only thing i can think of is maybe you have a vacuum leak because that coupler under the bar looks pretty oval.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=o...L9Hi4APC24D4DQ

I dont have any issues accelerating when my car is idle for 10 minutes so I think the material is doing it's job. Before I had the heat shield, the polished Injen would be super hot so I knew that I needed the heat shield, now it's not that bad.

I got it from here
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HEAT-BARRIER...133088&vxp=mtr

that's definitely possible, I may have to check that out, that pipe I'd definitely oval, did I not take something out or do something that you did to get it less oval?

My aluminum tube is a 3.5" 90 degree tube coupled with a 3.5" 90 degree silicone which equals zero oval. If you look closely at my picture above, you will notice I rigged my bay a little to make space for the 3.5 tube(Regretfully).

I did the same, but the bar is not structural so I doesn't bother me.

why regretfully?
not sure I know exactly what part you are referring to or exactly what you did if you care to share a lil more info about it if you can.

Absolutely, I took your picture for reference. I made mines flat using a vise grip, if you look more carefully, you can see what I mean. The picture is referenced to your stock unmodified bar while mines is modified flat to allow the 3.5 tube to fit

Can I also add that vacuum leak issues can only occur after the MAF sensor. Its due to un-metered air so even if you have a poor connection earlier, whilst not great due to by-passing the filter, it won't cause a CEL.

gold foil

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/pr...p?Product=1838

Works great as long as the surface is very clean.

Thanks, thats a good point! perhaps it is the MAF housing on the injen is bad, or maybe the MAF is loose or bad. Did you examine the inside of the injen tube prior?

Thank you so much, definitely appreciated!

So my CEL codes are c1201(traction related; don't know why/how that got thrown), p0172(Too rich!), and p117b(Direct Injector Fuel Performance).

Did bending that piece flat negatively effect anything? Why the regret?

Going to reflash and try to drive it moderately for the first few miles.

I had those codes popped up twice when I resetted my ECU and I still had my stock intake on the car, I still dont know why it popped up. I just used TorquePro and saved the CEL codes and removed the codes from the car. If it dont pop up again, your car should be fine, if it pops back up again, then something is definitely wrong.

Bending the flat piece will not affect anything, the only thing it will affect if you didn't do it right is the hood stick will not seat properly when you close your hood. The only purpose for it is to hold the hood, so just work on what needs to be worked on to make clearance for that pipe and leave the rest alone.

UPDATE: I notice after the CAI conversion that the car vibrates inside the cabin more now when I reach a certain RPM, somewhere around 4-5k rpm. Maybe the aluminum tube making contact with the radiator/bar has something to do with it, but no worries since I barely go that high anyway and once I pass that point it no longer vibrates.

mine's always had a noticeably different tone around 4k - 4.5k with the injen, not 100% sure what it is, originally I thought it was the pipe resonating at that vibrational frequency at those rpms and thus hitting against the heat shield box as the hole was bigger than the pipe, but now that I've removed the box and the noise is still there, I'm not sure exactly what it is.
Definitely been and still am a little concerned about that.

I think I might try to see if Injen will take mine back(doubt it), worth a shot.

Btw, I think my maf wasn't on/seated/sealed/flat/flush lol properly last time with the CELs, I've reflashed and have been driving it relatively soft and there's still a lil bog, but haven't tripped any CELs yet. Gonna WOT once I get to 50 miles.

Update:
past 100+ miles now, went soft to 50, no cels, a little bog, definitely bog though on the low end.
not sure if the cels were maf related or how I initially drove it.

btw, just out of curiosity, any reason you guys decided not to use a prefilter wrap?