Another Intake option-Can you say "HYDROLOCK"?

[SmartMadness]

Originally Posted by ex300SRT8

Similar situation here with my SRT. My CAI sucked in air from below the lower front air dam and was about the same height as yours. Never experienced any problems with rain, but certainly wouldn't want to submerge it in a puddle and tempt fait. Thanks to all of the vendors working on new products for our cars.

We just went outside and measured how far down the air intake hangs from the ground. Please keep in mind that the air intake is located in the back of the car and not behind the front air damn. The air intake was 15" above the pavement. It would take one really big puddle for the same thing to happen with this item. Please understand that in no way are we trying to convince you or anyone else to invest in this particular item. We just want to make sure all the information is available for those that are interested.

Thank you...

[brian r]

Thanks for reading posts here and contacting the manufacturer. It seems that they are really interested in making their product the best possible.

Originally Posted by SmartMadness

... maybe you may want to contact the manufacturer directly to get answers for your concerns before attacking them and their product on an open forum.

I emailed inquiries on the possibility of water being a problem to info@smartcar-performance.com twice since Sunday and never received a reply.

My comments were not meant as an attack, but are based on twenty years of experience with tuner and race cars. Problems are real with this design in other applications:

http://www.neuspeed.com/products/pro...euro&p_id=1725

So a splash shield is a great idea. And I think that the first thing I said was to applaud their design approach.

If they felt attacked, they should log onto the MB/Porsche/Lotus forums. Those are some really ruthless neighborhoods for aftermarket suppliers.

[WilyB]

Originally Posted by SmartMadness

Again, please take this as a kind request and maybe a friendly suggestion. Thank you for your time.

If I may ask in the friendliest way, may I please request that you would kindly explain the dyno chart?

[SmartMadness]

Originally Posted by brian r

Thanks for reading posts here and contacting the manufacturer. It seems that they are really interested in making their product the best possible.



I emailed inquiries on the possibility of water being a problem to info@smartcar-performance.com twice since Sunday and never received a reply.

My comments were not meant as an attack, but are based on twenty years of experience with tuner and race cars. Problems are real with this design in other applications:

. ..:. Neuspeed Product Details .:.. .

So a splash shield is a great idea. And I think that the first thing I said was to applaud their design approach.

If they felt attacked, they should log onto the MB/Porsche/Lotus forums. Those are some really ruthless neighborhoods for aftermarket suppliers.

Brian,

Thank your for your response and you understanding. Your post was not meant as an attack. They were other posts that followed yours that were taken as an attack.

You had a valid point and we quickly brought it up to the manufacturers attention. The guys at Smart Car Performance have become a manufacturer and we now handle all of their product related questions and concerns. They are setting up a system that will now forward their emails to us and we will do our best to address them in a timely matter.

They are also in the final stages of developing the bike/snowboard/ski rack for us and have really been on that 24/7 to try to get it out asap and frankly have not had much time for emails. In the future if you have a question or a concern please email us directly at smartmadness@gmail.com and we will make sure your questions and concerns get the attention they deserve in a timely matter.

Thank you again and no hard feelings, :-)

Smart Madness

[SmartMadness]

Originally Posted by WilyB

If I may ask in the friendliest way, may I please request that you would kindly explain the dyno chart?

Hello Wily,

Thank you for the :-) and hopefully the friendly attitude, it makes being on the forum a much more pleasant experience.

Can you please elaborate a little more on your question? What exactly do you want explained about the dyno chart? Is there a specific question you would like answered? Something you are not sure about?

We are not the designers or the manufacturers of the item, but since we sell the product we will do our very best to contact the manufacturer and get you the answers you are looking for.

Thank you again...

[Cruising n Coasting]

Not sure about the intake, it seems a waste not to take advantage of the factory side intake. Has your company looked into this option and thereby eliminating the PUDDLE threat?

[Wdhitch]

Originally Posted by Cruising n Coasting

Not sure about the intake, it seems a waste not to take advantage of the factory side intake. Has your company looked into this option and thereby eliminating the PUDDLE threat?

It's been pointed out numerous times that there isn't enough room to mod the existing air intake... too many corners in the venting and not enough room to straighten it out.



I applaud the distributor's attempt to, from what I can tell, honestly answer all questions and concerns. I would ask that the sound quality has been mentioned as a plus for this product. I'm not a technical guy but could you elaborate on what is different? I don't have an exhaust on my smart yet partly due to the loudness... how does this sound level compare?

[SmartMadness]

Originally Posted by Cruising n Coasting

Not sure about the intake, it seems a waste not to take advantage of the factory side intake. Has your company looked into this option and thereby eliminating the PUDDLE threat?

We are not the manufacturer of the intake, just the reseller. We are working with this a couple of other manufacturers on other options for those that are interested.

[SmartMadness]

Originally Posted by Wdhitch

It's been pointed out numerous times that there isn't enough room to mod the existing air intake... too many corners in the venting and not enough room to straighten it out.



I applaud the distributor's attempt to, from what I can tell, honestly answer all questions and concerns. I would ask that the sound quality has been mentioned as a plus for this product. I'm not a technical guy but could you elaborate on what is different? I don't have an exhaust on my smart yet partly due to the loudness... how does this sound level compare?

Thank you....

We actually met with the manufacturer earlier today doing trial fitting of the Bike/Ski/Surfboard/Snowboard Rack (Nothing stops traffic like two yellow smarts parked next to each other).

While we were doing this we also discussed the possibility of having them develop some kind of a splash shield for the intake. They agreed and will get right on that as soon as the rack is completed.

We spoke about making it easy to snap on (less than 2 minutes of work) to the existing cold air intake that they have been manufacturing and have come up with some ideas. We also stressed to them that our mutual goal should be to take care of our customers to the best of our best ability. As a result of our discussion they have agreed to supply the shield (once it is developed) at no additional charge to anyone that has or will purchase the Cold Air Intake.

We estimate the shields to be ready within 30-60 days.

As far as the noise issue... We have one on our Demo Car and can honestly say that there is a little burbling noise that you can hear when you hit about 4,000 RMP. It is nothing like an aftermarket exhaust and I personally love the noise. It gives is a nice tone without going overboard.

You mentioned not being able to put on an aftermarket exhaust due to the excessive noise. There are options.... We sell a variety of exhausts and there are options if you do not want the excessive noise. You may want to go with a touring version instead of sport.



Guys.... I want to personally thank everyone for their responses. We have taken this thread and have turned it in to a very positive learning experience for all involved.

PS. There was a question about the dyno earlier on in the thread. We have asked the manufacturer to elaborate on this. They came back with some technical information. We have requested that they summarize that information in to a simple explanation for the benefit of all and not just those that are very technically minded.

Once we have that information we will be sure to post it here.

Thank you again!
Smart Madness

[WilyB]

Originally Posted by SmartMadness

PS. There was a question about the dyno earlier on in the thread. We have asked the manufacturer to elaborate on this. They came back with some technical information. We have requested that they summarize that information in to a simple explanation for the benefit of all...

Looking forward to their explanation, thanks SmartMadness!