I am honored and humbled that Alta sent me one of their prototype CAI box tops.
I tested the part on my MCSa without the aide of instructions or input from anyone so if my interpretation is wrong then it is.

This peice is another finely made part from Alta. Made of Stainless steel and has Alta’s logo prominently.

The top comes with the following:
Top, boxtop bracket and some rubber tubing.




Notice the lid has a crease in the middle. The top isn’t flat and is angled towards the rear.

Ok, so I removed the rubber around the top of the intake. I sat the top in its place.

I removed my Unichip to make my car closer to most cars. In doing so I found the top doesn’t fit unless the ECU cover is removed.

I noticed the lid didn’t sit flat on my car.


I removed the screw the arrow is pointing to. This allowed the heatshield to come more into square and allow the top to make a seal.


The bracket is attached (from what I can tell with no instructions) this way.

The end grips onto the ribs in the ecu box.

Top installed:


I’m not sure if it’s just me but with the top on the intake sound slightly different.
Watch the video and let me know. Link

The price listed on my invoice is the same as I read about on this thread on nam.

Sadly I do not have my M7 Strut Tower bar right now so I cannot test it's fit. I hope to have mine on Monday and can report then.

 

In the video, was that, "Hundred. Oh, you didn't hear that." ?

It seems like the box top makes the Alta CAI just slightly more tinnier. I had my Sennheiser headphones on, and had to listen several times to make sure. I'm not much of an audiophile, though, so maybe someone else can chime in.

Was there any perceivable difference in power with the box top on?

 

i really did not hear anything different..

so with the top on, it's more refined>?

 

What purpose does the Bracket serve??

Whoops, just saw tgis So is the bracket supposed to hold the top on?

Good write up, thanks

 

Latte hiatus, sprp85 - I only did the video because I felt that at lower rpms the intake sounded throatier and had more of a sucking noise. Otherwise this box top seems to help with cleaning up under the bonnet.

Drillslinger - The bracket seems to hold the top down completely. Maybe to make sure it doesn't move with the movement of the engine and car. I checked it after my drives and haven't noticed it moving.

 

Thanks. So am I correct in assuming that the bracket needs to be attached to the top before pushing it on to "Install", but you'll have to remove the bolt holding the bracket in order to remove the top



Oh yeah, and it's quicker to just call me "Drill"

 

Yes Drill the bolt needs to be loosened to remove the top. I really think if Alta wanted to they could do without the bracket. I wonder if maybe instead a snap on part could be used.

 

I like it, save for the same issues I have with the untopped box.......what about my strut tower brace???

 

Monday I will have my M7 bar so I can answer that question for everyone

 

Great Write up!!

I'm looking forward to ordering a Black one!!

 

MDSBRAIN,
Thanks for the great write up! I am sorry i didn't call you or email you the instructions before you tried to install it. The reason why we shipped out a couple is to test a few things, one being fitment to different cars. The removing of the screw on the drivers side of the car is one thing we were worried about. This is something some of the older intakes may have an issue with. But a simple drilling of a new hole will fix that. In fact with the trim installed, there is no real need for the screw anyway.

The way the bracket is installed is the bent part fits under the filter hose clamp. This allows the top to be removed with a single losening of a screw. The bracket that you got was close to the real version except for the pressed in nut. With this design you will have to hold the nut while you tighten the screw. There is also some rubber trim that will be included to help from any scratching of the 2 parts. Here is a picture to help with visualization.

 

I would love one but I am not sure if it would work with the JCW strut tower. Does any of you guys know about this?

 

Thank you Jeff Perrin of Alta correcting me on how to install the box top bracket.
It goes like this in a later version:

Now for something alot of people asked for. Will the M7 Strut tower bar work with this intake?!
Check out my pics:
Thanks to 04SDMINI I have a brand new Black M7 bar in place of my silver bar.


From up front looking at the gap between the bar and box.

Another shot. Enough clearance!

From the side. It looks super close and it is. Probaly a few millimeters clearance.

 

I thought the Alta sealed up fairly well against the hood? Why this mod? My Alta fits tight against the hood.

 

I'm rather confused at this obviously Webb-influenced add-on piece. The ALTA....actually every CAI for the MCS on the market [sans the Promini] seal their heatsheild against the bonnet, so what's the point of the top?

 

Maybe they'll answer you Ryphile, they seem to be quiet when I am concerned.....LOL

 

simple answer - it does absolutely nothing. webb did his to make it different from the rest, now the rest are following suit to keep their share of the market.

 

So it works with the M7 strut bar nice!

Our current design fits very tight to the hood except for a small corner. Is this enought to matter? Maybe, but we saw many people selling their ALTA intake to buy one which had a top to it(not just the Webb, he was not the first). We thought, why not just make a top to keep people happy with our part. This also makes it 100% sealed so the few people that were worried about the small corner could be satified. Then there are those who don't like the look of the filter, and this hides it. A simple dress up item for some and a performance to others. The performance may be small

Scottinbend,
We listen to everyone, sorry it took a little while to respond.

 

--Hooray it works with the M7! I'm stoked. I just installed my M7 STB last night.

For everyone who doesn't like it or is wondering why this product is out just think of it this way. That Alta intake is now a true convertible. It was top down only and now you have the option of picking up a hard top.

I for one am curious to see if there were any performance gains or deficits with the topper though. If there is no loss in performance I think that's a big plus as most bling added to a car slows it down. Anyone got a dyno to test?

 

alta - is this box lid something that can be added on top for existing alta cai users? or does it come with a replacement sheidl. becoz i do not see how simply adding a lid can create room for a strut bar to fit? looking at the design of the shield, the existing shield itself has to be cut to fit ANY bar. so i presume it has to come with a new heat shield. pls correct me if im wrong. thabnks

 

I know how that goes - it takes time to take care of everyone with quality.

I believe we were the first - I certainly didn't see any others out there when we launched...

Nice product Jeff

Brian

 

Thanks Jeff ! !

 

Now if you really want to see how much is involved with an item like this check out what this industrious fellow did. This is some nice DIY

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...31376#post9313

 

skuzy,
Absolutley! That is the whole point of the part. Not having to buy a completely new intake! There are way too many Alta intake owners out there to bring out a new intake with built in lid, and make them buy a whole new intake just for the lid. So a top that fits with all alta intakes is a great way to satisfy customers wanting a top, but don't want to spend another $260.

Brian,
Thanks for the comment! I said Webb was not the first because of the GoMini(I think that is the name??) intake, it had a top for a while now. I could be wrong, i just remember something from a long time ago that was black with a top. If we are wrong, sorry, it wasn't to offend anyone, i was just correcting a statement made earlier. Influences for all parts come from somewhere!

 

bump.

ALTA2, so are these available yet?

can you post pictures here or on your own website of how the colors look on top of the box?


thx