intake question

My cousin works at a speed shop, and he tools around with cars alot. Anyway, he calls me up yesterday and says he's got a PAC Cold-Air induction kit with a k&n filter on it that he's looking to sell. It will only fit a '94-'96 civic, so naturally he called me up first. He says he will let it go for $100. supposedly it is $300 new. But I cannot find a thing about it on the net. So my question is: should I get it? I have not seen the part yet, he's supposed to swing by sometime and let me have a look. Is PAC a good brand, do these things really cost $300 or is my cousin trying to rip me off again? Really any and all input is welcome, negative or positive.

Thanks: DW

Originally posted by Darkwing
My cousin works at a speed shop, and he tools around with cars alot. Anyway, he calls me up yesterday and says he's got a PAC Cold-Air induction kit with a k&n filter on it that he's looking to sell. It will only fit a '94-'96 civic, so naturally he called me up first. He says he will let it go for $100. supposedly it is $300 new. But I cannot find a thing about it on the net. So my question is: should I get it? I have not seen the part yet, he's supposed to swing by sometime and let me have a look. Is PAC a good brand, do these things really cost $300 or is my cousin trying to rip me off again? Really any and all input is welcome, negative or positive.

Thanks: DW


You sure it is not a DAC, or APC?

DAC- is made by Akimoto. They are a good company.
APC- crap, they make riceboy products. :D

no, I double checked with him and he even spelled it out :P-A-C.

I never heard of it, but he says it was the first cold-air intake or something like that.

I've never heard of PAC and therefore, would stay away from it. But that's just me.

Originally posted by Darkwing
no, I double checked with him and he even spelled it out :P-A-C.

I never heard of it, but he says it was the first cold-air intake or something like that.

Sounds like crap to me. If it was the first CAI, obviously they didnt last very long. Look on ebay, you can find one for $60

ok, my cousin's a dip. it is a DAC, not a PAC. It's by DC sports, and looks like a straight pipe, with a bend near the manifold (I think that's what its called) and it has a k&n filter stuck on the end of it. all chromeish looking with only a few little scrapes on the pipe and a somewhat bent corner on the cylyndrical end of the K&n filter. He says since I'm his cousin, he will give it to me for $50, and hook it up for free.

What I need to know, is should I get it? I got the part in my garage, I gotta let him know by tomarrow if I want it.

Speedy help is appriciated:)

oh and also, a very important question: how will this affect things like my insurance, legality, finacial stuff y'know.

And how much better should my car run, feul mileage, engine life, etc...

Originally posted by Darkwing
oh and also, a very important question: how will this affect things like my insurance, legality, finacial stuff y'know.

And how much better should my car run, feul mileage, engine life, etc...



Well, honestly, installing a intake alone, you may not really expect a big boost. Things will sound different, thats about it. You wont experiance better gas mileage, longer engine life, and your insurance company could probably care less.


As for the financialpart. You will be screwed :) Once you put one thing on your car, you will be eager to put more on. :)

Overall, the intake is a good start. But it alone will not gain much.

well, I thank you kbslacker, for your input, and as you are the only one to give a monkeys bannana, I will just have to go on your word. UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE RESPONDS!

My cuz was out today, so I got one more day. ALL INPUT IS WELCOME!

Originally posted by Darkwing
well, I thank you kbslacker, for your input, and as you are the only one to give a monkeys bannana, I will just have to go on your word. UNLESS SOMEONE ELSE RESPONDS!

My cuz was out today, so I got one more day. ALL INPUT IS WELCOME!

If he is out until monday, just throw it on for a day, drive around, and see how you like it. It only takes about 10-20 minutes to swap it. :)

I read this whole thing on another sight about how short rams, (not CAI's) are a bunch of bull. I read that a stock intake with a K&N drop in filter did more than a short ram because the stock airbox acts as a heat shield for the filer. And the article also said that a short ram intake actually takes away a little low end torque because there is less of a vaccuum. I had one and personally, all I think it does is make the engine compartment look a little nicer. I didn't feel any power difference at all.

I read that article too, Swonder67. My cousin said it was a CAI, but when I got it, it is definately a short ram intake. I wonder if that bit about you actually losing torque is true. I mean, more air IS sucked in, is it not? That in itself should help. But the parts about the vacuum and the air temp. do worry me a bit. I will definately take your advice. I will have him put it on, drive around for a day, and see if I like it. If not, I'm sure he would take it back. I guess that is really all I can do. Sorry I drilled you guys for info on this, but it came up quick and is a fairly big decision. I do appriciate all of your comments. More are welcome of course.:)

well, I musta looked at 40 websites that either sold or owned a DAC by dc sports. ALL of them said that it increased Hp. A lot of them stated that the Hp gains were DYNO TESTED to give anywhere from 5-10 Hp.

Makes it real hard to know who's bs'n ya and who isn't.

We shall see.

I have a feeling you won't feel any difference at all, or any difference you feel will be in your head cuz you will be "looking" for it. I think you're just gonna say, "Hey, it looks cool, and it makes a cool sound" Unless you do other motor mods, an intake won't do much by itself. I think they're claims of 5 to 10 horses is a little exagerated.

I found out that the dyno reading was taken with the hood up and a fan blowing! I feel no Hp difference at all, but the sound totally kicks asphalt!

What is that whining noise though? and do I need that extra strap on?

Originally posted by Darkwing
I found out that the dyno reading was taken with the hood up and a fan blowing! I feel no Hp difference at all, but the sound totally kicks asphalt!

What is that whining noise though? and do I need that extra strap on?


Hey, keep those strap ons in the privacy of your home. :hehe:


Anyways, back to the subject. The noise sounds awsome, am I right? :D

Whats the strap for? If I remember correctly, it is to just hold things in place?

The whine, when does it happen? Maybe you could pop the hood, then finger the throttle, and listen to where the noise is coming from. You may want to make sure all the seals are tight, and not leaking air through them

I wouldnt even mess with it... Heres why..

Short Ram doesnt really help anything. Probably just sucks more hot air then stock, but I think it does suck a little more air then stock. You might get a little horse power gain but nothing enough to notice. The only reasons you would even need a Short Ram are:
1. Looks
2. Sounds
3. Superchargers (because they have allow more air flow to the SC.)

Just save your money and get a K&N air filter, unless you want to spend $50 on the looks.

The reason they say you get more hp out of a Short Ram then a stock system is because when they do the dyno test they test it with the hood up. Which allows the intake to suck colder air. Thats it. Its about the same thing for the CAI. The almighty AEM CAI, isnt worth the money either unless you wrap the pipe, because the aluminum pipe allows the air going to the motor to be heated up any way. Besides how many people wrap intake pipes anyway unless your racing. The Iceman CAI may give little better results because the pipes are plastic which dont heat the air as much. So do as you like just keep this in mind.

Ok complete wrap up on the DAC by DC sports:

1) Horsepower:
+more air flow does help acceleration, but only after 40mph.
-I lost the ability to hop the tires off the start:( (IOW loss of low-end torque)
2)sound:
+FRICKEN AWESOME GROWL after 3000 rpms!
-What's that whine under 3000rpms? sounds like a loose belt or something...
3)looks:
+definately looks nicer and cleaner than stock air box
-leftover exposed tubing looks misplaced, like there is something missing.


Overall ratings:
Hp: mid-low
Sound: High
looks: mid-high
rice factor: mid-low (not much riceishness)

1-10 score:
7.5

Decided to get it huh? Yeah you will loose some lowend torque but gain alittle on the upper thats common. That wine at low RPM's is probably the sucking sound it does sound cool.

yeah, racing rice is right, the whining, whistling thing you hear when you hit the gas a little is the sound of the filter sucking in air. The leftover tubing you see I think is the resonator box that the stock airbox uses. you can get inder the car, and with a socket wrench, you can take it out. And about the sound, if and WHEN you decide to get an exhaust, that growl you hear, you won't even notice anymore.

Well, first of all....spinning your tires isnt inportant at all - as a matter of fact, it's a bad thing if you really know what your talking abouit and are trying to race or whatever. Second of all....save the money and get a cold air intake instead. The short ram will get more airflow, but it's gonna be hot air from the engine.

ha! yeah, I have fallen in love with that sound! and I have only had it for a few hours! gotta watch my speed though, as it will only make the cool sounds at stop idle and whilst acceleating quickly:)

I might find myself one day just crusing and listening to the sound and then look at my speedo and it says 100!

Cops won't be happy with me though!
Come to think of it, Honda won't be too thrilled either! I got a 120,000 mile service coming up real soon, and I bet they lay a brick when they see I got that DAC!:D:D

Anyway, 50 bucks is dirt cheap, and its dead cool for a semi-ricer like myself:)

Thank you all for all of your comments and suggestions:)

sorry cashman, didnt see your post. I am thinking of getting the coldair extension later on, but the DAC is fine for now:)

and forget the exhaust! this is great! Maybe WAY down the road I will buy more upgrades, but not for a heck of a long time.

Oh, drakwing, believe me, you'll want an exhasut sooner or later. I wasn't even thinking about it a year ago, but then, I just had to have one. About the dealership thing, they see tons of cars everyday that have lots of aftermarket stuff on it. A friend of mine went in for his 60,000 tune up, and they gave him sugestions on what else to do

hee hee, I somehow doubt the guys at my dealership would be like that, but heck, you never know:)

Dealers won't say anything about the aftermarket parts. They may get a little jealous though...:D

Nah Dealers shouldnt say anything about service work... Now if you broke something and was expecting them to pay for it after you voild a warranty then youll get some hell about it.

would the intake alone void my warrenty? on the whole car I mean?

Not that the fricken thing has done a lick of good for me so far and it is half expired....

About your warrenty. You are usually safe changing stuff before the throttle body, and after ther catylic converter. So an intake is ok.

Originally posted by Darkwing
would the intake alone void my warrenty? on the whole car I mean?

Not that the fricken thing has done a lick of good for me so far and it is half expired....

swonder's right... minor bolt on stuff like that isnt really a big deal..

naw, I change my mind. intake helps alot.

why? you say

I'll tell you why, I got up to 55mph in my civic in ~5 sec. (I counted in my head) I figure at most that means I got a 0-60 time of 7 sec. 7 sec. is 2.1 sec. faster than stock! And that is the slowest it could possible be! So if you want the look, the sound, and the power, get one of these. At first I couldn't tell much of a difference, because I wasn't flooring it. I was just driving it normal. And during normal driving, you really can't tell a difference. Race, and it is another story. This is not all in my head, because It still FEELS slow, but the speedo says otherwise.

What are your thoughts on this new development?

I don't think counting in your head is very accurate. I garuntee, that if you drive to 60 and count in your head five times you would get five different times. I tihnk the sound made you count faster.

Try this....go 0-60 on a flat even street and time it with a stopwatch or get one of those fancy things you put in your car that do it for you.

And also, an intake, JUST an intake, even cold air, could not possibly give you two seconds in the 0-60. everyone in this forum will tell you that just an intake can't give you much of a boost in HP, let alone 2 whole seconds in the 0-60 time.

ok, first think on your rational here. I agree the sound probably did make me count faster, but THAT WOULD GIVE ME A HIGHER TIME! NOT A FASTER ONE!

And as much as I do believe you that an Intake should NOT gain me 2 sec. 0-60, It's true! I did buy the car used, I guess it is possible that the guy who had it before me did something to the engine that I wasn't told about. Come to think of it, I have had less than average mpg.... I heard that shortening gear ratios can have this effect and may not have been noticed by service technicians.... I will have a think on it and bring a stopwatch with me next time I go out. I swear though, my 0-60 time could NOT have exceeded 7 sec. I'm almost positive. And the only thing I ever done to the engine was the intake. Baffling is it not?

you wise men you.

I got several different times counting in my head, like y'all said. ranging from 6.5-10sec. yep yep. and I couldn't do the stopwatch thing yet. No not even yet! I will see if I can someday. What I brought this topic back up for though, was to show you a pic of my engine with the intake in it. I had to decrease the quality of the photo to make the file size small enough, and the picture was taken at night in my garage with the flourecent overheads on. BTW-this car is 7 yrs. old with 119,000 miles on it. So, here is:

Thats one clean motor, how much time do you spend cleaning it? My car has 60,000 miles on it and looks like crap,(I never clean it is why)..

I don't really spend that much time. Before i took the pic, i spent maybe an hour cleaning it. You would be surprised how far a little armorall and chrome shiner will go!

I took a timer with me yesterday, but the only place I could use it happened to be on a bit of a hill, say 30 degree incline. It said 0-60 was ~10.1 sec. So a level plain would probably have been ~9 sec. oh well, I wonder what made me think it was ~7sec?

You guys are so smart:)

I still love it though, I get better mpg, better look, and way better sound; plus a good start if I decide to really mod the car, so I am happy with it:)

Oh man too much reading!

Originally posted by Darkwing
I took a timer with me yesterday, but the only place I could use it happened to be on a bit of a hill, say 30 degree incline. It said 0-60 was ~10.1 sec. So a level plain would probably have been ~9 sec. oh well, I wonder what made me think it was ~7sec?

You guys are so smart:)

I still love it though, I get better mpg, better look, and way better sound; plus a good start if I decide to really mod the car, so I am happy with it:)

Darkwing man, you crack me up

really?



cool:D

your engine bay does look really clean though. I got a 97, and my engine bay looks like it has 200,000 miles on it it's so dirty.