C.A.I. Bad ! NO! VERY GOOD! YES!!!!
Less restrictive air is always good for an engine! What is bad for an engine is Hot air!!
If you put in a cheap C.A.I. Just make sure that you do not over oil it! Let it dry completely! And after a week reclean your MAF sensor, by then all of the oil that was still suspended in the filter will have run its coarse.
Put the filter as close to the headlight as possible , and use some sort of heat shield. cardboard or whatever. Just block as much heat from the engine as possible! There should be a large rectangular opening directly behind the drivers side headlight , try and get your filter to sit diirectly in front of it.
Hot air contains less oxygen than cool air (expansion)thats why hot air ballons float. We need nice heavy air for combustion (Cold air), you ever notice that the first couple of weeks of winter when you are still on summer gas you seem to have much more Horsepower? Same gas just more oxygen for combustion.
Any cold air intake will work, wether it costs $35 or $300 just make sure that it is clean , oiled and screened! And the most important , GET IT AS FAR AWAY FROM THE ENGINE AS POSSIBLE! The closer to the headlight the better!!