cold air intake

can anybody tell me cold air intake will sound and perform better?

Well worth the money. I recently installed a K&N FIPK Cold Air Induction kit, part #K&N 57-6005. I paid 285.65 including shipping from autoanything.com
It was very easy to install and the improvement in throttle response was very noticeable. Probably the best performance improvement I have made. And it is 50 state legal!

The cold air induction is a feel good/do little mod.

It does sound a bit tougher, which makes people FEEL like it did something, but in practice, going to a 2.5" over a 2.25" exhaust does more for you.

The K&N lets in a lot of small (Sandpaper-like) particles that increase engine wear...and the make-believe splash guards don't keep out water much better than the make-believe heat shields keep out heat.

You will get a LOT more bang for the buck simply removing the intake baffles. Its sounds better, and, is actually less restrictive, and, go figure, the X already HAS cold air intake at the wheel well anyway...except now you STILL have a COLD air intake, instead of a hot air intake from under the hood, etc.



That's free, and, you keep a filter that actually filters.

On the other hand, the K&N ALSO allows more air through along with the extra dirt...making it OK if you don't mind extra engine wear.



If you oil the K&N, it tends to foul people's MAF sensors though....so its a bad idea (Yeah, they pretend the heat shield keeps out heat, the splash shield keeps out water, and that their oil doesn't foul the MAFs....heck, they even claim the filter cleans the air well...so, you can't really believe anything they say in ads)



Volant's CAI actually does take in cold air, and has a closed airbox, so it also actually keeps out water better...so, if you MUST have a CAI, the Volant at least works. Use their dry filter though, as the oil fouls the MAF sensors.

Thanks for the info! How about exhaust, muffler & pipes. Any thoughts?

Had a Magnaflow cat back system installed - tried to do it myself since all the reviews I read said it was a simple swap. Yeah, not so much. Unless you have welding or cutting equipment in your garage there is no chance of getting the stock exhaust off the vehicle. Nissan likes to clamp the pipes so tightly that it crimps them together. After 4 hours of frustrating futility I ended up paying a muffler shop $80 to install the Magnaflow.
Long story short, it sounds great (no fart can Honda sound)and my X breathes a lot better. Plus, I now have a new muffler which, after almost 10 years, needed replacing anyways.

Did you replace only the muffler or muffler and tail pipes?

Where are the baffles and how hard are they to remove. Thanks Steve

I had a magnaflow cat back system installed which is everything behind the cat including the tailpipe. It sounds great and combined with the CAI the engine breathes a lot better. I highly recommend both.