Hi,
Newbie here and just bought a 94 Accord vtcech. I needs and air filter.
What is the deal with these so called "cold air intakes"?
I think the factory air box on this accord ducts air in from outside the engine compartment. These cold air intakes that I have seen jsut have a cone filter that sits in t he engine compartment ( hot) Do they really work or are they jsut a gimmick?

BTW- dopes the search function ever work on this forum?

 

hahaha the search server is down at the moment. cold air intake (CAI) is basically piping thats got a cone air filter on the end, and draws air from OUTside the engine bay, typically inside your fender. the ones that LOOK like CAI, but draw air from the engine bay are called short ram intakes, or just ram intakes. CAI will give slightly more power than short ram because it sucks in colder air. drawbacks include a filter that is harder to access and maintain, and the possibility of drawing water into the filter on rainy days.

imho, theyre both just silly cosmetic mods, and they never boost performance much, other than a SLIGHTLY better throttle response and more horsepower at the high end. they sure do sound cool, though ;D

 

you will benefit a lot more replacing your stock intake, especially with more mods than just an intake. for example the basic three are i/h/e. you pay for what you get. don't expect a but load of a hp increase from just the three alone. mods go alot further than just them.

 

a cold air intake is a good starter.. it not only frees up a few hp but also give u better gas mileage since your car doesnt have to struggle to get teh air into it. with a cai your car gets MUCH more oxygen than stock.. the more oxygen in a fire.. the better the combustion

 

Ebay is your friend get a ebay intake, slap on a k&n filter and call it a day

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sumptimwong &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
imho, theyre both just silly cosmetic mods, and they never boost performance much, other than a SLIGHTLY better throttle response and more horsepower at the high end. they sure do sound cool, though ;D</TD></TR></TABLE>

he said it all right there...

if you really think about it,
brandname intake = 100$ + new
brandname catback's = 300-400 + new
brandname exhaust manifold = 200 + new
(thats close to 1000$ right there after shipping & install if you need a shop)...

all that for i would guess like 10hp? you can always buy it used for 1/2 that price but im just saying... some people prefer new, and that is 1/2 of a price of a h22 (motor alone) or for some people with good hookups&search skills thats almost a full turbo setup already which will both get our 130-140hp accords up easily over 190hp ranges...

 

if you feel that you must get a cai, first check with your state emissions laws. im from cali, and sometimes, if you have an off-brand type cai, theyll hassle you on the 'visual inspection' portion of the smog check, or sometimes theyll hassle you because theres no carb number on the ebay-type cai piping. just factors to take into consideration, but ultimately its your car! make it work for YOU, dont let others tell you whats cool and whats not.

 

Thanks for all the input. I jsut really want to get rid of that paper filter element. Think I'll go with a K&N replacement. like I have in my Isuzu ( which is if sale)

 

yea, whatever you do, dont get those paperlike fram filters. they used to have a reputation for quality parts, but now they just plain suck. k&n panel filters are a good alternatie, esp if your car is still relatively new. they supposedly will alst the life of your vehicle if you clean and maintain them properly. they go for 45-55 at kragens/pepboys/autozone etc