The 2 intakes are pretty similar in design... closed carbon fiber air-box with a pipe between the MAF and turbo... except the AWE is over $100 cheaper.
It sure would be nice if there was a cheaper alternative to the Carbonio's stage 2 pipe... maybe same shape but made of plastic? for $100 less?
Also... what is the cost of a replacement filter media in the Carbonio? I know that it is lifetime and cleanable, but so was the filter in my GruppeM intake. However after a couple of washes, the rubber seal on the GruppeM started peeling off... knowing that the filter was supplied by K&N I contacted K&N... but the part number was specific for GruppeM... GruppeM then charged what would be 1/2 the price of the intake just to replace the filter... CRAZY!!! So I just glued the seal back on...
Are the replacement filter costs for the Carbonio more in line with K&N or AFE'S pricing? Or do they add a big mark up like GruppeM did.
Reason I ask is because supposedly the AWE uses an OEM filter leading me to think it is either a universal K&N size or a universal AFE size... meaning you can upgrade the filter even more by using something like the different AFE filter medias.
I think the perfect intake would be one that doesn't move the position of the MAF at all... so that you could run a smoother MAF to turbo pipe with a stock air box + high flow drop in... or upgrade to a less restrictive cone filter...
In the end I may just go with the Carbonio because I already have the APR stage I software and logic tells me that the Carbonio is optimized with APR software in mind vs AWE's intake. It would be even better if there was a plastic version of the stage 2 pipe for cheaper than the carbon fiber pipe.
It sure would be nice if there was a cheaper alternative to the Carbonio's stage 2 pipe... maybe same shape but made of plastic? for $100 less?
Also... what is the cost of a replacement filter media in the Carbonio? I know that it is lifetime and cleanable, but so was the filter in my GruppeM intake. However after a couple of washes, the rubber seal on the GruppeM started peeling off... knowing that the filter was supplied by K&N I contacted K&N... but the part number was specific for GruppeM... GruppeM then charged what would be 1/2 the price of the intake just to replace the filter... CRAZY!!! So I just glued the seal back on...
Are the replacement filter costs for the Carbonio more in line with K&N or AFE'S pricing? Or do they add a big mark up like GruppeM did.
Reason I ask is because supposedly the AWE uses an OEM filter leading me to think it is either a universal K&N size or a universal AFE size... meaning you can upgrade the filter even more by using something like the different AFE filter medias.
I think the perfect intake would be one that doesn't move the position of the MAF at all... so that you could run a smoother MAF to turbo pipe with a stock air box + high flow drop in... or upgrade to a less restrictive cone filter...
In the end I may just go with the Carbonio because I already have the APR stage I software and logic tells me that the Carbonio is optimized with APR software in mind vs AWE's intake. It would be even better if there was a plastic version of the stage 2 pipe for cheaper than the carbon fiber pipe.