[TexSon]

I received the OEM CAI late last week and installed it Saturday. Sorry, no pictures as I left on a business trip Sunday. I showed my wife after I installed, and having no interest in what goes on under the hood, she asked as we rolled out the drive, "So besides making it growl more, what does it do?":lol:

Well, it does make it growl more, but with just a quick ride it was hard to tell how much extra it did. It did seem to accelerate a bit better, and if nothing else, with more fun factor to hear that throaty growl as you hit the throttle.

 

[Ernest]

It will make a difference in performance, just give it a good work out on the hiway, you will see what I mean.

 

[usmc]

dont forget to unplug your battery for 30 minutes to reset the ecm.

You'll want it to "re-learn" the air-fuel mixture settings with the new cai.

 

[TexSon]

dont forget to unplug your battery for 30 minutes to reset the ecm.

You'll want it to "re-learn" the air-fuel mixture settings with the new cai.

It was unplugged the entire time during the removal of the old and installation process. Took a bit more than 30 minutes to install, but not much.

Driving into work today, it did seem to be a bit quicker off the line and spin the tires a bit easier than before. It has been a few days since I drove it, and driving to work is a normal route, so am hoping I am not just expecting it to do more so it is.

 

[MCW Sky]

Battery

after having your battery unplugged do you hvae to reporgram the security system through the radio?

 

[Rick Tinley Park]

after having your battery unplugged do you hvae to reporgram the security system through the radio?

I was gonna ask that one too!


Never did any of this to my cars... Never too late to learn, I guess!:thumbs:

 

[java43]

Would someone please offer opinions on why I wouldn't want the dealer to install the CAI? And does it mess with the warranty if I do it myself? I know it's been discussed..too lazy to look through the threads... and there have been 3? different CAI mentioned...

 

[Robotech]

There is only one warranty issue I can think of. If you install the GMPP CAI it has a 1 year 10K mile warranty on it. IF they determine that the CAI caused something to go wrong in the engine after that your stock warranty COULD be voided....

I am currently trying to find out the ruling on this from my local dealer. I want a LSD installed in the car and there is some question as to what this would do to the warranty. Me...I don't see why it should make a difference if it is a factory option part installed by a dealer. While the VIN doesn't show it to have a LSD what would it matter if one was installed later? Anyway, they are working on a firm answer to this as we speak...meanwhile I'm on the lookout for a Sol/Sky that got wrecked with an LSD in it. LOL

The only benefit to installing it yourself over the dealer would be cost. A CAI is pretty much a cakewalk to install. Shouldn't be hard at all (other than access because of our hoods). However, you have the piece of mind that it's done right if you've never done anything like this before. Realize that a year ago I could do plugs, wires, oil, and install a CAI intake...that was the limit of my car knowledge. This past week I just tore down the engine in my Grand Prix to the block and I've installed an aftermarket prototype blower, struts, springs, sway bars, trailing arms, and intercooler since last year...some with help some without. So for me to say it's easy comes from a fairly skewed perspective of easy and hard. LOL

 

[Maverick]

Would someone please offer opinions on why I wouldn't want the dealer to install the CAI? And does it mess with the warranty if I do it myself? I know it's been discussed..too lazy to look through the threads... and there have been 3? different CAI mentioned...

If you want to do it yourself read Marklynn70 post on CAI install, it would seem to me that it is do-able with minium wrench turning skills. I'm goning to do it myself then I know that it is done wright.

 

[1st Gear]

Cai


CAI is a wide open market, short ram .long ram, Dual Velocity Funnels seem to fit the Sky real well, Spectre PErformance products, Auto Zone has it all.
Check this out>>>>
http://www.powerflowracing.com/3modular.html

Power adder, starts at the cold air box, loose it, set up the "Y" tube,
some elbows, 2 straits, a flex hose running to the plastic grill next to the fog lamps, drill holes in solid plastic grill for ram air flow, epoxy the funnels into place
, and don't for get the 10 year or 100,000 miles Micro Air Filters, Red of Course.
Cheap doit your self system


Giddy up
RED Rocks

Music by Pat Green, Carry On

Thanks
1st Gear

 

[1st Gear]

Horse Power

or wait for this

The turbocharged Red Bull Solstice GXP Drift is a two-door hard-top roadster with rear-wheel drive and a six-speed transmission. The heart of the Solstice GXP Drift is the ECOtec 2.0-liter turbo engine, producing over 500 horsepower, roughly double the horsepower of the street-legal GXP available in dealerships this fall. This competition ECOtec turbo engine, running on E85 ethanol-based fuel, uses thick-wall iron cylinder liners, a race-ported cylinder head, tubular stainless steel exhaust headers, a performance camshaft, a unique engine control system and a water to air intercooled turbocharger. It was developed by the same GM Racing engineers behind the successful ECOtec sport compact drag racing motors, which generate over 1,400 horsepower in a 2.2-liter turbocharged configuration.

:jester:

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15796

 

[qwack]

Would someone please offer opinions on why I wouldn't want the dealer to install the CAI? And does it mess with the warranty if I do it myself? I know it's been discussed..too lazy to look through the threads... and there have been 3? different CAI mentioned...

Had the OEM CAI installed today at the dealer. Call me lazy or whatever...(I can pull teeth, but anything under the hood is foreign to me )

I love the sound! If that was the only thing it did, I would be happy.
But talk about the power taking off from the light! I gotta be careful! Spun the tires a couple of times.

 

[java43]

Thanks to all as usual...

 

[HotSky]

Because of possible warranty issue, I think I will have mine installed by dealer too.

 

[Titan Fan]

I just had the dealer install mine this week, also. A hundred bucks or so saved would not have been worth the peace of mind of knowing that there was no issue concerning the warrenty.

 

[GMguy]

After researching CAI systems for the ecotec 2.4 in other cars, the dyno tests that were published showed negligible power increases - one quoted 2-3 HP
increase. The other review didn't dyno the changes at all, simply mentioning that it made more noise. If, and when GM published power increases from their CAI, I'll be interested to see the results, but it's pretty obvious to me that GM is simply selling these because there is a market. As eager as Pontiac is to bump up the HP of the base Solstic and considering the likely small additional cost of the CAI at build time, I can only surmise that it wasn't done because either/or 1) it made too much noise 2) it hurt gas mileage (unlikely) 3) it didn't produce anything worthwhile in terms of HP. I consider 3 the most likely case. Even if GM's CAI made twice the HP of the systems I've seen reviewed, no driver could tell the difference. There is also the phenomenon often mention here concerning significant power changes resulting from resetting the ECM. I suspect any notable increases after installation of the CAI would be due to that phenomenon, not anything having to do with the CAI.

 

[TexSon]

CAI is a wide open market, short ram .long ram, Dual Velocity Funnels seem to fit the Sky real well, Spectre PErformance products, Auto Zone has it all.
Check this out>>>>
http://www.powerflowracing.com/3modular.html

Power adder, starts at the cold air box, loose it, set up the "Y" tube,
some elbows, 2 straits, a flex hose running to the plastic grill next to the fog lamps, drill holes in solid plastic grill for ram air flow, epoxy the funnels into place
, and don't for get the 10 year or 100,000 miles Micro Air Filters, Red of Course.
Cheap doit your self system

Using the flex lines will negate the advantage of the otherwise smooth airflow.

 

[longwaitlarry]

I received the OEM CAI late last week and installed it Saturday. Sorry, no pictures as I left on a business trip Sunday. I showed my wife after I installed, and having no interest in what goes on under the hood, she asked as we rolled out the drive, "So besides making it growl more, what does it do?":lol:

Well, it does make it growl more, but with just a quick ride it was hard to tell how much extra it did. It did seem to accelerate a bit better, and if nothing else, with more fun factor to hear that throaty growl as you hit the throttle.

This might be another dumb question but Saturn.com indicates, in writting, that the cost of the OEM CAI is $495.00. An asterisk shows that this price includes nominal labor charges which may vary from region to region. From this thread it appears that people are paying around $100.00 to have it installed. Which is it, labor included, or not?

 

[reedred]

This might be another dumb question but Saturn.com indicates, in writting, that the cost of the OEM CAI is $495.00. An asterisk shows that this price includes nominal labor charges which may vary from region to region. From this thread it appears that people are paying around $100.00 to have it installed. Which is it, labor included, or not?

I chose to include mine in the purchase of the car, and the price I paid included labor. The part can also be bought from the parts department and installed separately- by the dealer or on your own if you're so inclined.

 

[JohnD]

This might be another dumb question but Saturn.com indicates, in writting, that the cost of the OEM CAI is $495.00. An asterisk shows that this price includes nominal labor charges which may vary from region to region. From this thread it appears that people are paying around $100.00 to have it installed. Which is it, labor included, or not?

If you go to SaturnAccessories.com, which is a Saturn Dealer in Georgia, you can order the CAI and have it shipped to you for $395 (free shipping, too.) So, add $100 to that for labor, and you are at $495.

Some dealers might charge you more for the parts, or more for the labor. But there is no need for you to pay more.