cold air intake question

[97civichx]

does anyone know if there is a difference in power produced from one brand of cold air intake vs. another brand? i mean theyre all mostly designed the same and if 2 different brands are both stainless steel then they should produce the same power even if one brand is cheaper than the other right?

[HXCivic97]

1st of all welcome to AF =)

2nd of all, nice name.. and nice car =)

3rd, there's actually a lot to CAI's, despite their price (relatively low) and their power gains. You will find that some CAI's produce better power than others, though it'll probably only be something you can see on a dyno. Sit in two identical cars, one with, say, a AEM CAI and the other with an Iceman CAI, you won't FEEL the difference. What it all boils down to is who has been able to make the intake of air as volumous and luminar as possible. Cooler air = denser air = more hp (approx 1hp/10oF). Not all intakes, however, are made with steel. And some are coated with different materials, different paints, bent differently - there's a lot to it. Just to illustrate, AEM makes 2 different CAIs with different technology - and the V2 costs $100 more.

To sum up, two CAIs, both made of steel, will NOT necessarily produce the same output. But, if they're both quality, the difference should be neglegable (1,2 maybe 3 hp).

Hope that helps

- Your fellow 97HXer =)

[97civichx]

thanks for the feedback, think you could take a stab at my other post? no one seems to know the answer or want to answer.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t120063.html