PerformanceSubaru

K&N Drop-In Filter and Perrin Inlet Tube on the BRZ / FR-S: Easy Intake Mod Install

John installs a K&N drop-in air filter and a Perrin silicone inlet hose on a BRZ: a few screws and two 10 mm bolts remove the stock ribbed inlet and resonator, the Perrin tube pushes on, and the filter clips into the stock box. Cheap and easy, but don't expect much extra sound.

John installs a K&N drop-in air filter and a Perrin silicone inlet hose on a BRZ: a few screws and two 10 mm bolts remove the stock ribbed inlet and resonator, the Perrin tube pushes on, and the filter clips into the stock box. Cheap and easy, but don't expect much extra sound. This 8 min guide covers the K&N.

Overview

John calls the K&N drop-in filter plus the Perrin inlet tube the best bang-for-your-buck intake setup for the BRZ, and the install is very easy. The drop-in filter installs like a normal air filter: open the airbox clips, take out the old filter and seat the K&N (two tabs lock it in). No tools needed. The Perrin silicone hose replaces the stock ribbed inlet tube and resonator piece, which smooths the airflow. To remove the stock inlet, take out a few screws and two 10 mm bolts. You don't need to remove the airbox. Unclip the alternator plug if you need wiggle room, wiggle the old piece out, fit the rings onto the Perrin hose and push it into place. Then double-check the connections. John says an intake like this is worth about 5 hp, while header, tune and E85 get the BRZ closer to 40 hp over stock. In the sound test (this BRZ has about 31,000 miles and is a daily driver), the intake adds only a faint vacuum sound at open throttle. If you want intake sound, get a different intake. If you want an easy, cheap bolt-on, this is it. Both parts are linked from the video description below.

Vehicle & fitment

Product
K&N high-flow drop-in air filter plus Perrin silicone inlet hose for the BRZ / FR-S
Shown on
Subaru BRZ (shown); the Perrin hose is listed for the 2013 BRZ / Scion FR-S

Always confirm fitment for your exact year and trim with the seller before buying.

Tools & parts

Tools

  • 10 mm socket
  • Screwdriver

Parts

  • K&N drop-in air filter
  • Perrin silicone inlet hose for the BRZ / FR-S

Step by step

  1. 1

    The parts▶ 0:37

    A K&N high-flow drop-in filter and a Perrin inlet tube, the most economical intake setup for the BRZ.

  2. 2

    Drop-in filter is tool-free▶ 1:06

    It installs like a normal air filter. The airbox is held by clips, so no tools are needed.

  3. 3

    Remove the stock inlet▶ 1:16

    A few screws and two 10 mm bolts. The silicone hose replaces the ribbed stock tube for smoother airflow. The airbox stays in.

  4. 4

    Expectations▶ 2:10

    With header, tune and E85 the BRZ is near 40 hp over stock. This intake adds about 5 hp.

  5. 5

    Resonator piece▶ 2:29

    Unscrew and unclip the resonator section. Unclip the alternator plug if you need room, and wiggle it out.

  6. 6

    Fit the Perrin tube▶ 3:04

    Put the rings on the hose, push it into place, and double-check that the connections are solid.

  7. 7

    Swap the filter▶ 3:51

    Pull out the dirty stock filter and seat the K&N. Two tabs lock it in.

  8. 8

    Sound test▶ 5:08

    Only a faint vacuum sound at open throttle. Get a different intake if you want sound, but this one is a cheap, easy bolt-on.

Wiring notes

FAQ

What vehicle does this install fit?

It is shown for the K&N 33-2300 drop-in filter replaces the stock panel filter in the factory airbox. Perrin PSP-INT-430BK inlet hose, listed for the 2013 Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S; the listing says it can't ship to California Always confirm your exact year, trim and factory audio with the seller.

How long does the install take?

John's full video is 8 min. Plan on that much time for a careful DIY install, plus extra if you are new to dash work.

What tools do I need?

Tools called out in the guide: 10 mm socket; Screwdriver.

Where do I get the parts?

Use the buy links on this page for the unit and any harnesses John used. Some links are affiliate links.

Is this beginner-friendly?

The guide breaks the job into 8 steps with timestamps into the video. If you can remove trim panels carefully, you can follow along.

Full transcript

Show the full transcript (59 lines) +

0:12It's like a new car here smell what up y'all obviously we got something special for you today we have the K&N

0:38High-flow air filter, and we have a parent in the tube. Bam parent

0:44This is like the go-to setup for the Subaru BRZ FRS and GT86 a drop-in air filter

0:51Which is you can hold you back like 50 bucks, and then we have but yeah, so this

0:57Gonna be the most economical and you want

1:01The best performance now the drop in air filter super easy to install,

1:06So that's a great thing about it. It's just like installing a regular air filter

1:11Which is just hold up my clips. You don't need any tools now

1:15Just move out the airflow a little bit. We have this little tube right here. This is gonna delete the

1:22The stock tube on the BRZ

1:25So to remove this inlet. It's pretty easy. It's literally just these screws right here

1:30it's literally just these screws right here and then there's two-tens so I'm

1:35just gonna do that real quick you don't have to remove the box which is nice

1:42and because we're using the silicone hose it's gonna get rid of these

1:47ribs which should help out smooth air flow and reduce basically the noise it

1:56kind of cancels out. So this pipe is pretty much loose this is loose you kind

2:04of just manhandle it and you should be good to go. Now the BRZ right now you're

2:10looking at with the unequaling header the tune 85 you're close to about 40

2:17horsepower overstop. Cat back and stuff that doesn't really do much this intake

2:22usually doesn't do anything of course five horsepower is something you got the

2:29nice guys that's some kind of resonator and then we got to remove that that's

2:34the tens. So I have it unscrewed and unclipped. I'm going to wiggle it. Hopefully I can squeeze

2:48it into this thing. Unless I unclip this thing too. Looks like I don't need to. I'll unclip

2:58I don't know plug for the alternator and there you go this piece is actually good

3:01There you go. This piece is actually

3:03Good amount of weight. So I'm just unwrapping the parent. It's a very nice piece

3:09Just put these little rings in here

3:12Make it so it's easily accessible

3:14Kind of like earlier. You just want man handle it in there

3:21Or woman handle it

3:23Good Karen's really good at engineering things too

3:28So you deaf I have no

3:30Like hesitation. This is not some cheap, cheap cheap knockoff

3:36fart double-check your connections to make sure they're solid

3:41Yeah, I mean then we have to get to this point right here

3:50This is the air filter

3:54Kind of have to maneuver a little bit

3:57Take this out, but here it is. Here. Here's the stock one got some leaves in it

4:00stock one, got some leaves in it. I'll show you what we're replacing with. This is actually the

4:06real games, real games. That's what we're replacing with. Smells like a new car, smell

4:13Smells like a new car, here, smell it.

4:20And uh, yeah

4:29Should seal, there's two tabs right there locking it in and yeah, that's it.

4:35the BRZ we're gonna do some interior sound difference and just how we're all feel about

5:08The BRZ we're gonna do some interior sound difference and just how I overall feel about the

5:25upgrade now again I don't down daily drive this car but Kim does and she's the camera

5:30person right now so she's right here she's the camera she owns this BRZ she

5:36dailies it. How many miles do you have on your car? Let's see 31,000 miles so it's great

5:45experience. I don't really I can't really tell

5:51I can't really hear the intake just here I just hear the exhaust really so that's what's for the before. Do you hear the intake more?

6:00It should be like a vacuum suction noise. It's very, very faint. So you actually can hear it. So that was that very low RPMs. Let me open the throttle a little bit. This is going to be basically an open throttle.

6:30It's not very noticeable, so definitely go for a different intake if you want sound.

6:45But if you want performance, this is definitely the way to go.

6:50I'll be able to fully open this up and you guys can just hear it when I go on the freeway.

6:55Sounds good.

6:56There's something about a naturally aspirated car, just something about a naturally aspirated

7:21something about a naturally aspirated car just turbo sounds are awesome which I

7:29have all right thanks guys we're watching it again because we're on the

7:37freeway there's gonna be a lot of low noise because of the higher speeds

Machine-transcribed from the full-length video and lightly cleaned (product names fixed). Watch the video for exact wording.

Next step

Related install guides