Aem Cai

Sup people! This post is to get some opinions on AEM's cold air intake. I am planing to put one on my '99 civic ex and I was wondering if its as good as they say it is. Is it worth the price you paid? Are you happy with yours?? Please reply :D

-iLLuCiv

I don't have one installed, but it is as good as they say it is. I especially like the sound of it once you are in the high rpm range. Some folks get the by pass valve installed while others don't. It depends on your area if you plan on getting the bypass.

I would recommend getting it.

Not sure if it's worth the price. What's the alternative? Anyway I have one on my civic. I wouldn't say there is any noticable gains in power but it sure sounds great :D and is pretty easy to put in.

After I get my car dyno'd I will be able to confirm if there is any gains in hp. And yes I'm very happy with mine :)

thanks for the replies guys.....what does the bypass valve do? you said you would recommend it, what happens if you dont put it? thanks

ok well bascially what is does is keep you from sucking water into your engine, this is incase you drive thru a puddle because i don't have one on my car and i have drove thru the rain and everything and haven't had a problem yet. the thing is like 45 bucks but when you put it on it really makes it like a short ram intake instead a cold air to me. i bought my aem cold air for 166 bucks but that was for a 91 civic. i would highly recommend it

do you guys think i should go with the $45 extra and get the bypass valve? my area has alot of rain sometimes. How is a short ram intake different from a cold air intake? and if getting the bypass valve makes it into kind of a short ram, why buy the cold air in the first place?!?!
-iLLuCiv

Originally posted by iLLuCiv99
do you guys think i should go with the $45 extra and get the bypass valve? my area has alot of rain sometimes. How is a short ram intake different from a cold air intake? and if getting the bypass valve makes it into kind of a short ram, why buy the cold air in the first place?!?!
-iLLuCiv

ok i would buy it if you get lots of rain . the short ram is the one that is inside your engine bay doesn't go all the way down like a cold air. why buy the bypass vavle? because it is supposed to help your car and it does it just kinda waste the money you spend on a cold air , that is why i didn't buy one

Originally posted by iLLuCiv99
do you guys think i should go with the $45 extra and get the bypass valve? my area has alot of rain sometimes. How is a short ram intake different from a cold air intake? and if getting the bypass valve makes it into kind of a short ram, why buy the cold air in the first place?!?!
-iLLuCiv

Cold air intake = filter is behind the front bumber under the headlight out of the engine bay
Short ram intake = filter is located in the engine bay sucking in nice hot air

We have plenty of rain in Ireland and I've had no problems so far. Just don't go driving through puddles that will come above the filter as when you open up the throttle you'll be sucking up water into the engine. I'm curious as to how installing a bypass valve makes it a short ram :confused:

Why buy the cold air? I guess performance

ok well the intake sucks air where the bypass valve is, have you ever seen where a bypass vavle is? if you have you know what i mean. it isn't like down at the bottom , it is like halfway up the intake

OK, but I thought the bypass valve only opened when there is a drop in pressure like when you suck up water, the valve then opens and drops the water in the engine bay.

Just curious :D

ok what happens is when the filter becomes sumerged then the air gets sucked thru the bypass valve, but then i know that on the ealier bypass valves the foam got sucked into the intake. so unless you submerge your intake filter then i wouldn't worry about it

thanks for all the info guys....if theres anything else someone missed just post it up. I think i will go w/ the bypass valve, just to be safe. doesn't the bypass valve suck up minimal amount of air anyway??

Originally posted by Trinity
ok what happens is when the filter becomes sumerged then the air gets sucked thru the bypass valve, but then i know that on the ealier bypass valves the foam got sucked into the intake. so unless you submerge your intake filter then i wouldn't worry about it

Cool, I should have read AEM's website first :silly: it had all the info there about the bypass valve

what happens when the filter isnt submerged? does the bypass valve do anything performance wise? does it take anything away from the cold air induction?

Ok, I don't have a cai, I have a dac. the difference is supposed to be power. I own a civic. I am not that interested in power. I got an intake for cheap, non-rice sound. a dac will deliver that. a cai will delivr about the same sound, but more pricey and is supposed to get more hp out of it than a dac. The bypass valve is to protect your engine, it does nothing for hp. If you get a cai, and you don't live in a desert, get the bypass valve. But I would reccommend getting a dc sports dac. You will get the sound and if you decide you want more power you can upgrade the dac to a cai cheap. little add on piece.

my $.02

AEM CAI is definitly worth it. Don't worry about needing a bypass valve unless your area floods or you have no wheel wells anymore due to massive lowering. You'll see that where the filter element is, you'll have to be floating to get water in it.

www.importhorizon.com for best prices

Yea thanks i will DEFINETLY get the aem cai. to give my civic some more breathing power...i was also thinking of adding AEM's Fuel Pressure Regulator while I'm at it to get a good air/fuel ratio; not to rick or not to lean...is the FPR any good?


....my ride :)

what kinda mods do you have? unless yo have like a turbo or a supercharger it is kinda useless. you need more air to get more fuel and if you have little to no mods then it isn't worth it. maybe for a future mod, but i can think of other ways to spend that money on your car. i am not saying this product sucks or anything but i think you will be wasting money. it is a good prodcut but you don't ned it right now

Originally posted by iLLuCiv99
Yea thanks i will DEFINETLY get the aem cai. to give my civic some more breathing power...i was also thinking of adding AEM's Fuel Pressure Regulator while I'm at it to get a good air/fuel ratio; not to rick or not to lean...is the FPR any good?

What you have to understand is that even with a CAI, whether or not you have a FPR, or the high-flow rails, or anything else similar, you're not going to notice any kind of performance increase. Trinity is right, in that adding the FPR is pointless, unless you're going with other mods on the car.

The initial bolt-on parts that are so popular really add very little in the way of actual performance, because your Honda's engine is tuned into a relatively fine operating environment. Adding headers to a Mustang 5.0 might give you 50hp or more, but bolting on headers, an intake, an exhaust, and other similar parts will net you probably 10 - 15hp total on your Civic.

The point of my rant is this: The FPR is a good investment if you're planning to continue modding your car. A lot of people ignore things like A/F ratio and just slap a turbo/supercharger in the engine bay, or worse yet, just connect a bottle from ZEX and figure the engine will take care of itself. Don't expect a kick in the pants from your intake, and certainly not from a fuel regulator, but in the big picture, it's actually probably a good policy to take care of those things before you put any major power-boosting mods on the engine...Just my $.02

Yes I know this is only one example but still...

Some guy on H-T dynoed his intake with the bypass valve on, then dynoed it with the valve off, and gained 6 hp!

And CivSiGuy is right...you really have to drive through a lot of water in order to suck it up.

yea i do plan on modding my car lots more...but for now i'm not sure what i should do....all i know is i only owe about 2g's on the car then i can really start things :).....already ordered my projector headlights..which are on BACKORDER!...my M3 mirrors and Carbon Fiber Dash Pod.....so i'm coming along heh
-iLLuCiv

Dude, I highly doubt that your "To Do" list is longer than mine ;).