Kit arrived today...see my review 9 posts down! NOT happy



Hey guys...just purchased the Mina Gallery intake kit for my XJ6 yesterday and waiting for it to come from Cali over here to the East Coast. I'm hoping it helps the cat breathe a bit easier. I'm not expecting it to perform magic, or for me to notice anything on the "butt dyno" but even if it just adds a cool sound and gets me an extra 0.5MPG I'd be happy. I will report back after I receive and install it and try to upload some soundclips for whoever is interested

 

I'm interested. Let me know, I might do it too.

 

Where can i get pics of that intake kit?

 

There aren't any clear pics of the intake kit unfortunately, so I'm not so sure what to expect. What I am nervous about is I just recently heard some of the XJ8 guys say it's a really cheap kit and in some cases actually caused the vehicle to run worse. I'm hoping they've improved the quality of their kit, because if it looks like crap when opening the box I'm just going to return it and not even bother with it. If it looks halfway decent then I may try it but for $125 bucks I expect decent quality and not something that looks like it came from pep boys

 

My open air intake . Diameter inlet 115mm
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/a...pictureid=2009

 

I heard that adding a ram Air Intake increases your chances of getting water into the engine (they call it hydro locking.) Does anyone know if this is true or not and how risky it is?

 

Keesh that's not bad looking...looks stock actually. What did you use for the elbow piece?

MTZ...adding an intake is not going to increase your chances of taking water into the engine unless you're driving through 4 foot puddles. And if you're that worried about it they do make a sort of check-valve type device to prevent you from taking in water, but it's totally not necessary. I had an intake on my last vehicle, a '97 Maxima...and I sold that car with 200K miles on it and it ran sweeter than nearly any vehicle I've ever driven.

The Mina Gallery intake should be here mid-week. Will keep you all posted

 

HDPE pressure pipe and HDPE fitting and after the elbow piece go from ø115mm with fitting to ø 83mm.
(HDPE=High-density polyethylene)

 

Well guys intake arrived today...I have to give Mina +1 for quick shipping..however...I have MANY gripes with this product

First off, the product ships with a very cheap ($25) APC filter. I'm a manager at Advance Auto Parts, and was able to match the filter up to one we had in stock. For $125, the kit should come with a filter comparable to a K&N. This one does not.

Second, the means of attachment of the air tube from the air pump to the polished pipe needs to be put together in a very hacked looking way. You must feed the silicone tube into the existing rubber tube coming off the air pump in order to splice the two hoses together; then plug the other end of the silicone hose onto the polished pipe. This looks like something a rice burner with a CRX would do.

Third, the kit should include an adapter piece to fit to the MAF sensor, but does not. Due to the unique way our airbox attaches to the MAF (2 clamps), it is very difficult to get a tight seal because if you slide the coupling on too far you will create air pockets between the splines of the plastic and no matter how tight you tighten the clamp it will not seal. Mine sealed fine, but I was forced to only slide the coupling on roughly 1/8th of an inch which does not instill much confidence in its security.

Lastly, the kit is advertised to include a heat shield, which my kit did not come with...and was also missing a hose clamp so I had to buy one at work.

So basically for $125 you get a $25 filter, a $2 rubber hose, a $5 coupling with hose clamps (if one isn't missing), and a half arsed polished piece of pipe with a nipple on the end to accept the hose for the air pump. At most $55-$60 worth of parts for $125...the math simply doesn't add up.

The kit is installed, so Mina Gallery will no longer accept it for return, and the vehicle is just as quiet as it was stock. In the near future I'm going to be swapping out the cheap APC filter for a K&N filter and bending my own pipe. In the end the kit I make will replace every component in the system from the throttle body forward and should give the cat some growl.

I will be writing a letter to Mina tomorrow listing all these items that should be addressed.

-Bill
Manager at Advance Auto Parts
ASE certified technician

 

I'm surprised I haven't gotten more feedback/interest on this. Anyways, following my above review I wrote a rather lengthy message to Mina. Here is the outcome:

Rick was extremely polite to deal with, and apologized about the false advertising of the kit including a heat shield when it indeed didn't. He also mentioned some of our vehicles do not have air pumps (perhaps since mine is California emissions and the Fed emissions cars did not have them) which explains why the hose needs to be spliced together in a rather cheesy manner. Either which way, he was very respectful in regards to everything else I had to say and he forwarded my suggestions onto the tech department. Furthermore he credited me nearly half the cost of the intake kit, which gives me the funds to fabricate an additional piece of pipe to come off the throttle body, create a heat shield if I wish, and pickup a higher quality filter. While I was not 100% satisfied with the product, I would do business with Mina again due to their customer service alone.

 

It's good to hear that they worked with you on the problems rather than giving you the blow-off. How problems are handled can tell you a lot about the type of company you are dealing with. If rectified promptly and professionally, a problem can actually end up increasing customer loyalty. Since you manage a retail store, you are well aware of that, no doubt.

One of these days I'd like to investigate fabricating an actual cold air intake system for mine, where the air is drawn from some place outside of the engine bay. In the back of my mind I'm thinking about the left brake cooling duct as a source...but I'm not sure if that's even feasible. As you allude to in your review, I want the end result to look Jaguar-ish....not like a hatchet job.

Thanks for reviewing the product for us !

Cheers
DD

 

No problem Doug. And yes I would do business with them again based on their customer service alone. This one particular product may have been a bit of a flop in my book, but I know they are known for quality products and I do plan on ordering other parts from them again in the future.

I think your idea of drawing cool air from the left brake cooling duct is definitely feasible. The main obstacle would be creating enough clearance for piping down in that area (would need to be routed above the fender liner, because if routed under the fender liner obviously the piping would interfere with steering and contact the left wheel during a turn). I'm going to work on this idea as well, and if you figure anything out before I do feel free to share!

 

HA HA HA

Well they are polite but apparently they don't listen to their customers ... I bought the intake kit and installed it last Sunday. Guess what? One missing clamp, which they are mailing to me. (Wrapped with electrical tape at the moment.) My BF complained about the flimsiness of the set up too, and yes, no louder than OEM. However, there was little air coming in with the original set up, so just about anything "open" like this kit will be an improvement.

Did your kit come with cleaning/maintenance instructions? Mine did not, and when I got a returned call late last night (almost 10 PM my time), they went on and on over the telephone about how to care for the filter. I said, "Don't you think you ought to just type out and mail those instructions with the kit to save yourself and the purchaser time and effort? Don't assume everyone who buys your kit knows how to care for it!"

Really, I was SHOCKED at how half-arsed this was. Yes they are nice but if this is how they handle their business/products ... well, let's just say I'm not going to buy the upgraded XJR grille surround and inserts from them now!

 

I bought a used cold air intake for my 04 and emailed their tech department about the filter. I didn't know if it was a dry filter or if it was oiled. The guy emailed me back stating the same words on the web page, "The filter is washable." I responded with, "Are you serious!" What does that tell me? A dry washable or I have to oil it after I wash it. His responde was, "Only oiled filters are washable." Also the 04 kit sucks too, doesn't even come with a tube from the MAS to the intake. I do have their exhaust system and I have to say it's high quality.

 

Basically they told me to buy the K&N cleaning/oiling kit. lol

I've left another message about the missing heat shield...

 

I can't wait to see how red oil will look on a blue filter!

 

I was tempted for a while, but this thread has convinced me against purchasing the intake kit. I was also intending to buy their lower and upper mesh grille inserts for my X300 - can anyone comment on the quality of those parts?

 

Blue? Mine's red! Also the instructions kept saying blue reducer and grey tube but the reducer on my kit is black and the tube is blue.

HA HA HA HA

good grief...

 

Well a little over a month later I sold my car to a "purist" from Maryland, so I pulled the intake and put back the OEM air box. I now have the intake for sale; in all honesty I wasn't disappointed with the intake itself, just the company that sold it to me, so if you want it, you can have it for $50 + shipping (less than half what I paid).

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=40745