I have had this intake on my car for the past two weeks. I bought it off someone for a great price on a local mini website. Its in great condition and I installed it according to K&N's recommendations. The main difference from other CAI installations is that you are supposed to leave the back plastic cowl in place (plastic wall blocking the air from beneath the grill under the winshield). I didnt know any better and installed it how they stated and was a little dissapointed. It wasn't what I thought an intake was supposed to sound like and there wasnt a huge increase in power.

Well after this I came onto NAM and did a search. I found out that the typhoon CAI got pretty bad reviews and people were modifying it all over. Some people made better airboxes while other insulated the pipes. This made me feel stupid since I didnt do my research properly. However...I did more research and found a nice review on Randy Webbs website about the typhoon. Again people were saying how it didnt bring in as much cold air as possible ect ect. Then I founf out that if you remove the rear plastic cowl like you do in the alta CAI install you will get much better airflow, better sound and better power.

WOW....after doing that it was like a completely different intake. The whine of the supersharger is loud now...the power is better and its just awsome. The best thing is that it got rid of the hesitation that a lot of minis have when accelerating from a dead stop on a hill. Overall, whoever has this intake and hasnt taken out the plastic cowl blocking the grill under the windshield....you must do it. It will make a huge difference. I now love the typhoon. I think im goign to write to K&N and tell them to change thier steps in the install process. What does everyone else think...Opinions?

 

I have the same installation but I haven't removed the cowl. Do you have picks? Is it replaceable?

 

I dont have pics right now but I could take some tomorrow to show you. It is the plastic wall right behind where your filter is. Its very easy to remove and makes a world of a difference. It is defenitley also replacable. Its only held in by a couple screws but you have to take off the intake to dismantel it. Trust me, its not too hard.

Go to randy webb's website or do a search on NAM, you can find directions on how to install the Alta intake. If your follow these steps it will show you how to remove the plastic cowl.

 

I'm not being a wise-a$$ but can you link me to that website. I don't know who randy webb is.
Thanks

 

Dont worry about it.... Go Here.--

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...l+instructions


He calls it the rear partition that you havbe to take out. Theres a lot of unecessary steps in there but it tells you how to do it.

 

Great. Play by Play and Pics. It's almost sailor-proof.
Thanks.

 

You're better off cutting a hole in the partition



$39 from Mini Madness

 

I was looking at the job last night when I got home from work. It seems it would be easier to cut out the top of the box that protrudes into the panel area than to disassemble and then reassemble the air filter box. It would serve the same purpose as the pic you sent.

 

It would, but you have no way of putting something back in if its too loud for you. By taking out the cowl, you can always put it back into be stock.

 

....too loud? Is the difference that drastic? Is the additional noise out the exhaust or is it engine noise in the passenger compartment?

 

Its allows for a louder supercharger whine....and you can hear air rushing in. I love the sound. Some people might not like it though. Performance is better throughout the rpm band. If you ever sell your mini or for whatever reason want to make it quieter you can

 

I did similar thing except I "swiss-cheesed" the cowl using a 1" drill bit instead of making one big hole. Same effect I noticed.

 

any opinions on simply removing the whole thing?
and i really want to see what this looks like before i do it, anyone have pics?

 

This is what Dinan does with their air box ...

 

Nice and clean.