Well guys... Just thought I'd give you some first hand experience on my new Volant CAI install...

First off, I'm very dissapointed... I had a lot of high hopes for this system as it costs damn near $300 after shipping. For that amount of money, I'd expect it to fit correctly. This thing does not fit worth a damn... I don't know what the guys over at Volant were thinking when they designed it, but the fitment is complete crap...

I've been wanting this intake for about 4 years now, and what finally made me push the button to order it was the poor filtering I was getting from my lid/K&N combo. I just didn't feel like I was getting a complete seal with that setup. I will say that with the Volant there are absolutely no more sealing issues...

when it comes down to it, in the end, the intake is a nice idea, and the plastics they use are pretty good... but the design in the fitment department is what makes this very disappointing IMO...

another note I'd like to mention is that it doesn't support my radiator AT ALL... my radiator is actually sitting there with it's own support... luckily it doesn't move much so I think it's fine, but the R&D department totally overlooked this area...

Here's one picture I took with my cell phone during the install to show the angle at which the MAF and the TB line up... or should I say DON'T line up! I don't know what Volant was thinking... I mean really... It's COMICAL!!!



so.... what I did to solve this was to cut out some of the upper shroud above the Y-inlet to straighten things out a little... that helped with the angle quite a bit... the whole airbox deal still doesn't sit near as flush as I'd like... and of course doesn't support my radiator... I'll have to rig something up...

I guess what burns my *** the most is for the price... there should be NO RIGGING! I've seen the volant intakes for trucks and other cars... they are top notch... it's a shame they didn't spend the time on the F-Body setups...

I'll have more pics coming... it's raining outside right now...

and just for the hell of it... here's the link to a mod I did on it to get rid of the A.I.R. hole since I don't have that on my car... https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...cs-inside.html

on a side note, i'll be bringin the car in, in the next couple of weeks to CMS to get the new injectors installed and a re-tune


EDIT: 12/23/08 - YouTube Video Review Available... Click link below...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShVLktCB6SE

EDIT: 1/18/09 - because of the lack of radiator support, a few of my power steering lines have now been cut in half from my belts and need replacing

 

pics I have of the intake out of the box...











I'll be adding more pics of the intake installed shortly... see youtube video in first post if you want to see it installed before I get the still photos...

 

Thats too bad and pretty disapointing, I was looking forward to one of these too, but havent yet cause of the price, looks like Ill be sticking with the old lid and smooth bellows combo when I get around to it

 

dude send that **** back. that is one fucked up kit. i wouldnt want that crap on my car with it looking like that

 

heh... I'm sure I couldn't send it back now. I mean... I modified it to fit correctly

 

I also got this kit from another user on here. Ive seen pictures and this kit in person on a few other cars and it looks amazing when you tweak them just right.. But damn.. the out of the box hassle is to much for the price..

Alot of sponcers refuse to sell them becuase of how **** poor they are out of the box.

 

sorry dude. Why did you choose that over a lid/filter combo??

 

i think he answered that in the origanal post....

i would like to see more pics, how is the seal on the hood for the "ram air"

 

I must have skipped that portion
EDIT: poor filtering from lid/filter combo... But how?

 

weird. I just bougth a car with this setup on it and it has a slp smooth bellow. and seems to fit fine. i'll get pics and post up and point anything out if I see something that looked like it was modified.

 

I got this pic from another member on here.. he had the clear lid so the pic works well... mines a black TSP lid that is no longer made but used to be "the lid" that everyone wanted... but it's in the same area he drew arrows too... I was able to stick my hand under the filter and actually lift up on the rear of the filter about a 1/4 inch while everything was buttoned down supposedly tight... not to mention my lid kept cracking and i got tired of epoxying **** so...

 

On my car right is an MTI clear lid. I put 2 rows of weather stripping under the lid for that reason. To get that perfect seal. I ahve a FTRA so everything that has to air going into my lid is all sealed off.

I am going to be getting rid of my MTI clear lid, and my Fast Toys is already sealed with weather stripping

 

I saw the new FT's Lid in person... it is very nice... the ONLY thing I don't like about it and every other lid out there (except the SLP) is the fact that they are 2 pieces, upper and lower, epoxied together which creates the weak cracking spot... the SLP however doesn't fit my fitment expectations... if that makes any sense... it's either hitting/rubbing on hoods, or just doesn't fit well in general. I do like the fact that it's molded as one solid piece though...

 

I had no idea that the Fast Toys lid was made of 2 pieces.. I will look at it later

 

Pics?

 

Damn...that really sucks....I've never been a fan, but for the money it should have fit.

 

I'll second that on Volants quality. I've got a customer that I'm constantly trying to talk into selling his Volant setup and buying a lid. The quality is sub-par at best, fit is terrible, and we too had to hack this kit up to fit properly.

Definitely not getting what you pay for with this kit. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Great idea, shitty design.

 

Wait I'm confused, you have a totally different radiator than stock last time I checked. Does it mount exactly the way the stock one is or.. I mean I'm pretty sure the Volant is designed for an OEM radiator?

 

I'll have pics tomorrow... it's too dark outside tonight lol

EDIT: ya know what... I'll get the pics, but I'll go ahead and pull out the camcorder for you guys too...

You are correct. I have a Be Cool Radiator. BUT... it has no bearing on the way this kit fits trust me. And anyways, the Be Cool radiator is a stock replacement. That being said the lower airbox for the lid fit the Be Cool radiator just fine. Since the Volant is supposed to be a stock replacement, there is no reason it shouldn't fit this. But forget the fact that it doesn't support my radiator (nor do I believe it would even support a stock one) It still doesn't line up or fit correctly in the other areas that have NOTHING to do with the radiator...

I welcome anyone who lives in the Phoenix area to come check it out... but trust me when I say the Radiator is NOT the issue...

 

My K&N FIPK worked great for me. Did you ever consider getting that instead of the volant setup? came with smooth bellows and I was able to install it in 15 mins with no fitment problems at all.