Review; AFE carbon intake system

[roastbeef]

Towards the end of last year, I began wanting to change up my car a bit, and I wanted a little more noise out of the engine. After carefully evaluating the different options and types of systems, I settled on the AFE "Pro 5R Stage-2 Carbon Fiber Intake."
The appearance is great, keeps factory box, and AFE claims it adds +12 HP/+9 lbs x ft torque max gains, and outflows factory intake by 41%. Pretty bold claims for an intake!
The intake was packaged well and looked beautiful. The filter, seals, fasteners, and carbon tube were great quality.









There was a small indentation to accommodate the small intake tube that feeds the intake box from above the radiator. i love little details like this.

the size of this intake tube is definitely bigger!


there is no seal between the tube and the box, but it fits tight enough that i don't worry about it.


Overall, the fit and finish of this intake is great. I was a bit concerned with the mounting surface of the carbon intake tube for the filter. I tightened the filter down with the provided hardware to a proper torque and it slipped off the tube. I determined this to be due to the high gloss finish of the intake tube and the slight flexibility of the carbon tube. I was sure to wipe off any oil residue from the lip of the filter its self, and also roughed up the gloss lip of the intake tube with some sand paper. I was quite worried about it for a while, and would occasionally open up the lid of the intake to check for tightness and make sure the filter was mounted snug. It has been on since December and I have had two track days without issues.

The intake definitely increases the induction noise of the engine. Its hard to describe, but it is pretty distinct around 3-4k. At the track, it sounds great howling up to 8,400.
Does it add power? Its hard to tell, but it does add some sound and look great in the engine bay. I think I paid around $640 shipped or something. Pretty decent value.

[Harry Da Hamster]

Does it appear if the AFE logo is easy to remove?

[testdriver]

It looks good & I hope the gained hp can make it worth the money

[grantmax]

Originally Posted by FNG

Does it appear if the AFE logo is easy to remove?

This.

Logos tip Jessie off. He also knows I have direct port nitrous injection. God forbid he see my cool air intake.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by FNG

Does it appear if the AFE logo is easy to remove?

Not really. I think there is an indentation where it is painted in. It's been about 6 months now and it still looks the same.

[_M3]

OP, I'm deciding between the plastic and the carbon version. Is the carbon tube full carbon fiber? The 4th picture you posted looks like the inner part of the tube is rubber/plastic with carbon a wrapped outer part.

Anyone has experience with both, the plastic vs carbon? Curious to hear if there's a difference in induction sound between the two.

[roastbeef]

Originally Posted by 1st_M

OP, I'm deciding between the plastic and the carbon version. Is the carbon tube full carbon fiber? The 4th picture you posted looks like the inner part of the tube is rubber/plastic with carbon a wrapped outer part.

Anyone has experience with both, the plastic vs carbon? Curious to hear if there's a difference in induction sound between the two.

The tube is 100% carbon inside and out.

[_M3]

Thanks!

[roastbeef]

Just know you'll have to slightly rough up the lip that the filter mounts to, so pickup some sandpaper.

[HairTooLongToo]

Bumping an ancient thread to add my thoughts on my newly installed AFE carbon elbow with the Dry S filter.

It's an excellent OEM+ option for enhancing the quality and accessibility of the intake sound, but won't necessary raise the top end loudness much. I can definitely understand folks who say it doesn't do much or can't hear it above their modded exhausts; I think where this works really well is with a stock exhaust which is what I have, and where the expectation isn't for loudness, but rather tone.

So what does this do that's not often said:

• Right away from low RPM and low load it adds a quiet layer of bass noise. No louder than stock, just adds a bit of bass. It probably won't be noticeable to most, but it adds a nice subtle edge to the ambience.
  
• It gives you a bass-ier growl at a much lower RPM and from much lower load. This is what I mean by accessibility of the intake sound. From say 2500rpm on up under moderate load (accelerating just a tad faster than casually) the intake unlocks those bassy, growly tones. As opposed to stock, where the engine can sound kind of wheezy revving under lighter load and you don't get that bark unless you're at 4000+ rpm, deep into the throttle under high load. What this means is that you get to hear the nice sounds more often. It's easier to access. You don't have to be mashing it around.
  
• At high load higher RPM as has been said by other folks, it brings a much harder edged and deeper tone that sounds fantastic.

Issues. The caveat is I got the elbow used (and put a brand new filter on it), so may not be reflective of what you get today:

• The surface of the carbon elbow where the filter clamps to is wavy in spots and may potentially cause issues with sealing. In one spot I found sand when I removed the used filter. Thankfully the filter has several ribs and the sand didn't get through the last rib, so the previous owner was fine. To fix this I sanded the surface and skimmed epoxy over bigger dips to fill them in a bit.
  
• The surface of the carbon elbow on the plenum side had an indentation in the tip of the oval shape just past the opening. It looks like pieces of carbon were being folded in on itself but was not pressed well against the mold. Again the concern is that the silicone coupler that goes on this end won't seal well. Again my solution was to sand the surface and slowly build up that spot with epoxy.
  
• The hose that connects mid-elbow is an extremely tight fit. Does not slide on easily like OEM.
  
• Lastly, I cannot get my airbox lid to close all the way and there's a 5mm gap where the elbow enters the airbox. Tried for a very long time to adjust the position of the elbow and couldn't get it done. I'm sure it won't affect anything but 'll have to figure something out here to fill that gap for no other reason than OCD.

Overall, first impressions, I really like how this sounds and for me does the perfect job of enhancing the engine's sound in an OEM+ way. I just wish I got OEM+ fitment and build quality. Hopefully this was just my example, as I've not come across similar complaints.

[chutak]

Originally Posted by grantmax

This.

Logos tip Jessie off. He also knows I have direct port nitrous injection. God forbid he see my cool air intake.

lol, underrated comment.