Review on 💨 High Performance K&N Cold Air Intake Kit: Increase Horsepower for 2008-2010 CHEVROLET (Cobalt) - 69-4518TTK by Ryan Schweigert

UPDATE MAY 10, 2013: I bought HP Tuner VCM Suite with Interface Pro for GM vehicles and was able to rate MAF to get LTFT ranging from -0.8% to +0.8% which is a noticeable difference of +11% to +12%. The engine runs MUCH smoother and has better performance. I highly recommend that you get your own dynamometer setup if you don't want to tune it yourself, or consider setting up the HP Tuner VCM Suite for auto-tuning. In any case, this K&N admission must be reconciled. UPDATE MAY 3, 2013: Long term fuel trim readings are above +11% indicating a very lean mixture. Adjustment is required for safe operation of the motor! K&N Typhoon Short Intake Manifold for 08-10 Cobalt SS Turbo Engine (69-4518TTK) I will split this review into 2 parts. The first is my review of the kit, the second is the installation and some helpful tips. REVIEW:------------------------ -------------------------------------- -------------------------- - The Short Intake Manifold (SRI) is not designed for True Cold Air Intake (CAI), although they look the same and often do sold as interchangeable. All CAIs for the Cobalt SS Turbo have a conical filter that mounts in the fender (where the pipe is located), making it easy for water to get in and making the filter difficult to check. The SRI may be subject to increased intake of hot air, although the intake temperature drops significantly while driving. Definitely the K&N SRI is the best option for the Cobalt SS TC. I found the overall quality to be mediocre, average at best. This is mainly due to the fact that the intake pipe is made of very thin and soft aluminium. Instead of a single bent tube on a mandrel, it consists of several sections welded together and then powder coated. Most of us found that the intake side of the turbo was dented right out of the box. K&N also offers a combination of stainless steel fasteners and non-stainless steel washers, which makes no sense. The hose clamps are also standard Breeze clamps with stainless steel bolts with stainless steel bands. I spent a few dollars to buy stainless steel washers and all Ideal-Tridon 65E series stainless steel sleeve clamps to keep the worm gear slots from cutting into the cone filter or silicone sleeve. Additional parts I purchased (which are not essential, but just what I like to make as an engineer): Ideal-Tridon Series 65E Liner Clamps #36 (Qty 2), #52 (Qty 1). 5/16" Stainless Steel Flat Washers (x10), ¼" Stainless Steel Spring Washers (x1), 1/4"x1" Stainless Steel Wing Washers (x2), Stainless Steel Flat Washers 1/4" Stainless Steel (x6) Another complaint I have is that K&N is like engineering, the company doesn't do a good job of designing fasteners the installation is not that very good and not well explained in the instructions.The crankcase breather / crankcase ventilation fitting is plastic and offers a VERY snug fit in its place.The A/C's high exhaust port is also a few millimeters from the intake manifold.K&N also claims that no tuning is required and I've been in the "must tune” crowd for over a decade with my Ford air intakes doesn't support SS Turbo, poet oh I'm out of luck with my wit h with my Advanta ge/Pro Racer package. I logged the Cobalt data in standard form and then logged the data with K&N. Stock Short Term Fuel Trim (STFT) ranged from -5.47% to +11.72% (caution is that I just warmed it up and revved it in the garage). With the K&N filter installed, the STFT ranged from -7.81% to +13.28% with a peak LTFT of +9.38% – and this time I took it out onto the road and rode as usual. It's about the same compared to my other modified Fords. The biggest change you'll notice is the sound. The Cobalt SS TC uses a Bosch direct injection system that makes a series of strange noises on cold starts, namely a growl from the high-pressure fuel pump, followed by a loud tick-tick-tick as the fuel pressure stabilizes at 300-500psi at idle. However, with the K&N SRI installed, you will hear a much louder growl at startup. After warming up, it settles down until you open the throttle. At this point, there will be a loud suction sound followed by a whistle as the throttle is closed. Once on the road, every time the throttle is opened and the turbo kicks in, it's heard from inside the car. The heat shield is not very suitable. I found contact with the fender of the car. I cut off a piece of old coolant hose to use as a bumper. K&N only designed the bumper guard that sits over the engine mount and simply ignored the other side of the guard that rests directly on the painted fender! There is also controversy over how to align the conical filter. Many people advise rotating the metal strip so it is in the "11:30" position, whatever it is. I took a close look at my filter and aligned most of the offset so that it was directly perpendicular to the MAF sensor. Others have suggested rotating the offset so it sits straight. Obviously this affects the air turbulence/impact on the MAF which can distort the fuel trim. My overall rating for the kit is 4.0 stars out of 5. K&N was sloppy in designing this kit, but probably because there are very few SS Turbo cars on the market and there is very little profit to be made from this particular car. I used an exhaust pipe extender and a small hammer to repair the dents. PROS: Changes the sound and behavior of the engine/turbo, it gets LOUD. You can hear it a block away in a quiet area CONS: VERY tight fit, some stainless steel parts included, needs some adjustment to fit properly, not good quality. ---- ------------------------------------------ --- --------------- Tools needed: 3/8" ratchet, ¼" ratchet, 3/8" extensions, x1¼" extensions, x23/8" drive, 10mm ¼" long socket, 5/16" head 3mm hex / 3/8" hex head 4mm hex head 5/8" or 16mm combination wrench T-30 Torx -Bit Additional Parts Required: Not mandatory, but I chose to switch all hardware to Ideal Tridon Series Stainless Steel 65E Ear Cuffs #36 (2 pcs) Ideal Tridon Series 65E Ear Cuffs #52 (1 pc). 5/16" stainless steel flat washers (10pcs) ¼" stainless steel lock washers (1pc) ¼ stainless steel wing washers "x1" (2pcs) stainless steel flat washers ¼" (6pcs). I decided Me for the less expensive 18-8 non-spec/standard stainless steel (supplied by K&N) Permatex Pipe Thread Sealant Brake Cleaner/Contact Cleaner/Denatured Alcohol K&N's instructions contain tiny photos with little detail They don't mention the need to use Torx T to use -30 bits to remove the stock airbox front insulator The OEM MAF bolts are torqued to 0.6Nm and the airbox OEM nuts are torqued to 1.5Nm per the GM service manual I found that 6mm / M6 18-8 stainless steel bolts have a maximum recommended torque of 7.8Nm with lubrication, while 4mm / M4 18-8 is rated for a maximum torque of 2.3Nm if you have a nameplate motor the T-bolt should fit as close as possible to the fire wall be cited. This allows the tube to be screwed to the T-bar. I used 6 5/16" flat washers on the wing side air inlet bolt and 4 5/16" flat washers on the motor side air inlet bolt. The supplied gaskets are not made of stainless steel and are not thick enough. I also cut off a piece of the old coolant hose to route the underside of the fender side heat shield as it would vibrate on the painted fender. seal more. The MAF bolts are supposed to be snug and tight with a 3mm hex wrench, I hate the lack of a torque rating, but the aluminum threads aren't really rated for high torque. Install the silicone sleeve onto the pipe, using just enough silicone to fit the width of the clamp completely onto the pipe. The rest of the coupling is slipped onto the turbine inlet pipe. Allow some slack to adjust the pipe to go through the air conditioner high pressure port. I torqued the T-bracket pan head screws to 5.31Nm with blue threadlock. I torqued the heat shield/fender bolts to 7.79Nm. The nuts of the airbox stud bolts were tightened to 5.31 Nm with blue screw locking compound. I torqued the bolt that attaches the tube to the T-bracket to 5.31Nm with blue threadlocker. I also used blue threadlocker on the MAF screws. The crankcase ventilation tube is VERY tight on the nipple. Be careful if it ever tears or breaks.