Don't feel bad. I ordered mine last night and I've been to the Betty Ford Clinic for Modification Addiction. Guess it didn't help. What's next? :p

 

i believe it was like another 2 hp from what jim had mentioned

 

how could they not post any dyno info? Wtf

 

I'm much more concerned about sucking in bugs and associated crap, pebbles etc.
I fabricated a duct with a scoop for my Probe GT before, and there definitely were quite a lot of those in the filter when I cleaned it. However, it wasn't TOO bad. Just more than with the stock setup, that's for sure.
I had no problem with water, but don't live in torrential downpour area or the snowbelt either.

 

Nice...I was not expecting this thing to come out for a bit longer, please let us NO-MOD-YET people know the results. If the REVi gives you about 3hp (along with other benefits) and this thing adds another 2HP.... while not much, it's great to see the mods advance for the 8.

Now...to that relatively cheap and big HP gain of 20+HP...come on RB, "you can do it"!!! LOL

 

yeah it fits in the front but it dosen't connect to the stock box so any possible ram air benefits go out the window. So any takers on mine? selling it for $135 so you will save the tax. and you can have it today

 

I dunno 5 hp total over stock for how much? This is a bit insaine if you ask me. I'm not knocking RB I know that the car is hard to pull extra HP out of but come on now 300 for the intake and how much more for the duct? I'd rather put my money towards a turbo setup. It's a nice piece but not worth the money for HP.

 

I thought I’d post my impressions of the Racing Beat Ram Air Duct now that I’ve been cleared to talk about the piece.

Like the intake, it’s a well designed and constructed piece that is nearly invisible once installed. It sucks air in through the lower central grille on the car. The installation is fairly simple, per the RB instructions, you are advised to remove the bumper support to attach the unit, however, I was able to install it by gently sliding/wiggling it between the firewall and the bumper support (this will make sense when you get the instructions).

Performance wise, I don’t really notice a difference until I really get on the throttle above 5,000rpm. The car does pull harder from 5,000 all the way to redline. The sound is deeper in the upper rev range, but cruising around its no different than just the intake box. While I noticed a definite improvement in highway mileage with the RB airbox, my tests with the RAM Air Duct were somewhat inconclusive. My tests when cruising at 70mph were basically no different that just the RB airbox. I was really hoping for more mileage as the duct would really be getting use at 65+ mph, but my first test showed only about 0.5mpg difference. Its possible that the car hadn’t had enough time to adjust to the box, so I’ll have to test this again soon. In addition, since there are those that cruise on the higway at 80+, it might make more of a difference at even higher speeds. The Ram Air Duct had no effect on idle, and I didn’t notice any change in throttle response over the RB airbox.

Its important to note that I am in Houston and the heat and humidity are at their worst at the moment, thus these observations could change depending on the current climate conditions. I look forward to a nice cold day this winter with the Ram Air Duct to see what changes it makes.

So my tentative overall conclusion is that the duct is a nice add-on for the intake, but the intake, as I expected, is the majority of the gain and improvement. If cost is an issue, just going with the intake should get you most of the gains in mileage, throttle response and power.

I’m curious to here what the other testers thought about the unit, as again, my test conditions right now are less than ideal.

 

If only RB would offer a reflash to work in conjunction with the REVi and their exhaust...

 

Since this is only a benefit at higher speeds and you aren't moving on a dyno, there really isn't any way of testing it. Racing Beat does more than dyno test. They also use GPS to determine if the car has higher acceleration as speed. A dyno is not always a valid piece of equipment.

 

*searches in pocket for $135 disposable income*

 

Yea - just what I was thinking.........$336 for the REVi + $135 for a molded piece of plastic = $471 + shipping for 'about' 5 hp?!? I can sorta understand the REVi price due to the research/development, but $135 for the duct????

I think I'll have to wait just a bit longer and see what/if anyone else comes up with something (K&N?)

 

To quote our favorite Scientologist from Risky Business... "Sometimes you just gotta say WTF!"

 

I do just have to bring to light the fact taht there are people that are interested in the AEM system because it puts the air filter in the direct path of oncoming air. This is absolutely no different than diverting the air to the filter. The difference is that it is possible to get a ram air benefit with an enclosed box but it isn't possible to get that benefit by just placing a filter in the airstream. Will you get incredible power gains from it? Nope. If you think that with any intake, think again. Will you get some gain? Sure you will and you can be certain that the gain this will give you at higher speeds will outdo that of any other intake system out there by sheer virtue that theirs is the only design that can take advantage of greater forward speed.

Someone is concerned about bugs and rocks? Are you serious! First off they have to get through the grille which will deflect most of them. Then they have to make the turns neccessary to get to the filter box. If this happens at all, they have lost so much momentum that they aren't going to be stuck to your filter. Your filter shouldn't get much more dirty than the stock one. Maybe a little. Lets contrast this to filters that sit in the engine bay where hot air and dirt are constantly being thrown around from the belts and the fan. Look at any dirt collected on your manifold for signs of this. Lets also compare this system to filters that are placed down in the airstream that get directly bombarded with water, dirt, bird, animals, etc... Will the filter get dirty? Sure it will. If it didn't you wouldn't need one. You'll find that this one probably stays cleaner than alot of the other alternatives out there.

Maybe this isn't worth the price to some people. That's what I think of the Greddy turbo kit but that's just my opinion. I find it strange that many will ocnstantly state things like "every little bit adds up" and then be completely against every little bit. I admit that if this were your only mod, every little bit doesn't add up to hardly anything. Used in conjunction with the intake it was designed to be used best with though (REVi) it should be a very nice system. It is absolutely built and engineered better than every other alternative out there bar none. Yes it is a little more pricey than some of the alternatives but that doesn't make it expensive. That makes the others cheap pieces of junk. Compare this to some of the neatly engineered products from Japan and you still ahve a bargain. You also have one that looks more stock and properly integrated into the car than any other system. I like it. I like how Racing Beat does things. I like their very extensive testing methods and honesty in advertising. Can you do things cheaper, sure you can. You could have also bought a cheaper car that was just as fast.

In the end it's all personal opinion as to whether this or any other mod is worth it to you or not. Don't think of bs excuses about exta bugs and such being sucked into your engine or if some inaccurate dyno can pick up something it wasn't designed to test or not. If this is for you, go for it. If it isn't, that's fine to. My personal opinion is that this is a well designed peice. Sure it is a little pricey for a piece of plastic but that's exactly how I feel about the other intakes. You are buying cone filters on aluminum (very good heat soaking ability) pipes. Length is irrelevant. What it is made out of and it's heat retention are very important.

 

yeah i'm a sucker for RB parts, i'll probably somehow 'find' this $135 burning in my pocket and order one tonight :o

 

i like mine. i like the sound improvement over just revi alone and i feel it pulls harder in 2nd from abot 2500or 3k than with just the block alone. i think throttle response is better overall and especially in 6th ont he highway i can feel the difference. of course im in oregon where it has been "cool " compared to houston during my testing

 

After a nice chat today with Maurice, the Canzoomer man, he said the RB is the best intake out there in regards to craftmanship, practicality, and R&D. He wasn't trying to sell me anything and he hadn't realized I had just ordered one so he wasn't trying to make me feel good about my purchase. Anyone who has talked to Maurice can get the feeling this guy knows what he's talking about in regards to what's good for our beloved '8.

I can only assume that for RB to spend the time to develop and test this device and release it to market, it will reflect the quality that they back their brand with. Are the performance gains worth the $135? That's relative to each individual and their budgets. Is it safe enough to install without all the problems people are worried about? Absolutely!

 

ok I like it, very good design BUT... doesn't it effectively rob/blocks the radiator from air?

 

^actually it won't, the radiator/ac condensor uses the big mouth underneith the grille for its air intake.

the question should be, how much will the front license plate block the ram air tube???

 

License plate? What's that?

 

i mean bucktooth :o

 

I'm a little disapointed to see people making statements like "5hp gain" - that's not accurate. The intake provides (likely) 3-5hp ACROSS A LARGE BAND of the RPM range. Not a simple 5-hp peak gain...if that's true, it doesn't tell the whole story.

I'd rather have 3-5hp over 4000 rpms than 10hp only at 7,000.

 

Well I was only throwing the number out there, it's about or around that number and yes it's through most of the RPM range so it is good hp, my point was the price for that hp is what wasn't appealing to me.

Oh and Rotarygod, not to get off topic, but you said you were not impressed by the money for power with the greddy, do you have a thread link that discusses this or could you please P/M with your thoughts on why you don't think it's worth the money. I just want to know because I'm looking to buy a turbo setup soon and I like to know what I'm getting myself into.

 

if it's covering part of the open front space therefore it's taking some of the airflow area to direct it to the intake...

 

They say a fool and his money are easily parted . :D

Why pay more .???

Racing Beat has released their RAM air duct that can be used with the stock intake or their REVI intake. These are sent directly from Racing Beat to you and the price is $118.

Order here: http://www.rx8store.net/product.asp?0=558&1=656&3=381

Jason
www.rx8store.net


B...free
michael