Air Intake

What kind of air intake should i put in my 99 Civic SI? Does it really make that big of a difference in regards to speed?

-RadRacer1

There is much debate on todays intakes but the ones that lead the pack are AEM and DC Sports. In my Honda I installed an AEM Cold Air Intake and I have no compliants. I seen most of my power gain in the 4500 rpm range and a little help on my bottom end. However, remember that the cold air intakes filter sits close to the bottom of the car so you might possibly want to purchase a bypass valve to try and avoid and water getting into your engine. Hope this helps.

[thermal]

AEM or Iceman is my preference. but to trully feel the power of your car is to go Fi..........

intresting note on cool air intakes

the pipe travels through the engine compartment and the air is heated before it reaches the intake manifold not as much as the stock intake or a short ram but enough to make it a consideration.

before i realized this i purchased a chromed cold air. it looks cool but chrome heats up real easy and robs power.

AEM uses a coating that reduces the amount of heat transfered to the air going into the intake manifold hence more power.

Import Tuner magazine put an AEM cold-air intake on their '99 Si and found a 10HP increase at 4900 RPM. I also agree with HondaBrain, get a bypss valve. The filter could be entirely submerged, and no water will come close to your engine.

I think if you want to go fast on the long run don't buy any headers, intake, exhaust. Just save that money and buy a turbo kit. People claim that thei intake will give them a whopping 5-15 horses. But when you get behind a wheel and drive it you wont feel the difference. long time ago when RSR came out they used my car to dyno their exhaust and headers. they said that my car got 18 hp to the wheels. I never saw the diagram but thats what told the public. Neways i raced my friends INtegra LS and HE SMOked my ass. I didn't even feel the difference. I think if i was to buy the headers and exhaust i wouldve spent $1000 however i got it for $200 cuz of the hook up . I spent $1550 for my turbo kit and i SMOKE MY FRIENDS LS like theres no tomorrow. I SMOKE GSR'S, SI'S, ECLIPSES, PRELUDES, CRX with B16 conversion, and the list goes on........ i guess what im trying to say is that save your money on boltons and buy yourself a turbo kit. IT will make your car go a lot faster. IN GREDDY I TRUST.

aem will do you fine man. but like clowny said a turbo kit will rock. my boy has the greddy kit on his si and that shit rocks. he hoping to hit high 13's on 7psi.

hey clowny how many psi are u running and do you have any times.

i RUN 7 lbs of boost. I think im runnin mid to high 14's. havent had the time to go to the track yet.

[Addict]

Don't get me wrong, turbos are fast. But I think he's trying to spend a bit less for now($150 as opposed to $2000+). AEM has the reasearch and experience to back up their products(not that DC is inexperienced). Personally I would get the AEM Cold Air Intake. I have had no issues with it sucking up water. Then again I'm not driving through 16" of water either.....

[2000Pimpinex]

Get an AEM Cold Air Intake. You'll see the best results with that.

Well if the money is the problem and if you know for sure that your not goin turbo then i would do it in the floowing order;
1. CAI
2. Exhaust
3. headerrs
4. throttlebody
5. cams
and on and on.

You arent going to get a very big notice in power from an intake. Youll prolly see more sound then power. Intakes are a starting point, but id really recommend headers & a less restrictive exhaust system as well.

i personally wouldve gotten an AEM... but me and my bro bought the ICEMAN first so w/e...i think i would buy an aem...i saw a dyno proven to get like 1-2 more wheel hp out of it than an ICEMAN...and another thing i LOVE is the sound...air running through aluminum...as apposed to plastic... :( oh well...cant wait to get my greddy! (turbo later on...and exhaust now!! he he)

[Addict]

Good to see you here VSM. Enjoy the site.....

[BlackDeuceCoupe]

As usual, I'm left to write the decenting opinion...

First of all, let me tell you what I run. I have a 2000 CiViC HX and I like the stock airbox. So that there is no confusion, I am not saying the stock airbox is the best setup for everyone because Honda engineers have changed the basic airbox design so many times over the years. Since the 2000 CiViC was the last of its generation, I'm sure it was the best of the best, so to speak.

I run the stock air box, but didn't like the OEM paper media air filter. I installed a K&N air filter. I raced cars, motorcycles and ATV's for years and K&N air filters cannot be beat IMO.

• 

OEM aside, there are basically only two different types of air induction systems on the market --- short pipes and long pipes.

IMO forget short pipe systems. Most offer superior APPEARANCE over stock, but deliver only minimal or no PERFORMANCE gains. This is because the materials used cannot compensate for the hot air that is forced into the system. Short pipes draw air from inside the engine compartment --- the warmest place in your Honda. That leaves you with long pipe systems...

Long pipe systems can honestly carry the title of "CAI" or cold-air induction because they offer the opportunity to claim air from outside the engine compartment. There are many true long pipe systems on the market.

If you remember nothing else from this post, hear this:

• The finish of the pipe plays a huge role in determining the air flow temperature!!!

That whittles the field down even further. If you want great looks AND great performance that leaves you with two choices --- the AEM and the Iceman long pipe induction systems. The difference is the finish...

If it was me, I would choose the Iceman intake. Why??? The Iceman system features a UNIQUE molded pipe with a funnel effect to speed up air velocity. AEM offers a long pipe system with a slightly smaller diameter, which increases velocity, but the Iceman design has measurably better results.

Secondly, and most importantly, while the AEM system features a heat resistant zirconia powder-coated finish, the Iceman is made of plastic and there's no comparison when it comes to which conducts heat less --- metal or plastic. The AEM system claims cold air from outside the engine compartment, only to have it heated by its metal pipe on the way to the manifold. The obvious fix for this is to wrap the tube, but who does that besides racers???

Summit Racing sells the Iceman system, for your car, for 195 bones. They sell the AEM system for 230 bones. You can save some money and get the best at the same time. It's a WIN-WIN situation, if you ask me...

[Whtehnda93DXSdn]

thanks for that insight BlackDeuceCoupe..I found some info interesting.

Indeed the AEM CAI is a BIG one to look at period. Also now that they have a SS finished one. the heat that is creates int eh engine compartment isn't goin through the piping enough to heat up the airflow coming in.

W/ the new SS pipe that should help reduce a heat factor even more....

Hope this might help a little more...

The new AEM is not SS, it's just polished, and then clear coated.

AEM also redesigned their filter. They no longer use K&N, however they now went the way of Injen and RS Akimoto by using a "funnel" effect in their filter. Basicallly it makes the air flow better when leaving the filter. I have no idea how this will help hp (because of the funnel thing) or hurt hp (by not using K&N).

Two other intakes that weren't mentioned...Injen and Comptech. The Injen CAI seems to make more hp than AEM overall. I've seen a few charts that show this, but I'll post this one, because it offers a nice comparison between the AEM, Injen, and Comptech.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...e=0&re s=high

Notice how the Injen outperforms the AEM all the way up to about 4300 rpm, and again from about 5400 all the way to redline (pretty much...).

The last intake to mention is the Comptech Icebox. Yes, it is more expensive, but the appearance, unique-ness, and low-end are certainly something to consider. Check out the low-end performance. Also, the Comptech stays close with the CAIs on the top-end as well, only making 1-3 hp less.

Are you concerned with low rpm power, or high?

That dyno chart is straight from Comptech, so take it with a grain of salt...but I still think it's a decent representation of the performance of the intakes. Also, it's an ITR, but oh well.

If you aren't a fan of manufacturer-provided dyno charts, here's a comparison of the Icebox and AEM. This one is a little more accurate I think...