Hey , I;ve got an 83 280 ZX and I'm thinking about getting a cold air intake . Does anybody have one on a 280zx ? What kind ? How do you like it ? Is it really noisy ? Did it help your performance any or gas mileage ? I've been looking for a while and seen so many different brands and prices that I just can't pick one . Any input would really be appreciated . Is a dry filter element better or an oil charged ? Please give me some help with this . I've had this car for about 5 years but never really got around to improving it any . Just got a new job and now i'm driving it every day and thought I would put some money back into it . Gonna get rid of the catalytic converter and put an electric fan in place of the old clutch fan . I've put a new stereo in it and replaced the old 14 in rims with 16's and some new rubber . It's in really good shape for a 28 yr old car . The original owner took it the day after he bought it and had it undercoated , almost no rust even though it's been in Ky all these years . 75k original miles .

 

You already have a CAI on your 280ZX. A cold air intake simply takes the air from outside of the engine bay. A less restrictive filter and shorter runners allow the engine to breath better which helps performance and efficiency. Not a huge increase though. You are also getting rid of a bunch of extra weight - there is a lot of sheet metal to the stock filter assembly. Performance gains are more noticeable with a turbo charged car. I've been using oil charged filters - they work and there is no issue with over oiling them and fouling the MAF sensor since our cars don't use one.

You can do a CAI replacement on the S130 for cheap cheap. All you need is a piece of 3" pipe (aluminum is obviously lighter) and an air filter and possibly clamps if the filter doesn't have one and you want to replace one of the stock ones. Most replacement air filters are 3" already anyhow. They are just a cotton element so I'm not sure why they are so expensive - you can get a decent one for $7 that works just fine. You can get a cheap "kit" from E-Bay as well - I think it's Chrome Intakes or something like that was the last one I bought.

A less restrictive CAI is going to be noisier than stock.

Personally I'd do the suspension first on a stock S130….

 

I'm am using http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PFFC13/11-2934, they have one for your model, http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PFFC12/11-2922

Gives the car a little more growl when you go through the gears. And I guess I picked up a 2 Mpg increase in mileage.

Here's a few pics of my install, I later added a small bracket to hold it in place.

 

You have a really clean Z...

Also, Cold air doesn't affect our older cars as it does the newer cars, but then again, do you really believe the import tuner/super street/ricer monthly advertisements of "Upwards of 22hp Gains with cold air!"?

It's a nice feeling knowing she's getting cooler air, but you won't see any large gains

 

i think 3 inch is to big for NA cars no? I know the turbo AFM is 3 inches in and out. I think you need some moar low on that car, after market wheels at stock height is damn ugly with all the wheel gap

 

Yea , I wasn't trying to get cooler air , just more air flow . I'm thinking about getting rid of the cat conv. also to get more air out , Is this a good idea , an exhaust guy that I talked to said having an oxygen sensor in the exhaust without the cat may actually decrease my gas mileage . What do you think ? As for the wheel well gap , I've got 16's on it now . What can I do lower the car or go with bigger wheels ? My ride is terrrible now anyway , been wanting to get new shocks and struts , just haven't been able to afford it .

 

the wheels are fine. Just get new shocks and some lowering springs if you get the money. And I wouldn'y bother removing the Cat or anything unless you just go ahead and get a full exhaust because unless your cat is clogged you'll notice no difference in basically anything...

 

Unless U Have A Sensor After The Cat Removing The Cat Wont Afect Ur Gas Mileage

 

If you match that cold air with msa exhaust you get a pretty decent gain. I put a K&N on my 81 non turbo along with a msa header and turbo exhaust. I also plugged my egr and removed my cat. I got better mileage and power out of it and a really agressive sound.

 

get a new msd or accel coil, that will actually give you a boost in performance along with the CAI, and they are cheap. if you go to ebay, its the place to get cheap intakes, oiled is usually the way with cone filters.