RazorX

I ordered a JLTII CAI and SCT XCal2 from Fred along with his tunes. The tuner came two days later and the CAI came by the end of the week (about four days). It took longer for the intake because I opted for one that is color matched to my car and it had to be shipped from JLT.

I installed the CAI and uploaded the tune (I installed the 93 Octane tune) that night. It only took about 30 minutes to remove the stock intake, install the JLTII, and upload the tune. It is ridiculously easy to perform this mod…

First impressions:
I was expecting the “OMG!, WOW!, I can’t believe this is the same car…” feeling after installing the combo but I fear I may have set my expectations too high. There is a noticeable difference but I would not say it is night and day the way many have described it.

Don’t get me wrong, it definitely woke the car up and the throttle response is improved tremendously. The car also seems to pull harder in the upper RPM range. The best way I can think of to describe the difference is the engine really seems to rev much more freely now. The car does feel faster now as a result. I think I feel the improved throttle response and increased horsepower more than a snap your head back and bury you in the seat torque increase.

Bottom Line:
Am I satisfied? Would I do it again? Would I recommend this upgrade to someone else? Would I recommend Fred/Evolution Performance to someone else?

My answer to all the above is YES but don’t expect to feel like you climbed into a completely different car with gobs more power/torque. I definitely feel it is worth the money. This is the best bang for the buck mod you can do to your car and Fred has the best prices plus great service. He took the time to speak with me on the phone and answered all of my questions. His pre and post sales service are outstanding.

For those of you, who have not spoken with Fred, let me give you my impression. Fred is a no nonsense, no BS kind of guy. He doesn’t pull any punches and tells you like it is. Don’t ask his opinion on a topic unless you really want to hear it. I like that about him and feel confident he wouldn’t tell you what you want to hear just to make a sale. You will either buy from him because his product and skills meet your needs or you will not. I get the feeling he would rather lose a sale than feed you a line.

On a side note: The first intake that was sent to me came from JLT with the wrong color tube. I sent Fred an email letting him know and he responded immediately letting me know the correct one would be shipped out the next day along with a return (pre-paid) shipping label. It arrived at my house two days later and went on that night. I’m not mentioning this because of the mix-up. Anyone can make a mistake but the way it is handled is what separates the companies with good customer service from those that do not. I would rate both Evolution Performance and JLT very high in the customer service department based on my personal experience.

Sn00ganS1337

I keep hearing this about Fred. I just spoke with him on the phone (the day after I PM'd him) and it sounds like i'll be ordering the C&L CAI and tune setup from him. Very cool guy and very quick to answer my questions. Thanks for the extra assurance. Congrats on your mod.

James

derck_mullin

Mine will be here today. I agree as far as good dude to talk to. My friggin cell phone cut him off 3 times due to dropped calls, but he didn't get bent. Also, he said it'd ship immediately and it did. Should have the parts in by the end of the day...just waiting for the Man in Brown to show up. Can't wait to play with the tuner as well. Will post a review of the tune as well.

06VERT4DE

If you had an automatic, I believe you would have seen a HUGE difference. I got the XCAL II and JLT II CAI and it made all the difference in the world in my automatic vert.

Timmay!!!

Has anyone had or heard af any reliabilty or drivability issues after the intake install and retune? Another thing I was wondering is can you tune the car to 90 Octane seeing as thats the best I can get in my region?

lmmmmm

just tell him what octanes you get.

derck_mullin

Very happy with the tune, but the intake was more of a pain than I thought. Seemed like the filter didn't want to fit the intake tube quite right, so I had to keep messing with it. I finally got everything line up right and tightened down (after many frustrating attempts) and noticed the intake tube was scratched pretty badly. I looked to try to find the cause and believe it or not, the plastic cap on the PS fluid reservoir had put deep scratches/gouges in the intake tube. Guess I didn't realize it was that soft of plastic. Kinda makes me wonder about the overall durability. But, performs great and you can definitely hear the engine sucking through it. Like mentioned by RazorX, not a night and day kinda thing, but very happy overall. Also, having the ability to change fan settings, gear ratios etc will be needed later.

RazorX

Good point and I'm sure it is right on the money. I can see how it would be more noticable when you are also changing the shift-points, pressure, etc.

UrS4

Not to beat this topic to death, but what kind of night and day difference were you expecting? Isn't 30++whp easily noticable? Besides, I thought the tune significantly reduces throttle lag and more torque down low due to the adjustments Fred has made to the VCT?

RazorX

I guess I was expecting the kind of night and day difference that makes you feel it like it was…umm…yeah, a night and day difference. I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to expound on what I mean by “night and day”. Huge? Very large? Wowwwwwww?

I did notice an improvement but I guess my butt-o-meter isn’t precise enough to feel a “night and day difference”. I also didn’t dyno it before and after so I can’t say if I picked up 30++whp or not. Perhaps I did but I can’t prove it with empirical data.

Like I said in my original post, the improved throttle response is very noticeable. What adjustments to the VCT are you referring to? I hadn’t heard/read about that before and Fred didn’t mention it when I spoke with him. Sounds good though. More info on this please.

Have you installed a CAI along with a tune from Fred and did you feel the extra 30++ whp to the point you would call it night and day? I also see you listed a 5spd in your signature. Is that a 5spd manual or an automatic? I’m asking because I wonder if the people that are really feeling a huge difference are running with autos.

I just had a 4.30 gear swap done last week (installed after the CAI/Tune) and I can really feel the difference with that mod. I guess the difference I noticed with the gear swap is more in line with what I would call huge or night and day.

Please don’t read anything into my “review”. As I said in my original post, I don’t regret it and I think it was worth the money. It just wasn’t night and day for me If you and others feel it was…that is great. It just didn’t shake out that way for me.