AEM CAI vs. Generic

Is there a big differance in the performance between the AEM CAI and a cheaper brand of intake. cause i was thinking of buying a cheaper intake system off of ebay and putting a k&n filter on it. what do you guys suggest?

well, you know the saying... "you get what you pay for"
keep that in mind. I'm not saying your intake is gonna suck, but if it does, your gonna know why.

well, if your intake doesnt suck, there is a biggg prob...

the big diff for aem is the quality of the rest of the products they include... they have s/s fasteners, clamps, reinforced silicon connections, and a k&n designed filter.
everyone else includes the "average" silicon connectors, the "average" fasteners, and not alot of extras...

aem also includes a huge list of instructions... and a license plate frame...

so... you could buy a cheap tube, and buy nice filter and fasteners, etc, but why not just buy aem, which is guaranteed to work?

Originally posted by flylwsi
well, if your intake doesnt suck, there is a biggg prob...

you are a funny man flylwsi :rolleyes:

Originally posted by flylwsi
well, if your intake doesnt suck, there is a biggg prob...

the big diff for aem is the quality of the rest of the products they include... they have s/s fasteners, clamps, reinforced silicon connections, and a k&n designed filter.
everyone else includes the "average" silicon connectors, the "average" fasteners, and not alot of extras...

aem also includes a huge list of instructions... and a license plate frame...

so... you could buy a cheap tube, and buy nice filter and fasteners, etc, but why not just buy aem, which is guaranteed to work? I don´t think that the quality of the s/s fasteners, clamps and reinforced silicon connections is any better than of the ones of most other brand intakes! And these parts won´t cost more than a few bucks in production. Like the license plate.....which is also the only "real" extra.
But it might be the best intake on the market. I dunno..

no matter what you get you will get the same amount of out come from an intake as long as you get the same size piping and style of the filter. i mean it is the entrance of the air that people are getting intakes right? so wouldnt filter be most important?

no matter what the piping is...AEM just rips you off it might be lighter or heavier that generic but does that really matter, its not like its 100 pounds different.

and yeah ... license plate dont give any HP either does fasteners or clamps and neither does silicon connections.

just getting the most amount of cooler air from outside to inside the engine that matters the most

Listen.. it's kind of like soap. You go out, and see Dove soap. Take a look at the ingredients, okay, six dollars a bar. Then you take a peek at the generic bar next to it; whoa, almost exact same ingredients... two bucks.

Why? The Dove company spends millions on advertising, testing, and tweaking their product. It *is* a superior product, but three times more expensive? The generic soap cleans the same way, and moisturizes your skin; maybe it doesnt leave it feeling like a tenderized cut of veal, but it does its job.

The AEM CAI is nearly 200 bucks. A generic CAI is a little less than 40, with shipping. If you really wanted to, you could go ahead and get the AEM and have a shiny polished part to show off. Or you can get the generic pipe and get the same 6 or so horses.

And then there's always custom: a homemade pipe with a K&N filter. It does its job, for dirt cheap.

It's just things like little things like exhaust systems and intake systems don't make the biggest difference. On a turbo, I would be more inclined to take a brand name over something generic. Or, if you were especially knowledgeable, make a custom setup.

i have a AEM cold air on my car and when i swaped it tpo my new car i put a shitty one on it and i lost ALOT of power before i could reach extreme speeds and could take most cars out street racing after the swap i lost to my friends caviler... hurtin.. anyways AEM is the way to go they got the new v2 system i think its called and many of my friends have it and recoment it.

i bought the AEM specifically for the Bypass valve. I didn't feel comfortable driving in moist, wet, damp, humid miami, FL without one. rains too much.

i have a AEM cold air on my car and when i swaped it tpo my new car i put a shitty one on it and i lost ALOT of power before i could reach extreme speeds and could take most cars out street racing after the swap i lost to my friends caviler... hurtin..

Air intakes don't significantly influence horsepower anyways; unless you stuffed the pipe with a plastic bag, you won't feel anything. You are imagining things.

If that 'shitty one' made you lose that much power, the stock air box must have been hell for you. Damn Honda for making such a bad intake pipe, eh.

Air intakes don't significantly influence horsepower anyways; unless you stuffed the pipe with a plastic bag, you won't feel anything. You are imagining things.

If that 'shitty one' made you lose that much power, the stock air box must have been hell for you. Damn Honda for making such a bad intake pipe, eh.


it didnt come with a airbox so i just got the full AEM effect

CAI's actually cause you to be slower under a full throttle accel, even though they give you 5 more hp.

how will it make it slower? its like when you run, you gasp for more air and the faster you run the more you'll need... right? so same thought into the engine... more air the better the engine will be performing. plus those stocks slow the air flow down making it harder for the engine to suck in the air while a CAI or RAM makes it flow faster and easier to suck in than stock.

a CAI, actually pulls in too much air in the 1000-3500 rpm range. your car is faster from initial take off with the factory air filter. it only gains that hp in the higher rpm's where the fuel keeps up with the air.

i guess i should refrase my previous statement. the car is slower from take off with a cai. don't get me wrong, i have an ingen intake on my lude, and i'm "happy" with it (don't really notice a difference). but i truly believe them to be overated.

the biggest gain reported with an AEM CAI not sure v1 or v2 was 12 hp to the wheel's thats really impressive, but gains vary on models and the type of car u have

i have an ingen intake on my lude, and i'm "happy" with it (don't really notice a difference). but i truly believe them to be overated.

Pulled the words right out of my mouth. The reason they are so talked about is because air intakes are one of the easiest things you can do to a car.

how long does it take for an automotive garage to install the intake and headers?

A header and intake are the two easiest bolt on modifications you can do to a car. A few hours, tops. And that's being pretty generous.

well...with a socket wrench with a 10mm socket, and a phillips screw driver, you can probably install your intake in an hour and a half on a prelude (thats only the first time, the second time around you could probably do it in 30-45 minutes) and i'm a total car moron.

The difference between an AEM and a generic one is the price...WHY you ask...Because the AEM is "CARB legal".....That lets you off the hook when the cops pull you over. With a generic one, a fix it ticket is what you'll get. AEM legalized it for you, so they're gonna charge a little more for THEIR hard work.

The real difference is the price...Why you ask??? AEM intakes are "CARB" exempt. It's legal, not like the generic one. AEM is going to charge more because of their hard work making it legal..

aha, got it, that makes sense, but what about injen, neuspeed, etc. are they card legal too, i would assume so.

CARB stands for California Air Resources Board <-- :loser: . A bunch of tree huggers wanting us to go slow. being CARB exempt doesn't make it legal in your state necessarily but it has a better chance if it has their approval. It doesn't make it illegal either. Key word being CALIFORNIA! You wont get a fix it ticket for your cai in most states. How often (unless you live in Cali) does a cop pop your hood when he pulls you over?

Depends on the cop,and how and what ur driving. if ur speeding and ur lowered with rims he will probally ask u to pop the hood. if u have a stock looking car and he pulls u over for an out tailight chances our hes not going to make u pop ur hood. btw i live in cali and i haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttttttteeeeeeeeeeeeee cali cops i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them i hate them... ok i now i feel better

Remind me never to go to California.

well california does have some nice things like, Weather, girls, beach, and if ur a drift fan D1 was held there to.