This CAI is awesome
This CAI is awesome. Coming from a stripped 638 AWHP Evolution IX, it's quite hard for me to be impressed by lesser cars, especially in the noise and speed departments. Now that that's out of the way, let's take a look at this intake. For $300, you get a solid performance choice for an air intake - plenty of surface area for sucking in all that air. Also, it's washable and re-oilable, exactly what I would expect from an aftermarket air filter. You get a nice isolation box made of aluminum with what appears to be a nice, hefty, scratch-resistant coating. Included in this design is a great feature - it uses the stock snorkel to feed some nice cold air directly to the filter from the back of the isolation box. Now.... I have to say... there is a BEAUTIFULLY polished velocity stack included with this kit, which I'm sure is a very large portion of why this kit performs so well on a dyno with no tune. And, it doesn't through a check engine code, which is great! As far as sound goes, this thing is AMAZING. Hands-down, the best N/A intake I've ever heard. I'm not sure if this is due to the Focus' engine design - which is burbly and deep-sounding from the factory (although entirely muted) - or if it is due to the intake, but either way, the sound is bowlz-awesome. It is grumbly at low RPMs, especially around 2-2.75k under load, and it has a nice (but relatively small) roar to it under load above 3500 RPM. Power gains are very solid. By my count, any mod that nets you a 10% HP gain for this money is a sure buy. I haven't dynoed it officially, but members of several forums post dyno graphs supporting these numbers. Unofficially, my butt-dyno is happy. The throttle response is improved, in my opinion - definitely noticeable when heel-and-toe down shifting. The pull off the line is much stronger and continues, as another reviewer said, through the entire rev range. Also, drivability seems to be improved, especially uner 3500 RPM, which is my target range for fuel economy. Speaking of which, preliminary testing shows a quite sizable gain in fuel economy, especially around town. Driving around tonight, I was averaging 35 mpg city and 42 mpg hwy at 68 mph on 87 octane gas. This increase is over what I was averaging - 28/36 mpg on the same fuel in the same weather in the same area on the same routes. Bravo, Steeda. You've earned my money this time, and I'll be coming back for more when you're ready to offer it!
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Maxwell P. from Florida on 6/23/2014
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