AWE Intake Review + Pictures [:D]

[K1speeder]

So the first thing I will say is that this is probably the best $300 I have spend on my S4 so far (besides the V1 which has a couple of saves already :P) and is everything I wanted. When I was looking for an intake, I knew that I did not want a whole lot of supercharger whine across the powerband and I like the idea of keeping the stock air box. I pulled the trigger on this right after the APR one was announced and I do not regret it because carbon fiber in my engine bay was not the objective. If you look at it now, it doesn't really look aftermarket but it makes a pretty significant difference in my mind.

The results: Overall it creates a bit of supercharger while between 2-3k RPM which I have found out can be drowned out by just slight music. However, when you go WOT and hit 4.5k, the engine sounds more alive. Not only do you start to hear the supercharger working but there is more engine noise in general which takes the tame stock sound and makes it sound pretty mean. As far as power goes, this is my only performance (kinda) upgrade of any kind so I can't really say that the butt dyno is feeling much. I can say that it is a little bit smoother in acceleration and when it gets colder at night (which is around 50F for me :P) I have noticed a slight performance jump but nothing incredible. I do believe that this combined with an exhaust will make a power difference which is why I am now certain that I will get a new exhaust at some point. (I am between the Miltek resonated, APR, and AWE with DPs) I could not be happier with how easy it was to communicate with AWE (despite a small snag that delayed the order a couple of days) and the install only took about 30 minutes and that was partly do to a short break that turned into messing around. Either way, this is a great intake and is discrete but still packs the punch I was looking for. Thanks AWE for the great product!

Pics:

Here is under the hood with the air box/hose removed


Comparison of the 2 air filters


Everything back in and ready to go


I tried to shoot a quick video of the intake but you can't really hear it. As soon as my company cameras come back from a shoot, I'll get a decent one.

[agkellyboy]

Good write up, and similar experience here. I would certainly recommend the AWE resonated, I'm biased, but don't care. Because it sounds amazing.

[Kczach]

I agree with K1; The install is pretty easy and the intake is discreet in both sound and appearance. I notice a little more whine but it is by no means obnoxious. I thinke AWE has a nice product.

[wbwynn]

nice product but I will wait for APR Carbonio options.

[Voltrons_Head]

Good write up, and similar experience here. I would certainly recommend the AWE resonated, I'm biased, but don't care. Because it sounds amazing.

X2

[rkdiddy]

nice product but I will wait for APR Carbonio options.

For some reason when I started reading this review, I thought this was regarding APR's intake. I was wondering how I missed the announcement...then I realized it was AWE. Ha.

Thanks for the write-up/review. Like wbwynn I'm waiting to see APR's offering before pulling the trigger on an intake. Hopefully we will know soon.

[K1speeder]

Good write up, and similar experience here. I would certainly recommend the AWE resonated, I'm biased, but don't care. Because it sounds amazing.

Thanks. Do you or Voltron notice any performance changes with the exhaust? I know it sounds mean but I am so tempted by the power gains of the Miltek. I know that I shouldn't want an exhaust for performance but its affecting my decision. Maybe I should let it go and pull the trigger already.

[BLACKS4-10]

Thanks. Do you or Voltron notice any performance changes with the exhaust? I know it sounds mean but I am so tempted by the power gains of the Miltek. I know that I shouldn't want an exhaust for performance but its affecting my decision. Maybe I should let it go and pull the trigger already.

First off,good pics and legit write up.

Now I have the APR exhaust before this intake and noticed a decent gain across all rpm's but with the AWE intake it is smoother and seems to have more thrust from a dig to the midrange.The slight whine gives it kinda an exotic sound which is cool but not intrusive.Install was easy and the Blow Pop was good too.

[Zac]

Thanks for the post. Looks good

[jeffc31337]

Thanks. Do you or Voltron notice any performance changes with the exhaust? I know it sounds mean but I am so tempted by the power gains of the Miltek. I know that I shouldn't want an exhaust for performance but its affecting my decision. Maybe I should let it go and pull the trigger already.

If you want performance gains take your exhaust money and get the ECU tune :)

[Alex/AWE]

So the first thing I will say is that this is probably the best $300 I have spend on my S4 so far (besides the V1 which has a couple of saves already :P) and is everything I wanted. When I was looking for an intake, I knew that I did not want a whole lot of supercharger whine across the powerband and I like the idea of keeping the stock air box. I pulled the trigger on this right after the APR one was announced and I do not regret it because carbon fiber in my engine bay was not the objective. If you look at it now, it doesn't really look aftermarket but it makes a pretty significant difference in my mind.

The results: Overall it creates a bit of supercharger while between 2-3k RPM which I have found out can be drowned out by just slight music. However, when you go WOT and hit 4.5k, the engine sounds more alive. Not only do you start to hear the supercharger working but there is more engine noise in general which takes the tame stock sound and makes it sound pretty mean. As far as power goes, this is my only performance (kinda) upgrade of any kind so I can't really say that the butt dyno is feeling much. I can say that it is a little bit smoother in acceleration and when it gets colder at night (which is around 50F for me :P) I have noticed a slight performance jump but nothing incredible. I do believe that this combined with an exhaust will make a power difference which is why I am now certain that I will get a new exhaust at some point. (I am between the Miltek resonated, APR, and AWE with DPs) I could not be happier with how easy it was to communicate with AWE (despite a small snag that delayed the order a couple of days) and the install only took about 30 minutes and that was partly do to a short break that turned into messing around. Either way, this is a great intake and is discrete but still packs the punch I was looking for. Thanks AWE for the great product!

I tried to shoot a quick video of the intake but you can't really hear it. As soon as my company cameras come back from a shoot, I'll get a decent one.

Thanks for the kind words and I'm glad you're happy with the S-Flo so far. There's some great feedback here.

I'd love to see a video if you're able to get it done.

Let me know if you have any questions about the exhaust or if there is anything I can help with.

[hawaiianking]

I got the red one for my 3.2L A4. Really easy to install. Exhaust sounds a little deeper, a little more responsive to the throttle. Waiting to order the 3.2L A5 exhaust, from AWE of course.

Installed-AWE-3.2L-S-Flo-Intake