I've done the following:
- Injen hot-air intake for 2016+ from whoosh
- 2J cowl intake
- ITG intake from whoosh
- Stock intake with whoosh crossover and mountune induction hose, mountune air filter
A quick comparison based on personal experience
Injen hot-air intake for 2016+ - A good easy, cheap option if you live somewhere with colder weather.
Good
- Inexpensive overall, expensive for what it is though (a MAF adapter and a filter).
- Made all the right sounds - third loudest option I tried, lots of flutter and the stock DV sounded pretty neat. With a Turbosmart EM2 DV it sounded great - chirpy with flutter at partial throttle.
- Noticed a little bit of a performance improvement, I think it was just slightly quicker spool and throttle response.
- Really easy to install.
- Car ran awesome when it was cold, or cold and foggy especially.
- Injen customer service was surprisingly great. When I sold the Injen intake here on the forum, I first called Injen to obtain a replacement set of fasteners so I wasn't selling an intake with scratched/rashed fasteners. Injen made it super easy to obtain a replacement set of fasteners.
Bad
- Car ran like buns when it was hot out, Cobb AP reflected that the intake temps would hit 120+ pretty easily just driving around. I think I hit 140 IAT sitting in a drive-thru in 105f weather. Probably fine in a colder area - not so much in SoCal.
- I don't totally trust Injen filters.
2J cowl intake - Hilariously fun, great if you only use the car for short trips. Fatiguing on longer trips.
Good
- Sounds amazing - absolute loudest option I tried. TONS of flutter, though it made the stock DV sound "lazy". With a Turbosmart EM2 DV it sounded amazing, lots of chirping, fluttering, whooshing, etc. Sounds like a rally car.
- Super low intake temps.
- It's... neat. Never seen another intake like it for any car.
- It turned me into a giant manchild.
- I really liked it, but it ultimately led to me driving the FiST less, when I bought the FiST to have something cheap to scoot around in.
- If you are careful about it, you can be pretty stealthy with the install - black the intake pipe and keep the intake box/induction hose installed and it's not super easy to tell there's a weirdo intake installed.
- Relatively inexpensive, but it shows.
- Lowest IAT's of the bunch.
- Really good mileage (I think it was so loud I avoided boosting which really helped fuel economy).
Bad
- It's so, so loud. I know they warned me. Everyone warned me. Then I experienced it - it was cool for about a week, then I was dying not being able to answer a quick work phonecall using the cars hands free, and the stock radio became pointless.
- A right pain in the biscuits to install, with no real instructions provided. The PCV is "different" on the 2016+ so it didn't fit quite right. Comes with a box of random assorted parts. If you're missing anything or have questions, good luck - 2J isn't going to respond or help you.
- Fitment. Not the worst thing ever, and I am admittedly obsessive about fit and finish, noises, rattles, etc. but I could never, ever get the 2J intake installed without experiencing some level of vibration, rubbing, and buzzing from where it rested in the cowl area. It's too complex to get to to adjust constantly.
- Fitment 2. It really needed some sort of bracing or stabilizing, or perhaps the intake silicone thingy to be in 2 pieces for much easier installation and adjusting. I would've paid an easy 100 bucks more if it fit better. It required permanently modifying the stock cowl - not the end of the world since I purchased a spare when I bought the intake, but a consideration for sure.
- Was missing the MAF screw thingies.
- Customer service. Impossible to get replies from 2j when you ask questions. Emailed and called them on 5 separate occasions, never ever received a single reply ever.
- You will probably experience a persisten p04DB code if you have a 2016+.
- Whenever the diverter does its thing the cabin smells like oil because the 2J filter sits right next to the cabin air intake.
ITG intake from whoosh - best of both worlds. Thin filter metal, annoying installation, sounds awesome.
Good
- Great sounds - second loudest intake after the 2j. It's probably as loud as I'd go without being obnoxious. Lots of flutter, chirping, whooshing sounds.
- Picks up air from a fairly cool place - did not notice any performance degradation in hot weather. IAT's almost always slightly above ambient.
- Might be "psychosomatic" but I think I picked up a little fuel economy. It might be that the louder intake made me more aware of my throttle inputs though.
- Not as visible under the hood as other options.
Bad
- I really didn't like the install. Having to unwrap wiring harness is annoying, and I could never get the ECU harness thingy to sit without rubbing on the ITG intake hose.
- The filter metal is absurdly thin aluminum. I kept having the filter "slip" out of the silicone coupler, so I tightened it (hand tightened) and the aluminum on the filter folded. Would like thicker aluminum, and a "lip" to better keep it in the coupler.
- The filter is really hard to get to for cleaning. Every time I take out my headlight I scratch my paint a little bit more - at this point I've resigned to the fact that I'll have to repaint that part of the car at some point.
- Expensive for what it is. It's not much more "intake" than the Injen, but it was, IIRC, 50% more expensive. Not a great value proposition.
Stock intake with whoosh crossover and mountune induction hose, mountune air filter.
Good
- Most of it comes with the car.
- Looks mostly stock with cerakoted crossover pipe. Wish mountune hose didn't have the yellow under bits. They're big enough they could make molded rubber pieces like OEM, wish they would. I swear there's a market for OEM-type aftermarket bits that are meant to stealth past smog checks.
- Sounds pretty good. It's very subtle and subdued, but with stock exhaust + resonator delete there's a noticeable amount of flutter and chirping from the DV. Sounds *much* better with the Turbosmart EM VR2 DV.
- Stock fit and finish for the most part (see Bad below for the one negative).
- Got the least attention from the local constabulary.
Bad
- Something about this specific combination + the stock DV makes it sound like as asthmatic seagull when the diverter does its thing. Not terrible, but a teensy bit annoying.
- The mountune induction hose is REALLY tight on the stock crossover, and was nearly impossible to install cleanly on the Whoosh crossover with cerakote. I had to lube it up with dish soap and water and some silicone spray and extra swear words to get it on there, and once it got a grip it was nearly impossible to remove without using tools and scratching the bejesus out of my crossover's cerakote.
- Wound up being one of the more expensive paths. Could be cheaper on a pre 2016 by using a Whoosh induction hose, or if you did the whoosh induction hose on a 2016+ and the hose bypass thingy (ask ron hes the expert). I *chose* the mountune crossover knowing it was the most expensive option, but that aircraft aluminum fitting for the intake hoses is a work of art. The induction hose itself is whatever. If mountune sold the aluminum hose junction thing separately I'd have bought just that + a black whoosh induction hose. I might still buy a black whoosh induction hose and move the mountune dealy over.
- Personal preference - but the black mountune hose has visible yellow under the black and I find it jarring and obnoxious. I ordered black to keep things stealthy and instead it makes it really obvious I am modified.
Summary:
Similar to my exhaust shenanigans, I like to experiment with things, test things, adjust things, measure things, and document the heck out of everything for later tabulation and comparison. The below are my opinions based on a bunch of A/B comparisons and careful consideration of the value proposition of each option.
Performance:
- The 2j was the clear winner
- ITG
- The Injen (in COLD weather)
- Stock airbox/setup
- and the Injen in HOT weather
Sound:
- The 2j was the loudest and most "exciting", but overall obnoxious (to me).
- The ITG intake was moderately loud, sounded great, but wasn't overpowering like the 2j.
- The injen was surprisingly quiet considering what it was, but it made all the right sounds.
- The stock airbox is very chill and mild while still allowing turbo flutter and chirping to be audible.
Installation:
- The stock airbox is of course the easiest option since it's, well, stock.
- The Injen was super easy to install, except for the bolts under the heat shield. I can't feel one of my hands, so those "can't see em" bolts were really difficult.
- The ITG, to me, was an awful install because the directions weren't great and having a 2017, I needed to unwrap my harness and move the ECU plug, but the ECU plug cable wasn't long enough so I had to either bend it really hard (where I thought wires were stressed) or it rested against the ITG silicone hose.
- The 2j is fine *if* you don't really care about fit and finish, random smells, or the odd vibration sound and are OK with zero instructions.
Value Proposition:
(note: this will be highly subjective. I am not a cost conscious person here, FiST parts are all extremely cheap. What I am is value conscious. I will gladly pay more for fit and finish and customer service. I gladly order all my stuff from Ron even when there are cheaper options, and rarely use the forum discount to help his margins a little bit. If a vendor takes care of you, you take care of them. That being said, here's *my* personal breakdown of the value proposition of the options - Beastwood).
- The Injen was moderately cheap, did what it was supposed to, had great customer service, so I'd say it was an 8/10. The injen isn't really a performance part, but it does add to the experience of driving the car and there's definite value in that for a specific demographic. I've paid more money for less enjoyment, so it's a good deal.
- The ITG is too expensive for what it is, though it's a great intake - I'd say a 5/10 for value. 50 bucks cheaper, or a better designed filter and securing system would bump this to probably a 7/10.
- The stock airbox+crossover+induction hose+mountune filter was pricy, but I appreciated the fit and finish, so to *me* it was a 7/10. Sans my obsession with fit and finish it'd probably be a 4/10, but I am weird.
- The 2J, to me, was obviously built to a price. It is an odd duck - if it's the flavor of odd that you want, then it's probably a good value, I'd say 8/10. To me it was a 4/10, as there were too many concessions to the price.
