Veloster NGM intake review.
Intro
If you have read my review of my 2012 Hyundai Veloster, you know that I am quite a fan of the stylish little econobox. Still, as any enthusiast knows, even the best cars can be made better with the addition of a few more ponies under the hood. To that end I recently purchased and installed a short ram air intake from Next Generation Motorsports, or NGM.
Like the Veloster itself, I was impressed with the product and felt that other Hyundai owners, NGM offers parts for several Hyundai models, should know about the quality and value they offer.
Price and Shipping
No matter the brand, an aftermarket air intake is a pretty simple affair. In essence what you are paying for is a metal tube and a filter. Especially in a low horsepower, naturally aspirated application like the Veloster your gains will be minimal without additional mods or tuning. WIth that in mind it's ridiculous what some companies charge for their intakes. If you purchase an AEM or Injen brand intake you are looking at paying north of $200!
Or, you can buy from NGM and have a virtually identical intake for half that. Your car dollars go further with this intake, which runs a little over $100 shipped. No need to worry about it getting lost in the mail either, mine was at my door in 2 or 3 business days.
Quality
Some people may be skeptical of such a cheap product because of the old, "You get what you pay for" adage. While that holds true in many situations, it does not seem to be the case here. I've installed AEM, Injen and K&N intakes on my previous vehicles and this NGM intake matches their quality no questions asked. The filter itself has a nice meaty feel to it, and the welds on the pipe are nice and clean.
Installation
Installation of this intake was a snap, thanks in large part to Hyundai's sensible placement of the stock airbox. All told installation took a little over 30 minutes, although more experienced owners could probably cut that time in half. Everything you need is included in the package, so no running all over town picking up miscellaneous parts.
An important thing to note is that the intake does not come with any instructions. This may or may not be a big deal depending on your technical skill. Basically all you are doing is taking off the stock airbox and putting the intake in it's place. It really is something you could do just by looking at it. Obviously that is a scary thing for some people however (and rightly so). Luckily there are a number of guides out there for installing other brand intakes on the Veloster and they will work for this install as well.
Sound
If we are being honest the difference in sound is probably the most noticeable feature of a SRI. NGM does not disappoint in this realm as the intake is both pleasant and muscular. At slower driving speeds you won't even notice the intake is there. This is great if you have moved on from the "wanting the whole neighborhood to hear you car" stage. At freeway speeds, or under heavy acceleration,the intake comes alive and produces a nice throaty growl. It almost sounds like a less whiny spooling turbo. Either way it is definitely a sound you can live with everyday.
Performance
Sure, an intake alone is not going to transform your economy car into a hot rod. But, what the NGM intake does is provide a little more grunt where it counts. One of the worst things about the stock Veloster is it's anemic throttle response down low. Under 3k rpm's the car feels like it is giving you everything is has, and still coming up short. The application of this intake has solved a good deal of this problem. At low rpms, which is where most driving occurs, there is a perceptible increase in power and speed. Acceleration comes on a little easier and smoother and the engine seems to be under less strain.
Of course no discussion of performance would be complete without talking about mpgs. After all, most people buying a base Veloster are doing so for a stylish mpg champ. Prior to intake installation my Veloster averaged right around 32 mpg in mixed driving. After the installation the onboard tracking shows 33.5 mpg in similar driving conditions. It's not going to save you hundreds at the pump but at least installing this product won't hurt you any either. A word to the wise though, adding power parts often results in lower mpgs because you want to drive the car harder to feel the power increase.
Overall
Whether you are new to modding a car, or whether you have years of experience at it a good intake is a great place to start. With the NGM intake for the Veloster you get just that, a good, solid intake that is every bit as good as it's competitors. What you also get is more money in your pocket, which is no small consideration itself.
If you are interested in purchasing this intake or learning more about it you can check out either of these two site:
**NOTE** I am not affiliated with either site or with the product itself. I'm just a guy who loves his car and the companies that make good parts for it. Please be careful when performing any vehicle modifications and be aware of any risks/liabilities involved with doing so.
