Could anyone explain to me how the AEM V2 works?

I've heard it gives better power gains than the regular AEM CAI but is it noticable? Is it worth the extra price?

 

http://www.aempower.com/ViewCategory.aspx?CategoryID=30
better power gains over the cai? yes
is it noticable? no
is it worth the extra price? not really

 

The V2 in the 96-2000 civics is a true cold air intake system in that it is always ingesting outside (vs hot, engine bay) air. Colder air is more dense and therefore can pack more air molecules into each cylinder before the mixture is ignited. Take any compressor or vacuum pump and feed it colder air - you will see a very obvious performance jump. Another good example is the difference in power you feel when you drive on a cold Winter day vs on a hot Summer day. It is very obvious that your engine makes more power on colder days. The V2 filter is positioned in or very near to a cold air stream at all times. Is the extra cost worth it? I think so.

 

No, the aem v2 intake can be either a sri or cai. it all depends on the vehicle application, so heat soak shouldn't be considered in the comparison with other intake products.

 

just buy it and tell us what you think

 

I would buy a SRI over a CAI simply because it's cheaper and power differences are almost barely noticeable. There's plenty of airflow under the hood where the SRI Filter sits, so it's not like you're taking this super hot air and putting it directly in the air intake.

I would think with a CAI it would get dirtier faster and you'd have to worry about soaking it when it rains hard. I don't see water getting inside messing the engine up, but I can seen the hassle of always having to clean it.

 

I bought a second air filter so that after 1 year of use, I simply swap out the dirty for the clean. It takes about 30 minutes to do and cleaning of the dirty filter can be done at my leisure. I've drivin in monsoon downpours and the worst that happens is the filter gets wet, which means some moisture makes its way into the combustion chamber. The heat of combustion eliminates any water that may be in the intake air, so that is not an issue to worry about.

I'll bet that if you measured intake air temperature coming from an SRI filter and compared it to the air temp coming from a true CAI filter, you'd see a big difference. I've done this with other cars and believe me, underhood temps soar during slow-moving conditions. Once the heat in an engine bay climbs beyond say, 120 degrees F, getting it back down takes alot longer than you think. With CAI, the intake air temp never gets past 100 degrees or so, even while the car is idling in heavy traffic.
Mitsi EVOs, Sube STIs, and Corvette Z06s and ZR1s all come from the factory with CAI. Heck, even a Lexus RX400h has a CAI opening for its air filter. To me, it is the best way to go.

 

what I'm saying is, even though temps are cooler, YOU will hardly notice a difference in power, if you notice any at all.

 

you wont notice anything and if you do its in your head.

 

If only people would put this much thought into useful topics, lol.