Short Ram vs. CAI

[MechanisM]

I have an AEM Short Ram intake I put on because I heard it was easier to take care of and that when I installed my DC Ceramics and exhaust it would take a lot of the heat away from under the hood....

Well I put the headers and exhaust on and the intake pipe is still getting pretty hot so I am thinking about switching to AEM CAI.

So my question is, what is the disadvantages vs. the advantages of doing this?

Thanks.

[whprelude]

well the CAI will give you 20+ hp...


just picking i think you will be better of with AEM as far as keeping it cool...

[fierce]

CAI will NOT give you 20+ hp... from all the dyno's i have seen shot rams give minimal gains, if not lose some hp to the wheels... AEM CAI usually see max gains of around 4-7hp

[MidNiteMysT]

well, the good thing about CIA is that the air coming in is alot colder then a short ram therefor more power. the disadvantage of this is if you get enough water in it, there could be very serious engine problems. you would have to pick a good spot for it. the advantage for short ram intake is that it is in the back and not as easy to get water into but the air coming is hotter therefor lower performance then what you would get with CIA. im not to sure about this info, so please someone back me up on this.

[fierce]

You could always get the bypass vavle for the CAI, but that is supposed to reduce the gains.. I have my CAI without the bypass valve.. no problems and ive driven thru a lot of rain(new england). I think as long as you stay out of puddles you should be fine

[MidNiteMysT]

personally, i would rather be safe then sorry and get a bypass valve but thats me... risking that ur engine can get permenatly damaged isnt worth it to me......

[PreludeToGreatness]

geez Myst you aren't one of those conspiracy theorists are you talking of the CIA and such?

[MidNiteMysT]

i talkin about putting a bypass valve on CIA. if you were even asking that...

[MechanisM]

But are the power gains that the CAI puts out vs. the short ram worth the money I am going to put into it and the pain in the ass it is to take the filter off and clean it?

[MidNiteMysT]

if you feel that 4-7 hp is worth the money, then yea

[del]

the theory behind hydrolock as it's termed is that the filter itself has to be completely submerged in water. don't quote me coz i dont' have firsthand, not even secondhand experience with it. this is just based on what i've read and heard about it. now unless you choose to drive through a road where you can't see the bottom (why you would do so is to me, moronic), hydrolock is rare and doesn't happen as often as people seem to think. not saying it's not possible but all things considered, how often would you choose to drive through standing water as deep as it would take to run into hydrolock. why would you drive your honda through anything deeper than 6 or 7 inches? splashes of water from the ground will do no harm whatsoever. the circumstances that it would take to hydrolock has the chances of slim to none.

again, i'm telling you that this is based on what I've read and heard, so don't go trying to drive through as many puddles or as much standing water claiming that del from AF said that it won't hydrolock. i'm just relaying the information that i've gathered. offering another angle at it if you will. do your own research coz personally, out of all the time i've been in this whole scene, i've yet to run into someone who has ever experienced hydrolock.

you can always fabricate some sort of heat shield/box to block off the heat from the engine bay if you're concerned about the disadvantages of a CAI. FYI, for turbocharged or supercharged cars, the 3" short-arm intake is recommended. just in case you decide to go that route in the future.

[MechanisM]

Its interesting that you do bring up turbocharging or supercharging, because I do
in fact plan on ordering a JRSC in the near future.

[MidNiteMysT]

you damn moderators always have to come in and give the perfect answers dont u! but good job so im guessing CIA would be safe to run as long as i dont go like 6-7 inches of water or really splash alot of water? i thought it went to hydrolock when theres enough water in the engine to fill a cylinder and since water is uncompressable, it caused it to go into hydrolock. when a little goes in, it can just cause a temp problem but when enough to fill a cylinder goes in, it causes perm probs, am i right all-knowing del moderator?

[Veetec]

Originally posted by MidNiteMysT
you damn moderators always have to come in and give the perfect answers dont u! but good job so im guessing CIA would be safe to run as long as i dont go like 6-7 inches of water or really splash alot of water? i thought it went to hydrolock when theres enough water in the engine to fill a cylinder and since water is uncompressable, it caused it to go into hydrolock. when a little goes in, it can just cause a temp problem but when enough to fill a cylinder goes in, it causes perm probs, am i right all-knowing del moderator?

It´s called "CAI" (cold air intake) and not "CIA" (central intelligence agent)!

I also don´t have got any personal experience with the CAI and bypass valve but del is very right with what he has said. I know some people over here in germany who are using it without any problems (nobody of them has got a bypass valve) and it´s raining very much over here! If you´re not going to try to drive through a river then you won´t get any problems.
On the other hand you´ll lose some low-end power with the CAI and that´s the reason why I have decided not to buy it!

[MidNiteMysT]

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT CAI!! and isnt ur name spelt wrong? its VTEC, not veetec.... lol j/k :hehehe: and btw, what does low end power mean, is that the first few gears or like when you close to maximum speed?
P.S. Very nice car you have veetec