best intake
 

what kind of intakes are good for a 90 civic? what are the best choices

to begin with....its all starts with application....if you want it just to have a nice sound...and a cheap low cost intake...then just by and extension..and put a filter on it...or buy an arospeed or rs akimoto....etc...if you want performance...then there is two ways.... CAI or engine bay intake....ill give you some info on both....

CAI : extends to the bottom of the car....made with different materials depending on company.....AEM uses a ceramic coated pipe...which cuts out heat....even though it gets hot...once cold air flows through...the material adapts thus turning cold...the ICEMAN is a plastic....plastic blocks out heat too....however...when it gets hot..it stays hot, and when the cold air touches it, it gradually gets cold...personal preference is AEM... but ill stick with my ICEMAN...

SHORT RAM :stays inside the engine bay...there is a good and a bad to this....BAD is the heat that is being let out by the engine...it will take cold air to make more HP...and ur not getting any in there...unless u leave ur flood box and all tubing from bottom of car to the top...its a little bit better...but still not enough cold air..now the GOOD is that since its a "SHORT RAM" the time it takes for the air to travel from the filter to the engine takes alot less time that it does from the bottom of the fender to the engine...

to sum it up for nice cold air buy an aem...or a comptech ice box...or ICEMAN etc....nicest sound...aem..most hp AEM and COMP.. if u want a short ram ....AEM or DAC(which has optional extension)..hope it helps :D

If you want the best, I would have to go with AEM Cold Air Intake. They have proven gains and they sound good.

Yep....
 

AEM has the research and dynos to prove their gains. A cold air intake will give you a nice sound as well as a "start" on performance.

BEEN THERE --- DONE IT...
 

You can save a lot of time and money by just reading this post and skipping the rest. Everyone is going to tell you AEM is the best, but they're wrong. Save yourself a few bones and buy an Iceman. Iceman makes the best "intake."

Want more??? I'll be glad to blather... :) :p :D

Re: BEEN THERE --- DONE IT...
 

Oh yes and he CAN blather on like no one else!:D

Good to see you here BDC!

If you want to upgrade to a turbo later on, save your money. Buying the intake is just wasting money. The intake won't do much for ya cause it comes off when the turbo goes on. Put the money towards an exhaust.

My .02:

Personal preference is the AEM. The Iceman has a good theory: By making the diameter of the intake progressively smaller as it reaches the TB, air will become compressed, making it cooler, more dense, and increase air pressure and velocity. The problem with this: I have yet to see a setup in a Honda in which the air actually being pushed into the TB (besides FI, in which case this is pointless). In our Hondas, air is sucked into the TB, rather than pushed. Therefore, pressure on the TB will be reduced in the Iceman system, rather than increased, as will velocity. Think of it like this: Imagine yourself with a bucket of water in front of you. Your goal: suck the water out of that bucket. You have two options for a straw: One is 2" in diameter, the other is a traffic cone. Which is going to be easier to suck water through? Which is the water going to be traveling through faster when it hits your lips?

Also, the AEM uses a K&N filter- proven time and again to be the best. Both are great products, but I believe the AEM to be superior.

BDC- I'm not calling you out, just stating my opinion.

Opinions are fine, bro, but let me throw a couple of facts your way...

There is no doubt about it. As far as filters go anyway, K&N is the best you're going to find. They are made of high quality cotton-mesh weave, and when oiled properly they filter out particles better than any replacement paper filter, yet offer much higher flow.

The problem with your "opinion" is this. True, K&N filters are used on AEM intake systems. But they are also used on the Iceman, DC Sports, RS Akimoto, Lightspeed, and sh!tload of others. AEM's are NOT unique in this respect.

I would be willing to concede that they have roughly the same velocity, if you would. I think this issue is nothing but hype on both companies parts. There's no reason for us to play into it.

Equal filtration, equal velocity. That still leaves us with the pesky question of finish. Considering the fact that they both reside in the engine compartment --- the hottest place in your car --- which would you think delivers cooler air? That is, in your "opinion", is aluminum or plastic a better insulator? And, which conducts heat better --- plastic or aluminum???

All other things being equal, wouldn't that make the Iceman "superior" to the AEM --- in your "opinion"??? :cool:

Once again, not calling you out.

IM "opinion," it's true- plastic is a better insulator than metal. It's also cheaper to use, especially after you figure in coating the metal to resist heat. So why doesn't everybody use it?

It cracks. Plastic is incredibly prone to expansion and contraction in response to temperature changes. If you live in a climate that tends to get colder, a cold plastic intake being rapidly heated in the engine bay is bad news for the plastic. I don't know exactly where skull island is, but here in Colorado, nobody uses Iceman intakes because we've all seen more than one with a fairly sizable crack due to wintertime driving. The plastic used in the Iceman is especially prone because it is such a hard plastic. The stock airboxes and intake tubes aren't as prone because they're a much softer compound. True, this doesn't apply to everybody, but if you live in a climate that sees more than 4 months of snow, it's something to keep in mind.

Finally, consider this:

Given: 18.1 hp and 12.6 lb/ft is an incredibly lofty number. However, I've never even heard of Iceman even claiming these kinds of results. Also, a dyno is only as good as the people performing it, and I can't say anything (good or bad) about this dyno or these people. So if the materials/ insulation on the Iceman is so much better and the charge air is so much cooler, where are these massive (or at least comparable) gains coming from? The AEM is dyno proven to outperform every other intake on the market. Given: I have yet to see a head to head of the AEM vs. the Iceman performed on the same car on the same day. Even then, whichever was tested first has the advantage. If anybody does know where I can see one, please let me know- I'm very interested.

You make so many points here, and pose so many questions, I'm going to respond to your remarks individually...

Am I boring you or should I keep on blathering??? ;)

Alright, I'll try and say this without circular logic:

Iceman intakes crack in the winter, due to rapid changes in the temperature of the plastic. I have seen it happen more than once. Stock airboxes and intakes aren't as prone, since the plastic is a softer compound.

The AEM cold air and Iceman 'drylands' setup are identical. They draw air in from the passenger side fender well. Anyone's short ram and the Iceman 'wetlands' are also identical- they suck. They draw hot air in from the engine bay. BTW- 7 degrees farenheit translates to 1%.

As for your setup, whatever works for you, man- go for it. I'm not attacking, and I hope you don't interpret my posts as such.

On that note, I read the old SHO thread about Brink, and I must say I'm impressed. I've never seen anyone who can twist someone else's words around to mean whatever he wants them to mean like you can. Your debate background is apparent.

Pictures are worth 1000 words. Let's see some proof. Show me one picture of a 'cracked' Iceman and I'll redact an apology.

I assume your friends returned their 'cracked' Iceman intakes to Knight Engineering. I know I wouldn't throw a $200 intake in the trash. Did the replacements 'crack' too???

If they didn't return them, post a picture of one here and I'll eat my words...


LOL!!! To prove THIS point, I'll take that as a compliment... :D

OOPS! FORGOT TO REPLY TO THESE COMMENTS...
 

I think you are confused...

Here's a pic of an Iceman in the 'drylands' configuration:



Now, look at the pics on the right and mentally picture the filter position behind the front bumper, not the "fenderwell". How the hell can you say an AEM is "identical" to a Iceman in the "drylands setup"???

NOBODY can match an Iceman in 'drylands' config. Give it up, b!tch...:mad:

In the 'wetlands' configuration, the pipe extension would be 'broken' at the clamps, and the filter placed there. This would be SIMILAR to the AEM, except that the Iceman still has the advantage in the materials used, as well as the shape of the pipe.

Don't want to start no war here, but I have done numerous test on this intake subject. I tested the two best intakes on the market, AEM and Iceman. I drove 30 min each with both the intakes. I had a temp gauge inside the both the intakes. I results were surprising. At first I thought that the Iceman would win. but in the end the AEM was actually cooler. At a stand still the AEM was sometimes up to 15 degrees warmer than the Iceman, but when the car was moving the temps of the AEM intake actually drop 5 degrees are more then the Iceman. In the end, I was puzzled, but then my friend gave me a good explanation. Yes its true that metal does heat up quicker then plastics, but metal also cools off quickier then plastics. Plastic is a good material that it takes a long time to actually be hot, but you GUYS have to remember also that plastics retain heat. Which means that heat is slower to dissapiate in plastics, while a rush of fresh cold air could actually cool the metal tube quicker. The end profuct is colder air makes more horses. Thanks sorry for the long rambling.:cool:

The Iceman 'drylands' configuration is the same setup as the AEM Cold Air setup. They both feed from the air space behind the bumper. The Iceman 'wetlands' configuration would be the same setup as the AEM Short Ram.

Ditto!

---------------------------------------------------------------

My vote goes to the AEM.

BDC is at it again I see... why is it that you must ALWAYS post a long ass reply to a simple question? No one had said anything about you nor did they ask you to put all your I'm King of debating crap on here... I'm tired of always hearing how good you are. Who do you work for? If you are so smart then why aren't you working at some R&D for JUN or someone? really man just chill on the posting. Put what you have to say into a small paragraph and leave it at that... I'll bet you know just as much as I do, I just don't have the time to waste spouting crap every chance I get.

bwahahah... Thats BDC for you.. He posts how he feels.. whether people want to listen to it or not..

Because I'm a garrulous fellow.


Put me on your "Ignore" list, stupid! If you don't know how to do this, I'll explain it to you.


I'm the vice-president of a Teamster Local. Who do you work for???

How much you wanna bet???

Explain to us how you convert a 'drylands' AEM to a 'wetlands' setup, and vice-versa. This is a simple matter with an Iceman... ::yes::

Ummm.... thanks but no... you are a funny man.... I find your posts to entertain me.




I let's just say that I work for a company that you have heard of, in the R&D dept.


more than you could ever dream of. It's not a pissing contest here, just a note that everyone isn't always as stupid as you think! But never the less let's bury the hatchet so to speak, I said my peace and now I'm done.

Oops I missed this one.

Why? Why would you want to convert a COLD AIR system to SHORT RAM? There is no need to convert anything with AEM. The only time you're going to suck water up is when you drive through about 16" or so of water. I don't know about you guys, but if there's 16" of water on the road I'm not driving in it. Also you can add the AEM Bypass Valve to the setup to give you that extra comfort.

Actually a lot less then that in some instances.. If you dont have any inner fender in it doesnt take much water at all. But thats more of a matter of carelessness..

AEM CAI tride and true all the way...

they now have released that in a SS version...

as for the sucking up of water indeed you would have to be in a foot and a half of water and be in it lon genough to suck aoo the way up to the throttle body and then into the engine and cause engine lock.

the little bit of water that willl go in that intake w/ no fender wells will be enough moists to help you gain alittle HP as it will be condenser and cooler and cool the engine alittle for more HP...

alittle of H2O won't hurt and gallon will...Also as mantioned the Bypass valve by AEM can have you resting at ease that that won't happen..

Hope this helps alittle more.....;)

hey i have an ICEMAN and i love it!!! they are the best intake out there!!! ::yes::

I just made my own intake. I got a cheap Ractive 60 dollar used intake pipe for a prelude, 3 inch exhaust tubing and a 45 dollar [canadian price] K&N Cone filter and fabricated my own intake. Costed me 1/4 of the price of any intake out there.


Also I got 3" silicone tubing for 10 dollars a foot at a Truck Parts store.


http://www.photoloft.com/view/export...03&w=256&h=192

http://www.photoloft.com/view/export...05&w=256&h=192

So far I've used an Iceman, AEM and custom, so after my extensive hands-on experience, I can tell you that NONE of them have a clear advantage. AEM seems to consistently dyno a couple more whp than the Iceman, but the sound of the Iceman is unmatched IMO. Then there's custom.. the best of both worlds plus it cost me all of $60 ::yes::

yeah.. it's not hard at all plus it's a good feeling to know that you've done it yourself; but hey, if you dont wanna go through all the hassle, aem or iceman will do.. like VTC said, aem has 2 more hp but only the computer knows/feels the difference...may i add the icebox? ;)

Yes, but only if I may add the Injen Gen II CAI :)

Nothing works better than factory.... Remove the resonator and drop in a K&N replacement filter. It's bang for the buck, quieter than an AEM, is stock so it's stealth(no cops), and it'll give about a 7hp increase for about $35.

You are right. The factory Honda intake system is one of the best! Its a totally sealed system, remove the resonator, pop in a k&n drop in and your set! Thats my call.

AEM intakes aren't THAT loud. I don't think you'll be getting a noise ordinance ticket.


Good cheap alternative, but if you are going fo r performance the AEM will out perform the stock intake minus the resonator.

That's true too... but, is 2 more hp worth the extra money... i don't think so. It performs just as well, and when I go turbo, I won't feel it in my pocket when I need to get rid of the CAI.

In the end it all depends on your goal. If you're going turbo, it'd be a waste of money. But I plan on all motor (maybe some juice in the future. stuffs addicting..), so a true CAI would benefit me more in the long run.

AEM SRI vs. My custom one id say the AEM one wins for 01 Civic's:eek: The iceman is not out yet so i have no word on taht yet;)

stock is OK! i prefer the stock intake with just a K&N drop in....on my civic at least.....on the TT Supra thats a diff story :P

werd its supposed to add more to a Turboed car right:yes:

I have an Injen intake... will I see a significant performance increase if I switch to a Cold Air Intake??

Yes there will be a gain. You may not notice it though. But it will help down the road if you plan on any other preformance mods(i.e. - nitrous, exhaust, etc)