About two weeks ago I bought a cold air filter off Ebay for around 15 bucks, thinking it might change the performance but mostly for looks. It said that it would fit my s10 Blazer, plus I thought the fake carbon fiber heat shield looked cool. I got it last Friday and removed my stock air filter and installed the cold air filter. I installed it into the stock air intake tube, but after I tightened it down it seemed kind of loose. I had my girlfriend start the car and press on the accelerator and didn't feel any air getting sucked in around the mount. I just went ahead and used the stock air intake tube, though I googled images and all the others I saw had aftermarket ones. It's louder and sounds different, plus seems to get better gas mileage. My question is, is it ok for my filter not to be super tight even if the clamp is as tight as it goes? Also, should I get a aftermarket air intake tube? And how can I tell if it's not installed properly? I;m new to this and pretty lost... I need help.

 

Pictures would help & why did you put it on the stock intake tube? Didn't it come with a tube & silicone connectors to go from the bonnet (on the throttle body) to the filter?
What is a cold air filter, is that your term for a cold air intake?
A CAI (cold air intake) usually includes 1 peice of tubing & silicone connectors.

 

It's not okay for you to have intake leaks. You want all of the air to be sucked in via the filter, and not around it by-passing the filter.

What exactly is the problem? Is the hose clamp too big? Coupler too big?