which one should i do?
 

well i should have some mod money here pretty soon so im faced with a decision, i cant decide whether to buy the Tranzgenic CAI shown here http://www.tranzgenic.com/index.php?...ake=Oldsmobile

or do a hi-flo cat/u-bend delete

the CAI will cost 154 dollars shipped to my front door, i should be able to install it myself.

the hi-flo cat will consist of the following parts:

Carsound 3" in/out hi-flow cat- $59.50
3inch to 2.5 inch reducer- $14.99
2.5 in 2.25 inch reducer-$4.69
weld-in o2 sensor bung- $8.49

this brings the total cost of parts alone to $87.67, plus i would have to have someone install it and it could be quite a fun little job..

the current exhaust has a 3 inch DP going into a 3in/3out cat, then the u-bend, which is 2.5ish and then finally it reduces to 2.25 just before entering the resonator and is 2.25 all the way back to the muffler...with the length of the parts it will be a close fit, some parts may have to be cut, it will take some time, i wouldnt be surprised to see a high installation fee...

well after a little research it seems everyone is modding TOO a 3" downpipe, so maybe i measured wrong, what i did was multiply 3x3.14(pi) and cut a piece of string to roughly that length, then wrapped the string around the pipe and the ends either met or were very close...i need to measure again, which means pulling the car up on blocks again...which is a real B with a FWD car.

but any input would be appreciated i cant decide on which one to do.

that intake is pretty sweet, but far to expensive for what it is, a FWI with intense tubing would prolly be cheaper...but i think ur gonna get more gain from the cat/u-bend delete.. if its anything like the regals..

Personally, I don't care for that intake. Especially with the cheap knockoff filter on the end of it. Plus it says that you have to modify some of your engine bay sheetmetal? That just sounds like a bad idea.

I say either the exhaust, or make your own CAI for cheaper with a real K&N.

i think any true FWI i would do would require engine bay modification, i can see more or less where it wants you to cut, it cant be too much...it also says the filter is washable and reusable, and if you look at the close up of the filter you can see a "k" on the end of it, i cant make out the other letter...but it could be a k&n...

and the price on the intake still isnt bad really, you pay what? 250 or more? for a pre-fabbed kit for a Bonneville.

can anyone think of a better way to measure my exhaust piping besides my current method? a caliper would be nice, but i dont have one...id swear that i measured the DP right though, and it dwarfs the rest of the piping making me still think its 3 inch...

Well I'll vouch that the filter appears to be a true KN (just from colour, look, etc)...but looking at the setup I would have to agree with Haro, in that the same thing could be accomplished with Intense tubing (I use it on my car and it's great).

Now, as far as paying $250 for a pre-fabbed bonne intake, couldn't be farther from the truth. Most end up paying just under $100 with a KN, pipe, coupler.

So I'd probably do intake, but cheaper, and then you're that much closer to being able to afford exhaust.

well yes, thats quite true, but i wouldnt consider a DIY intake to be a pre-fabbed one, im talking about one made by companies like intense, which the intense one is very similar in price to this one....

i need to see how sturdy the inline MAF is before i think about the intense tubing, i dont think it would provide as much support as the metal pipe..

ill keep considering all this, i dont get paid for a whle anyway

True, I hadn't considered that the 3.5 had the MAF sensor located off the throttlebody.

you could always make a box around the filter and build 2 supporting arms that would hold the MAF steady. That would keep it from flopping around (although the intense tubing is pretty nice and my guess would be that it wouldn't move all that much)

Cut a piece of heavy number 9 wire about 8 inches long and bend it in a "U" shape and use this as a caliper. Bend the legs of the "U" in or out until they lightly touch the sides of your exaust pipe. Carefully measure the distance across your homemade caliper.

Tumbleweed

Not to beat a dead horse... But I still wonder about the filter on that intake. It does look like a K&N, but it gives you three color choices. Do the K&N filters come in different colors now? It also seems suspicious that they don't advertise it as being a "Genuine K&N", since that would be a great selling point.

that is a good point, but how many paper filters are washable and reusable? not very many i would imagine...so even if its not a k&n its probably a high-flow unit of some sort made of probably similar materials to a k&n..

on another note which mod do you think would result in better gas mileage? i know both would, assuming i could keep from going WOT every 5 minutes...i know the exhaust is restrictive, the intake is so-so, no baffles or anything, just sharp turns...id like for these mods to slowly pay for themselves both in increased driving pleasure and fuel economy.

i know this is the wrong forum to be asking questions about a 3.5 shortstar Intrigue, but the Intrigue forums are either dead, or full of ppl who dont really know that much, so i go here instead.

EDIT: i found this in a post made by the owner of tranzgenic in another forum, someone asked him about the filter used.

"We are using "Funnel Ram" filters currently. They are an inverted top style cotton/gauze filter, are washable, and carry a 50,000 mile warranty. "

says theyre an off-brand k&n pretty much.

K for "made in Korea":)

hmm... with a quick look at what you're considering, I'd recommend:

a) the exhaust

until

b) you had the time to do the intake yourself. for what they're asking, you can make yourself a nice little setup. Just take your time, get the parts you want, and piece it together until it looks good.

Yeah in light of the actual brand of the filter, I would go exhaust. I never noticed that they were offered in different colours, instantly tells you not a KN :oops: