Haimus vs Karbonius Race vs Karbonius CSL airbox

[Tbonem3]

The shop I go to for tuning and track prep (JMP autowerkz) has had less then stellar results from Karb boxes and were happier with the few Haimus boxes they had encountered. If I remember correctly their concerns were with the power they made rather than how they looked.

This is a ridiculous claim

[Thoglan]

Agreed. If there is any difference in power it would be incredibly negligible since the internals of the boxes are almost exactly the same. If there was any difference in performance it is almost certainly something else on those cars limiting it.

[maupineda]

Not the trumpet size and shape of the box around cylinder 6 is where boxes may defer based on brand with the “optimizing” slogan? My point is, though very similar, they are not all equal

[Gearhead55]

I actually don't remember what their dissatisfaction was with the Karb boxes. It may have been durability after prolonged use on race cars. Now that I think about it he may have been saying that customers with dissatisfied with power gains with CSL boxes in general. Which does make sense, without other mods the airbox alone is not going to make that much more power. But that being said, they definitely said that in their experience Karb boxes did not live up to the hype.

[saad]

Snorkel only makes sense if you're planning on running the flap.

I thought snorkel was for bringing in cooler air. Running the karbonius or Haimus without the snorkel just looks wrong IMO

They make one of the best airbox on the market right below Karbonius if you value the complete carbon snorkel. If you don't, I'd have zero issue with guiding anyone to either brand depending on budget and availability. That's why I curate both.

Turner is a budget box.

I dont value the complete carbon snorkel. Its like 400EUR so cant see the value there. So do you suggest the Haimus then?

What makes Turner a "budget" box? Its also on sale again for 25%. For me, doing the maths, if I go with Turner instead of Haimus or Karbonius, so I buy the Turner install kit, It will be over 1000AUD cheaper. But 1000AUD isn't a lot considering Ill prob be keeping the car for the next 10 years probably...

+1 for Haimus, I picked up a fully carbon motorsport version last November.



Been torture testing it ever since. I like the updated IAT location as well, pushing it away from the OFH keeps any possible heat soak to a minimum. 5 year warranty isnt bad either. It would be a hard pick between Karb and Haimus if cost was negligible. Karb is guaranteed quality, but you have the old IAT placement, and i believe it has the extra hole in the plenum for the bumper ducts that you would have to plug if you arent running CSL bumper(?); plus it still has the internal support posts that were common to so many failures. Ive parked right next to a Karb car and they both look great honestly, I personally dont care if the direction of the carbon fiber weave is "wrong" either, unless its OEM its still a rep, so... lol. I also dont get the hate on Haimus (not streamline), from what ive seen other major mfg's experienced the same type of failures with their carbon airboxes, yet no one grabs their pitchforks.

Thanks for this, this looks promising.

The quality of the recent haimus boxes certainly seems to be decent but I just have a hard time justifying saving a few hundred dollars when the karb exists.

Probably finally gonna place an order for a new karbonius airbox to replace my old OG geoff steel race box that's been on my car and a racecar prior for close to 10 years. The slightly cheaper options just don't interest me at all. I have a similar dilemma to OP though. I don't really like the elephant trunk design and the 400euro for the carbon snorkel hurts when I prefer the more OEM matte black snorkel piece look. Wonder if it is possible to purchase the haimus snorkel on it's own and fit it to a karb airbox?

Yep thats it, the elephant trunk design just look s abit weird haha

[Casa de Mesa]

After seeing the Haimus box in person with Mayan-Viking's piece, I can attest that the fact they look pretty incredible. Build quality is tip-top.

I think at the point we are at with the evolution of these replicas, Karbonius and Haimus are both likely better than the factory originals (blasphemy, yes). There are aesthetic differences that are minor, but quality from what I've seen is on par between the two. This starts to become a Ford vs. Chevy argument.

The Turner box has its place too, as does Evolve. Heck even the Bimmerworld piece. We should be grateful there are options and designs that are still being iterated on 20 years later.

All that said, I clearly chose the best and went with the Karbonius CSL in matte finish and freaking love it. 😁

[usdmej]

I think at the point we are at with the evolution of these replicas, Karbonius and Haimus are both likely better than the factory originals

LOL this thread continues to deliver on the ridiculous claims

[Casa de Mesa]

LOL this thread continues to deliver on the ridiculous claims

Touched a nerve?

[usdmej]

Touched a nerve?

I'm curious where you think the inflection point is where we went from whistling airboxes and rebranded companies to a product that is superior to OE/wethje? Was it the matte finish offerings or maybe the curated detail photos that brought them over the hump?

[Casa de Mesa]

I've held both the original and the two copies in this thread. These have been late production replicas/copies so I can't speak to the OG days of whistling airboxes your alluding to. That said, on these later models, fit and finish in my estimation was on par or better than OE, both inside and outside of the boxes. You also get carbon trumpets vs plastic on the OE, if that means much to you.

Regarding sound, I'll concede I've heard claims that the originals have a deeper growl. Hard for me to quantify that as I've not sat in the driver's seat of an original, nor have I with the Haimus box. But I can't help but wonder if what people are hearing is the lack of sound insulation elsewhere found on a genuine CSL and a lack of loud exhaust they likely have installed that will mute the airbox comparatively. Since we're down to splitting hairs, yes that's an opinion.

Regarding matte finish, come on man. It's been proven these make more power. And if you're talking about my curated photos above, hell man, you have a low bar! I'll take it as a compliment nonetheless.

[SQ13]

My 2021 build Karb intake whistles. Just sayin

[Mayan-Viking]

I can't wait to find out if my box is a whistler...

[Slideways]

My 2021 build Karb intake whistles. Just sayin

Is the ICV port beveled on the inside of the box? The newer ones should be, albeit, not as smooth as the original CSL. The Karb airbox used to not have this and they would whistle at part throttle under 3K rpm. The solution was to use a dremel and give it a smooth radius for the air to enter the port.

[Casa de Mesa]

Is the ICV port beveled on the inside of the box? The newer ones should be, albeit, not as smooth as the original CSL.

This is the best I have at the moment without taking the box apart. Mine is a Feb 2022 build. If memory serves me correct, its a 45° bevel (99% sure of that) and this photo appears to show that.

[audipwr1]

The haimus boxes are ready to ship now and Karbonius is 4 months out

Did folks go with the premium or premium+ gloss finish?

I emailed to ask as it wasnt clear but what is included in the Haimus package? The OEM parts too or just the intake?

Also newb question - why cant I post in the WTB parts section?