hey people, im kinda just getting started on doing my own work on my cars so i might have some dumb newbie questions. my question is, i have a 00 prelude, and i want to know if there is a difference in the performance of a named Intake like AEM compared to a non name brand that go for about 30 bucks? same with the header, any difference in name brand like DC compared to the 50 buck ones? thx.

 

Just get the 30$ CAI and put a good K&N filter.
With money your saving (on not buying AEM product) buy a velocity stack. Blox even makes them now for under 30$ if I can remember.

Headers under 200$ are all pretty much the same. You could find a DC knock off for about 100$ and the only major problem (besides only getting minimal gains) is the welds usually on the flanges. They are usally rough and not well flowing. If you can weld how ever you could beef up welds, and smooth out the ports with an hour or two labour.

 

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2049478

Here's a bunch of dynos with different intakes on them. Granted this is already a built car but it shows that there is a lot of difference between the different styles of intakes. It's unfortunate that there is no dyno for a CAI but the V2 definitely puts up the best numbers. Personally I would go with quailty and name brand, but that's just me. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for."

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by paarmyguy365 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=2049478

Here's a bunch of dynos with different intakes on them. Granted this is already a built car but it shows that there is a lot of difference between the different styles of intakes. It's unfortunate that there is no dyno for a CAI but the V2 definitely puts up the best numbers. Personally I would go with quailty and name brand, but that's just me. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for."</TD></TR></TABLE>

tx i been looking for this tread to show it to some one....

 

Judging by his post, he's looking to budget build.
Also, basing those numbers on his completely stock motor wouldn't give him an accurate measurement of his potential gains going with those brands shown in your thread link. The differences would be almost unnoticeable between spending 200 or 500 on intake and header. Now if he spent 1000 on intake and header he might get a noticeable gain but not much with his stock motor.

In all honesty than you believe in the power of the "Brand Name"
A name brand and stiffer price tag does NOT mean better and if it IS even better its not enough to warrant the heavy extra cost involved (2-3 extra horsepower does not warrant an extra 300-400 dollar price tag).

I do believe that research is costly and if you pay more for better researched/ performing products than you do get a better product, but we live in an age where simply adding a name brand automatically adds a stiffer price tag, where in fact it still might not be a better product all together.

Some want to balance budget so putting 1000 into a intake and header is not affordable. If you can afford that, all the power too you, but in mine and other's cases, my house needs to get paid off firstly, than I can maybe turbo that biach.

 

The person is asking for advice and I gave him mine; along with the dynos to back it up. Researching your decisions before you act on them is important to creating a good build regardless of how in-depth your build will be. A part of researching decisions is hearing opinions and seeing proof from all different sides of the spectrum. Your right that in some instances a name brand may have a higher price tag and not produce much in the way of results. For instance, a DC Sports header is mentioned throughout the thread. Many people on here doubt there are any gains produced from that particular header. If there are gains, they are minimal.

You are also right that a company’s research and development are important to the engineering and design of their products. Knowing this, who is more likely to create a better product then? The name brand, although there certainly may be instances where there are no real differences. A name brand does automatically add some more $$$ to their products, but they can do that because they have a reputation for producing a better product; usually because of more intensive research and design. If you own your house, then I am sure you have paper towels. Which work better Bounty, or the store brand?

Where he wants to spend his money on his build is his decision. I am not going to make that decision for him by only giving him one side of the argument. Since you effectively gave him the low cost side, here is an alternative. Here's a drink on me bro.

 

Unless you have the money to blow, then just get the cheap ebay pipe and add a K&N filter like mattsnooz said. It is your best bang for your buck.

As far as a header goes, don't waste your money unless you are buying a nice custom built one. The cheap DC header is not worth the cost, you won't notice any gains.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by smo0th &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">As far as a header goes, don't waste your money unless you are buying a nice custom built one. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Bad advice.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by smo0th &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> The cheap DC header is not worth the cost, you won't notice any gains. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Better advice.

If you aren't planning any internal mods to your engine, a custom header is not needed.

Before you buy a header, figure out what you plan to do with the car first. IMO, the header should be the last thing you buy. The header compliments the mods you install. It's not just a part you slap on.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AndyD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Bad advice.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

I was simply saying they are the only ones worth buying. I was not telling him to go buy one.

 

aem isnt too great. i recommend you not to buy anything you can get at pepboys

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AndyD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
If you aren't planning any internal mods to your engine, a custom header is not needed.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

No header is "needed", they're all a waste of cash.

A custom header will still walk over a shelf header on a stock motor though.