Is it really that difficult to fabricate a cold-air intake?

[LOBBS]

I'm really struggling with the idea of slapping down $400+ for a cold air intake when sooner than later I will have a centri blower on my '10 SS. In all honesty, I'd just be renting it for a short time and then unloading it for a loss. That'd only delay my supercharger for just a bit longer. We make all our own intercoolers and requisite piping here so I have no shortage of materials and access to guys who can handle the TIG welding of the MAF sensor plate and bungs.

I've seen in several threads where guys have mentioned making their own and were warned against it. Fabbing up a box, a lid and a scoop shouldn't be terribly difficult. As long as the MAF sensor is in a straight section for the best possible airflow readings and the turn to the throttle body is gentle what more could there be to it?

[Jason@JacFab]

It's very doable. If you have access to welders, equipment and materials, then go for it! Most people don't.

[62nalide]

There's websites where you can order parts to build your own. $250 you can build one

[Sales @ CAI Inc]

Like anything, it can be done, but it takes time and money. How much is your time worth, that's a big part of it and where it makes sense for most just to buy one. Especially if they don't have direct access to materials, machining, welders, etc. Then there's the whole testing the product to see if it indeed increased performance gains, and a lot of people don't have free access to Dynos or a Flowbench, etc. Maybe some people would just assume it made a difference and leave that testing part out, but obviously as a manufacturer we can't take that route.

If you are adding a Centri Style blower soon, Id honestly save my time and money and put it towards the end goal, especially since you plan on doing it soon. Or find a used one, and sell it for the same as you paid most likely, they pop up for good deals all the time on here.

To elaborate further......

Some intakes are way overpriced for what you are getting in terms of materials and processes used, as well as the overall quality, fitment, and performance gain. Then there are some companies that have nicely designed intakes that are well constructed and have the engineering, materials, and labor into them that make them worth the expense.

Our CAI for instance has an insulated airbox, a thermal coated intake tube, a lid with a filter inspection window and stainless 1/4 turn fasteners, the entire construction is aluminum and TIG welded by hand, and all parts are media blasted and powder coated. That's a lot more materials, machining, time, and labor then a lot of other intakes have put into them. If we went to a heat shield design with no lid, sourced our filters, used plastic mold injection, and eliminated the insulating factors, we could make the CAI for easily half the cost, probably a quarter of the cost, but then we'd be offering the same as 90% of the CAI manufacturers out there, and that is simply not our goal.

From a cost/profit standpoint, we could make them the "other way", sell them for less which would probably mean selling more, and still profit more money, just due to the fact that our CAI has so much time/labor/machining into it the way we make them. But those very things are what makes us who we are, and why we have formed such a loyal customer base with the customers who appreciates and wants exactly what we offer. We might not be making as much money the way we are doing it, but at the end of the day we have a high quality Made in USA CAI that our customers are proud to have on their vehicles, and that makes us proud, and well worth the extra effort.

I may have just got a bit side tracked there in my response, but hopefully it all makes sense and kind of rounds out the first part of my answer

[Taco Time]

Buy a used one, they go for about $200, then when you upgrade you can resell it for about $200. Buy that and a recharge kit from the manufacturer. Or just keep your stock air intake until you don't need it anymore.

[LOBBS]

Originally Posted by Sales @ CAI Inc

Like anything, it can be done, but it takes time and money. How much is your time worth, that's a big part of it and where it makes sense for most just to buy one. Especially if they don't have direct access to materials, machining, welders, etc. Then there's the whole testing the product to see if it indeed increased performance gains, and a lot of people don't have free access to Dynos or a Flowbench, etc. Maybe some people would just assume it made a difference and leave that testing part out, but obviously as a manufacturer we can't take that route.

Some intakes are way overpriced for what you are getting in terms of materials and processes used, as well as the overall quality, fitment, and performance gain. Then there are some companies that have nicely designed intakes that are well constructed and have the engineering, materials, and labor into them that make them worth the expense.

Our CAI for instance has an insulated airbox, a thermal coated intake tube, a lid with a filter inspection window and stainless 1/4 turn fasteners, the entire construction is aluminum and TIG welded by hand, and all parts are media blasted and powder coated. That's a lot more materials, machining, time, and labor then a lot of other intakes have put into them. If we went to a heat shield design with no lid, sourced our filters, used plastic mold injection, and eliminated the insulating factors, we could make the CAI for easily half the cost, probably a quarter of the cost, but then we'd be offering the same as 90% of the CAI manufacturers out there, and that is simply not our goal.

If I were not planning on adding a centri blower from here at work in the near future I most certainly would be looking to add one of your intakes. As soon as I can get my hands on a set of TSP headers our tuner has already agreed to do his magic on my SS to get me through until I can get a blower saved for. With a wife and kids, I am on a budget so if I can fabricate something reasonably comparable to use for the short term then I am money ahead. The one advantage I do have is access to materials, tooling, tuners and possibly a dyno.

[Sales @ CAI Inc]

Originally Posted by LOBBS

If I were not planning on adding a centri blower from here at work in the near future I most certainly would be looking to add one of your intakes. As soon as I can get my hands on a set of TSP headers our tuner has already agreed to do his magic on my SS to get me through until I can get a blower saved for. With a wife and kids, I am on a budget so if I can fabricate something reasonably comparable to use for the short term then I am money ahead. The one advantage I do have is access to materials, tooling, tuners and possibly a dyno.

Thanks man, having access to those items will definitely be a huge advantage! Just don't go with the pringles can duck taped to filter approach hahaha!