I bought the cold air intake and I am kind of dissapointed, it sounds great but the quality seems flimsy. That filter looks like crap, the whole thing moves around, and what is up with that Home Depot PVC piping, I was expecting allot more for the money I don't think it was worth nearly 400 dollars for something that looks like a high school project, I do really like the carbonfiber cover that is the best feature........but

Is there a way you ca put on a K&N cone inside that box. Has anyone done that yet?

Just looking to see if maybe I'm too picky.....what do you guys think?

Jerry

 

You was robbed. No need to pay retail for that piece when you can get it much less off the various forums. I got mine spankin' new for half that.
Also, you can take the word "cold" out of there.
It has been proven time and again that the best intake for the 1.8t is the stock factory airbox. This isn't like other cars where an intake gets you actual "stuff". All an aftermarket one gets you on the 1.8t stock is noise. However, on the "unofficial" testing that was dyno-done on another forum, the Carbonio was the only one that did not LOSE HP.
With that said, I run the Carbonio because it has the option for larger MAF opening that I need for the APR Stage 3+ kit.
The fit quality on mine is great, and I beefed it up with reflecting insulating blankets around the entire outside.
The only problem I've had with mine was discoloration of the CF lid. But Carbonio has replaced that for me free of charge twice, no questions asked. This third lid is working great.

 

In the future I am planning the stage 3+ so that's why I wentCarbonio route. I like the insulating of the inside though.

I knew that was pricey but it's too late to cry about it now...where did you buy yours?

 

Got mine off a retailer on audizine. I insulate the outside with reflective wrap, not the inside. But it may not matter, I guess. I do know that prior to the extra insulation, the CF lid got real hot. Now, it barely gets warm.
If you are eventually going Stage 3+ you will have to buy a new front plate for the larger MAF housing.
My IAT are always within 5-7 degrees of ambient, even when the car is pounded on a real hot day,so between my intake and my FMIC, I know the Carbonio works for my application.

 

cool thankx

 

not really. carbonio is the same thing. and an open filter is more efficient on BT applications. but the stock airbox flows plenty enough for almost any setup most of the people on this forum are gona be using. if you got a new intake and have a stock turbo, all you did was make the turbo more audible

do you have the link to that unofficial testing? you shouldn't lose any power w/ an intake.

 

Nope. Do search on audiworld and audizine in the B6 forums. Someone did dyno runs on same car with multiple intakes. Not sure what chip/turbo set-up was used, however I'm pretty sure it was still K03S. But numbers showed that a few of the "common" intakes out there actually put out lower numbers than the stock airbox. That could also be attributed to such "trivial" things as no heat shield with a puny-*** fan being used on a dyno run. Which would raise IAT and potentialy increase ECU CF and bump down the timing and cause HP loss.
The Carbonio numbers where the only ones not decreased compared to the stock airbox.
I'm pretty sure someone else showed that K&N on stock box did nothing, too.
I completely agree on upgraded set ups with big TIP and especially with larger MAF housings that the Carbonio is great. I wouldn't trade it for the world.
I did note with before and after VAG logs, however, that without really beefing up the insulation around the Carbonio shield, my IAT where much higher. So, the airflow in theory is better, but the temps sucked ***.
After insulating the crap out of it, though, it works awesome.

 

yeah, if it was only a few hp off, then that could be attributed to so many things, mainly IAT's from multiple dyno runs. your still sucking in the same amount of air regardless and heatshield or not your intercooler is still lowering the temp. intakes dont add or lose hp on these cars (at least with a stock turbo)

 

Problem is the testing was flawed seeing that there is no moving air under the car while the car is on a dyno and putting a fan in front of the car only gavethe stock air box and Carbonioan advantagesince both of them source air from in front of the car. The dyno just wasn't the right way to do the testing of the intake systems.

 

i have a 20051.8t quattro and i just bought an AFE intake and its the biggest pain in the *** to install it. i cant find a tool that will let me get into the airbox. any help