Im about to order the Alta CAI (on sale right now for $118 after 15% off), which comes with an blue hose.

My question is: Can I just use my OEM airbox to keep it sealed? I was planning on drilling a few large holes in the back of the airbox to get air from the crowl. Also, I wondered if I would get better performance by leaving the lower hose (which comes from the front grill) as a second source of cold air. Seems like forced air (however slight) would be a good source. Would the Alta cone filter fit on the OEM airbox?

Thanks,

-Mike

 

$118?? Where are you seeing that, and can you point me in that direction ?!? I'm seeing it at $139.99 on their site under the clearance sale.

 

you cannot install the alta intake with the OEM airbox lid. the alta "housing" replaces the lid and "seals" closed when the hood is shut. no need to close the box up.

 

you can enter the 1resolution5 code in check and get and addl 15 percent off

 

Can you forgo the alta "housing" and just clamp the hose and the filter to the OEM box? Leave the alta box aside?

 

sorry, burley, im not 100% sure... from what i can recall the OEM box is considerably smaller than the alta and the hose is not the same size either. maybe you can create some type of new hose to clamp a universal K&N to? might be more work than just buying the alta that's ready to go out of the box.

 

I think I'll just buy it and find out later. For $118, you cant go wrong. Once I get the Alta hooked up, will the original intake hose from the grill still have any function or do you loose the fresh air?

 

The inside of the OEM airbox doesn't have the protrusion that is needed to attach Alta filter element.

If I remember correctly, the hose line from the grill is still functional with the alta system

 

If you wanted a fully enclosed air-box (or just get the ALTA cover), with the hose still functional, but a bit less noise, the Dinian is a good choice IMO....but less bling under the hood...it looks stock, but is very livable, quite until you stick your foot to it, with a bit more whine than the JCW.

 

@ZippyNH

$118 vs $250 is a no brainer. Just trying to keep the OEM look as well as utilize the air scoop from the grill, but I don't think it'll work. In theory, would it be better to use the air from the front grill AND the crowl or would it not matter much?

 

Got mine for, I think it was $140, but now it is not showing up on their website...I guess it might have been discontinued.
But to annswer your question, it would require some testing. The air at the base of the windshield is preasureized, and the ram air from snorkel intake does seem it would help. In the end I went with the Dininan...but the Alta seems to be well respected if you want/don't mind the whistle, or constant whine...even on long highway trips. Most folks say the cover Alta sells is just bling....but it might help keep heat out, and air in. I like the choice I made, a bit louder than a JCW, but quieter on the highway, with good throttle response.
If you want to utlize air from the front too, since the Alta kit is sheetmetal, it seems you could easliy modify it, and make it what you want, just use tin-snips, cut a hole in the Alta box, fab up a connection, use some filler, like JB weld, paint it, connect the hose, and call it custom. Personaly I think it would work better, since the JCW, and the DINIAN both are constructed to use both air inlets...the snorkel, and the windshield high preasure area, and they both appear to be well engeneered.

 

I'm pretty certain that the Alta intake setup still uses air from the front through the fresh air intake tube connected to the bottom of the OEM airbox, which still remains after the Alta intake installation. The Alta just replaces the top portion of the OEM intake and removes the shroud/firewall.

 

You are correct, ALTA_Jarid just confirmed it.

 

the window cowl doesnt force air into the intake at all. quite the opposite.
btu the alta does make power none the less, but all the cowl does really is lets you hear it a lot more.
which i quite like.
i snagged a photo off you-tube and made a quick ms paint pic to illustrate my point.
*note* the cowl has the potential to be a positive pressure feed if you use the enormous ocari window cowl scoops.. but i think they are a bit outlandish...

 

If this is true, why did MINI put a factory hole in the back of the stock airbox? (with a grommet to seal out engine heat) Wouldnt this let in some air from the cowl?
And though the aerodynamics are quite different, what about the old Chevelles with the "working flap cowl induction"?

And finally, whats the purpose of the cowl vents on the Mini if no air passes into them?

 

It is a low pressure area so it would be very easy for the engine to draw in the air. The air is not being sucked out at any great rate.

 

just ordered mine for 128 shipped. found a 17% coupon on top of the clearance price.

 

17% ?? Where'd you find that? Whats the code?

 

This is what the guys use in the uk

 

All this has been posted about 3+ years ago, but I guess the search function doesn't go back that far. And you'd end up with about a 1,000 posts to read. Many written by me.
The low pressure at the cowl intake has been known for quite some time, and it's not low enough to "suck air out" of the intake filter - geez! If you find posts by DrObnxs you'll see numbers that indicate how many cubic feet of air is being sucked into the engine every minute--it's a surprisingly large amount at a very rapid rate. Consequently, the temperature of the air passing through the filter into the throttle body is determined more by the ambient air temperature and the availability of large air sources. Some of us have posted airbox temperature logs, and you'll see that there is very little difference between CAI systems under the same conditions. The greatest variation occurs between constant highway driving and stop-start traffic driving.
The goal is to get cold air in quickly after hot air has entered at a stop light--hence the cowl area allows access to a greater volume of ambient air, just as the front air duct provides a source of colder ambient air to the lower air box. Even my ram scoop (unique in its source of air) isn't magic--it just provides another source of ambient air. Although in the case of the ram scoop, the air is slightly cooled by being forced into the airbox. Still, it's not like the air will go into the engine any "faster" or "harder" if you ram it into the airbox--the supercharger pretty much determines what the air pressure is going to be--with a slight negative effect from the IC of course.
In the end, just make sure you have a free flowing air filter, openings to the cowl area and a nice seal against hot engine air getting into the airbox at stoplights.

 

Sooooo I might be re-openning a can of worms here but I am curious about the CAI with the intake from the cowl area. I've been researching the different CAIs from DDM / Madness motorworks as well as the Dave F airbox and the one Applesauce did a few years back. In theory they all rely on pulling air from the cowl area, correct? I like the idea of the one Applesauce did but is there a total sum gain or would a K&N replacement filter for the stock paper filter do more good?
I'm looking for post by DrObnxs but consider me 4+ hours into this and I'm back to square one.

Edit: Then I found all the pictures from DrObnxs on HAI but I can't find the posts they went to???
https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/g/album/3742855

 

IMO, the biggest gain you'll get from a CAI is the added whine of the supercharger. The hp benefit of the CAI mod, or replacing the stock panel paper filter with a K&N isn't all that much.

Unless I found a JCW or Dinan airbox cheap, I would probably go with modding the stock airbox like DaveF/Applesauce since it doesn't cost much or draw attention during a smog inspection.

 

Thanks for the flash back from the past. What a rookie question!

I think this was my first performance mod almost 8 years ago to the day, and 4 Minis ago. I owned an R50 in 2007, but didn't do any performance mods since it was a "Justa"..