Cold Air Intake materials

[vette_7t9]

Well.....being the cheap mechanically inclined guy......i fabricated my own cold air..or more of a homemade ram air intake. I used ABS piping and im wondering if it is bad for heat insulation? i mean...that damn stock one uses a flimsy rubber....but is there insulation tapes i can apply to my ABS pipe? or is making one from aluminum any better? im gona wrap it in insulation tape, just to keep the heat out. And did i mention, my civics starting to sound a bit WRXish.

[SpLaTTy]

should work i had a 95 cavalier when i bought it the person before me put a plastic flex pipe intake on it, made it himself K&N air filter with 2 clamps 1 holding the cone the other connecting the pipe to the intake manifold, didnt melt or anything

[fiberglasscivic]

It works, and you shouldn't have to worry about heat too much, unless you car frequently overheats like mine.

[01_Celica_GT]

Where could I find a new filter? My Injen filter is getting kinda dirty. Do I have to buy one or can I clean is somehow?

[vette_7t9]

shud clean it, and re oil using that K + N filter service kit if possible. If not, local auto shop or performance shop should sport some cone filters thatll fit your application. We have Canadian Tire and PartSource here in canada

[vette_7t9]

by the way....throttle response and torque improvements are amazing....with just an intake. I would've never known. Always thought intakes were just for looks and whatnot. I wasn't gona buy an intake originally, but i got a tuner itch and decided to make one...its working great. and sounds insane too....probably as loud as some cat backs, and the noise is on demand! I can cruise around sounding like stock, but when i need the power and punch the throttle.....it roars!

[01_Celica_GT]

my intake makes a lot of noise. Kinda like a loud sucking noise. I know that it is sucking air from outside but it is really loud. like it's hard for me to hear the drive-thru lady when she is trying to say something and vise versa.

Is that normal?

[fiberglasscivic]

A better filter and the insulation wrap you were talking about will help reduce the noise.

[vette_7t9]

Hmm....i dont know if an intake that loud is normal? I only have experience with a homemade one. Mine is a bit louder than stock when idling, but still would seem stock to a passerby. At part throttle, it is a bit more growly. At 3/4-full throttle it sounds like a have a cat back or something, its absolutely ridiculous. I can hear my car echoe off houses and stuff..... anyways, i did an airbox mod like one i saw on a wrx modding page. It consists of using a rotary tool and cutting open the bottom so that the whole panel air filter has equal contact to moving air. the stock one feeds the airbox through a measly little opening, so only one part of the filter actually gets moving air. Now, it sounds a bit like an STi....really! Thumping boxer noise at rpm up to 4000, then it screams like some V6 or sumthin.....wen i compare this intake noise with the noise i heard with no muffler on, i definately dig the intake noise. It sounds so much better tuned, and makes the engine sound so much larger!

[fiberglasscivic]

It's normal to notice a loud change when you remove or modify the air box.

[GScivic7]

might want to check the clamp at the throttle body too, make sure your intake isn't loose. It'll be pretty loud if it's sucking air straight through the TB and not the intake.

As for your filter, I don't know if Injen uses a reusable one. I'd go pick up a K&N cone filter from your local auto parts store if you want to replace it.

[01_Celica_GT]

Is there much of a difference between the Injen and the K&N? other then the price?

[GScivic7]

I have no idea if Injen sources out their filters or makes their own or anything else about them, so I can't really say either way if they are good or bad. K&N has been proven to be good time and time again, reason as to why AEM uses them for their intakes. If anything, I would go with K&N just for it's reputation since I don't know much about the filters that Injen uses. Maybe someone can vouch for their filters?

[vette_7t9]

just wondering again...should i build an aluminum one? would it be better than my black ABS plastic one? Just noticed from driving with the window up in the rain that the intake makes kind of a blow off noise when i let off the gas. =)

[fiberglasscivic]

Sorry about that, I would just stick with your plastic one. It's lighter than the aluminum would be and is just as insulated if not more so than the aluminum would be.