Is there a difference between a short ram intake and a cold air intake?

Get an AEM Cold Air intake. Colder air is less dense, and CAI make more power. Dont start another CAI vs SRI thread lol........just get a CAI.

ORIGINAL: baiwldrnner

Is there a difference between a short ram intake and a cold air intake?

short = less power
cold = more power
......basically.....

short rams are going to give you good throttle response and are loud. CAI's give you some good HP gains up top. Get a 3" CAI and be done with it. Short rams have a hard time up top. By the way, don't spend a crap load of money on one either. Get a good 3" CAI off of eBay and then buy a K&N filter and you're set. I just bought a 3" off of eBay for 30 bucks and I already have an AEM dryflow filter that I got for 45 at the auto parts store. So that's $75 for a CAI that's just as good as the $200 AEM's, Injen's, ect...

Like Pete said, there have been endless threads/debates on this, and the verdict is: zero difference in max Hp gain with a SRI and a CAI of the same diameter, but the CAI has a little hump in the middle of the curve.

Bam.http://static.flickr.com/21/28593228_65f39fdbfe.jpg

Ok, maybe one Hp... the blue is obviously the CAI.

ORIGINAL: Pete

Get an AEM Cold Air intake. Colder air is less dense, and CAI make more power. Dont start another CAI vs SRI thread lol........just get a CAI.


I think you were confused Pete. Colder air = more dense. That's why it makes more power, slightly more air is being fed into the combustion chamber.

If I were to get any intake it'd be the AEM V2.

:edit: Yeah, my bad.

no prob :)

i would like to conduct testing on rainy day... the short will leave the cold in the dust, unless they have started installing water traps?

If you live in rain/snow weather, SRI wil be a lot less of a hassle, but if you live in a warm dry climate go with the CAI. Reason bein is that in the winer time you gotta clean your CAI filter constantly, and during rain you MAY have a very slight chance of hydrolocking your car.

^^ that is why i go with SRI... well i wil when i get a new one for the civic

if you plan on driving it like a submarine get a SRI. otherwise the CAI will be better

ps. you need to submerge the entire filter to hydrolock your car. on a rainy day a CAI will in fact be better than a SRI because it will be getting cooler air, and cooler air means more HP. a little water in the engine isnt gunna kill you. in fact it may make your car faster because it cools your engine off. a lot of supercharger guys actually have water injection fixed up to cool their blower temps way down. im pretty sure polo has it.

i have actually been looking at the ones that you can take apart about half way up so you have the option of SRI or CAI... i may use the CAI in the summer and the SRI in the winter
like this one here (http://cgi.ebay.ca/92-93-94-95-Honda-Civic-Cold-Air-Filter-Intake-System_W0QQitemZ8038600527QQcategoryZ38634QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem)
http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55945/rs_civic_coldair.jpg

I got a aem cai and I love mine. I also have drove it in the rain alot and had no prob's with it.

i have a sri and i have no problems..the power difference is soooo minimal..few hp most?

coupled with a big TB, head work, bottom end, header, exhaust, and a roots style SC at 12psi...the difference will be significant. like 15-20hp difference.

Everyone may tell you I'm an idiot on this forum, i probably am [:@], but if you get a SRI, and save yourself the worry of get water in you engine with a CAI

less than $100 for a good name brand SRI i think is well worth it considering the fact that u could possibly run the risk of hydrolocking with a CAI and costing u hundreds, even thousands in repairs, and also paying $100+ more for 2hp give or take isnt really worth it to me. CAIs need slightly more maintenence also. it also depends on if ur gena be drag racing or autoxing, i autox so SRI is just perfect with the low end power for coming out of those turns:D

its all up to u and the way u drive tho...

ORIGINAL: civicexracer

less than $100 for a good name brand SRI i think is well worth it considering the fact that u could possibly run the risk of hydrolocking with a CAI and costing u hundreds, even thousands in repairs, and also paying $100+ more for 2hp give or take isnt really worth it to me. CAIs need slightly more maintenence also. it also depends on if ur gena be drag racing or autoxing, i autox so SRI is just perfect with the low end power for coming out of those turns:D

its all up to u and the way u drive tho...


First of all, I don't think a SRI will noticably beat a CAI anywhere in the powerband. Secondly, I don't see how low end helps you when autocrossing. With an ideal set up, you would never drop below 4k rpms in an autocross, which, according to that dyno, is where the CAI becomes paticularly dominant anyway.

As for the risk of hydrolocking, people blow that way out of proportion. As Nail said, you'd have to submerge the entire filter to hydrolock your car.

You're right about the extra maintence tho. The CAI filter will get dirtier faster. That's the only considerable determining factor imo. Either you do more maintence for more power, or less for less.

So....

SRI = less power output, less maintianence, for rainy climates.

CAI = more power output, more maintianence, for dry climates.

Well considering I live in Fremont CA, w/ dry summers, and cats & dogs winter rains, hmm....this is gonna take lots of thinking.

Maybe you should get the intake that can switch back and forth like fiirkan suggested. Probably the route im going to take when i find a good brand i can trust. BTW i have an Ebay SRI that was on the car when i bought it and i have no complaints about it.

ORIGINAL: Kedawei
As for the risk of hydrolocking, people blow that way out of proportion. As Nail said, you'd have to submerge the entire filter to hydrolock your car.


+1 +1 +1 +1!!!!!! CAI'S ARE NOT MADE STRICTLY FOR DRY CLIMATES!!!! If you live in a place that regularly sees at least 1 foot of standing water, then and ONLY THEN would I recommend getting an SRI rather than a CAI. Do what Fiirkan, talon and others suggested, get an AEM (or whatever other brands offer it) CAI that will split apart at the middle. When winter months roll around, take off the CAI piece and use it as an SRI. Once spring comes, pop the CAI back on.

just dont get an air bypass valve... those things are gay

im with dj. bypass valves are teh gay. they more or less defeat the purpose of a CAI.

not all AEM CAIs are 2 peice. make sure you get one if you wanna convert to SRI for the winter.

would the short ram intake be ok in lets say -20 to -40 weather?

oo wow. a car running at -20 degrees would have like 8 more horsepower than the same car at 70 degrees.

I heard if you have an intake in really cold weather it will suck up to much cold air and it could hurt the engine...so i'm just making sure before i look into getting one...

ORIGINAL: Forty04

If you live in a place that regularly sees at least 1 foot of standing water, then and ONLY THEN would I recommend getting an SRI rather than a CAI.

BAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! :D At that point I'd ditch my civic (which would be floating away) and buy a boat!

:D My thoughts exactly man

ORIGINAL: HONDA_GUY

I heard if you have an intake in really cold weather it will suck up to much cold air and it could hurt the engine...so i'm just making sure before i look into getting one...


i dont think it would do anything. in fact most drag racers and some autox'ers, between runs, put dry ice on their filters to cool it off and allow cooler intake temps.

well, i couldn't find an elchipo slipt apart intake after i posted that.. and to be safe(since we do get flooding in the streets here) i got an SRI, only paid $40 for it including shipping, so it will probably only be temporairy until i get some actualy cash in my pocket again. then i will get an AEM intake and use that for the summer and the SRI for the winter.:)

I believe Injen makes a CAI extension for there SRI's. Something to look for.

For any one thinking about getting a cai the injen is a 2 piece system that puts the filter directly in front of the right front tire. It states right on the intake not to use it in the rain. I accidently had it on in the rain in southern california, not Washington, and it is not good, power loss, vibration. Now I take off the bottom half when it rains and I have a SRI tOO! Takes Like 5 minute to do this.

Just an idea I'm throwing out there, but if somebody would just type up a paragraph or two basically saying a Cai (draws in colder, denser air) generally equals more hp, but more maintenance, and an Sri (draws in hotter, less dense air) generally equals slightly less HP, but slightly better throttle response, without the VERY slight chance of hyrdolocking. And putting it as a sticky so there isn't always a thread about if somebody should get a CAI or SRI that would be AWESOME ;)[8D]

peace, Evan

I would like to throw in my 2 cents here. My first post on this forum. I was told not to get the AEM CAI because it would suck in water and blow up my engine due to hydro-lock. I live in B.C. Canada where it does rain and snow almost 40% of the year. I bought it anyway and did some testing in my '99 Si coupe with the B16A2 engine. After install (on a very rainy day) I took it for a boot at low, medium, and high speed through fairly deep (about 3" of water) lifting off the throttle as I went through the water and checked the filter element in between runs. To my surprise the filter element was completely dry. I have gone through my second winter with this intake and I recently took the element out to clean it. NO WATER HAS EVER TOUCHED THIS ELEMENT. The metal end cap is as clean as the day I bought it as is the piping inside the fender well. I find this surprising considering some spray does make it's way onto the piping inside the engine compartment. For some reason the filter element inside the fender stays extremely dry. I have 55,000kms on this intake and it blows the short ram intake I had on it before out of the "water". Too easy[8D]. I notice no loss of power at lower revs and solid gains (seat of the pants) between 5,500 - 8,200 rpm. Besides exhaust, ignition, fuel management tweaking, and rev limit increase, my engine internals are stock. I'm so confident with this system that I no longer "lift" off the throttle through standing water. Just my experience and I thought I would pass it on to you.

Also note that spray on the filter element isn't anything to be concerned of anyway. Only if you sink the element under water would it begin to suck up water and spaghetti your connecting rods.:(

I also have the car dropped 1 1/2" and run 205/50/15" Kumho 712's. I'm not sure if the unique spray patern of these tires is why my fender well stays so dry.

Hope this helps put your minds at ease although I don't know about the fender well design and water resistance of cars other than mine.

Cheers!

Honestly there is way too much thought going on about a stupid pipe with a cone filter on the end. One is 10 inches longer than the other...........its whatever u choose do get. Either one is better than stock. Hondas dont have MAF's so you could put a freaking filter over the throttle body if u wanted, thats a slim ram intake, and they make insane power numbers. [sm=bangbang.gif]

Like I said. Just my 2 cents. I just happened to notice a "noticeable" gain when I switched from SRI to CAI and about 1-2mpg improvement. I don't sell the stuff so I don't care which way people go, I just had good results and thought I would pass on my findings. Then again I will be selling the CAI shortly and boosting to 14psi so 3-4 hp isn't something I'm gonna be getting all bent out of shape about anyway.;)

Okay so I'm new to this forum but I've seen this argument 100 times over so I have to throw in my two cents since I'm one of the few people with first hand experience Hydro Locking an engine... I torched my 94 Civic with the AEM V2.... Here's what happened.... I'm an idiot... Everyone is right you're not going to hydro lock in rain alone. I drove through a SEVERE tornado warning in Kansas just outside topeka with literally at least 3" of FLOWING water running down the freeway and had no problems whatsoever after driving in it for like 3 hours, I couldn't see jack... Now, I later on lost my fender well skirt thus exposing my intake to my front tire, still no problems with water alone except under WOT with the filter SOAKING WET and a bit of slush it would BOG down bad under WOT. Then I went down a slushy road and packed snow around the intake, my car died, wouldn't start for like 2 days, I just let it sit and dry out, then it started eating Oil BAD and I noticed the engine was shot... I've still got the car and I miss it cause I had a TON of crap for it...

Bypass Valves: Good idea for a CAI they are cheap and don't come in until you're filter is hydro-locked. But beware, you CAN NOT use one on the AEM V2 without custimization and even then AEM suggests not to get one. Needless to say I live in a snowy winter climate so CAI is not a good choice for me. And when looking at Dyno's you're getting like literally 1-2HP difference if even that much.

Conclusion: if you get a CAI get a bypass valve, it's suggested by most manufacturers anyway. If you don't get a bypass valve be sure that all of your parts are installed, that skirt that cost me my engine... $18.00 + s/h from honda...

ORIGINAL: Pete

Honestly there is way too much thought going on about a stupid pipe with a cone filter on the end. One is 10 inches longer than the other...........its whatever u choose do get. Either one is better than stock. Hondas dont have MAF's so you could put a freaking filter over the throttle body if u wanted, thats a slim ram intake, and they make insane power numbers. [sm=bangbang.gif]



+ INFINITY

I living in HOUSTON. Which one should I buy???????????????????????????????? SRI or CAI. plz guys

A picture is worth a thousand words... it may be an RSX but the same priniples apply!
http://performance.clubrsx.com/intaketest/runs/AEMSRIvsAEMCAIvsINJEN.jpg

after 3 runs with hi engine temperature
http://performance.clubrsx.com/intaketest/runs/AEMSRIvsAEMCAIhigh.jpg

And at last Hi temp with AEM vs INJEN!
http://performance.clubrsx.com/intaketest/runs/AEMCAIvsINJEN3.jpg

ORIGINAL: Fiirkan

i have actually been looking at the ones that you can take apart about half way up so you have the option of SRI or CAI... i may use the CAI in the summer and the SRI in the winter
like this one here (http://cgi.ebay.ca/92-93-94-95-Honda-Civic-Cold-Air-Filter-Intake-System_W0QQitemZ8038600527QQcategoryZ38634QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem)
http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55945/rs_civic_coldair.jpg


yeah but how easy is it to take it apart and put it back together when the weather changes? im in new england --> "don't like the weather, wait a minute"... also, what is the realrisk? does a car really have to be submerged or could even puddles in bad rain kick it into the intake? any experiences?

since this post has been brought up, might as well ask my question,

if anyone knows anything about snow in buffalo, ny (WNY) im wondering if you could relieve my fears about the cai and hydrolocking. (looking at the aemv2) appreiate it

just get a short ram intake and move on. No chance of hydrolocking, and seriously theres not much of a difference between CAI/SRI either. They're both just intakes for a 110 hp 4 cylinder, neither will be that much different from the other. Now there was no reason to bring this back....just read the Intake FAQ.

yes hp gains are going to be so little of a difference it doesnt matter. the deciding factor should be where you live. If it rains/snows a lot go with SRI. if you live in a hot place get a CAI. I live in WI and this year has been rediculous with snow and rain and I regret getting a CAI, luckily for my my intake was designed to be either or. Its a 2 piece and if you only install the first piece it works perfectly for a SRI.

for the maybe 1 hp gain with CAI over SRI its not worth it to be worried everytime it rains or snows. Personally I'd go with SRI.

ORIGINAL: JMM773

ORIGINAL: Fiirkan

i have actually been looking at the ones that you can take apart about half way up so you have the option of SRI or CAI... i may use the CAI in the summer and the SRI in the winter
like this one here (http://cgi.ebay.ca/92-93-94-95-Honda-Civic-Cold-Air-Filter-Intake-System_W0QQitemZ8038600527QQcategoryZ38634QQrdZ1QQ cmdZViewItem)
http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55945/rs_civic_coldair.jpg


yeah but how easy is it to take it apart and put it back together when the weather changes? im in new england --> "don't like the weather, wait a minute"... also, what is the realrisk? does a car really have to be submerged or could even puddles in bad rain kick it into the intake? any experiences?


ok so this thread is over a yaer and a half old. i've purchase an eBay SRI, sold that and have an AEM SRI now... so it doesn't matter anymore... this thread should have stayed dead anyway there is FAQ's made since this.