Xephyr2K

Everyone,

I wanted to give everyone an update on the Xephyr Performance CAI:

Upon recieving the filters and induction tubes I replaced my current intake (photos that are posted on XephyrPerformance.com) with the completed assembly that is to be shipped and noticed the following:

#1)
A very low hum from the induction tube. This is a very low "hum" that some of you have noticed in other intakes. It is audible but not particularly noticeable, I will post dB levels tomorrow afternoon. It is a by-product of a nearly unrestricted intake assembly. The intake is extraordiniarily free-flowing - if you were to remove everything up to the throttle body and run the car you will notice the same phenomenon. The Factory Acura intake/Aftermarket intakes are more restrictive and do not flow the same volume of air, in doing so, the resonance dissapears. If I restrict the amount of air-flow it also dissapears in my CAI. Ultimately , it is as audible as if you were to hum under your breath and is barely noticeable over the engine at idle, and completely undetectable above idle.

#2)

Mounting brackets: I have a steel fabrication shop that made brackets for the CAI that they coated with a vulcanizing agent (rubber-like) to prevent scratching the finish of the tube or car. Problem: I tested the entire assembly for heat resistance and the vulancized compound ignites as it is HIGHLY flammable. The shobe is re-fabricating mounting brakets and not coating them, rather they will be painted and use tempered silicone inner rings to prevent scratching. I will post pictures in the morning of the new assemmbly here and on the website.

The Result: Shipping must be delayed until this Wednesday as I would be legally liable for any fire that might result in the use of the original brackets.

The Good News: The set back that I have enountered has left me with two options to keep my consumers from losing faith. I will offer a 100% refund to anyone who has ordered made payable via paypal or money-order and sent to you 2nd day air. The second option is for those of you who are willing to wait until Wednesday for me to ship will recieve a $10 money-order with your shipment for your patience - I will upgrade everyones shipping to UPS 2nd Day Air so you will recieve your Xephyr Performance C.A.I. by Saturday. Additionally, I will ship ALL Xephyr Performance C.A.I. with the "AEM Bypass valve" installed at no charge to you. This equates to me receiving no profit whatsoever on the existing orders as a result ov overhead increases. I honestly feel horrible that I have missed the shipping date that I had originally promised and know how frrustrating that can be. For everyone that has ordered I will feel NO ill feelings if you would like a refund, I stand behind my Intake and know those that wish to maintain their order will be more then satisfied with their results. I believe this is the fairest way for me to offer retribution for those of you that were kind and faithful enough to choose Xephyr Performance CAI as your vendor. If anyone can think of any other options that will make this situation one that you feel comfortable with please post here publicly so that everyone may see your suggestions, I want everyone to be aware of what you think and how you feel. I could not in good faith ship without all the hardware included and I legally could NEVER ship something that could cause personal harm or destruction of your vehicle as may have been the case with the flammable coating that was put onto the brackets. I understand your dissapointment and frustration as I too am a consumer in this forum. For the individuals that ordered I will also submit this post in an email to you with my home and cellular telephone number so you may contact me personally and vent your anger,frustration, or any other comments. Again, my deepest apologies for the delay and I do not want to have any ill feelings so please post here with your feedback, and let everyone know publicly if you think the options/retribution I am offering is appropriate.

Sincerely,

Christopher Koncur
XephyrPerformance CAI

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2001 Nighthawk Black CLS Type S - Xephyr Performance Cold Air Intake, PIAA 19173(Yellow) Road Lamp Upgrades, Full Wood Trim, Spoiler, Best GTECH Sprint 6.05 Xephyr Performance Intakes

Iridium130

Alright, that's cool. As long as you make me aware of the fact that the CAIs will be delayed, that's fine. I'm glad that instead of rushing to ship the CAIs you decided to stop for a minute to refabricate the mounting brackets.

I think if you want to make it up to *me*, just get a decent-quality .wav sound of the CAI in action, and I'll be happy.

Thanks for the update Xeph and keep up the good work. I'm *still* reccomending you to all my friends...

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~Phil~!
2K1 CL-S since 6/13/00 named Laetitia! ~Quantum tint~ ~Hiper Hibrid Plasma Xenon road lamps~ ~spoiler, baby!!~ ~Uniden LRD 6599SWS Radar Detector~ ~Shine by Meguiar's Gold Wax~ ~Member of the Scratched Rims Club~ ~Getting a red Acura badge very shortly.~
~Xephyr CAI soon~
Former post count : Over 500!! FREAK!

Nashua_Night_Hawk

Post the new pictures pleazzzzzzzzzz

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Bare Bone Stock Type-S. Plenty of accessories. PIAA 19169 to be installed soon.

Xephyr2K

Here are the photos of the pre-production system in blue. I will be posting more on www.XephyrPerformance.com/prod01.htm





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<A HREF="http://www.xephyrperformance.com/_borders/caiblue.jpg[/IMG" TARGET=_blank>
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I will also be posting sound clips later tonight , I am on my way out now to get a digital recorder !!

Thanks for your patience !!! You will NOT be dissapointed!

Many Thanks

Chris Koncur
Xephyr Performance CAI

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2001 Nighthawk Black CLS Type S - Xephyr Performance Cold Air Intake, PIAA 19173(Yellow) Road Lamp Upgrades, Full Wood Trim, Spoiler, Best GTECH Sprint 6.05 Xephyr Performance Intakes


[This message has been edited by Xephyr2K (edited 02-03-2001).]

nootch

Wow. I couldn't think of a more decent way to handle this situation. I think quality is way more important than how fast one gets the CAI. I am sure most here will agree. When I get my CL-S, I will absolutley buy from you.

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Please have a crane drop on my car so I have to buy a new CL-S. But wait till I'm not in the car. Thanks

WebToker

Looking sweeeeet, I can't wait!

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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red/Ebony/Navi/Spoiler/Nose Mask/Mud Guards/Wheel locks/
Comptech Springs & Filter/PIAA 1969/20% Tint/Acura lettering removed/
12in Sub with AMP/Dynomated Trunk/Sub control under dash/
Clifford G4 Solaris Alarm

Nashua_Night_Hawk

hmmmm....That is too cool to pass... I am salivating to order the polished one... soon I guess.... I like what my eys are seeing....

lovely!

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Bare Bone Stock Type-S. Plenty of accessories. PIAA 19169 to be installed soon.

NOVAwhiteTypeS

Nice. 1 quick question. I thought the aem by pass valve had to be mounted closer to the opening of the intake, before the actual tube bends down. Can some one clarify this for me. other than that very nice.

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CL-S
White/Ebony/Navi/Spoiler/Visor/Full Bra/Mud Guards/Cargo Net/Acura Car Cover/Tint 20%,35%,5% on Sun Roof, Rockford 250a2 Amp w/JL10w6 / K&N Drop in Filter. Comptech Springs. Polarg m-6.
Comptech Headers, Comptech Sways, Eurolite Xenon Crystal high beams.
AEM CAI once they decide to make the dame thing.
235/40/17's or 225/45/17's once I found out which one works for me.

gtech 0-60 6.03 w/ 438 pound load. preheader.

Iridium130

So now I'm just sitting here twiddling my thumbs while I wait for the CAI.

Btw, Xephyr, how are your road lamps? Do they look like a nasty psuedo-stock yellow, or are they close to matching the GS400 fogs? I'm considering getting the yellow ones...can you post a pic?

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~Phil~!
2K1 CL-S since 6/13/00 named Laetitia! ~Quantum tint~ ~Hiper Hibrid Plasma Xenon road lamps~ ~spoiler, baby!!~ ~Uniden LRD 6599SWS Radar Detector~ ~Shine by Meguiar's Gold Wax~ ~Member of the Scratched Rims Club~ ~Getting a red Acura badge shortly.~ ~Xephyr CAI on the way!~
Former post count : Over 500!! FREAK!

JZ

One thing I am curious about is why the newly fabricated parts make that humming noise while the 1st run product apparantly did not.

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Black/black CL Type S Comptech springs, headers. Soon to have Konis and Comptech sway bars. PIAA 19169, Solaris high beams. Potenza RE730's 225/45/ZR17
...And I wonder where my money goes!

goodjob

I ordered one of these units and have the same question, since my headers had a similar (but more pronounced) problem before the "fix" was applied. Might it have something to do with the placement of the AEM Bypass valve, or is the valve itself causing the noise?


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2001 White/Ebony CL-S w/ Comptech headers, 19169, mud flaps, winter mats and wheel locks.

Xephyr2K

Actually by positioning the valve just under the first bend on the down pipe the hum has all but dissapeared. I can hardly hear it now at all, I am going downstairs to start the car and recored at idle. I will post at approx. 9PM EST tonight.

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2001 Nighthawk Black CLS Type S - Xephyr Performance Cold Air Intake, PIAA 19173(Yellow) Road Lamp Upgrades, Full Wood Trim, Spoiler, Best GTECH Sprint 6.05 Xephyr Performance Intakes

avengerjr

Sounds good!! I am still with ya

And, like the others, I am still recommending you to all others!

Thanks for the update and the safety measures you are taking in developing your CAI.


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avengerjr
2001 CL-S Satin Silver / Ebony Interior / Non-Navi[*] spoiler , wheel locks , 35% tint[*] fenderwell trim , mud guards[*] winter floor mats , full nose mask[*] Xephyr CAI - on the way

girlfriend
1999 3.8L V6 Mustang Coupe Black / Black Cloth Interior[*] spoiler , 35% tint[*] MAC CAI - soon to order

twill

Just wondering how you found out that the coated brackets could burn up in the engine bay? Hope you didn't have to find that out the hard way!

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2001 Satin Silver 3.2CL Type-S
Non-Nav, No Mods

WebToker

FYI




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2001 Acura 3.2 CL Type-S
San Marino Red/Ebony/Navi/Spoiler/Nose Mask/Mud Guards/Wheel locks/
Comptech Springs & Filter/PIAA 1969/20% Tint/Acura lettering removed/
12in Sub with AMP/Dynomated Trunk/Sub control under dash/
Clifford G4 Solaris Alarm

Xephyr2K

All,

The method in which I tested it was not quite the most orthodox. I placed individual components (NOT the filter though) into an industrial baking oven. I positioned a thermometerin also to watch the temp changes. I set the oven for LOW as the next increment was 250 and observed. The induction tube went up to 300 unscathed as did the the clamps. However, the bracket literally ignited like a roman candle at about 185. This is a high (but very possible) temperature on hot days or under hard driving. Aa i pulled it out it was dripping fiery drops of the vulanizing agent.... Needless to say, I was not pleased. I also tested the silicon couplers which withstood 300 however they did discolor and harden. The filter I did not test as it is located well beyond the engine bay.

Does anyone have any ideas on a good device to make high quality recordings of the Xephyr Performance CAI under driving conditions..? So far Ive tried my Thinkpad laptop, a standard panasonic voice recorder, and a Sony IC digital recorder... They all sound horrible...lots of static and a general roar but not anything of decent quality..... The laptop did the best job thus far...... Please reply in a new subject as I dont want to inflate this posting with non-CAI update info... Many Thanks....

Chris Koncur
Xephyr Performance C.A.I.



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2001 Nighthawk Black CLS Type S - Xephyr Performance Cold Air Intake, PIAA 19173(Yellow) Road Lamp Upgrades, Full Wood Trim, Spoiler, Best GTECH Sprint 6.05 Xephyr Performance Intakes

PimpGold

I have to admit I'm waiting to see how the first run of you CAI's comes out, from the consumer comments I'm sure we'll be seeing. It is comforting to see that you're taking this very seriously, and that you're so upfront with the status of your project. Don't beat yourself up over the delays, I think everyone agrees that being safe is worth the wait.

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Sundance Gold Type S, bone stock