Greetings everyone, I'm a new Evo IX owner, previously a big Honda tuner, and have been searching your forums finding a wealth of information on the car. My plans for the car are more or less basic bolt ons, and most everything like TBE, MBC, tuning, etc. is straightforward enough but the intake issue seems to be a subject of debate.

After hours of digging through your old topics I came to the conclusion that Apexi was going to be the way to go. I want something that will bolt directly to the stock tube and MAF, not mess with the MAF readings and keep stock-like idle and low speed operation, have good filtration/reliability, and give a nice spooling sound from the turbo.

Please tell me if I am incorrect in thinking the Apexi will give me what I want and if there is something better. Buschur was my other choice from all I read but the option to use the induction box on the Apexi is at least intriguing and looks good in theory but may not even have an effect in the real world.

So on the Apexi stuff, here's my questions.
Is there a difference between the Apexi filter that I read bolts to the stock MAF in the stock location and the Apexi "Power Intake", or are these the same thing?

Does the induction box utilize the filter in the stock location or does it use some sort of MAF pipe extension?

I see there's an application for the Evo VIII on Apexi's website for the intake and induction box, is there a separate application for the Evo IX or is it the same?

Any installation quirks on the filter and/or induction box on the Evo IX like cutting or permanent modification? How about installation "stopping points" that you wish you knew about ahead of time so you didn't have to close everything up and drive to Home Depot or Radio Shack to compensate for something?

And for anyone that owns the Apexi filter/box, are you happy with it? Anything you'd choose differently?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can give.

 

From what I know, the filter on the 8/9's are interchangeable. If you've done some other searching on here, peopole have fabbed their own heat shields / boxes for the air filter, so its a good idea to shield the intake from the ambient engine temps. There's a metal MAF to filter adapter that you need to put on, no extension.

I have the apexi intake and am waiting on getting the induction box. not only will it provide some colder intake air, it will protect the filter element from rain/ snow, as its made of a paper material. Once its all in, i'll post some pix.

 

The Apexi filter with adapter does indeed mess with the MAF readings much more than other units I have found. The direct bolt on without any adapter BR or BR style filter is a much better way to go.

You can also great creative with the stock airbox and mount the filter in it for stealth and cooler air:

 

Is that a BR Filter with the stock intake pipe? Does the airbos needs to be cut to make that filter fit inside it? I ask because if you cut then you cannot go back to the stock flat panel filter type.

 

i have the apexi filter and induction box and i love it. love the sound too

 

i have the power intake from apexi with a heat shield on it and it works great. has a nice sound to it and does not mess with and sensors. the only thing to mention was i installed the Buschur Racing Turbo back exhaust with high flow cat at the same time and had to install anti foulers on the exhaust in order to clear the check engine light. other than that its been well over 5,000 miles and im good.

 

yes that looks to be a buschur piece and the stock airbox does need to be cut.

http://www.norcalevo.net/forum/index...c,19492.0.html

 

Incorrect.

 

Yes stock intake pipe, yes the airbox is cut and yes you are capt' obvious on the flat panel.

 

All intakes mess with or change the MAF readings from what I understand.

I had the HKS RS intake kit on my Evo 8. Loved the sound and picked up good power with it. I know people will chime in when I say this, but my car made 9whp more on the same dyno on a different day after the intake was installed. Not sure what the temps were both days, but it was cold. I actually had it on my car for several months before I had my car tuned and it never threw any codes or have any driveability issues at all. I had it on my car for 40,000 miles before I sold the car and the guy is still running it now without any issues. If filtering is your issue you can always change to the upgraded filter elemet HKS has for the RS kit.

Anyone have any experience with the Apexi flat panel filter? With my new Evo, I've thought about trying the Apexi intake or filter myself just to do something different than my last car.

 

The filter and adapter messes with the MAF readings because it flows better?

 

From what I understand its from better air flow and the way the air actually flows through the MAF. The intake actually changes the pattern of the air flow which messes with the MAF reading cause lean spots in the A/F.

Correct me if I'm wrong...

 

the filter to MAF adapter on the apex'i intake piece is a little rough on the inside. This could cause the intake air to tumble around in the MAF... leading to possible lean spots in the a/f? (w/ever that means) maybe smoothing it out with sandpaper would be a good idea to try.

I've installed the apex'i filter and induction box over the weekend, along with a samco turbo to maf pipe. It's in there... but it isn't the best fit in the world. I'm thinking it might be my samco pipe, so I'm goign to try to fab something to make it fit. Using the brackets that apexi provides is a PITA to screw in. the box is wedge in there, touching the front of the car and the fuse box.

 

from what I've heard, going beyond 400whp is the only time you'll need an open intake filter. . .but if you're going open, the HKS RS has received rave reviews and Sean Ivey personally recommends it from a tuning point of view. . .

 

i have the apexi with heat sheild. and i noticed also the inside of the adaptor is very ruff cast alluminum and also the diamiter of the opening on the filter is smaller than most i think 3" compared to 4" like others.but i also have a larger filter ad adaptor that dosent effect the flow, and on my car with tbe and the filter with no tune the car feels stronger. i think this might be beacuse it is more restrictive and there fore close to the stock airbox so the stock tune works beter. ?