great review! I really like the build quality of it. : )
i have the injen, and agree about the sound. If you leave the revs at 4k the entire car shakes cause its so damn loud. However, driving normally everyday it makes an awesome sound.
Is the heat shield connected to the intake itself? I know my injen's heat shield also bolts up to the car at oem locations, but not to the intake itself. If it connects to the intake thats pretty cool!. My injen is on pretty tight, but I do agree that its just "floating" there, and at first worried me because of stability. I haven't had any issues however.
Do you have any sound clips or videos? I am curious as to how it sounds. There haven't been many good video clips of the AFE. I preferred the injen because the sound is more deep and aggressive, but by reading your post, the AFE fits you well because it is not overly loud and obnoxious.
How is it in the summer? I feel a small loss of power in the summer, but its only about the first 2 mins. I think people call it heat soaking, but after my car warms up and air gets flowing, it goes away. But then again its 100+ here for 3 weeks now
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I believe intake + powerbox does give more gains then intake by itself. I think its when you do intake + exhaust + powerbox, then the powerbox becomes useless, but I don't have a powerbox.
Congrats on your purchase, looks great!
Maybe I should buy the top heat shield from the AFE and see if I can put it on the injen hehe. Then injen has a weird side shield, and leaves the top exposed.
edit: do you happen to have any pictures of the intake with the heat shield detached? I am curious as to what it looks like.