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Before I say anything id like to note that up until now I was under the impression that UPD was the go to company for 157/278 intake spacers and had assumed that I would be receiving a product of decent quality to say the least since so many people run these.
More to the point, I recently received my intake spacers for the M157 and upon opening the package I quickly discovered that quality of their said spacers was just way below expectation. I mean it literally looks like a 10$ product off of aliexpress or something. Their so mentioned "The UPD CAIK spacer kit comes with high quality aluminum brackets, spacers and special stainless steel German made hardware to bolt all engine covers and air filter box in a seamless kit." was no where to be seen.
I got this product on sale and I paid 220$ for it, which is not a problem as long as the quality is there. My main concern with this product is that it is not flat and deformed over all. When you lay it down on a flat hard surface it tilts from one side to another which is highly concerning since this is a part of an intake. Also why make screws that have threads from top to bottom? Its already hard to properly seal off the intakes with the garbage quality spacers provided, why make it any harder with screws that are gonna stop once the hat of the screw bottoms out? I mean you don't even need any R&D for this, just look at the OEM screws and add length. With OEM filters, one of the intakes would not seal, light was bleeding in to the intake no matter how hard I tried. Only way I was able to make it work with one of the spacers is by using K&N filters. The rubber part of the K&N's is thicker and seem to fit more snug than OEM's. I will include some pictures so people can better understand what I'm on about and thanks UPD for sending me this garbage. Keep up the excellent work!
I had 2 main issues with mine. The screws are not the same thread pattern as OEM, and there should be some kind of gasket material around the spacers to reduce the likelihood of check engine codes (P1ce7) without having to ridiculously torque the screws.
Darn, I just ordered the same thing a couple days ago. I will report back when I receive them, what your pictures show does not look usable without leaks.
Maybe their quality slipped over time. I bought mine about 2-1/2 years ago and everything was fine except I hated the red color. So I had the anodize chemically stripped and replated with black anodize.
I have long since moved on to Black Boost intakes but still have the full UPD kit with all bits and as good as new green filters. The black was to draw less attention to them at the dealer.
As I recall the rubber sides of the green filters serve as functional seals Bill. Don’t recall needing additional gaskets.
If anyone is interested in my kit, PM me. Sell it for roughly 1/2 price of new and the $100 extra I paid to make them black is free.
Maybe their quality slipped over time. I bought mine about 2-1/2 years ago and everything was fine except I hated the red color. So I had the anodize chemically stripped and replated with black anodize.
I have long since moved on to Black Boost intakes but still have the full UPD kit with all bits and as good as new green filters. The black was to draw less attention to them at the dealer.
As I recall the rubber sides of the green filters serve as functional seals Bill. Don’t recall needing additional gaskets.
If anyone is interested in my kit, PM me. Sell it for roughly 1/2 price of new and the $100 extra I paid to make them black is free.
Cheers
this is a great deal and yours are perfect condition!!
What I don't understand is why people are still spending money on either of the two products above. Neither have shown any appreciable performance improvement.
I realize the BB Intakes are expensive for some, but at least those have been proven to perform.
Where's the data logs for either of the two products above showing an improvement, to substantiate either purchase price?
If people are cost conscious, at least spend in on products that have shown a net benefit.
What I don't understand is why people are still spending money on either of the two products above. Neither have shown any appreciable performance improvement.
I realize the BB Intakes are expensive for some, but at least those have been proven to perform.
Where's the data logs for either of the two products above showing an improvement, to substantiate either purchase price?
If people are cost conscious, at least spend in on products that have shown a net benefit.
Because not everyone likes the way BB intakes look and not everyone is trying to squeeze out every bit of hp. Some people just want a lightly tuned car and many don't care about that 1/4 time including me. I don't think cost is a big factor for many since BB intakes cost what like 1400$? Lol
yes cost is also a factor specially when a kit cost not more then 400$ and you want to sell it for 1400$, i am sure that VRP can sell the same kit not more then 500$.
yes cost is also a factor specially when a kit cost not more then 400$ and you want to sell it for 1400$, i am sure that VRP can sell the same kit not more then 500$.
I'm sure they can after they reverse engineer someone else's hard work and pawn it off as their own. That seems to be their modus operandi.... You can offer cheaper prices when you don't have to invest in the engineering.
I received my UPD order today. I layed them on a very flat granite slab I have, the spacers are very flat, no twist and the seams are clean. I don’t foresee having any issues with these. Maybe you got a set that had a slip on quality?
Yes brutus_tx I understand where your coming from on the cost vs performance. Any gain that may come from these spacer is not quantified and would be dependent on the tuning state I imagine. Nonetheless the cost/performance ratio is steep, but from my point of view sometimes it is just fun to try these bolt-on mods out. Next year I probably won’t care whether they are there or not, but for now I am just tinkering a bit.
Because not everyone likes the way BB intakes look and not everyone is trying to squeeze out every bit of hp. Some people just want a lightly tuned car and many don't care about that 1/4 time including me. I don't think cost is a big factor for many since BB intakes cost what like 1400$? Lol
I get it.. trust me.... buy why spend any money if it doesn't improve performance? Heck it doesn't even look any different than stock, so it doesn't even have that going for it...
I received my UPD order today. I layed them on a very flat granite slab I have, the spacers are very flat, no twist and the seams are clean. I don’t foresee having any issues with these. Maybe you got a set that had a slip on quality?
Yes brutus_tx I understand where your coming from on the cost vs performance. Any gain that may come from these spacer is not quantified and would be dependent on the tuning state I imagine. Nonetheless the cost/performance ratio is steep, but from my point of view sometimes it is just fun to try these bolt-on mods out. Next year I probably won’t care whether they are there or not, but for now I am just tinkering a bit.
Now that I can understand and appreciate... enjoy modding your car!
Engineering did absolutely go into it.... it's more than a filter on a stick.
But hey, you do you. I'd prefer to invest in a company that innovates.... not one that leeches off the investment in time and effort of others...
Our part is actually superior in engineering, The 4 piece design reduces cost drastically, which allows us to pass the savings on to the customer. Its that simple.
Engineering did absolutely go into it.... it's more than a filter on a stick.
But hey, you do you. I'd prefer to invest in a company that innovates.... not one that leeches off the investment in time and effort of others...
I even prefer to diy and cut more from the cost, i am not here to defense for VRP but if you take a look on their website and check their stuff specially the E55K section and their whipple adapter plate, billet surge tanks, 105mm throttle/adapter and way more engineering items you will not say that.
I received my UPD order today. I layed them on a very flat granite slab I have, the spacers are very flat, no twist and the seams are clean. I don’t foresee having any issues with these. Maybe you got a set that had a slip on quality?
Either way, a company that has the audacity to ship such a poor quality item is simply trash.
I get it.. trust me.... buy why spend any money if it doesn't improve performance? Heck it doesn't even look any different than stock, so it doesn't even have that going for it...
Honestly my thinking was that lifting filters with the spacers would be of some help on the top end and since I'm planning on running stage 1 only it would be the best route. But considering the product i received Im probably gonna go with BB intakes once its time to clean the filters, even though i don't really like the way they look. At least quality will be there and performance.
Our part is actually superior in engineering, The 4 piece design reduces cost drastically, which allows us to pass the savings on to the customer. Its that simple.
But does it work?
Is it worth the $/performance?
That's my original argument. I still haven't seen any performance claims to back up the product.
08-28-2021 | 09:48 PM
