I know it increases the whine, which is fine and dandy for spirited driving. Does it have that constant whine at hwy speeds though, say at 3k rpm's? I don't want to take a 1200 mi road trip with a constant higher pitched whine at hwy speeds is why I ask. My assumption is that it is only when the pedal is floored thus increasing the needed intake.

TY

 

Nope. My K&N Typhoon CAI only makes more noise when I stomp on the gas. After that, the sound is just fine at highway speeds.


Clover

 

I have used the Alta and now the M7 AGS and there is no whine at any constant speed until you open the throttle to accelerate.


Bill

 

I installed my new Alta intake last night wondering what all the hype was.

The SC wine is pretty loud at wider open throttle, but quite at constant
speed as mentioned above. my car sounds like how it looks now, i suppose?

I was using the Pilo before and i like that intake for wat it is. quiet and
nice gains. I felt more pull from the 15% red on the Alta around 4K rpm
and up. (but again, it was 50F last night and only 1/4 tank of gas, so
not sure). I also did a ECU re-set before I took her out for a spin.

The gain is impressive, but the sc noise is pretty loud. will use it a couple
more weeks and see if I want to go back to the Pilo or not.

 

I have the JCW Intake, civilized below 4k, whines above 4500 rpms

 

I've had the Alta intake for about a year. When cruising on the highway or just puttering around town it sounds just like it did before, with the stock intake. It only whines when I get on it pretty hard. Personally, I LOVE the whine it makes! Makes it seem like I'm going faster than I am.

The Alta has also passed the "wife test" here. The first thing my wife does when she gets a fresh passenger is to floor it just to make the intake whine!

 

The thing that bothers (?) me is that being an x-audio mixing engineer/music composer, the timber of the sc whine does not mix well with the Milltek's tone. it doesn't clash, but it just doens't sound well together imo.

 

Keep in mind that a given intake whines the most at full throttle, but the design of the intake matters as well. The Alta has its filter open at the end toward the firewall, and it removes the plastic divider, so the sound has a clear shot from the throttle up through the curved hose, directly toward the vents in the dash. Try opening and closing the vents, you can hear the difference in intake tone.

An intake like the HAI makes less whine than the Alta since there is no curved hose directing the sound back toward the firewall.

 

Andy, I can just imagine someone figuring out how to play tunes by manipulating their MINI's vents!

Clover

 

Ha! And now MINI's Fourth Gear Symphony from 2500-7000 in D Minor.

 

 

One of the reasons the whine is louder is that the back of the airbox in the Alta opens up to the firewall (so it can draw in cool air from the vent under the windshield) and is enclosed on all other sides by a metal heat shield. this probably acts as a harmonic chamber amplifying the sound and transfered through the firewall into the cabin.

For me it's unoticible at cruising speeds, but if you find the noise bothersome, you could probably line the heatshield and the firewall with some Dynamat Xtreme or some other sound dampening material to reduce the noise. It would add some weight though and it's not exactly pretty, so if those are concerns, this probably isn't a good idea:-)

 

..or just go with a Pilo intake or similar design.

The pilo is compariable to stock. only slight sc audible wine.

 

Kenchan
Suggestion: Drop the Miltek and put on a Magna Flow--you won't hear the SC whine--just the basso profundo exhaust notes --TIMBER: isn't that what they yell when cutting down trees? Nick

 

It might take some time to get use to the Alta. I use to have a BMP before an Alta and it was quite a disturbing while driving with windows down...but now I love it. I love it even more when you drop the clutch in and out...I got the sound like "pishhhh..hh" like a turbo car...hehehe.

I usually take longer route to go home just t go under the tunnel and man! Alta+Invidia is freaking amazing sound....I just could not remember last time I turned the music on in my car.

 

WOW, ty for all the responses...sounds like it is rather civil at hwy speeds. Good stuff. Thanks Again!!!

 

How do you reset the ECU, on my Mustang it was disconnect battery neg terminal for about 20 min and depress brake pedal a few times. Then reconnect. or pull ECU power fuse, depress brake pedal and reconnect.

 

I just installed my alta with hose on monday. I noticed when I first hit the gas (even slightly) and lef off the gas, I get a woosh noise. It's very slight, but still there none the less. Is this normal as well?

And the increased whine is amazing! Music to my ears.

-Steve

 

The whoosh noise is literally the air being sucked into the filter. In an ALTA filter, because the back of the airbox has been removed, you hear this sucking more, especially with the windows down. The air is being drawn both from the front of the car via the grille, and the cowl vent.

This is normal, and a unique sound by-product of the ALTA set up. To some, it sounds like a turbo's bypass valve engaging. I focus not on the slight whooshing intake sound, but of the enhanced "cat-being-disemboweled" whine of the supercharger, which is made sweeter and louder by the ALTA set up.

Despite my gory and morbid description of it, that sound is one of the best sounds on the planet, IMHO...

 

check the tread for the v39 problems. I think it was ryphile that had
the step by step.

 

Hey kenchan, if you're looking ot sell the Alta, you've got a potential buyer here :smile:

 

it doesn't look like Im going to be selling the Alta for a while.
Im liking it a lot. nice punch. It was about 70F here in chi-town over
the weekend and I could still feel more punch from the Alta from mid-rpm
and up. I drove the same roads and the car feels very responsive.

 

kenchan

So i guess the alta is better than the HAI? hmm are you cantonese?


JC

 

Yes the sound is addictive, if not contageous by pressing the pedal down to the floor so much

 

Not sure of the HAI, never tried it. the Pilo is still a CAI, just doesn't
pull air from the crowl area that much (only stock holes in the baffle).


cantonese....? Why? do I sound different on text?