Fabspeed Cold Air Kit installation and review for Manual transmission 3.6 996

I just received my Fabspeed Cold Air Kit, and tried installing it. The kit is just comprised of 2 pieces: A plastic red silicon hose, and a plastic pseudo carbon-fiber looking airbox muffler block-off cap. I�m having difficulty with the block-off cap. The directions state that I should �screw in the carbon muffler block off cap.� But it does NOT fit. The cap doesn't look like the cap shown on the Fabspeed website. And even if it did fit, there are no screws included to screw it in. It�s no big deal for me to go buy the screws, even though it would�ve been nice for Fabspeed to include the 2 screws for the cap, but I don�t understand how this strange looking piece is supposed to fit over the airbox muffler hole. By the way, as stated in the subject, I have a manual transmission 3.6 996. The first picture is how the kit is supposed to look once it's installed. The next 2 pictures are of the block-off cap I received. Note how the caps look completely different. Did I get the wrong kit, or am I missing something?

I put one in recently and those are the parts I got.... The cap goes through from the underside of the box. You re-use the screws that are removed to take out the original equip.....

Does that mean you have to open the air filter box to screw it in? (planning on getting this my self)

I installed this kit myself a couple of years ago. As has already been mentioned, the block off cap screws in from the inside of the air box using the OE screws. What I recall from my install is that the cap only fits well in one orientation. If there are obvious gaps or it is otherwise not fitting try rotating it 180 degrees.

On the Fabspeed website here are the instructions verbatim for installing the Cold Air Kit. Did anyone from Fabspeed check these instructions before printing them? In step 2 what am I supposed to unscrew? "996 COLD‐AIR Upgrade Kit 1. First loosen all the clamps that hold the rubber hose on with a screwdriver and remove the stock black corrugated rubber hose. 2. Unclip the mass airflow sensor from the airbox by pushing it down and also pushing on the clip and it will disengage. Lift up the oil line from the box and it will pop right out. Then you will unscrew 3. Screw in carbon muffler block off cap. 4. Install RED silicone hoses from airbox to throttle body‐ lubricate so it swivels into place." I was hoping the instructions would be clearer when I got the kit, but alas, the EXACT SAME instructions are included on a little white slip of paper. I will never know what they wanted me to unscrew in step 2. I don’t know why they supply these shoddy, unclear instructions. It seems like a waste of time and money for them to answer calls and emails about how to install the kit properly. For the record, I am a chiropractor and not a mechanic. The limits of my automotive experience are changing motor oil, brake pads, a couple of tires, etc. Very simple stuff. But I did manage to install the kit. This is what I did, and hopefully these instructions are clearer than Fabspeed’s. You’ll need the following: a flathead screwdriver, a Phillips screwdriver, a portable vacuum cleaner, and a clean cloth, I used a ShamWow. 1. Unclip the mass airflow sensor by pressing on the clip that’s on the underside of the connector and then pulling the connector away from the airbox. Note: You have to press REALLY hard on the clip to get it to release. I actually had to use the tip of a screwdriver to get more leverage on it. 2. Loosen the 3 metal belt clamps that hold the stock black corrugated rubber hose with a flathead screwdriver. 3. Remove the stock black corrugated rubber hose. 4. Pull the motor oil line from the left side of the airbox. It just snaps out with no problem. 5. Use your flathead screwdriver to unscrew the 7 screws that hold the airbox cover on the airbox. Remove the cover and flip it over. 6. Use your Phillips screwdriver to remove the 3 screws that hold the accursed airbox muffler on the underside of the cover. Take out that useless airbox muffler. Why Porsche, why did you even put that in there? Swiss noise standards don’t fly as an excuse in my book. 7. Use 2 of the 3 airbox muffler screws to fasten the Fabspeed block-off cap from the underside of the cover. 8. You might as well remove the old air filter and install a fresh one at this point. I just went with the paper OEM filter because I trust it to keep out gunk from my engine. Wash your hands. Use the portable vacuum cleaner to suck out the dirt and bits of dried up leaves in there. Wipe it down with a clean cloth before you install the fresh air filter. 9. Reinstall the cover by fastening down the 7 screws that hold it in place. 10. Install the Fabspeed red silicone hose from the airbox to the throttle body with 2 of the metal belt clamps. This is the most difficult part after removing the MAF sensor. You have to wiggle the hose around a lot to get it back on since it’s stiffer and has a greater diameter than the stock hose. 11. Snap the oil line back into place. 12. Snap the MAF sensor back into place. 13. Fire up your engine and feel around the hose and the block-off cap to see if any air is leaking. 14. Go for a drive. I’m headed out right now. Wonder if this thing sounds any good.

Thanks for the instructions, how did it sound?

The silicone hose pictured is just replacing the old rubber hose and doesnt involve the MAF at all? I installed the Schnell version of this and it was just the two hose clamps for the hose and the blow off cap thingy..

Thanks for the responses. As I noted in another post, I don’t like how quiet stock 996’s are compared to older Porsches and other sports cars. I realize that Porsche is trying to appeal to a broader audience now, but people who want a Lexus-like silent luxury car already have the Cayenne and Panamera now. Porsche should keep its sports cars viscerally thrilling and that means making them not just drive like sports cars but also sound like them. Much of the enjoyment of driving a flat-6 Porsche is listening to the engine play its various notes and mechanical whirs, clicks, and whines. I toyed with the idea of installing a Kreissieg F1 VT muffler at Vivid Racing, but they quoted me an 8 HOUR INSTALLATION price! No thanks. I can get a brand new aftermarket exhaust for that. So I had the Fister D stage 2 muffler installed on my car which greatly improved its sound quality with a subtle increase in the sound volume at a very reasonable cost. And Darin installed the exhaust in less than an hour. But I was still irked that Porsche put an air muffler in the airbox solely to silence some of the mechanical Porsche music that I want to listen to. That’s where the Fabspeed Cold Air kit comes in. It’s a simple and elegant solution to get rid of the blasphemous airbox muffler. Most of the other 996 cold air kits seem to cause MAF sensor problems, have caveats about driving in inclement weather, (what if I’m stuck in a downpour?), don’t provide adequate air filtration in exchange for added power, or are illegal here in California. I didn’t go with the Schnell because I heard the blow-off valve constantly blows off and needs to be reattached. Who wants to deal with that? Besides, the stock throttle body hose doesn’t have a blow off valve. The car definitely sounds different than it did with just the Fisters installed. The induction whine, though louder, is still quieter than I expected. The car has a deeper, throatier voice now, and you can definitely hear the car’s nifty sounds at all RPM levels now, even while cruising, probably because the airbox muffler is removed. The Fabspeed kit complements the Fisters quite well. The sounds that the car makes now are slightly louder and more mechanical, and there’s still no vibration or resonance during city driving. I truly feel like I’m driving a Porsche sports car now. By the way, Fabspeed’s customer service is superb. They cheerfully helped me track the kit even though I ordered it through a third party, and they answered my support email over the weekend while they were closed. I’m happy with my purchase of the Fabspeed Cold Air Kit and I highly recommend it.

Sounds wonderful, will get one aswell. :-)

According to the Fabspeed site, the installation is different for a Tiptronic car. Has anyone done this mod on a Tip? The description of the difference isn't clear to me.

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Hey vino, the tiptronic has an extra hose that runs into factory intake Y hose. So if you go with an after market intake, you just remove the small hose from the intake and you can either put a small breather filter on the end or just zip tie to a hose on side and let it be. It works perfectly and will not affect the car in any way. Thanks. Thanks for feedback southbay, I'm glad you got it all installed and your happy with the results. The intake really does make a big difference in performance on these cars. Thanks for the instruction details also, I will have to update our instructions page. The ones we had were wrong and somehow changed, so I apologize for that. Let me know if you ever need anything else. Thanks,

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My review was objective and honest, Alex, but you're welcome. If I didn't like the product or I thought your customer service was poor, I would've stated that. But I liked both the Cold Air Kit, and your service. I have no idea if the performance is improved with your kit, but it certainly makes my car a great deal more fun to drive.

so this is the intake my car came with lol

Hey Alex - thanks for the info. I just took a look at the car to scope it out and can't locate the extra hose. Where should I be looking?

Hi Alex, on the topic of sound enhancement... do your 200 cell x-pipe catalytic turn up the volume at all... ? I hear different things from different folks... I have an aftermarket exhaust and somebody told me to replace my cats to 200 cell if I want more volume... will your x-pipe 200 cells achieve this effect or is it a fairly quiet unnoticeable upgrade sound wise...

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Hey, the 2nd hose is located right in your main Intake Y hose. It is a small hose that goes into that. If you don't have one, then you have nothing to worry about and don't need any extra breathers for it. Let me know if you have any other questions. Hey Tbred, the X Pipe Sport Cat will make a small sound improvement if its done with the stock mufflers. It is a little louder then stock but more noticeable when you really get on it. If its done with after market mufflers, it will sounds great and make a nice sound improvement because there isn't as much restriction as the stock mufflers. But it will really wake the car up and make a nice HP and TQ increase. Let me know if you have any questions and PM me if your interested and I will give you a member discount on it. Thanks,

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I couldn't agree more. Doing the intake (including the plenum) and exhaust, firmer motor mounts and the short shift kit as a package really brought back the soul for me, just as you describe it here.

Sorry for digging up an age old post, but I figured it was better than starting a new one. I just purchased a used Fabspeed CAI kit and will be installing it on my 02 C4s which as Tiptronic. Does anyone have any other details regarding the breather that is to be installed for the seperate intake line (part number / availability/ etc.) Fabspeed does not list a part number but states you can purchase one at Advanced Autoparts. If anyone has any experience with this or knows part numbers I would appreciate it.

I heard you can get a breather piece at your local Autozone, Discount Auto etc. Fabspeed does not sell the piece separately. In order for the CAI kit to function properly you'll need any little breather piece as long as it fits should work fine.

Thanks Airrik. I was wondering if anyone knew the size of the breather or a part number. I was hoping to go buy all of the parts before the kit gets here so I can drop it right in when it is delivered.

Small sugestion... Replace your filter element while your inside the air box with teh BMC filter. A little more expensive, but it breathes much better than the OEM filter. I dyno'd this exact configuration against a cone filter air box and got more WHP with the stock airbox....

So I just got done with the install and low and behold the previous owner had already replaced the oem paper filter with a K&N filter. I bought the kit used from another forum and it included the BMC. Any thoughts on BMC over K&N? My initial impression is that the car does have a tiny bit more growl with the red tube installed and the muffler removed and blocked off. I have only been able to compare in the driveway as I am waiting on some furniture to be delivered, but I took a quick before and after video and there appears to be a little more throaty growl at idle and towards the upper end of the rev. It may be wishful thinking but throttle response appears to be greatly improved. The car seems to rev much quicker... We will see once I get it out on the road later this morning

OK so the butt dyno confirms the 0 hp gain I was promised... I can't confirm it with 100% certianty, but there were no drastic changes to performance. However the sound is GREATLY improved after making the changes. At idle there is a clear difference and as you approach wide open throttle, the car sounds night and day improved over the factory intake.