best intake..based on cost and quality

[heavy d]

Am wanting a intake.. any experiences good or bad? And what brand is good or to steer away from. . Long story short. . What is best for the vx

[clipper 03 rodeo]

A long cold air intake that routes out of the engine bay is always best for power, but then you also risk the chances of hydrolocking your engine if you ever went through some deep water crossings. If you want to keep the intake in the engine bay be sure to make or retrofit some kind of heat shield so that the hot engine bay air isn't being sucked directly into the intake.

I've had great experiences with AFE Dry flow air filters, now days dry air filters are the way to go since they don't need oiled like K&N, just wash with soap and rinse and it's good to go. These are also known to filter better than oiled filters but still have good flow. If you go to their website you can also custom make your own filter in any dimensions you want, so that comes in handy if you are limited on space or just want a certain size filter. Also FYI, I've seen people over-oil their K&N filters and it can actually damage your MAF sensor, so if you go the K&N route be sure not to over oil it.

With all that said, I didn't think it was worth it to pay a bunch of money for an intake that would have small gains and would need fabrication to make it worth while. What I did on my 2003 Isuzu Rodeo was gutted the airbox and removed the restriction pieces that go into the fender. You wouldn't believe how they reduce the inlets and such they put in there. I cut all that out and made it so the inlet still goes into the fender, but there are no restrictions and won't suck in hot engine bay air. I also added a drop in K&N filter for added flow. I can definitely tell a difference in noise when I give it gas, but can't really feel any difference power wise. I know it's a big improvement over what it was before though.

I posted a thread on the Planet with pics of how I did everything, i'm not sure if the VX would be the same but it's worth it to check it out and see if you can do anything to improve it.

http://forum.planetisuzoo.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=64333

[VX KAT]

Use the search function, you'll find quite a bit of info on it.

[gunbarrelvx]

I would recommend Planetsvx's cold air intake. Saving my pennies for one of those right now. Been very happy with his HID light kit.

[clipper 03 rodeo]

I would recommend Planetsvx's cold air intake. Saving my pennies for one of those right now. Been very happy with his HID light kit.

I just looked at his "intake kit" on the site... Talk about a horrible design. Other than the extremely tight angles there is also no heat shielding, setting a cone filter in the bottom part of the airbox isn't going to do anything to help prevent hot air from getting in there. The plastic box actually absorbs heat and it takes longer for it to dissipate. The price on them is pretty ridiculous as well, $125 for a $10 90 degree silicone elbow and $15 cone air filter, nice..


Also I saw the HID kits he sells on his site, those are just cheap Chinese kits you can find for less than $50 on Ebay, and can be had for around $10 a kit from a manufacture. $180 is a ridiculous price. HID's aren't safe to run in your stock reflector headlights anyways, they are meant to use in projectors. No matter how you aim them they will glare pretty bad in your reflector housings and it's a hazard to other drivers. Even though they are more lumens the output still suffers since halogen reflectors are not designed for HID's.

[gunbarrelvx]

We are entitled to our own opinions. His shipping was fast and the HID kit was a direct plug in. Quite simple and nice.

[evillecutter]

i almost bought a weapon r but i was scared of it throwing a cel or messing with my maf sensor

[clipper 03 rodeo]

We are entitled to our own opinions. His shipping was fast and the HID kit was a direct plug in. Quite simple and nice.

While that is true, nothing I said is just an opinion, all facts based off of personal experience or others with personal experience.

I sure hope shipping is fast if he's making a $100+ profit on items he paid less than $50 for. :yesy: I'm not trying to start an argument or anything, i'm on your side here. I just don't like seeing people get ripped off like that.

Seriously if you guys would like a nice bolt in intake kit that will actually flow good, be good quality, and have good heat shielding I think I could make something happen for you guys. I'm in touch with a lot of manufactures from my LED sales and could easily get the ball rolling on something if there is enough interest.

[VX KAT]

HID's aren't safe to run in your stock reflector headlights anyways, they are meant to use in projectors. No matter how you aim them they will glare pretty bad in your reflector housings and it's a hazard to other drivers. Even though they are more lumens the output still suffers since halogen reflectors are not designed for HID's.

I've been running HIDs (both hi and lo, think it's 9004) for 3 years (not from the seller you're talking about).
This is the first I've heard that HIDs shouldn't be used with our stock reflector.

I haven't been flashed once from other drivers.

I know many owners now have HIDs, anybody else had any issue?

[clipper 03 rodeo]

I've been running HIDs (both hi and lo, think it's 9004) for 3 years (not from the seller you're talking about).
This is the first I've heard that HIDs shouldn't be used with our stock reflector.

I haven't been flashed once from other drivers.

I know many owners now have HIDs, anybody else had any issue?


This thread might show a little insight - http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?37924-the-hid-fail-gallery

There are almost 200 pages there of people posting "fail" pics of people with HID's in their reflector housings, remember these are coming from HID enthusiast, so it's not like they have anything against HID's.

P.S. There are a lot of trucks and cars around my town with HID's in their stock headlights and they blind the heck out of me even though i'm in a lifted SUV, and their headlights are "properly" aimed too. I have flashed quite a few people on the highway with them that blinded me with their low beams, but when I did that they just flash their lights back and blind me even worse, so I know better to do that now. That may be why people don't even bother when they see HID's in non projector headlights. I retrofitted projectors into my Rodeo and have 5000k 35w HID's in them, I can stand right in front of it and stare into my headlights and it doesn't hurt your eyes or anything, yet you have to squint your eyes to look into a reflector with HID's no matter where you stand. Just food for thought..

[VX KAT]

THANKS for the info Clipper! :thumbup: First I've heard of this!

[Marlin]

I am in Sue's boat, my HIDs light up far better than the silverstars ever did.
As for intake, I got one of the Injen intakes, no codes ever thrown. I pushed the K&N cone filter into the fender opening. Not sure if it buys more power, but it definitely sounds cool:)

[clipper 03 rodeo]

No problem Kat! I feel like I may come off as a jerk here sometimes, but i'm just trying to help. ;Db;

So would anyone be interested in a bolt in K&N intake system for around $200? I posted up on the planet to see if there is any interest (since the VX intake is the same as the later model Rodeo/Troopers) but nothing yet.. I think I may get in touch with my manufacture and have a prototype made for my Rodeo to show how it would look, then there might be a little more interest.

[Makocross]

My VX came with HID's on the low beams. They are fantastic for me as the light up everything, the road, the trees, the moon. I do feel bad for the people who are looking at the front of the VX. My option is to use the high beams which seem so weak compared to the HID low beams. Our Lexus 400H has HID on both high and low beams and work great. They are self leveling and seem to control the light so it never goes above 3 to 4 feet so I know what a good system is like. As soon as someone comes out with a reasonably priced LED conversion, I will switch. I have no idea who made or did the HID conversion on my VX or how to correct the aiming.
Mike