My first purchase for my car was an AEM short ram intake. I do read up on a lot of things before I buy them and I noticed several sources stating that shorts actually lost power when the engine became hot.
I thought "well...its cool were I live, and it out -weighs hydrolock" So I went ahead and got it.
It looked cool, it sounded cool. It made power on cool nights....but in the day time, when it was nice and warm.....might as well have dropped 100 lbs in the trunk.
So recently my paranoia of hydrolock was outweighed by the hunger for horse power. And with summer being here, it was not going to be cool any longer.
So I ordered an Injen CAI. But before I did so, I did a little research. What I found was a little surprising.
AEM seems to be the most popular brand for intake systems.....everyone and their mom has an AEM intake, sticker, liscense plate frame.....etc.
I pulled up this particular website however, and was suprised by the results.....
http://performance.clubrsx.com/performance.html
The AEM shortram was losing almost 10 hp after a few runs...but what was more suprising is that the AEM CAI...one of the most popular items on the import scene..also lost hp after a few runs.
Now this may be only specific to RSXs...but it was enough for me to change decisions on what company to order my product from.
I recieved the Injen CAI today and the install went without a hitch...the pipe fit perfectly and I managed....somehow...to get the air filter on without having to remove the bumper...or even the wheel. (thought it was an extreme pain in the ass).
The power gain was not mind blowing, but the dynometer in my ass could feel a difference.
Just a little experience I thought I would share with everyone ^^