i agree with the fitment concept.......the ebay tubes dont attach to the framework well at all. the research and development aspect is also true, but honestly how much research can you do with a 1 foot metal pipe. I kno what your gonna say that it is important and stuff, but its such a simple thing so there is not much to it. People who have name brand stuff will always reccomend name brand stuff......if you want to save 60-120$ and get the same physical results( appearence, sound, throttle response) get the ebay one......if you want to pay that extra money to be sure that you are getting one more hp through years of complicated research and not have to use a couple of tie wraps, buy the brand name......

 

i have a 30 dollar ebay one and works fine.. the mpg hasnt improved and instead it seems worse but it might be due to me always pressing on the gas.. nothing better than watcing someone looking for what that loud sound whooshing by them is. Im saving for a namebrand filter but for right now its tight. The fit is fine but i also have 3 cupplers holding it where it connects to the engine.

 

You can tune it so that resonating sound frequencies coincide with engine intake to push more air into the engine (V2)

 

R&D includes fitment as well, and includes what is mentioned above, and they don't spend years of complicated research on a single design, they do tune pipe lengths (V2 is a prime example)but there's nothing wrong with ebay tube with branded filter element, since the filter is the most important part.

 

If you put on a tube and it's not on the intake manifoldtightly, chances are things are going to get into your intake manifold/enginewhich wouldn't be healthy for your engine's life. Even if it seems tight to you, you can't see the tiny particles of dirt and stuff getting into it. I don't want to fight about this topic just wanted to throw that out there.

 

Okay. I really had been looking at a used AEM short ram intake.

Now you start talking about the loudness.

Nothing I dislike more is a little car passing me or driving down the road that sounds like a bumble bee on steroids. Some here may like it and think it sounds cool but to me its road noise. If I want my car to make noise let it be one of pure power that can rumble my ears like a motorcycle.
Or that of a v10 engine. ha ha Or a diesel! Love cummins diesels by the way.

So I dont want my car to sound like that. I dont mind SOME extra air sucking noise as long as its not bad from the inside and doesnt make my car sound like a bee. Maybe thats only some of those special mufflers that do that.

So these really pep the power? Can you really notice it? As of now I am all stock. I thought the car was fast now being a 4 cylinder. I mean really its not bad but its not a v6 mustang either.

How much can I expect?

I have a feeling people are going to get onto me about the used AEM thing.

 

^COWS--->not at all. those filters are washable. if you don't like that thought (used filter), you could always buy a new dry-flow one to replace it. no oiling and equal or better performance.

as for your pep, most CAI's, however they are branded or not, will add 6+ hp and some rev speed to your car. it's a nice little boost in power. if you're going to run naturally aspirated, it's the way to go. your other options are turbo or supercharger which clearly are more expensive.

there are pros and cons for the cai vs. sri dispute (corret me if I'm wrong anyone):

cai's get better performance (marginal over sri's but still there) and are at higher risk for hydrolocking your engine because they are placed behind your front bumper inside your wheel well. a remedy for this is the AEM air bypass valve, which prevents water from getting into your engine if you find a big a$$ puddle to drive through. just beware of clearance and you'll be ok. on the plus side, since they are placed outside the engine bay, they take in colder air, and thus improve power. they are also said to be slightly quieter.

sri's are typically placed inside the engine bay, where they take in warmer air. they have marginal losses of power compared to cai's and are much less expensive. they tend to be louder and don't have any of the hydro lock risk associated with the cai's

hope this helped.

 

SRI'shave better throttle response, but typically only feel hp gains past 5000 rpm's. Noiseier, easier to install. No hydrolock worries.

CAI's you can feel gains sooner around 3500 rpm's (V2 supposedly throughout all rpm's). But throttle response typically isn't as good.

 

It definately does not sound like a bumble bee .. its a deep sound. If you are in park and put the peddle to the floor you can hear the intake sucking in the air. I have had both a CAI and just switched to SRI. IMO the CAI has better gains at lower RPM's and the SRI and higher.

 

CAI are the long ones right?

Yeah those dont they stick out next to the tires. When it rains out here one of the roads I drive on has these huge puddles and well I would hate to hurt my car.

Hum...cant be only at 5k rmps can it for the short ones? I drive mine and unless passing I dont use but 4-4.5k somtimes just 3 if I feel like just getting there.