Cp-E CAI installed FINALLY!!!picx.

[CX7TT]

CP-E Finally powdercoated their final version of CAIs

Mine was powercoated in Pearl White juss to match my car color.

This is plain CAI without filter.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00755.jpg

I love the CP-E laser cut logo^^
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00777.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00779.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00780.jpg

[jmv]

sweet man, i dig the color matching. Did it give you anything besides some noise from what you can tell??

[njcx7]

nice!. performance increase...?

[CX7TT]

They say that it increases 10-12hp.

I can really tell a difference of 10hp..

but the deep intake sounds makes me feel like its much faster^^

[CX7TT]

The next project of CP-E for our cx-7 is downpipe.

they already made donwpipes for ms6 and it increased over 35hp.

I hope that downpipe will fit on my cx-7 or they can make another one juss for cx7.

it will take about 1-2months..

[spike blue]

on my god that will be awesome

[Kensaku]

Looks great!

[hectik1]

Clean install.

[Earful]

Very nice.....should definately be noticeable with the HKS and intake!

[9Hooker]

The next project of CP-E for our cx-7 is downpipe.

they already made donwpipes for ms6 and it increased over 35hp.

I hope that downpipe will fit on my cx-7 or they can make another one juss for cx7.

it will take about 1-2months..

Won't fit, here's what ATPturbo said in re:downpipe and fitment of the MS6 downpipe.:


Hi 9Hooker,

The downpipe is a bit different so it will not fit. We hope to have the CX-7
specific fitment done soon for you. Thank you.
BTW, are you FWD or AWD?

[pipsthedog]

I assume this means that the warranty is voided with this type of work.

[CX7 Florida]

CP-E Finally powdercoated their final version of CAIs

Mine was powercoated in Pearl White juss to match my car color.

This is plain CAI without filter.
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00755.jpg

I love the CP-E laser cut logo^^
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00777.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00779.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r312/cx7tt/DSC00780.jpg

Hey were did you get the CAI from ?

[dinux]

Very clean install man. I wish I could pick up a CX7 so I could modify it. It looks like a fun ride to mod. Maybe after my wedding in June and after we have our house within the next year I can get my fiance to trade her truck in for one. That would be sweet. Her truck is worth like $10,000. If I put $5,000 down on a CX7 hopefully my payments would be pretty low. Awesome job man!

[XxaltezzaxX]

Looks real nice.

[Alpha Wolf]

Err.... You said without an air filter?

It has no air filter?

Or do you have a K&N or such on it?

Not running an air filter on your car will shorten your engines life as particles hat are injested will act as grit on turbo parts, valves and piston rings etc ...

I ran a filter even on my drag cars between runs..

If it has a filter, please show pictures...

[giddyup]

Thats my question too. Where is the air filter at??

[www.cp-e.com]

No, the CX7 XCel kit comes with the intake pipe, filter, and all the clamps and hoses needed for the installation. He was just saying that the filter wasn't in the picture. :)

If you guys are interested, you can buy the kit here:

http://www.cp-e.com/2035.html

Makes about 9hp to the wheels too:

http://www.cp-e.com/imgs/cx7_dyno_power.jpg


Jordan

[9Hooker]

Is that a CX-7 dyno or speed6? It would make sense, to me anyway, to show the graph from just above idle to redline. The way the motor is geared and how the motor makes power I rarely see anything over 4k even with spirited driving. How the numbers work down low is an important factor in the decision to purchase.

Also, what is the diameter of the piping?

[joshj84]

bump

[CX7TT]

Hey were did you get the CAI from ?

visit www.cp-e.com
they made CAI for our CX7s and its not too expansive^^

[CX7TT]

Err.... You said without an air filter?

It has no air filter?

Or do you have a K&N or such on it?

Not running an air filter on your car will shorten your engines life as particles hat are injested will act as grit on turbo parts, valves and piston rings etc ...

I ran a filter even on my drag cars between runs..

If it has a filter, please show pictures...

Who said no air filter?
its a CAI and its hidden underthe hood^^

[Gray Ghost]

Who said no air filter?
its a CAI and its hidden underthe hood^^

Do you also have to add a BOV with this new intake system.

[Killer]

I assume this means that the warranty is voided with this type of work.

No. Just adding a CAI does not void your warranty.

[knowledge007]

Do you also have to add a BOV with this new intake system.


No you don't have too. But i have as well installed the cp-e cai and hks bov as he has in the pics but for my speed3. And what a major performance increase.

[mikey1981]

No, the CX7 XCel kit comes with the intake pipe, filter, and all the clamps and hoses needed for the installation. He was just saying that the filter wasn't in the picture. :)

If you guys are interested, you can buy the kit here:

http://www.cp-e.com/2035.html

Makes about 9hp to the wheels too:

http://www.cp-e.com/imgs/cx7_dyno_power.jpg


Jordan

whats the warranty on your parts & return policy etc - i didnt find any info on your site.

[erhayes]

Something about the HP curve doesn't make sense to me. Why does the HP difference reduce to ~ 0 gain at the higher rpm? For passing I want and expect a freer flow intake system at 4-6.000 rpm. I worked on an engine dynometer for many years and I know it is easy to slant the "improved" HP gains by 10 %. The DIN (Europene standard) used to measure HP at T=2.0 ? minutes to remove the "cold soak" variablility. Cold air intakes may look and sound nice but, I want some measurable real gains & a good filtration system to protect the engine.

[Platonium]

I am going to get flamed for this, but I think CAIs are of questionable effectiveness. Especially since they seem to push power up the rev band (that 10 horsepower increase they advertise is at a specific RPM, not a max HP increase). I agree fully with erhayes, unless you can make my car quicker off the line, reduce spool time on the turbo, and maintain that big midrange punch, I don't want it. The increase in noise, for me (at 32 I value a little refinement) is just noise. It is not cool, just annoying on the highway.

[9Hooker]

agree 100% Plat.

[spike blue]

well said guys !!! But i see a lot of gains in their products in the ms6 so im positive that it make our cx-7 faster!!!

[Antoine]

You don't build a reputation like CPE has on useless parts with weak performance...The XCel setup looks top notch...Nice work (thumb)

[9Hooker]

You don't build a reputation like CPE has on useless parts with weak performance...The XCel setup looks top notch...Nice work (thumb)


I don't know their reputation so I can't even begin gto speak to that. For all intents and purposes a CAI is a CAI with some sort of K&N filter on the end regardless of who makes it. Makers will add their touch with nice finishing touches.

Useless parts with weak performance. I like that comment as it brings back fond memories of working at the local import performance shop pre-fast and furious. There have been many over the years. APC comes to mind.

What I would wager is the flow gain from airbox to compressor (what the CAI is) is not the bottleneck in the system of trying to make more power. As noted by the almost factory power in the higher rpm's where a freer flowing intake should be doing it's job.

I would wager that is is either from:
1) Compressor to intake manifold. Maybe even inside the manifold itself. As represented by the generous HP gains by the top mount intercooler upgrade floating around this site.

2) From turbine wheel to exhaust. Basically the downpipe. The exhaust plays into it. In my opinion not as much as a quality downpipe would help.

So, if you are looking to add power and have a couple of hundred bucks burning a hole in your pocket... I would upgrade in this order:

Top mount intercooler, downpipe with high flow cat, k&n drop in filter, fuel tuning, then if I REALLY needed to spend more $ I would look at a short ram intake.

Why get air three degrees cooler from a longer pipe that's just gonna get heated by the turbo and associated piping anyway. In the scheme of things with a turbo motor 3 degrees means squat. An improved pressure drop over the intake piping is worth loads more than 3 degrees.


The above is personal opinion but if you really think it will prove valid. It's my soapbox, my story, and I'm sticking to it.

[Antoine]

This thread is about CPE's CAI kit...Not what is the best mod for the CX-7 regardless of price. For an "intro" Mod...A CAI is a natural choice. CPE's kit is no doubt a nice quality unit.

Also...The mods you mentioned are a lot more involved not to mention a lot more expensive than CPE's XCel kit. Neither of these mods cost a "couple hundred bucks" and therefore it's pointless to compare a CAI to a TMIC and DP.

The bottomline here is that the members/customers see positive results and are satisfied with the product.

Now let's keep this about the kit...AKA ON TOPIC...Thanks.

[06Si to CX-7]

How difficult is this to install by yourself at home? Any problems with sucking up water in heavy rain?

[astraelraen]

It's pretty easy to install. The instructions are well written. Take the driver's side wheel off, it makes it a lot easier.

It took me about 1.5-2hrs, but I had never changed out something like this before.

As for water, I dunno. You still have a good 6-10" of ground clearance before any water is going to submerge the filter. Its not in a "sealed" compartment, but the area the filter sits isn't open to the elements.

I'd say you'd probably have to submerge the front end of your car in at least a 6" puddle before there is going to be the chance to do any damage.

[SuperStretch18]

...I think even more than 6". BTW, the install was easy. Well written instructions. I even did the install without taking the driver side wheel.

[06Si to CX-7]

...I think even more than 6". BTW, the install was easy. Well written instructions. I even did the install without taking the driver side wheel.

Thanks guys, I figured that with the high ground clearance that water shouldn't be an issue but I'm paranoid about things like that... Sounds like I may be able to do the install or if not, my bro-in law could help as he's more handy than I... I know where my Christmas money will be going this year(alright)

Have you guys noticed any improved gas mileage with the XCel CAI? I drive 90% interstate at 80mph and I'm only getting 18-19mpg with all stock except a K&N filter (jerkit) My last car was the 2006 Honda Civic Si that got 31 mpg on the same commute and I drove it hard sometimes...I knew CX-7 wouldn't come close to that mileage but I thought I'd get closer to the posted 22 mpg highway, hopefully the CAI will help.

[CX-7owner]

MPG will improve, how much I don't know.

[SuperStretch18]

Only about three or so tank-fulls since the install and does not appear that mileage has improved much at all. Will take a few more fills to get a better read, but I wouldn't look for huge gains...