Ok, I just istalled a Code 3 "Performance Intake." I had already purchased it before the DIY was posted. At first glance, it looks like a nice product; however, there are some issues. I hope Code 3 takes some of this criticism and uses it for improvements to their products.

For one, $150 is a lot of money for what you get. They must be making a gigantic profit. Ok, enough with the assumptions.

The filter is fairly thin and when held up to the light, has some fairly troubling passages. This thing looks like it will pass grains of sand! Foam filters are fine when there are several layers of the material.

The holes weren't drilled large enough. I had to drill the holes slightly larger because the screws were screwing themselves into the filter screen frames and then wouldn't turn any further into the intake base.

No instructions were provided. It's not rocket science, but it might be nice to include some sort of instructions for someone who may not have experience working on their car.

Be careful! Before installing, make sure you clean all the burrs and tiny pieces of plastic from the throttle body side of the intake plate. Mine was full of tiny, loose, slivers of plastic from the cutting process. This should be taken care of prior to shipment.

Lastly, my biggest problem with this thing:
The surface that mates to the intake plenum is flat unlike the diverter plate surface, which has a small lip that fits into the gasket channel of the plenum. With the Code 3 intake, the gasket is useless. It sits flush in the gasket channel and does not contact the intake plate surface. Because of this, there is a possibility of debris getting through the interface gap. I sealed it with a light layer of black silicone, but I'm still not confident in its ability to keep dirt out of the engine.

It's a good idea, but it needs some work. I'm going to sell it if anyone wants it. $100.00

Not bashing, just sharing my opinion.

 

IMO 3 filters are overkill, some would say 2 are. A bandaid solution to a bigger problem.
Quality single or something like the e55 ugprade would be the way to go forsure.

 

I too have my issues with the Code three intake. Even though it draws in hot air it still performs well with my usage. The first and easy to remedy problem was those infernal Phillips* screws. Someone should have shot that bast**d at birth regardless of what his name was Phillips, Jones, Schmuk whatever (don't get me started) The foam is just a little thin for my taste. A basket rather than plates would have allowed a little thicker foam. A quick release for cleaning frequently would assuage some of my concerns, but the reality is green foam is the least effective albeit the least restrictive filtering substance.

I pulled mine off after a couple of weeks and the inside of the foam looks pristine so I felt a little more comfortable about it but vowed to Clean it no less than once a month. The oil is another issue. I shot the newer type of throttle body cleaner down it's mouth to clean up things after wiping up the oil I could see. I have heard some of this comes from other sources. I plan to do this at every cleaning.

The main reason I'm torn about replacing it is that the sound of the supercharger is so pronounced with this thing I would just hate to lose that. I would hate to lose my AMG engine even more! I'll probably change it sooner or later.

The code3 guys were very helpful and gave me a forum good price. I feel kinda like a rat knocking their product. So I should add that so far I have no evidence that it isn't doing exactly what it's supposed to do, filtering the air and giving me a real kick in the *** power gain with an SC scream thrown in for free!

 

Totally agree. For the price chopped off phillips screws are a pain in the *** to put in and take out and just plain weak from a performance shop. Original Hex screws of the correct length would have been far superior in design.

The filter is crap material and should be black if they are truely trying to pass this off as a hidden MOD.

The inner plate/screen needs to have structure to support the filter and prevent injesting material into the intake, but the outer retainer/screen should be thinner to allow easier installation and removal all it does is secure the filter material.

On the other hand the pulley is great and at a decent price. If the only product that I had purchased from code 3 was the filter mod I would not have been a repeat customer, I guess it was lucky for them I bought the pulley first. This filter product is obviously their rip off money maker and without changes would not be recommended by me to anyone.

 

I explained to them that I was a forum member and still got charged the full amount.

Don't get me wrong, it does what it is supposed to do and is great for someone who drag races or uses their car for auto X or something, but, I'm not going to risk an early death of this expensive engine.

 

It wasn't that I was just a forum member, they had a 2fer special for a while. I missed it by a short time and they cut me some slack because I was a forum guy and let me have it at the special price. I bought the pulley as well as the intake.

LOVE THE PULLEY!!!

 

I wonder what the difference is in the manufacturing of each item? I installed one a buddys car this weekend without a hitch. Perfect fit, and a simple install. He even picked up .2 and 1mph over his best time in the ¼ mile with it on a 100% stock car. This was with us installing the intake at the track so we could see a few back to back runs. He was thrilled and loved the sound!

 

Did yours come with phillips head sheet metal screws that looked as thought they had been shortened with a pair wire cutters?

 

They were silver sheet metal screws but they did not appear to be cut~

 

Mine did, but they weren't shortened.

I did notice a seat of the pants performance increase, probably a horse or two due to the extra air. i roasted the rear tires while punching it at 45 mph with the TC off. I got all sideways; it was awesome, but it caught me a bit off guard. This is all great, but my engine sucking in microns of dirt isn't worth it to me. That filter looks like it can pass small boulders!