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Short Ram / Cold Air Intake

63K views 148 replies 29 participants last post by  Rjsaenz801 
#1 · (Edited)
Has anyone tried making one on their own and if so, did they throw a CEL? I have been looking at intakes online from the few manufacturers that offer the intake and it looks like it's pretty basic to me. Since there is no MAF, an insert is out of the question.

Ultimately I plan on making one myself as $250-$300 for an intake is ridiculous when you can piece one together for $80-$120 plus the cost of a breather filter (depending on if you wsnt a short ram or cold air intake)

Any ideas?

(specifically the EA211 motor)



**Update/end result***
So far this is what it currently looks like. I have driven about 5,000 miles without any issues. I will reroute the coolant hose at a later time.

 
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#54 ·
fail/win

ok so i ordered the pieces i needed and the 45 degree off the inlet seemed to be better accompanied by a 90 degree fitting. no problem i made it work since shipping took way too long. got the air filter and breather filter and everything on the cheap. so WIN ... so i thought.. went to puty everything together and realized tubing i had was 3" ID instead of OD which didnt work out so long story short i used the 45 degree 2.5 inch to 3" and went to autozone and got that black retractable hose stuff and used that for my piping and just used that all to the air filter lol. i waited weeks to just get let down but oh well. it works with no problems and i dreadfully have just ziptied the filter to the air inlet on the backside of the grille. like i said ill update with pics tomorrow. definitely more sound from the engine and obvious recalculation/blow off noise. and to be honest with all the plastic stuff on these engines the tubing i used doesn't look all that terrible for what it is. :snowcool: :beer:
 
#57 ·
So i just checked the space in between the body and the headlight and a 3" pipe can fit. Based on my measurements, I need a 16" strsight and a 45 degree bend and I should be good. I thing the body and heatlight should be good enough to hold it (so I dont have to worry about mounting). Last step would be where to draw the cold air from. I was thinking of installing a low-profile scoop under the car to direct flow. Gotta do some more brainstorming.

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#68 ·
Planning on extending my intake to make it a true CAI. Probably going to need a 3"x36" pipe and another 45 degree elbow. Trickiest part is where to channel the air flow. Was thinking of maybe a low profile scoop from the bottom of the bumper or something. Either way it will require some cutting.

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#69 ·
I was looking at drilling the bumper black filler panel where the fog lights would go is the base model had them. Kind of like my mk5 gti had for the dsg oil cooler


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#72 ·
Ok - so I bit the bullet and bought an intake (one from ECS website). Installation was pretty straight forward, but I'm honestly a little upset. The car is now VERY loud with any throttle input over 10%. I remember other cars that got louder only at WOT with an intake, but this is quite a bit more intrusive. Also, I feel as though I've lost 20% of my low end torque, which is rough, because that is pretty much all this car has. I don't think that I've gained any HP whatsoever. I'm HOPING that this is just the computer that will "learn" and adjust to the intake, and that the power will come back?? Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this. I can barely drive this around without feeling like I'm waking up the neighbors. This is coming from someone who once had a 5.0 mustang with electronic dump pipes - I guess hitting 30 and getting married tamed me a bit.
 
#76 ·
You will lose a small amount of torque on the low end and see a very small gain up top. From most sites I have seen that make intakes for this motor, the gains on average were 3-5%. Either way its really just a piece that makes noise which is why the price of $300 to $350 isn't/wasn't justifiable for little to no gains when the intake first came out. The only real way to know if you are seeing gains is to dyno with and without the intake.....this is if you decide to not take the manufacturer's word regarding gains.

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#78 · (Edited)
**Update**

Finally ordered and installed the straight pipe (cut at 18") and another 45 degree elbow...
Cut a hole through the botto, cover to access the filter.

I will be rerouting the small coolant hose at a later time. No pinches though so it should last.

Last addition may be a screen and low profile scoop to direct air at the bottom or fo something with the fog light cover....but this may be enough for now.



View through driver side wheel well cover:


View from under the car:

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#80 ·
After a day of driving, I have noticed I am getting more response from the car (traction control light comes on when I punch it off the line). I think a CAI is the way to go for me.

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#82 ·
#87 ·
Please clarify what this means. I got an intake, and certainly didn't expect a whole lot....However, I also didn't expect the car to be slower and sound like a WRX spaceship. I don't think anyone on earth can claim that these make any power whatsoever - and I don't "buy" the dyno results. This car only makes "power" under 3-4K RPM. If the intake companies wanted to give a more honest dyno sheet, they would show that it probably loses 10+ HP over stock below 3K RPM's. The very RPM's range that make this car worth owning. Just my .02.
 
#88 · (Edited)
Please clarify what this means.
It means the intake either flows the amount of cold air required for the state commanded by the engine management system or not - any running state from idle to WOT at all RPMs. There are rare contemporary examples of modded engines making gobs of power needing an intake upgrade. Nothing VW makes falls in this category unless we are talking about high-dollar race stuff. By high-dollar I mean more than the car cost new. Car makers locked in MPG and performance wars since forever figured out the intake part a long time ago. Aftermarket parts sellers continue capitalizing on the prior era's common enthusiast practice of modding or replacing crappy intakes before the car makers figured it out. If you want a real performance hit, do something like this, or what the OP did - I'm sure it flows alot more hot under-hood air than the stocker.

 
#89 · (Edited)
You're right..hence the pictures from under the car (tons of hot air[emoji23])[emoji106][emoji106]. I still have low end power unlike others that are experiencing this from the ones bought online. I will admit, I felt the power drop when the intake I made was near the motor (obviously with more hot air). Once I extended it to take air in from the ground, all low end torque is back.

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#90 ·
Mark, do not expect much from this car overall. There is hardly any aftermarket support regarding performance as this car is simply a point A to B econobox with great gas mileage. Nothing more. I use this car just to get to work and back. You're better off getting a better ROI with a project if you are thinking about dumping a bunch of money into the motor. Or...if you have the money to blow, then by all means have fun with it.

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