I finally have enough money to buy my CAI, and I was trying to figure out the pluses/downsides of going with either the focussport or the cosworth, and who has experience with either of these.
Basically, I was leaning toward the focussport because it was the one my brother recommended, but over at ff, they seem to be huge fans of the cosworth intake. I know that it's on sale right now, so I want to take advantage of cheap $$ to buy it while I still can.
Also, I'm planning on taking off the CAI during the winter to prevent hydro-lock, if this factors in to the descision at all.
I'm driving a 2.0 manual Duratec with the SAP package (so the front bumper is a bit different).
Comments?
Personally, and this is partly based on past experience and partly with the general learned knowledge of how sponges work:
Both intakes end up in the same place in the front of the car, where the "fresh air" snorkle resides. The Cossie intake is a K+N surgical cotton filter. While I understand and appreciate your brother's apprehension from his own experience with K+N filters, they're not bad at all in my experience. I inspected the interior of my SRI tube on regular intervals and I never witnessed an accumulation of ultra-fine dirt and dust. Also, the MAF was always in pristine condition.
The FocusSport, while it's a fine intake I'm sure, is a foam sponge filter (albeit one with three different densities) and to have it sitting that low down in an emergency submersion situation scares me. I would believe that the cotton filter would offer a tad more protection and a bit less easy transfer of an instant's water contact vs. that of the FocusSport filter. Seeing as I don't have one of each (nor a disposable Duratec to perform the test with... potentially requiring 2 engines or a rebuild!), we'll never know.
In short, I'm getting the Cosworth intake this spring. Randy sells some nice stuff at FocusSport, and I'll be tapping him to nicely fine-tune my Duratec later on this spring with an X-Cal2.
Also, FWIW... I won't be removing the CAI during the winter months. There's a decent amount of wrench time required for the removal and re-addiiton of the stock intake, and our winters here are a lot colder / drier with more snow overall than out your way.
COSWORTH > FOCUSSPORT
+ ITS ON SALE
P.S. ITS FRIGGEN COSWORTH YA KNOW WHAT IM SAYIN!
They're both very reputable brands so you're going to be in good hands either way you go. I guess it comes down to preference of filter and/or brand loyalty. Focussport makes good stuff, but come on.. Cosworth is Cosworth.
i wouldn't go with a spoung filter.....something about those that i don't trust
The best thing is to get a short ram - This way you can cancel out the removing of it during the winter which will cost..and remember it's still rains so you have to be care full..Because I sucked up some water in my head 1 year ago..it wasn't fun..With a short ram it's easier to maintain because it sits on the top not the bottom so you will have an easier time to pull the filter off and clean it every so often..I'm going with the short ram as soon as I find a used seller on the jet..Hope I helped!
Cheers,
If you have any apprension about the position of the filter on a CAI set up, go with the short ram intake. While an SRI won't have all the HP gains of a CAI setup, there is that layer of safety that can't be ignored.
NefCanuck
See... now I'm debating whether a CAI is the best choice compared to the short ram... I have to come to terms with the fact that
1) I'm a girl
2) I'm not the best with cars (1 and 2 are meant to go hand in hand here :) )
3) Maybe a lower 'maintenance' part will be best off in the long run
Thanks for all the help guys. I'll consult with the bro and let you know on what the final descision is (although I can almost 99.9% guesstimate that he tells me to stay the hell away from the Cosworth intake and go for the FocusSport)
What hasn't been mentioned here (and has been discussed to death on FJ at the least) is that the CAI is well-protected by the splashguard on the 05+ Foci. Guys run them year-round in the continental US, and a lot of states get a LOT more rainfall than we do here.
Again, I had a SRI and while the engine felt a little more responsive... it wasn't mind-blowing. The CAIs available for the Duratec are the single-best non-tuning mod you can do. Period. If you want more gains, get cams, tune with an X-Cal2 or just go F/I. Otherwise, a CAI and a good exhaust is a great way to get a minimum 10WHP out of the Duratec 2.0.
Given what CAIs cost and what SRIs cost (both new, of course)... I won't buy a new SRI.
ZX5chica,Feb 2 2007, 11:55 PM Wrote:See... now I'm debating whether a CAI is the best choice compared to the short ram... I have to come to terms with the fact that
1) I'm a girl
2) I'm not the best with cars (1 and 2 are meant to go hand in hand here :) )
3) Maybe a lower 'maintenance' part will be best off in the long run
Thanks for all the help guys. I'll consult with the bro and let you know on what the final descision is (although I can almost 99.9% guesstimate that he tells me to stay the hell away from the Cosworth intake and go for the FocusSport)
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1) I'm a girl - Don't kid yourself you seem very smart about cars and I'm sure you will make the right choice. - when I first started out I made a lot of poor choices, but I learned from them and I'm glad I can pass on any valuable info that may help others avoid what i did wrong.
Cheers,
GOOOOD LUCK! ;)
Save more money and go turbo B)