Has anyone found a metal intake tube alternative that isn't the Mina gallery one? I went through a couple plastic ones that kept getting cracked, so I figure I would get the Mina and just not worry about it. Well, the aluminum won't break, which is good, but the thing is annoying in other ways. The way it's designed, it fouls on the hood at multiple points (on top of the throttle body and at the full load breather, which they have put at 90 degrees rather than at an angle). I am getting sick of it. Does anyone know of any alternatives? I can't find any.

 

make your own out of silicone.

that or just get a new plastic one.

 

Thanks. I already have a new plastic one. I'm wondering if there's another metal one out there other than the Mina one. I'm expecting the answer to be no, but maybe someone knows something I don't. I'll probably just bring the Mina one to a metal fabricator and have them deal with it.

 

I have the Mina intake and it doesn't foul on anything.

 

Yep. Most people don't. I suspect there might be difference in the very early throttle bodies that cause an issue with it. My indie reports the same problem.

Trust me, I've tried fiddling with the orientation for the last year. The issue isn't gonna go away. It's just too tall on the throttle body, and the silicone elbow is trimmed as much as possible. I can twist the tube so the full load breather is a little lower, but then the tube comes in contact with the valve cover.

 

Thinking about it, it did slightly foul on the lower lip of the bonnet/hood vent so it popped it out when closing but 2 mins with the dremel put that right. As you say there must be some slight differences but you would expect Mina to be aware of that.

 

I installed my Mina Gallery aluminum intake kit in April 2019 and have never had an issue with it. One of the best improvements I have made to this 2006 XK8....

 

I think I'm just going to leave it for now. I've been running it for the past year and a half. Got other more substantive things to worry about with the car now.

 

yeah, not sure. You can see it physically stick up up about a solid half inch above the cowl line. It's possible Mina just didn't have access to super early cars. I don't know. Ah well.

 

I'm thinking of getting the Mina intake for my early serial number '97 coupe. How hard was it to install?

 

It was probably harder to take the tube out of the packaging than it was to fit it on my 2003
Just to note, as EnjoyEverySandwich said, there may be some slight differences on the very early cars which make it more difficult, I wouldn't know about that.

 

Pretty easy. To make your life a bit easier, I would put a thin film (like, really thin. Maybe even wipe it off) of silicone grease where the joinings meet. That way things will slide together easier. But, put too much, and it'll slide off the throttle body. I didn't do this the first time and it made it hard to install because the silicone is very grippy. I've since had the tube off maybe 10 times using the silicone trick and it reduces it to a 5 min install. Sometimes the tube that attaches to the throttle body doesn't want to sit flush, so just make sure you're pressing down while tightening the clamp (and of course keeping an eye on the clamp to make sure it's straight, which sounds obvious, but I struggle with this sometimes).

 

Also car is an August 1996 build car (VIN ends in 002220), if that helps

 

Thanks for your replies guys. I was hoping that someone figured out some little tricks to make the install easier. I'm an old wood tick and not to mechanically inclined, I'm more inclined to take it to the mechanic. Mine is also a low number, 002693 so we're in the same build range. I also have the Mina under axle exhaust system and I think this would look great on the car and reduce the chances of an air leak. I'm going to call Mina and see what they say.

 

Sounds good. I imagine they'll say it'll work fine. I am curious to see if you have the fouling issue as well.

Also, I promise you can install it yourself! If I can do it, anyone can.

 

Right on. I read the other threads concerning the height that the tube sits when installed. I'll know more when I have it in my hands. If worse comes to worst I have a reciprocating saw and a wide array of hammers so....