Intake pipe?

I have a highport SR20 primera and was just wondering what you guys think of replacing the intake pipe from the Throttle body to the Maf? I was looking at getting a aftermarket one like the hotshot cai etc, which is made out of polished metal. Have people noticed much difference with replacing the factory intake pipe. I removed the resonator on the standard intake pipe and im pretty sure i lost low end power.
Any info would be good
Cheers