Cold Air Intake Recommendations

[Logan_]

Just purchased a 2013 s4 and am already wanting to hear that supercharger whine! Open for any recommendations. Wanting a good quality cold air intake. Price isn't an issue. I'll buy a used one too if anyone is selling.

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[hilmar2k]

It has a really good cold air intake stock. Just swap out the filter, maybe change in the intake tube to silicone. Any of the other intakes are the opposite of cold, as they suck in engine compartment air.

EDIT: Here's what it looks like with the intake tube swapped out to silicone. That definitely adds some supercharger whine, but far from loud or obnoxious. That plus an aFe filter is perfect, imho.

[Joker S4]

Just purchased a 2013 s4 and am already wanting to hear that supercharger whine! Open for any recommendations. Wanting a good quality cold air intake. Price isn't an issue. I'll buy a used one too if anyone is selling.

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You should first start out in the classified section, used intakes come up fairly often. Second, if money is of no issue, just go buy any "open air" intake. Performance gains are negligible, IMO. A quick search would have given you all the answers you're after without starting a new thread.

[Logan_]

You should first start out in the classified section, used intakes come up fairly often. Second, if money is of no issue, just go buy any "open air" intake. Performance gains are negligible, IMO. A quick search would have given you all the answers you're after without starting a new thread.

Sorry to start a new thread. I've been searching for a few days now about intakes but nobody has a solid answer as to which is the best out there. Figured starting a new thread would possibly give me some more information that I couldn't find.

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[Joker S4]

No worries, but IMO, it's all preference when it comes to the Intake. There is no definitive "best". I personally have Roc-Euro, but any open air intake is going to suck in hot engine air and you'll hear more of the whine from the SC. You're not going to find a "solid" answer when it comes to the intake, you'll get biased opinions.

[Logan_]

It has a really good cold air intake stock. Just swap out the filter, maybe change in the intake tube to silicone. Any of the other intakes are the opposite of cold, as they suck in engine compartment air.

EDIT: Here's what it looks like with the intake tube swapped out to silicone. That definitely adds some supercharger whine, but far from loud or obnoxious. That plus an aFe filter is perfect, imho.

That's what I've been hearing. Just was curious if there was any true aftermarket cold air intakes out there since I can't seem to find any. Modding the stock one is a solid option that I may do, if there's nothing else out there. Thankfully there's multiple threads that show how to do that!

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[Morritse]

That's what I've been hearing. Just was curious if there was any true aftermarket cold air intakes out there since I can't seem to find any. Modding the stock one is a solid option that I may do, if there's nothing else out there. Thankfully there's multiple threads that show how to do that!

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There really aren't many true cold air intakes aftermarket. Injen makes a good one, but I'd recommend modding the stock one unless you want a LOT of supercharger whine. It's the best performing

[Allan691]

If you simply daily the thing, I am not so convinced that you need “cold-air”.. While it would obviously help, monitoring my AITs with my APR Open Air Intake doesn’t show ‘deadly’ temps during normal periodic spirited driving.

I bought my APR Open Air because it looked beautiful (and it is!), and a benefit is that it adds the perfect amount of whine (imo).. i.e. not too much. And since you said “Price isn’t an issue”, I would recommend it. Most people are turned off by the APR one due to price but the quality, look, and fit and finish is top. And you hear the SC, but it doesn’t ‘scream’ “LOOK AT MEEEE!” which I don’t want.

I live in a relatively colder climate and my driving doesn’t ever really get me to the point where I’m seeing drastic performance losses due to AITs, if any.

Just wanted to throw this out there for ‘food for thought’ if you’re not going to dragstrips or race tracks.

[Rad Blaster]

I think I.E. has the best intake for this platform.
Plus you can add the carbon fiber lid later if you want. Can’t do that with ECS.

[Logan_]

If you simply daily the thing, I am not so convinced that you need “cold-air”.. While it would obviously help, monitoring my AITs with my APR Open Air Intake doesn’t show ‘deadly’ temps during normal periodic spirited driving.

I bought my APR Open Air because it looked beautiful (and it is!), and a benefit is that it adds the perfect amount of whine (imo).. i.e. not too much. And since you said “Price isn’t an issue”, I would recommend it. Most people are turned off by the APR one due to price but the quality, look, and fit and finish is top. And you hear the SC, but it doesn’t ‘scream’ “LOOK AT MEEEE!” which I don’t want.

I live in a relatively colder climate and my driving doesn’t ever really get me to the point where I’m seeing drastic performance losses due to AITs, if any.

Just wanted to throw this out there for ‘food for thought’ if you’re not going to dragstrips or race tracks.

I really like APR's stuff but I heard their intake fits poorly. Guess this wasn't the case with yours? I'm only going to daily my car. Not planning on taking it to the track cause I got a different car for that lol. I've heard open intakes don't perform well on hot days though. I live in Ohio so I'm not sure if it'd be too much of an issue or not. Every now and then we get a couple weeks of 80°s but mostly stays around 70° in the summer months.

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[A.Bruno6]

I found the ECS Luft Technik intake to allow for a beautiful whine! I’ve got a used one for sale. If interested, pm me :)


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[Allan691]

I really like APR's stuff but I heard their intake fits poorly. Guess this wasn't the case with yours? I'm only going to daily my car. Not planning on taking it to the track cause I got a different car for that lol. I've heard open intakes don't perform well on hot days though. I live in Ohio so I'm not sure if it'd be too much of an issue or not. Every now and then we get a couple weeks of 80°s but mostly stays around 70° in the summer months.

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Totally NOT the case.. Fit couldn’t be better. It interacts with all the stock pieces/points perfectly.

IMG_2094.JPG

I think you’d be perfectly fine with an open air intake.. even on hot days in Ohio. Depends upon your demand for performance though. I am dual pulley Stage 2 and drive in Italy amongst Clios and 500s and Yaris’s.. so my car’s performance in comparison is a bit of overkill regardless of hot days/hot air.

[ArgCarp83]

I got an IE one and happy with it.20191228_135342.jpeg

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[Logan_]

Totally NOT the case.. Fit couldn’t be better. It interacts with all the stock pieces/points perfectly.

IMG_2094.JPG

I think you’d be perfectly fine with an open air intake.. even on hot days in Ohio. Depends upon your demand for performance though. I am dual pulley Stage 2 and drive in Italy amongst Clios and 500s and Yaris’s.. so my car’s performance in comparison is a bit of overkill regardless of hot days/hot air.

Mostly I just want something that sounds good and is quality. Good to hear a positive response on fitment. Do me a favor and eat a pizzeria for me lol... Italy is literally my favorite place!

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[fstr n u]

I'm going to deviate from the gruup, i contacted CTS Turbo and worked out a discount given people modifying our cars are fewer and fewer each year. I' absolutely love my CTS turbo intake. The supercharger whine is perfect...loud enough to enjoy without being too much. Anyone outside of my car hearing me accelerate will definitely turn to ask WTF is that? Most people don't hear cars like ours whine while accelerating.....

[Morritse]

ITT 0 CAI recommendations :)

[fastboatster]

I'm going to deviate from the gruup, i contacted CTS Turbo and worked out a discount given people modifying our cars are fewer and fewer each year. I' absolutely love my CTS turbo intake. The supercharger whine is perfect...loud enough to enjoy without being too much. Anyone outside of my car hearing me accelerate will definitely turn to ask WTF is that? Most people don't hear cars like ours whine while accelerating.....

This sounds interesting, how much were you able to negotiate off? Did you have to do some kind of review etc?
Also, how can stock intake be modified to make it sound and flow better?

[Allan691]

Mostly I just want something that sounds good and is quality. Good to hear a positive response on fitment. Do me a favor and eat a pizzeria for me lol... Italy is literally my favorite place!

Quality for sure. Sounds PERFECT to me.. and if not enough for you and you decide you want more, you could very easily and cheaply add a silicone tube (altho I would go carbon UltraCharger personally to continue the quality..) for maximum whine.

Italy is great to VISIT..... Long story.
But I did just so happen to eat at a very authentic pizzeria in Bologna just last night.. here ya go..

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[Logan_]

Quality for sure. Sounds PERFECT to me.. and if not enough for you and you decide you want more, you could very easily and cheaply add a silicone tube (altho I would go carbon UltraCharger personally to continue the quality..) for maximum whine.

Italy is great to VISIT..... Long story.
But I did just so happen to eat at a very authentic pizzeria in Bologna just last night.. here ya go..

IMG_2426.JPG
IMG_2427.JPG

Did you just go stage 1 with the APR intake and running the stock tube or did you go stage 2 with the carbon tube? Super jealous of that pizza rn

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[Allan691]

Order of mods..
1) APR Stage 1 ECU tune
2) APR Open Air Intake
3) APR SC pulley + APR Stage 2 ECU tune
4) JHM179 crank pulley
5) ..waiting for JHM187 to reach me from the USA..

I have not changed my intake tube because I honestly don’t want more whine.. I drove from Bologna to Vicenza earlier this evening and I realized that whine desire may depend upon whether or not you have an exhaust and/or whether you listen to the stereo or not.. I don’t and rarely do and find the whine volume is fine without a tube upgrade. I know I’ll get more volume (both air and noise) if I remove my stock tube, but I’m not really interested.. yet.. Ultimately (pardon the pun) I will likely go the Ultracharger route..

[henri12]

CTS Turbo is a good option. It can improve the sound and throttle response.

[Logan_]

Looks like some nice mods. Good to know. I might go with just the intake for now and when I get a different exhaust I may add the carbon tube if I can't hear enough wine.

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[AerotusX]

After lots of research, I went with ECS for a clean look. Nice subtle whine and good fitment. Overall I'm very happy with it.

[Logan_]

After lots of research, I went with ECS for a clean look. Nice subtle whine and good fitment. Overall I'm very happy with it.

Looks pretty clean!!

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[CraigAudiS4]

I put the CTS intake on 1 1/2 years ago and am very happy! Lots of SC whine when I get on it and minimal in every day driving. Reasonably priced and Also arrived in 2 days.


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[MSq5]

Sorry to start a new thread. I've been searching for a few days now about intakes but nobody has a solid answer as to which is the best out there. Figured starting a new thread would possibly give me some more information that I couldn't find.

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Really? There are probably a hundred threads on this subject. Maybe begin by telling us what your short term and long term goals are.

For instance is this show or go, sound or performance? There is no one universal answer.

Honestly the stock intake and filter flow extremely well. There will be no power gains of any significance by changing intakes if you are on stock tune, or probably not on stage 2 tunes until you get into even higher levels of tune and have other power mods.

As to sound, if you want maximum induction sound and supercharger whine, go with an open intake. But, unless you isolate it from engine heat you may actually lose power.

The combo in my signature is just about the maximum flow and provides all of the flow the engine can handle for all but the most heavily modified cars.

If you just want to hear the supercharger the most important thing is to replace the stock throttle body tube. It has a resonator chamber that is designed to cancel out the sound frequencies of supercharger whine. An intake with a reinforced or rigid throttle body tube and no resonator chamber allows the supercharger whine to be heard. The 034 reinforced throttle body tube is an example. Mate it with a high flow air filter, such as aFe’s dual cone oiled gauze or dry flow, maybe open up the cold side of the stock air box. Lots of highly modified cars running low 11’s to high 10 second quarter mile times with this setup. This is a true cold air intake drawing air from the outside and from the passenger side fog light area.

If it’s just sound or eye candy any of the open intakes will get you there, but they are not going to make more power.