Review on K&N Cold Air Intake Kit for 2003-2006 Nissan 🚀 350Z, 3.5L V6 (57-6013): Guaranteed Horsepower Increase, High Performance, 50-State Legal by Darius Carraway

I want to start this review by saying that if you live in California this is a great welcome for a low price. However; If you live in a state that doesn't have smog control, this probably isn't what you need. Pros: The air intake was easy to install and gave a noticeable increase in power and fuel economy. It has a great sound and the materials are durable and of high quality. It came with a CARB sticker and a serial number which I needed to be legal. The Bad: The reason I'm giving this 3 stars (which isn't good enough for me) is because the heat shield is very poorly designed for this product. It's heavy and bulky, which wouldn't be a bad thing, except it sits over metal pipes and has to rely heavily on other components to fit under the hood. Other reviewers have written about the heat shield chasing holes in other parts and I can see how that could have happened. Even with a properly installed bracket and additional tie-down straps to support the weight, it still exposes other pipes by no more than 2mm. This means that every bump your car drives over will slowly erase the lines. About a week later I checked it and saw marks where the heat shield was rubbing against other components. I ended up removing it, which works fine. Let's be real here. The heat shield is not installed in such a way that the airflow from the engine does not enter the filter. So this heat still penetrates inside. Of course it can block. The screen is, in fact, just one big metal impediment to all of this. After all, recommendations, like others, aren't great. The images and diagrams provided are not of very good quality and are black and white. Luckily, this is an easy install and takes 90 minutes max to install, even for those who don't know much about cars. Very important if you want to buy this. Be sure to disconnect the battery and install the support bracket before you begin. Both steps are not clear in the instructions but are very important and cannot be skipped. The instructions tell you to do this, but it's written into other steps as an afterthought. It's easy to miss if you don't know. To sum up. If you live in California I recommend this intake. K&N is a great company with quality products. However; If you live outside of California, you can shop. We strongly recommend not installing a heat shield.