Hi, Grade A newbie here, I was wondering if anyone had installed the air filter from alta. I have looked at various replacement filter systems and the Alta foam filter and box seems to be the best. It draws air from the ram and from the vent at the windshield. Getting ready to do some mods and I want the best . Any info is welcome.

 

I installed the Alta intake in my S about a month ago. They have solved all the issues I had read about here, mine fit perfectly and droped right in with no problems. The whole install took about an hour, and I wasn't hurrying. It works great and I noticed a definite improvement, mostly in slow second gear situations. I would definitely recommend the Alta intake as the one to use. I just had Randy install a pulley last week in Dallas, and that turned the car into a real hotrod! This is the biggest improvement I have ever felt in a car from a single mod. If you can only do one mod this is it no question, the car is awesome.

 

rafthos, hey welcome to MCO, haven't been here long myself. It is a learning experience. And great fun.
More info can be had on the alta if you like. Randy at http://www.mini-motorsport.com sells them and is very easy to talk to and informative. And of course alta themselves. Apparently they are having some probs getting the filter out at the moment. Been waiting on mine for a while. But I do think it is the right one for the MINI.
Woody

 

Alta is out for me. They just raised the price by $50 last week. Then they are telling me the thing won't fit with the stock throttle body. I saw nothing about this on these threads. I think I'll go with the Madness.

 

Although the Alta is nice I think its a bit overpriced as silicon boots aren't all that expensive and they seem to think they're made of gold. I think intake wise the pilo gives the best bang for the buck. I may try and make my own for myself but we'll see whether I'm lazy or not
Mike

 

I do like the Alta the best, and for the money, it is actually a really good buy. Here's what's up and the options available:

The original idea was to get the boots included with the intake and the cost of the unit would be $259. The boots have been taking FOREVER to get, and the rest of the intake is ready to go, so what we figured out was that the stock boot will fit over the heat shield just like the Madness and Pilo intakes - except that you still get the dual element filter and replace the "partition" which makes the unit a true cold air intake.

The reason we can do this is that the stock inner diameter of the intake boot is 60mm - but there is a lip on each end (throttle body and intake sides) that is 65mm. The Alta is 68mm throughout the entire boot. The 3mm difference at the intake end still allows the stock boot to fit oover the heat shield.

The cost for this unit is $199, and for now is available through MINI-Motorsport only (though I honestly don't know how long that will last).

If you would like to upgrade in the future, the silicone boot will always work with the unit you have. For those of you who bought the unit already, the original price will be honored and you will receive the boot as it comes out of production. The new cost is still being worked out, but due to the limited runs that the two US manufacturers are willing to make, the cost for them has gone up. RUKnight - if you have a cheap source for getting the boots (which have custom bends) in volume, give me a call.

All three filters you mention in this thread are good - the Madness, the Pilo and the Alta. You can't go wrong!

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Randy
720-841-1002

 

Randy I personally don't know of a source but I'll ask a few friends of mine who may know one and let you know.

Just curious as to why doesn't Alta try using just a metal tube like most intakes do and just use silicon adapters on the end. A stainless steel tube that was coated or even just painted won't get hot enough to make that much of a difference and the cost to produce them would be a lot less.

Don't get me wrong I think the Alta is the nicest of the bunch because of the better heatshield and the intake boot but the price just seems excessive from a consumer standpoint...but sometimes you get what you pay for
Mike

 

>>Hi, Grade A newbie here, I was wondering if anyone had installed the air filter from alta. I have looked at various replacement filter systems and the Alta foam filter and box seems to be the best. It draws air from the ram and from the vent at the windshield. Getting ready to do some mods and I want the best :smile:

 

Just had the Alta intake installed by Terry Sayther Automotive in Austin. Runs great - sounds great. So, now I have the Randy Webb pulley and ECU upgarde and the Sayther intake upgrade - a big bang for the buck.

Highly recommed Terry for you guys in the greater Austin area.

 

RUKnight; the silicone tube is far superior to a metal tube in the department of heat-soak. The problem with (for example) the K&N intake is that its' metal intake tube can't be shielded from engine heat (even with coatings on the metal!), and ends up re-heating the intake charge before it gets to the throttle body, and sort of anti-cold-air-intake ops:

you know the saying; if you want the highest performance, you'll have to pay for it one way or another. Yes, the ATLA intake is pricier and louder than the rest out there, but it's also the highest power gains.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

Randy,

I'm confused.

Are you saying the silicone hose is no longer included with the Alta intake for the 259.00 pricetag?

 

>>Randy,
>>
>>I'm confused.
>>
>>Are you saying the silicone hose is no longer included with the Alta intake for the 259.00 pricetag?
>>
>>

-sb

_________________
MINI: The best horse for the buck!

 

I'd really like to get the red tube and have that red filter element. It'd look hot with my LY MINI. I just got the red caliper paint in the mail from tirerack.com. I'm going to have to buy some car stands so I can take off all four wheels and do it in one fell swoop. The instructions say that the ideal conditions is below 70F. It doesn't drop below 85F at night in PHX during the summer months. The instructions say the two part paint dries really quickly in the heat so the working time is seriously reduced. So having all four wheels in the air. Back to the CAI, I'd like the red tube so the colors will match up. I think there's some really good contrast in the Red with the LY.

 

Randy, do you know the whats going on with Alta? I heard that there switching suppliers for the silicon hose. If thats true, do you know why - were there quality or price issues?

Unfortunatly, I ordered one from Vivid for $249 with the free shipping deal back in May (it was a good deal, but...) I wanted a black one, to find out a week later that they still were making a run of black hoses. More time goes by, etc. Guess Vivid never got them in from Alta. Recently, when I was told that I could get everything but the hose and when Alta finally got a the black hoses produced, I would get one.

A bummer, I've been looking forward to that for a while.
Erik

 

>>Just had the Alta intake installed by Terry Sayther Automotive in Austin. Runs great - sounds great. So, now I have the Randy Webb pulley and ECU upgarde and the Sayther intake upgrade - a big bang for the buck.
>>
>>Highly recommed Terry for you guys in the greater Austin area.



Wow! Is Terry Doing Mini Work? I got to know him years ago when I was in the tire business. Then, he was BMW Exclusive, but if he is adding Mini to the line up, Hooray for someone local!

 

Knuckle_Sandwich,

Terry and Debbie are MINI enthusiasts - they have a nice MCS. Give him a call (512) 442-1361 adn tell him he is on MCO and you support his efforts.

On the cost topic > I bought the Alta without the silicon tube - $199. The stock tube fits great; I can't imagine the silicon tube having much effect (but it does look cooler).

 

I talked to Randy today about the ALTA intake.
Turns out that ALTA is having trouble with their silicone tube manufacturer (duh), and has opted to offer the intake without the tube. You have two options: you can buy the tubeless intake for $199, or you can buy the "complete" intake for $259, recieve the tubless intake, and get the tube sent to you as soon as they're made.
I'm guessing that the different colors will be available at that time, but please don't quote me on that!

(note to ALTA): if you guys need help finding a new supplier, please PM me!
That's the deal for now,
Ryan