interesting to see a thread like this on here....
I have a thread going on the SEAT cupra forums at the moment along similar lines...
I've got a CAI, with the filter in the passenger side wheel area, right down in the bottom of the bumper.
Results are quite good. Standard airbox/feed gets around 170g/s air flow, with this i see 185g/s, and obviously more air is good. Intake temps are also slightly lower, although not hugely different.
However, I'm going back to a standard airbox, just like most supra owners recommend.
I'm doing this because the results are on par, if not better, when used with an uprated filter element (green filters, for example) and a larger air intake ducting/hosing. So long as the hose entry point is towards the front of the car, ie in the grille or down near a foglight, the results are as good, if not better.
Also allow far easier access to clean/replace the filter. Doesn't LOOK as nice, but my car is not really a show car now as it's getting so worn, dented, and abused, with the 25k miles a year i do to work and back