I just did my own CAI, total cost $20. If anyone is interested you need the following.
1) Open element air filter (I used a specter from autozone for 3 1/2" tube)
2) An appropriate hose clamp
3) Assorted screw drivers, a pair of Slipjoint Pliers, and a little patience
First remove the MAF sensor plug, then unsnap the little clips that hold the wires to the Air Box Lid. Next take your pliers and compress the tension clamp on the intake tube by the engine block and slide it back. After that you can remove the Air Box Lid, MAF Sensor, and intake tube all in one piece. Now remove the 2 screws holding the MAF sensor to the lid and CAREFULLY slide it out of the lid. Now put your hose clamp over the MAF sensor, slide your filter on and tighten the clamp securing your new filter to the MAF sensor. Next pop out the botton of the air box from the car, slide the intake tubing back over the inlet, compress the clamp and slide it back over the inlet and enjoy. Your car will now make cool wooshy sounds and it only cost you $20. I removed the inlet on the Radiator core support but you dont have to. If anyone wants a pic or 2 of how it looks completed let me know and I will post one

 

Just got a Carbonio CAI for my car. It might not have much of a performance benefit but it sure does sound awesome. I wasn't planning on buying it but found a great deal used. I can now hear the turbo spool and the diverter valve/blowoff noise very distinctly. Definitely worth it if you can get it used.

 

I initially installed an AEM CAI (had it for about 2 years) but have decided to do a Spectre custom CAI.

 

Ive been reading all your posts on CAI's and learned a lot of valuable info. I just picked up my new 08 a4 2.0T, in your opinion which intake set up should I put on my a4? Can you post a good website where I can order everything I need and the approx cost of everything?

 

a ricer at heart. who gives a **** about blowoff noise?

the stock setup is perfectly fine. why waste money? spend the money on the APR stage 1 ECU upgrade instead.

 

All the whipper snappers are into the pppfffftttttt sound. Get the Forge DV spacer if you want that as i't cheaper than an intake. I used to like that stuff 10 years ago when I modded DSM's. Now I'm mid 30's and don't care anymore. Vroooom goes the V8.

 

Hi I have a 2006 B7 2.0T and I would basically like the sound that a CAI gives. But what is the best/cheapest on the market? And I would like to not have my dash light up like a Christmas tree too.
Thanks 😃

 

Glad some knowledgeable people finally posted on this. Good info guys! Learned the science behind some things I didn't understand the cause of before.
I see alot of my friends spending hundreds on cold air intakes on stock cars.... One thing that wasn't touched on here that I learned from a tuning shop is that all this assumes that the car accepts the changes in the ECM. People forget that we aren't in the 80s anymore, and cars nowadays (ESPECIALLY German cars) have very clever ECMs that are designed to reach finite and very specific targets for boost pressure (as well as the amount of air delivered by the intake), fuel delivery, and ignition timing. Just because you put an intake on the car doesn't mean anything. In fact, there are so many people that will do hundreds or thousands of dollars of performance modifications to their car, but they neglect to think about the fact that all the parts designed to force air into the intake and turbo is just gonna be vented by the Diverter valve (which is only designed to handle about 12PSI on most small turbos anyways), and the wastegate will just let exhaust gasses out to keep the turbo spool at bay. without getting an ECM reflash, and some form of boost control, all the money will have accomplished one thing, reducing turbo lag a very slight bit. if that (as well as probably causeing a CEL to come on). as the ECM will do everything it can to keep the car running like it was programmed to, which in this case is negative. But it still happens none the less. if you want performance, the easiest way is to optimize what you already have there VIA a reflash tune. these cars are capable of making sometimes up to 50 more horsepower just with a reflash, as they were designed to by engineers. It is fairly common knowledge that marketing teams are what keep these cars potentials back. and its also why a higher trim model with the same engine can make significantly more power than a lower trim model with the same engine. what is really cool is getting tons of performance parts and getting a tune to match, so you are actually taking advantage of the higher thresholds provided by the upgrades. But this gets very expensive very quickly (as you could imagine) and some people I know have ended up with a ton of parts in boxes, as they spent all their money on parts and couldn't afford a tune after.
Just some stuff to keep in mind when considering dumping money into performance parts.

 

Yes, great information. No CAI for me! However, pushing air down is not how airplanes fly. It's actually low pressure (suction) on the top of the wing. Trust me, I'm an engineer, pilot, mechanic, and investigate accidents.