I'll save my judgement until after I see some numbers. I think both designs have merrit. CH said that the CGS looks like it's designed to soak up heat (just quoting you CH, not bashing), I don't think any company would actually design an intake purposely to soak up heat. With that said. We use a miraid of intake designs on many sport compacts we build here at my shop. The same concern CH brought up is one of our concerns as well with the metal pipe intakes. We had some temp readings done between the various long and short tube metal pipe intakes as well as the plastic pipe and box style intakes. We had this done at some of our dyno meets which we do a few times a year. The air temps at idle and very low speeds (we similuated slow heavy traffic conditions on the dyno) indicated about 3 - 5 degrees (average) warmer in all of the metal pipe intakes as opposed to the plastic intakes. But at normal driving speeds and WOT almost all the intakes we tested were within 1 degree of each other (neither being superior), both plastic and metal. The shop that owns the dyno concluded that at the rate of speed the air travels through the intake pipe, regardless of it being plastic or metal, it doesn't have enough time to soak up any heat from the pipes. We even went as far as to do the hand touch thingy. Sure enough, after the idle test and the heavy traffic test the metal intake pipes were a bit warm to the touch, but after the normal driving and WOT test's we agreed that the metal pipe intakes were actually cooler to the touch than with the engine not running at all. So without any scientific data, (kinda like the butt dyno) this is what we found. The hard thing about these debates is the fact that when someone plunks down hard cash for something they beleive in, they're going to defend it till the end....even if it isn't as good as they want it to be. No one want's to admit they bought something not as good as the next. But no matter what the end result is, what you have is most likely much better than what came as OEM. Does the possibility of 1 - 2 HP difference really make it worth fighting over and trashing someone, I'll bet I don't see any of you at the drags where this could make the difference. Mod your car and enjoy it, it's only a matter of what makes us feel good about what we drive. Hey, any improvement is a plus. -Dan

 

I didn't take it as bashing. Besides your the one who has actually done comparisons. I have previously bought CAIs on theory and beliefs along with dyno charts but no hands on tests. I don't think they would actually design it to soak up heat but it would come as a byproduct of the design and materials. I was thinking the other day, has anyone tried doing a ceramic coating on a metal CAI. Kind of like ceramic header or brake coatings. I know it would be expensive and not practical for the level of horsepower we can get out of the HHR, but it was just a thought.

 

We have another full heat shield product being designed for the CGS system right now. It will insulate the entire tube from engine heat - for those concerned about it. I'll post the details when I have pics.

 

Dan don't take this the wrong way, but after two sentences my eyes hurt so bad I couldn't read anymore...

Ng

 

dan makes a ton of sense. A few hp gained on a CAI upgrade will not do much for our hhr's. Just mod on and have fun. I went with the airaid because it was available to me at a price I can afford. I'm happy with the gains. Other than a super/turbo charger (if/when available), there really isnt any more engine mods left for us to mess with. Airaid or CGS, be happy with your purchase and enjoy the add-on pep for your hhr.

 

if you were to add a small box on the right after the oil fill spout,, it would be in the middle and a hole in the hood w a scoop on top would work, otherwise it is slightly left

 

Thanks CJ.
I know that I want a working hood scoop on it, but not to sure what look I want sticking out of the hood yet.

 

What about a scoop like on the Subaru? (Only kidding). But, maybe somebody could Photoshop a few ideas? I think the cowl induction is nice because when it is raining or snowing out, it will not force in the moisture. With the unique style of the HHR, it may be difficult to find the right design that both looks and works well.

I wonder how the fender intake gets it's air. Perhaps a scoop could be on the fender itself, with a similar contour to the hood. And on the passanger side, it could be made to help flow the air in the engine compartment.

 

I also like the cowl hood, but I want a scoop that faces backwards. They work realy well. You can realy feel the suction from the scoop or cowl hood. And they will keep most things out of the filter and engine. I miss the shaker hood scoop I had on my 81 Camaro. Loved watching it move.

 

CJ looks a bit offcenter.. or is it just the picture angle...?