Will a straight 3" pipe between the TB and MAF work well or does it need to have the S bend of the OEM and other aftermarket CAI's??

Is it a distance issue? I.e. must the straight piece be equal in lenth to the S-bend had it been straight? (MAF distance from TB)

I believe the PR CAI used to have a straight piece but it's not favored anymore?

If that pipe is not bent in the S shape it will come straight out of the TB and right into your brake master cylinder hard lines, or strut tower...somewhere in that area.
There is a reason they put those bends in there, to avoid the shit in the engine bay, thats about it. It would be a lot cheaper for them to manufacture a straight pipe, but they cant do that in this application.

I was thinking of lowering the MAF abuot 4 inches and have a relatively straight piece put in there..... There is enough space...

the place racing CAI pipe is just a single bend. and it's not much.

http://www.xmdtech.com/pics/cai_small.jpg

-patchy

For some reason, I'm not surprised patchy has that peice marked on a graphboard behind. CustomGhetto Inc!

Thanks Apache.... That's exactly what I'm talking about....

Does it work well?

it works pretty well, but my intake upgrades went like this:
1)Stock airbox
2)Replaced airbox with K&N cone and custom MAF adapter
3)Replaced K&N cone/MAF adapter with even BIGGER K&N cone with homemade POP charger
4)Replaced stock plastic TB->MAF pipe with that one you see in the above pic.

So the gain isn't noticeable just from that last step. But it fits! And if anything, it should be better than that awfully restrictive ribbed stock thing.

Heh, that's a self healing cutting mat under the pipe. One of my best purchases ever! :)

While we're at it, let's see how many things you guys can identify in that small picture of my oh so messy work bench/desk.

-patchy