Cold air intake Q's

[drpenguin]

i have been looking for a cold air intake. There are tons all over ebay. I was told to stay away from anything that wasnt aluminum and nothing but. All the ones i find are aluminum with a chrome finish. I was told the alum shed heat like no other. Stainless steel and chrom i hear love to soak up heat and kinda defeats the purpose of the cold air right?

 

[jamesA]

my injen is still cold to the touch after a long drive home

 

[phunky.buddha]

All metals will soak up heat from the engine bay- the aluminum is just more conductive and less massive, so it will shed it faster and store less than steel pipe will. If you want to be really picky, just buy your cheapo eBay CAI and then a can of high temp resistant ceramic paint. Paint the intake pipe and you'll have a thermal barrier between the engine and the intake system.

 

[h22bubbleback]

an intake is an intake...but if u really serious iv always heard good things about injen and iceman

 

[drpenguin]

Originally posted by Calesta@Oct 8 2004, 09:31 PM
All metals will soak up heat from the engine bay- the aluminum is just more conductive and less massive, so it will shed it faster and store less than steel pipe will. If you want to be really picky, just buy your cheapo eBay CAI and then a can of high temp resistant ceramic paint. Paint the intake pipe and you'll have a thermal barrier between the engine and the intake system.

[post=400372]Quoted post[/post]​

not a bad idea. what do you use yourself?

 

[nfn15037]

CAIs make power at certain RPMs because of their length, not so much the allegedly "cooler" air they draw into the motor. I wouldn't worry too much about material, they will all be about the same in terms of HP, unless you care about it rusting

 

[phunky.buddha]

Originally posted by drpenguin+Oct 8 2004, 11:55 PM-->

not a bad idea. what do you use yourself?

[post=400384]Quoted post[/post]​

Short ram intake: 3 inch diameter aluminum pipe with a huge K&N filter on the end. No thermal barrier. I have a velocity stack that I need to add to it, but I need a new filter first- one that's a bit harder to find.

nfn15037@Oct 9 2004, 12:20 AM
CAIs make power at certain RPMs because of their length, not so much the allegedly "cooler" air they draw into the motor. I wouldn't worry too much about material, they will all be about the same in terms of HP, unless you care about it rusting

[post=400390]Quoted post[/post]​

Pipe tuning is key. That's why I prefer short rams.

 

[odnet]

Y ou can lose low-end torque by switching to a CAI, but if I recommend anything it'd have to be an AEM Cold air system, best for the money, includes powdercoating in most cases.

 

[jamesA]

Originally posted by odnet@Oct 9 2004, 02:03 AM
Y ou can lose low-end torque by switching to a CAI, but if I recommend anything it'd have to be an AEM Cold air system, best for the money, includes powdercoating in most cases.

[post=400418]Quoted post[/post]​

for 400 some odd dollars

 

[EGProject]

400 dollars? I don't think so. I bought my AEM Short Ram for about $100 bucks off NOPI, and I'm very impressed with the quality - and I'm sure the full CAI is only about $160-200.

As far as intakes go, if your gonna buy something for short money, I'd go with the suggestions above - included that you buy a different air filter (actual K&N, HKS, Apex'i, etc.). My friend with an LS Integra bought a cheapo $65 intake off Ebay, and the filter was crap - it also didn't come with a vacum hose (to connect to the valve cover). So he went online and bought an HKS filter element. It looks really nice - especially with the Home Depot rubber hose going to the crankcase vent.

But if you can spare the cash, buy an Injen, and Iceman, or an AEM - they'll last forever, and they're all R&D'ed for performance.

Still waiting to -plop down the money for a V2 intake....