Comparing the different Protege ebay intakes
 

Before I cut to the chase I wanted to clarify a few things first off. No I am not buying a AEM or Injen. From what I have gathered in the past the AEM will not fit an atx and I don't feel like buying the 1.8L version, I just dont like the look of it. The Injen would not fit my car seeing that my batter is right where the down tube is. (The Ford Probe has the battery right there in the front drivers side corner right behind the head light. You may wonder why I didn't just get a cheap ebay intake that fits my car. Well the ones that are out there are one piece tubes like the AEM and I would run into the exact same problems. This is the reason I want to try an ebay protege intake is because of the two elbows being separate that I might be able to wedge it in my engine bay.


I did a search on ebay for Protege intakes and came up with four choices. If anyone has purchased one of these intakes please feel free to answer my questions and make any comments. Now all the kits that I see have blue couplers. This is good because I have a blue theme going on under the hood. Do they send you what is seen in the picture or do they send you whatever they want?



sabersport
http://www.sabersport.com/Merchant2/...e/ninpro02.jpg
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2422527893
My take: Looks like it includes the whole works blue flex tube two clamps and one sweet looking filter. Though note that it says "actual product filter may appear in different color" Not sure if they may end up sending a yellow or green color filter to match with the blue couplers :eek: Intake tubing looks pretty good not mirror like reflective but not too shabby.


bestcarpart
https://images.channeladvisor.com/Se...ege_silver.jpg
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2422546248
My take: Bomz Racing the name brand company of cheap ebay stuff. Guess its better than some random no name. Kit looks very good overall showing that it comes with enough clamps and the blue tubing. Couplers don't seem to have the stepped look like most other kits. (larger on one side than the other) Also the tubing really looks like primered plastic more than polished aluminum. Is there something I am missing here? If that is how it looks then this one is a no go for sure.


xoxoparts
https://images.channeladvisor.com/Se...mages/sri5.jpg
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2422673562
My take: Filter looks identical to the one in the Bomz Racing kit. Kit looks complete with all parts needed to do the job right. The polished tubing does not look as nice (almost a dull finish) compared to the sabersport one. Also the couplers and tube look more like a aqua blue color than your average blue. My car uses the regular blue and if the picture represents how it will actually look it will not match the rest of the engine bay.


autobacs1
https://images.channeladvisor.com/Se...npro02_au1.jpg
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2422678276
My take: Kit looks slightly incomplete! I noticed that in the picture there is only one mounting bracket instead of two. Also it looks as though you don't get the blue flexible tubing either. Aluminum tube looks just about as nice as the sabersport one. The filter looks identical to both the XOXO and Bomz Racing filters.



Any thoughts one which one would be the best? Which one did you purchase? Do you have any problems with it? Did you replace the filter with a K&N one? Let me know what you thought about them! :)

I have the one in the second picture down.

Bomz racing intake.

I liek it alot, came with the blue couplers and almost all of them, no matter what you see in the picture, will come with a red intake filter. The advantage is the red one is dedesigned after the K&N filter and actually sucks air in through the sides and the top instead of just the sides like the real K&N. It was an f'n breeze to install and if you use just the parts given it will sit right over the hole on the drivers side(I had to take that white plastic bottle off, the bracket holding it and reposition it so it would fit over the hole, an extra 1.5minutes on the install)

Another option is to get it and use the stock first part of the intake system and then run the one you bought from the end of the first section, that is where I would put the MAF also. Then it will snake all the way around and down through the hole like the injen intake systems.

The tubing is mandrel bent(make sure the auction you buy from says it is cause some dont say so) which is good and I have had almost no problems with it.

The Only thing I would do is NOT use the clamps that come with the intake, go to an auto store or home depot and buy a bag of that size for really cheap and they will be 10x better than the ones that come with the intake. Hey at $45 an intake you cant expect the best all the way around and if the clamps are the only sacrifice(and it seems they are) then that is a hell of a deal from the 200-300 for an injen intake.

To sum it up I feel they work just as well as the AEM intake and with a little work just as well as the injen, I definately like the deeper note then engine has on agressive takeoffs now and it feels like it has a little more kick to it, especially off the line and at high rpm.

I just tried the other day to see what my 3rd gear redlines at and it is around 85-87mph. Im sorry I dont have pictures butI am not at home(I live in AZ but am in wahsington for the summer to open a site for my company) so when I get back to AZ I will take some pictures(first week of sept.), when I get back I will also have my ractive exhuast, eibach pro-kit, header, camshaft and motor mounts to install so I will definately be taking pictures when those are done and hopefully find somewhere that wont rape me for a dyno test.

Dont know if I answered your question but feel free to pm me with any further and I will answer them best I can.

-Alex

also no matter what the picture shows they all come with 3 stepped blue couplers, enough clamps, 2brackets to bolt it in place, one blue flex tube and a red K&N STYLE filter. the dual intake one.

Also the reason the last looks like the XOXO and the bomz is they ARE ALL THE BOMZ SYSTEM. each auction may have a different name but the only difference is if it is powder coated like the 2nd pic or polished/brushed like the others. again they all come with the same equipment even though it might not be pictured cause in reality they are all the same system.

I bought the "Bomz" kit last weekend for $85 CDN at the the local ricer shop. It didn't come with any stickers or logos but from the four pictures you represented, the kit I have is exactly the same as the Bomz right down to colour and shape.


**My take: Bomz Racing the name brand company of cheap ebay stuff. Guess its better than some random no name. Kit looks very good overall showing that it comes with enough clamps and the blue tubing.**

It does, and I had to cut some of the tubing to get rid of slack. You won't be short parts.

**Couplers don't seem to have the stepped look like most other kits. (larger on one side than the other)**

The rubber couplers are stepped with my kit and they have to be or your screwed. For a Protege specific kit, they will be stepped. (FWIW my kit said '02 MP3 on the box and I drive an '03 ES)

**Also the tubing really looks like primered plastic more than polished aluminum. Is there something I am missing here? If that is how it looks then this one is a no go for sure.**

It is painted aluminum and the silver colour matches very closely to my '03 Sunlight Silver Pro. It looks much better (to my eyes) first hand instead of pictures. It is not polished.

The kit installed in under a couple hours with many beers in between. The brackets that come with that kit and the others were useless in my '03 so I made my own. I had to relocate one part with a zip tie that was originally attached to the intake tube. No biggie. My kit came with NO instructions and I installed it myself quite easily.

One nice thing about the two piece is that after the first test I found the filter sorta rattled off the coolant bottle bracket and it was very easy to change the angle of the entire front half of the kit. The intake growls under throttle but is very quiet putzing around town. I like the new sound.

It may not be the pretiest looking pipe of the bunch but it will perform like all the rest. I've shown exactly zero people my new intake so it could be pink, as long as it works and it does work quite well for what I paid.

Here's one review anyways. With minimal work the kit fit great into a (manual) '03 Pro and I'm very happy with it. A K&N drop in filter cost $5 less for me to purcchase so this intake kit is a great deal for me.


--Mike

hey Guys,

Im new at this stuff.... but I have one question. Since i live in MN which has more cold months than warm months.

With this new Air Intake System, since the air outside is pretty cold, would it kill the engine since the temperature of the air is very cold.... or would it make it better than it is....

i have a 94 Protege LX

thanks ull

Whistler,

Alot of people refer to these kits as CAI or Cold Air Intake. Cold air is good for your emgine and the colder the intake temps are, the more hp you can get from it. A very unscientific guess would be about 1hp for every -10 degrees.

I live just outside Toronto where we also have four seasons. A CAI will not do harm to your engine in the cold.



--Mike