I currently have a 96 GSR and am using a short ram air intake. I love it but want to upgrade to a cold air induction. After a little research I've narrowed it down to AEM cold air or the "Icebox" made made comptech. Not to sure which one will perform better so just need a little feedback. Thanks Redline GSR

 

both are quality intakes but i would go with AEM. comptech's quality is good and all but ther're WAY too expensive. have you considered iceman or injen intakes?? you can get iceman for $130-140ish.

 

if you have a shortram intake now just go to a mufflershop and ask for some piping of the same diameter and make some cuts and you have yourself a cai for the good days and a shorty intake for the crappy ones... IMO its just like a two peice AEM

 

Why not try making your own intake? It'll cost about $40 including the filter. It's very simple.

I'll explain the steps so you know what's involved, but to get detailed directions, there are a few websites that'll tell you how to do it. First, you want to remove your stock intake and all plumbing (resonator, etc) except for the stock tubing from the filter to the intake manifold. Second, you want to run some dryer-tubing from your fender area to the stock filter area. Third, you want to put a k&n on, in place of your stock filter, and put the airbox lid cover back on.

Voila - cold air intake for 1/3 the cost. I belive this design is similar to the comptech ice-box, but I'm not too familiar with the specifics.

 

WELL LOOKING AT THE DYNO CHARTS THE COMPTECH RESULTS ARE OFF THE WALL...SOME 18 HP. AS FAR THE CRUDDY DAYS...IF I GO AEN CAI I PLAN ON GETTING THE BYPASS VALVE WITCH WILL ILLIMNATE WATER INGESTION. BASICALLY I WAS AMAZED WITH THE COMPTECH RESULTS AND DIDN'T KNOW IF SOMEONE OUT THERE OWNED ONE AND COULD VOUCH FOR IT. THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP THOUGH GUYS!

 

get the AEM...its nice...or get a ICEMAN intake...with the iceman get a bypass valve....(you'll lose horsepower, but will prevent hydro lock)...the ice man is 2piece that way you don't need to cut your aem cold air...i have the aem..and in honest truth its good...but i have friends that run the comptech and iceman and the are also terrific..my suggestion..is find one that has teh best deal......

 

no matter which one you get they all the the exact same purpose.

 

Personally I would just make your own. Like it was said earlier take off the resonator and associated hardware, basically everything past the stock air box, and then devise a way to get a tube to the ground or fender area to suck in cold air, then drop in a high flow filter like a K&N. I just cut the tube that goes out of the airbox right after it turns, so it sucks up cold air level with the ground. Here is a thread with some more info https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=72726 . The home made intakes likely don't make as much power as the ones mentioned above, but if cost is a factor then you should consider it.

 

AEM CAI have long piping that points downwards...so if you live in a rainy area, you definitaly need a By-pass-valve.

Compared to AEM CAI's steel(?) piping, the Iceman is made of plastic. After cruising around for awhile, the AEM will be so hot that you won't be able to touch it. The iceman on the other hand, does not heat up that much, meaning I can put my hand on it after I've been cruising.

Since AEM CAI gets very very hot after driving around, imagine how hot the air could be inside flowing through it. It kinda defies the hole cold air thing...

Now to the comptech Icebox. The comptech, probably the most expensive one, looks similar to the stock intake...black rubber, black box thingy...etc.
The icebox is a short ram design that takes advantage of both CAI's and short rams. They're supposed to be a little bit more quite compared to AEM and Iceman.

Don't get me wrong, they're all great intakes. Just a matter of taste.