I have a 98 Civic HX which I recently bought used to get excellent gas mileage. It's completely stock. I posted a question on this forum to find out how to further enhance my fuel economy. It was suggested to add a 'short ram intake' or add a 'free flow filter'.

I'm considering just adding a K& N filter to my stock intake.

But, please let me know if I'm wrong on this.....the best choice seems to be to add a short ram intake. Is that correct?

But, if I get a short ram intake....which is the best one to get. eBay has some short ram intakes for about $30 ($5 for the actual kit and $25 shipping) but then also has a short ram intake from INJEN for about $145. That's a big price difference. What is the difference in the two? Also, I found other short ram intakes (eg. Weapon-R V2 filter) that were over $100. Any suggestions or feedback?

Thanks

 

just go with a k&n

 

The eBay intake will function just fine, but the example I saw had a problem with the piping corroding, so you may want to paint it to add some additional protection. You will probably also want to pick up a good air filter to use with it, as many of the eBay intakes come with lower-quality filters.

 

add a k&n filter to the ebay intake.

 

Well what i find the difference between an ebay intake and a brand name intake is the size of the piping. ebay intakes the piping is larger than the throttle body itself. where as what i have seen from AEM and Injen that the piping is just as big as the throttle body. Also the ebay intakes dont really have any mounting points to make it sit solid in the car....mainly the coupling holds the intake in place, but bounces around. where most of the brand name ones have mounting points to the engine bay so it stays in one place. and for performance wise my brother had an ebay one on his cd7 for a while and picked up a used aem short ram. the performance was quite a bit better. with the aem short ram it wasnt as loud and the had better acceleration than the ebay one....It's your choice on the short ram you get....that is all depends on how deep you pockets can go. that is my .02.

 

put some decent money into it...im not sayin buy the 175 dollar one but dont buy some crappy ebay piping that doesnt fit just because its cheap

 

Save yourself a trip to the BAR ref and either go with a K&N in your stock box like Pdiggity said or go with AEM unless INJEN has received their C.A.R.B certs. We live in Cali and the cops love to hassle you for everything and make your life hell. C.A.R.B certified is the wtg in Cali.

 

I hadn't originally noticed that you're in California. I agree with 95ProjectEJ1 - just pick up a quality drop-in filter for your stock air box.

 

just take out the airbox and through in a k&n filter

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Padawan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I hadn't originally noticed that you're in California. I agree with 95ProjectEJ1 - just pick up a quality drop-in filter for your stock air box.
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x2. All you need.

 

i have the password jdm carbon fiber intake. i love it. of course i got it from a friend basically brand new for 100 bucks...but i love the sound it makes, and it "feels" more powerful than my cold air did. i have it in my hatch with my ls/v motor. but if you're looking for the most bang for your buck i would just buy the ebay short ram and use a good brand name filter.

but you know that wont be carb legal right? just incase you care.

 

On a civic, an intake is an intake. No matter how hard you try, you will be wasting money on just plain ole tubing and filter.

But yeah since you're in CA, you'll want something CARB legal (which sucks the donk ).

As for the comment about someone saying eBay piping is bigger. False. I personally spoke with eBay sellers and they specifically said that the piping was actually 2.25" which is D16Y8/EX at the time when I was looking for a cheap SRI for my stock D16Y8. It's just that they advertise them wrong. You have to actually ask them and that's when you know for sure.

And minga, how fine-tuned was your butt dyno when you say your AEM intake "performed better" than your brothers eBay intake?

 

It's just an intake. Really, it won't do that much. Just go with a K&N.

Most people want the piping simply for the sound.

I know, because I had an inatake on my last car. So when I got the Civic...it had to have that little snarl.

 

it wont do anything really unless your a b,k,h, and some f-series. if your not one of the following your **** has hit the fan.............boost is your friend...if he is not yours he is mine.

 

I have a '00 HX and as far as I can tell, the only CARB legal intake for the D16y5 is the Injen one, which is also one of the more expensive ones.

I would go with a K&N drop in filter on the stock box.

 

most cost effective route would probably be the K&N filter in the stock box but if you wanna new intake entirely then go with an AEM Short Ram. I have one on my B16 and it works great.

 

AEM short ram 4 life. Try to find one here on the classifieds. I got a new one from a fellow tech member for 60 bucks dropped off. Or used on ebay or something. Good luck.

 

With an HX dont waste your money on an intake, go spend 30 bucks and get a K&N air filter... save yourself 110+. Ebay intakes are not an option in Cali, too many smog restrictions. With a K&N you are saving money and a trip to the ref, not to mention that most SRI on stock SOHC's have been known to actually lose power.

 

go with the k/n drop in filter and remove your resonater...thats what i did and works fine, i got better mpg too. If you dont buy a carb legal intake then dont buy one at all, this only goes for CA peeps. I've been fined $372 for having a non carb intake, it wasn't a fix it ticket, a fine.

 

k&n

 

Drop in the K&N. With an HX, there really isn't any power to release with a short-ram...unless you want the noise of the filter....then go with a cheap ebay one, since like I said, power difference will be VERY minimal..probably none at all.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Padawan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The eBay intake will function just fine, but the example I saw had a problem with the piping corroding, so you may want to paint it to add some additional protection. You will probably also want to pick up a good air filter to use with it, as many of the eBay intakes come with lower-quality filters. </TD></TR></TABLE>

x2

 

Yes the most cost effective route would be K&N drop-in filter and call it a day. Just remember to properly clean and oil it regularly. That's also why I hate K&N filters. The oil is what does the magic for the most part, not the filter element.

Hence why I went with eBay 2 piece intake (short ram AND cold air capable) along with an AEM Dry Flow replacement filter from summitracing.com. Never have to oil the dry flow. Just have to clean it, dry it, and slap it back on . And the best part is, I spent $85 for everything (inc. shipping/tax).

 

What do you mean "oiling" the filter? I've never heard of putting oil on an air filter. Thanks for the help!

 

K&N filters require you use a "cleaning/treatmeant" kit or whatever with them. There's a cleaning solution and then there's an oiling solution. You spray a layer of oil on the filter and it soaks into the filter. And what it does is that it traps all the dirt/crap like any ordinary filter, but the oil is what does most of the work.

That's what I don't like about K&N filters. It requires more work. Hence why I stuck with AEM's Dry Flow.