Weird intake Idea

I'm not sure if this will work, but, I came up with an idea. I own a 98 prelude, and I live in what could be mistaken as a big water puddle. Since a normal cold air intake is too risky for where I live, what if I bought an intercooler, hooked the outlet to the throttle body, and for the inlet, run some tubing, and attach an air filter. Would that work, would the vacuum of the engine not be strong enough to suck air through such long piping, or would the whole idea be more restrictive than a regular aftermarket intake system?

They sell the intercooler look-alike intakes.

It'd work, but probably not to your benefit. The weight added to the front of your car, the time it would take to mount a piece that's not meant to be there, and the money it would take to buy the intercooler would cancel any interest I would have.

I take it you want the cold air, but don't want to suck up water from the laket hat you live in. I'm guessing your lake isn't hood height, and that a short air intake would work fine. What I would rather do, is make a box that encapsulates your intake filter so as to deflect engine heat, then run a tube from the bottom of that box into a place that can access cold air. As long as your box isn't air tight, you wont suck up water.

It's cheaper and easier to buy a CAI with a bypass valve.

Yeah, I've seen the bypass valves before, but I read that it'll take away any power gains you'll get from installing one, and yes, I hear cold air is best for an engine, but where I live it's not going to happen. I talked to a friend and he said the idea would be more restrictive than anything, which is understandable. The air has to travel farther to get to the TH, whereas a short ram would be much better. I am thinking about boosting it sometime. Not sure what would be better, a supercharger, or a turbo kit. Until then, prelude love!!!

you could hit up ebay. The have intercoolers that aren't even 150 shipped and you can get a few different sizes, and they also have universal intercooler piping so you could make your own charge pipes,and that way you already have intercooler~>TB completed when you decide boost. The intercooler wouldn't be restrictive unless you used like 1.5 inch piping, it would actually flow better at higher speeds, but if you do come across that 2foot deep puddle, or home whatever you wanna call it, if that intercooler submerges, its going to do the same thing as a cold air intake.
Running the intercooler like that you won't have any filter, so if it dusty out, you're engine is going to breathe it in.
The short ram is going to be your best route. Order an ebay intake and get a real K&N filter. Then...no worries with water. Cold air does give more HP, but in a wetter environment, its not worth the risk for the extra 5 or so hp. Take out your spare tire or something if you're looking for that extra edge

Hmm, sounds like a short ram for me. I live on the washington coast, where it's always raining. But, yes, a short ram intake sounds best. Does the 5th gen lude respond well to bolt-ons, and how much boost can a stock h22 take? Later d00ds! Prelude love!

the 5th gen responds decently to bolt ons. But even with a couple bolt ons, you won't be over 200whp. Stock h22's can handle anywhere up to 8-9 psi, but the key is a good tune by a knowledgeable tuner. I personally wouldn't go past 7-8 psi on the stock engine, but some people treat boost like crack-rock, and they NEED MORE! :screwy: Some people just can't grasp the concept that: stock motor + lots of boost it wasn't meant for = BOOM!
Tuning is the MOST IMPORTANT part of going turbo on a stock motor, or even a built one. It needs to be tuned.

Hmm, I see. What does a stock 5th gen get at the wheels? I watched a video on the net with a friend and this group of people put a lude on a dyno. I think it ran around 160-170 whp. I forget which number. Hmm, well I'm not doing anything to it anytime soon. :P I'd like to get it a new respitory system though. Are any headers recommended for ludes? Or are any brands better than others? Have people bored out the combustion chambers in their ludes?

some header companies are beter than others, but if you just want something as good as stock but shiny, you could go to ebay, and the cheapo headers will work, even the Megan's are pretty good. The DC sport header is over rated for the h22, and you're better off saving the money and staying stock. The SMSP, and RMF header are 4-1 and can produce 15+whp with a light tuning. But these are over $700. The Greddy in my opinion looks strong and good quality, and definately has bigger tubes than the stock header. But just trying to help it breathe...any header will do because more than likely you have carbon deposit on your header, and on mine, it was almost 1/8" think all the way around the header tubing.
A port and polish help these engines breathe drastically. Various companies make oversized valves so you can bore out the combustion chamber

Is a port and polish when you bore out the valves and smooth it out? That's my guess. :P Are there any components on the motor, that if removed or replaced by an aftermarket part, would free up some power? A friend told me that the crossover pipe in a generation of nissan maximas is freaky shaped, and it is very restrictive in exhaust flow. Anything like that on the lude?