jumping into buying parts... because when parts are 1st developed, they are pretty much guinea pigs and issues like these arise... its best to wait out to storm until issues like these are corrected in my experiences

 

I agree just from all the HAHN related problems and the ghetto rigged CAI I am going CIA

 

Oh, also, dorman does make lines w/ the SAE ends already on it. Might be cheaper/faster than machining a bunch

800-154 for 5/16"
800-155 for 3/8"
800-158 for 1/4"

Each has 2 ends on it:

 

We need the 3/8".

 

YAY DAN! CIA does it again!

 

hmmm weird....doesnt seem right that every other company has made poor quality intakes lol

 

once again I wouldn't say poor quality, the people that are pioneers in developing parts, USUALLY are the ones who discover issues, for example, Hahn and their intakes

that isn't a stab at Hahn, we are grateful to have multiple vendors who are out their busting their butts to make us parts...

and from what I have saw, Hahn is taking care of his customers, so I don't see a problem

 

anywho , seems that just the K&N is the best solution till the GM intake comes out (IF) or they do some more testing on the aftermarket ones. Thank CIA for trying.

 

because I took the simple approach... something that I knew would be simple

with my setup, not really much that could go wrong, the MAF sensor is in the exact same place as it was stock, etc... its basically just a basic open cone/fenderwell setup and the Spectre kits have been around for ages

 

here is my solution ram air hood and clear image intake



and



That will be a sweet combo

 

Thanks for all the comments and feedback everyone. Please don't mis-understand me. I am not questioning the quality of other companies intakes. I am just noting the design flaws we encountered during our own development and it just so happens other companies have released their kits with the same breather tubes. If it works for them, great. But it didn't work for us so we decided to have the breather tubes duplicated exactly like GM released them.

I also agree with the above comment about the short ram style intake. Thus far, the best bang for the buck has been with a simple short style intake with cone filter, retaining the stock rubber part from the turbo. It was good for 15 HP to the wheels, threw no codes at all and the factory MAF location is retained as well as the factory breather tube.

We will continue to test the cold air intake but I honestly see the only real benefit in going with a long style intake to be changing the looks under the hood. We'll see...

Thanks again for all your support.

 

could you post a pic of what u did w the rubber hose so i can get a better idea? i think i might do the same.