I am pretty close to buying a cold air intake (looking at the Alta CAI now) but I have a question if anyone has noticed how it affects your gas milage? It would make a certain amount of sense for it to actually help your mpg in the sense that you're getting more air for combustion...but does it?


Also, I have very little background for working on engines but is the CAI from Alta something that can easily be installed without special tools?
I've done a little work on old radial aircraft engines so I know some basics, but not a whole lot. And special tools would be hard for me to come-by I think. :-) Maybe someone can provide a list of tools required for the instal?

Thanks for the help,
-Andy

 

HI. I have an alta cai. I've seen Randy Webb put one of these in in about 20 minutes, but for the do it yourselfer plan on about double that. Not hard at all. As far as mileage, you will be so enraptured by the sound difference this thing makes at WOT , that your driving habbits will change sadly to the detriment of your previous mileage

 

The CAI's don't require any special tools. (screwdriver and a 8mm wrench if I remember correctly) And I believe they all come with directions. At least my Alta did back in 2003.

As far as gas milage, I think it may have actually gotten alittle better, maybe +1mpg. But at first you want to hear the cool sound of the supercharger, so you put your foot into it alittle more and the gas milage will drop .

Nik

 

Sweet guys, thanks for the help!
I was starting to get a little paranoid by seeing the clamps on the factory intake tubing and wondering how in the world I'd ever get those off or back on again! Sounds like it's not bad at all.

Now, maybe one of you know the answer to this question. What's the difference between the CAI version 1 and Version 2 for Alta's intakes? Besides the 20 dollar price drop for Ver. 1!

-Andy

 

the only thing I ever knew about this product was that it could be bought with or without their silicone tube for a price difference of about $65. Not sure about your question .............got links to the 2 "versions" ?

 

I got my alta version 1 at custom mini on sale.I believe the only difference is that the version 2 is painted black

 

http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...sion-2-0-6-spd

http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...-Classic-6-spd


The top link is for "Version 2" while the 2nd link is to the "Classic" version.

-Andy

 

Not sure what the difference in V1 vs V2, maybe the coating on the metal?!?

Forgot about the hose clamps, I think they come with new ones (if not I would buy some), the factory ones are kinda hard to re-use, but it can be done. Screwdriver and pliers

Nik

 

IMPO get the classic and save the $ (or paint it black yourself)

 

I think it does come with new clamps.......be sure to get the lower end of their tube fully seated .

 

You probably won't notice any change in MPG and the CAI is easy to install.
Your engine will eat more dirt and have more wear as a result of the CAI though.

 

 

 

You all have not heard that before?

 

Umm no, if you are running a filter, why would cold air cause more wear to your engine?

Nik

 

Allegedly, more dirt goes through a foam filter (Alta) than the OEM filter. Hence, more engine wear.

This applies to most aftermarket filters, not only the Alta.

 

Exactly

 

Used oil analysis prove that "most" of these high flow gauze and foam air filters allow more dirt into the engine than paper. Thus allowing for premature engine wear.

 

Sorry guys, just playing around (don't really feel like working today). I know the debates. I've run both kinds of filters on various atvs, dirtbikes, trucks, cars etc for years. And you know what - they both work.

If you don't take care of either kind, sure they will let something thru, but more than likely will just clog up and let less air thru.

Maintenance - as long as you clean and oil regularly either kind work fine.

But the first statment said "Your engine will eat more dirt and have more wear as a result of the CAI though." said nothing about what type of filter element! So my question still is how does cold air cause more wear on your engine?

Nik

 

It's not cold air that causes more wear. It's the the fact that "most" of the high-flow air filters that are used in the CAIs allow more dirt into the engine. Hold a K&N filter up to the light and see if you can see any light through it.

I have performed a Used Oil Analysis while using both a stock paper and a 5 layer gauze (K&N Type) cone air filter. The analysis showed that engine wear was higher with the gauze filter over the paper.

For a couple of HP and some more noise, it's just not worth the added engine wear for me. There may be a high-flow air filter that will filter as well as paper. I just have not found one yet that will work in the MINI that's proven to work.

 

Fair enough

Nik

 

Hmmm, thanks for all the additional info. Now I'm getting paranoid about engine wear. :-)

I've always had intentions of driving my MINI until he dies and the idea of helping him die a little sooner does not appeal to me very much!

Keep the opinions coming! :-)

-Andy

 

If you want to get more cold air into the stock filter box, just make the hole in the rear bottom half bigger and use some foam to seal the connection to the cowl area. This will give you a bit more SC noise as well.

 

Here's some more food for thought: Since the Alta CAI only lets air into the engine from the driver's side cowl vent and not from the engine bay, dirt is restricted first by the up and back angle of the hexagonal openings in the cowl vent and THEN by the foam filter. I suggest that by putting a layer of oiled foam UNDER the cowl vent you effectively dbl the protection of the possible introduction of dust and dirt particles that may make it to the unifilter (used by Alta). If you doubt the protection of the unifilter, clean it and oil it more often than you would normally would.
I innitially disliked the extra noise created by the Alta system and with the help of a friend who felt the same , located a K&N filter that would take it's place. I installed it and what to my surprise(and my butt dyno) it didn't perform as well as the Foam Unifilter even though it DID cut down on the noise. I ran it all one winter and in the spring switched back to the Foam and was blown away by the difference. Now I just put up with the noise, which I have grown quite fond of. In combination with my Remus exhaust, I have quite a monster. Add a 15%, and a unichip and I basically have a JCW at a fraction of the cost. I now use the K&N as a swap out to give me the time to adequately clean and re oil my foam without having to feel rushed. I use the Safety clean tank at work and have bought a 16 can of foam filter oil from a local motorcycle dealer.
Jock

 

Everyone is talking about cleaning the filters...does the Alta kit come with instructions for cleaning? I think I recall seeing a can of spray stuff on their site for use in cleaning the filter...but can't remember right now. :-)