I have been contemplating doing an intake as next step on my XJR. I saw some posts where people had made intakes out of silicone couplers, which I did not want to do. I was going to have a shop mandrel bend some aluminum tubing for me and run it that way, but I saw that Mina Gallery is selling the intake TUBES for the XJ8 / XJR, so I decided to pick it up along with their filter/shroud kit.

First thing's first, the tube kit comes with 3" aluminum intake tube, a 3.5" 90* elbow to connect to the throttle body, which has a 3" coupler inside of that to make up for the spacing issue, as the pipe is 3" and coupler is 3.5". Further down the tube, there is a nipple for the crankcase breather tube, a 3/4" piece of heater hose and a rubber piece to connect to the valve cover. At the end of the tube is a straight 3" coupler.

There were a couple of issues I noticed right off the bat with the intake. One being the coupler at the end that connects to the MAF. The MAF is 3.5", while the coupler included is a straight 3". It should have a reducer coupler so that one end could fit onto the tube and one end could fit onto the MAF. Issue number two is the hose that is included for the crankcase breather. It is too short by about an inch. When connected to the valve cover, it is barely connected to the nipple on the intake tube.

The filter and shroud kit...I am sure you all know about that by now. It comes with a 3.5" generic gauze filter, the heat shield, two longer bolts to hold the shroud down, some hose clamps.

Now that the box contents are out of the way....the install is pretty straight forward. I don't think I need to go into detail on how to remove the stock stuff or how to put the intake tube on. What I will elaborate on is the coupler situation at the MAF and the crankcase breather hose. As I said, the crankcase breather hose was too short. I purchased a one foot section of 3/4" heater hose and cut it to the length that I needed. I had to buy a bigger hose clamp to fit on the valve cover side...the hose that came with the Mina kit has a fitting on the end to connect to the valve cover. It is about 1/2" OD or so...you really have to clamp your 3/4" hose on there tight to get a good seal. Slip the other end of the hose onto the intake tube nipple. I used a zip tie at the end to hold it on, however it is a snug fit to begin with so you may opt not to do that, but I like to be better safe than sorry.

In regard to connecting the MAF to the intake tube. I ordered a 3.5" to 3" reducer coupler online, but that will take a week to get here probably so in the meantime I opted to use a PVC pipe coupler from home depot. The coupler is one for "3 inch PVC pipe", but the ID is 3.5" so it slips onto the MAF perfectly WITH the stock rubber ring around the MAF outlet. The other side slips onto the intake side WITH the included coupler that came with the tube kit. You need to clamp it down pretty good to get a tight seal.

It took quite a bit of finessing to get the air filter connected to the MAF with the heat shield in the way, but finally got it attached. The coupler that is on the air filter already is all you need to attach it to the MAF. Once that was all in, some more finessing to get the two bolts to line up properly to hold the heat shield down. Connect MAF plug, make sure all clamps are good, do a hard reset and let the car warm up. Take it for a drive.

My thoughts on it....while I did need to get some extra items to fit the intake, overall it is good for the price. It isn't the prettiest out there, and for the price I wouldn't expect it to be. There is room for improvement, but the RESULTS are all that matter to me. My engine bay is far from being a show quality bay, and the only thing I cared about is whether the kit would give a little extra kick or not. So did it? Yes. My acceleration used to be a fairly smooth, and rather "boring" get up. Now however, once the pedal is mashed to the floor, the car throws you back in the seat and screams like a demon down the street. Whether from a dig or roll, the tires slip and the traction light blinks furiously at me. Before adding the intake, this never happened. Now, I do have a full catback exhaust...one of the first things I did to the car. So if you ONLY have the intake, I can't say your results will be the same. Otherwise, my car is all stock and running NGK Iridium plugs. Shell V-Power gas. The car can definitely breathe better, and the supercharger whine is more noticable (always a plus, right?)

So there it is...my review of the Mina Gallery intake pipe and filter kit. It would be awesome if it could be a full 3.5" intake from MAF to throttle body, but I can't say that it would be THAT much of an improvement. Anyways, here are some pics of what is included and the final product after installation.

 

That's a shame, would've been great if it was 3.5" all the way, rather than a 3" pipe and reducers

Good to hear it makes a difference though

 

3.0 inch cross section

1.50 x 1.50 x 3.14 = 7.065 square inches

3.5 inch cross section

1.75 x 1.75 x 3.14 = 9.616 square inches

ratio

9.616/7.065 = 1.36

just sayin'

seems like Mina could have included a longer breather hose with "cut to fit" instructions
as a more sensible and versatile solution than one size fits all.

as for using 3.0 inch when the two ends are 3.5 inch, that's a real turn-off.

no offense to the OP though, he bought what was available.

++

 

You are right, cut to fit breather hose would have been better than having some pre-cut hose stuck on there. And the reducers on both ends are a bummer. When I purchased it, I did not know it was going to be a 3 inch intake like this...that is my fault for not asking beforehand. You are basically running the same diameter piping as the stock plastic pipe, except removing the turbulence of the ridges on the plastic one.

Can I complain for a $200 price point? Yes and no. I have listed all of the downfalls of the product, there is definitely room for improvement. 3.5" tubing isnt that much more expensive than 3" and could have easily been used and these reducers could have been eliminated. I even would have been happy if there was the 90* elbow at the throttle body, a small section of pipe and then another 90* elbow with the long section leading to the MAF. That way you could just utilize any old regular "universal tubing" and not even worry about the mandrel bender. But you get what you pay for...right?

 

Come to think of it, the first reaction of 3.0 vs 3.5 is "cost engineering".

But, their arithmetic was faulty. The cost of the 3.5 could have been
made up by the savings on the reducers.

I'm grateful for the measurements though

And for being prompted to do the arithmetic.

 

Theres not really any savings, as the reducer and couplers were out of my own pocket.

 

You mean the one at the TB was also out of pocket?

How about the 90 degree blue TB part?

 

No, the blue 90* coupler at the throttle body was already there. There is a normal 3" straight coupler (black) with the 90* 3.5" coupler (blue) slipped over it. The MAF side couplers is what was out of pocket for me.

I think this could be done with one 90* universal 3.5" tube, one 45* universal 3.5" tube, the 90* coupler at the throttle body, straight coupler joining the 90* and 45* tubes, and of course a coupler at the MAF sensor. Drill a hole for NPT fitting for crankcase breather hose. Of course having a single pipe, mandrel bent would be ideal...but if for some reason 3.5" couldnt be done on the bender, this option would suffice.

 

I wonder if a 3.75" intake would be any more beneficial than 3.5"...you would have to have a reducer at each end obviously, but 1.875 x 1.875 x 3.14 = 11.039

11.039 / 7.065 = 1.56

So its an improvement even over the 3.5" tube, but with having reducers on each end I am not sure if that increased surface area will matter much. And I think it would be quite difficult to try and fit a 4 inch tube there, so 3.75 would be about as big as I would try to go.

 

The cold air box for the air filter seems to fit the engine bay like a sock in a welly!


How is that meant to isolate the filter from hot engine bay air?


The air filter cone, seems to be resting on the inner wing, dose it rattle?


Still, a nicely bent piece of ally tube.

 

The hood sits right on top of that heat shield where the foam insulator trim is. I believe the theory is that it will suck in air that is coming from the fender liner area and from the headlight area. Of course, there will be some heat soak, but once moving, the colder air "should" be sucked in from those areas mentioned.

The air filter doesn't rattle. There is a hole cut out in the side of the heat shield. The coupler portion of the filter goes through the hole and connects to the MAF on the outside of the heat shield. It is stuck in there pretty good and doesn't move around.

 

The only thing I was hoping to see, was that in real life, that filter sits totally different than the one on their website image. It looks a lot smaller in length, and instead of filling out the heat shield, and sitting "centered" in the shield, it appears that it's pulled right tight against the opening for it on the shield, towards the intake tube (if that makes sense how I'm describing it).

I still like the look of it over having to assemble a bunch of pieces and adapters as some of the others I've seen, so I'll still pull the trigger. I almost wish they would just sell the shield separately so I could just grab a K&N off the shelf and save a bunch of $ over their kit, especially since the real-world pictures above look a lot less impressive than their image online.

 

They have probably changed what air filter they are including with the kit since the pictures on their website. If you see on their site, the filter they use has a chrome top and bottom edging. However, the filter I got is just black rubbery type material top and bottom. They may have used a bigger filter before and changed it along the way.

One thing is, I tried bending the heat shield every which way to get more clearance for the filter and MAF but it just doesn't happen. The plug for the MAF sits right on the outside of the shield and rubs a bit. One other thing I should mention is that it sits right on the intake manifold corner and rubs there. I wedged a small section of heater hose between the pipe and intake manifold to avoid issues.

If the 90* coupler at the throttle body wasn't glued in, you could move the pipe out a little to avoid the rubbing. However, I didn't want to mess with it.

I may get some 3.5" tubing and replace this Mina one IF the 3.5" piping will work without rubbing issues. So anyone that is looking for this intake pipe, I may be willing to sell it soon.

 

just was looking at their stock picture, and now I'm wondering also if that's even correct. it might just be the angle, but it does look like it's right up against that one edge, but it ALSO looks like the cone itself is actually too large a diameter to the point it appears that it's actually over the top edge of the heat shield.

I'd gladly pay 40 bucks for just the shield and option to use my own filter, if only they'd offer it. I'm going to look on my next break at work to see if I could modify the stock filter housing to hold a cone filter inside temporarily until I can fab up my own shield.

Question, what material is that shield made from? Is that aluminum, composite? Just curious, to get ideas of what I'd like to make one from. I have some ABS plastic sheets that might hold up to the heat, but not sure yet, and joining them together might be a little interesting. Probably some sort of hinge and rivets I guess.

 

Do you know that K&N do a direct drop in replacement panel filter for the standard air box?

 

I do, however I'm hoping to step up to the full intake tube after a vacation coming up at some point, so if I go cone now, I'm one step ahead when that part hits, saves me from buying the panel now, and then a cone later

Edit: just peeked again and looks like I forgot what the factory air box was set up like. I was thinking the maf went through the side for some reason and that the cone would be enclosed. Not happening. So looks like I need a shroud, or hold off for now. Decisions decisions..

 

The shroud is made from steel...not aluminum, composite or ABS.

 

Here are some pictures of how the filter sits in the shroud and the size of it. Maybe this will help someone out since there are a lot of questions on the filter.

 

Thanks for those pictures, they help a ton. I have a feeling I'll end up fabbing a shroud myself, if for nothing else than I was hoping it would actually be more... I dunno, enclosed? I guess the gap towards the front of the car under it seems just a little more than I expected. I have a buddy with a bending brake and they do some body panels for their kart racers, so will likely mock up with cardboard and have them bend one up for me.

That does really help though, and definitely good to see the real world pictures of the kits.

I see your

 

Is it just me or does it look like the stock air intake, particularly the inlet behind the headlight, look like it would be the greatest flow restriction? anybody ever drill a big hole or 2 in that tube?