Well my AEM CAI arrived from the USA this morning and i was stoked... my FIRST mod ever!

Installed it this evening and it took bloody ages... It was sad to see my beautiful car in peices like that, with nuts and bolts all over the place, god knows if we could've put it all back together again.

We had alot of confusion with the hose replacements. Firstly the hose used to connect the pipe to the throttle body was supposed to be clamped on both ends and we could not get the second clamp to go on the end nearest to the intake. The ends wern't close enough to make a proper loop.

The worst bit was the little black hoses, we could'nt take off the connection part to the valve cover. When i read out the instructions aloud (to all 8 of us there) none of us knew what the hell they were talking about..

In the end we just kept all the stock connections to the engine the same, we made up for the 3 inch shortage between the stock tip of the metal hose to the nipple of the pipe by CUTTING the thicker/shorter breather hose supplied by AEM and then clamped them together... So basically a 3 inch peice of the breather hose was used to join the two together.. is this okay?

*edit*
We had to remove the strut bar (not to part that connects to the car though, just the metal part of it), just to fit the intake in. I never heard anyone who has had to do that, though at the time it seemed like there was no other option.

I was concerned about messing around with that thing but i valued the balance of the suspension setup of the car.. we put it back on when we were done and we tightened it again as tight as we bloody could. Was this okay? Does it need to be adjusted or any special equipment to mess around with the strut brace..?
*end edit*

Every now and then after we went for a drive all night long, i'd pop the hood and check all the connections. Nothing was leaking, but i was mostly worried about that hose being only clamped on one end. Also, the end of the intake where it turns down near the front of bay is in contact with the white container.. dunno/can't remember what it is but it has a hose connecting to the bit with the radiator cap.

- my thoughts -

The pipe remained very cool, particularly when i put my hand down as far as i could see from the hood, indicating the absence of hot air down that location.

Performance wise i'm not impressed with the results, i didn't notice any improvements at all. I wasn't expecting aLOT of improvement but i was hoping the tyres would churp or bark alittle harder through redline shifts, i didn't notice any difference and neither did my passengers. Though who am i to really know, i haven't even jacked or removed a wheel from a car before tonight.

In terms of noise, there is a definate change.. the whistle was cool at first but after afew minutes the novety became a nuisance, it'd be fun if you could make it whistle when you wanted it to like vtec but that just isn't the case, still, it was very faint and hardly noticable with the windows up.

As for Vtec.. goodness, it screamed. You don't have to be in a tunnel anymore to listen to it wail like crazy anymore. Just wind down the window and it peirces through your ears.. how many db's is a stock itr with aem cai at redline?

We took it to an underground car park, so late at night there were barely any cars around, looks abit like an indoor autox. I revved the car.. we could'nt beg for anymore. The noise just echoed repeatedly and the whole place was in uproar. It was incredible.

I guess the AEM CAI isn't that bad.. i like how it's loud only when you want it to be loud, and quiet (but whistling) when you don't.

It's not the final performance or noise gains and falls that drew me back.. it's damn installation thats made me wonder if it's all worth the trouble or not. If i had realised earlier (and many of you have warned me), i would've delayed my installation to another day.


[Modified by MyYellowHonda, 1:01 AM 6/25/2002]

 

Mine is that way.. and work fine.

That is normal. loosen the 10mm nut and the hose clamps and try to re-position the intake. I twisted the bracket that the 'coolant overflow reservoir' is hooked to give a little more room.

The gains should be noticable... but a dyno test would have shown them better.

(edit) you do have to remove the strut bar. no special adjustments required... I would have not tightened it so much..

Will
-who likes his noise pipe.


[Modified by Willard, 10:06 AM 6/24/2002]

 

r u willing 2 sell ur stock air filter?

 

For me, the AEM CAI install wasn't too complicated. No irreversible action has to be performed to install it. My friend did most of the work anyway. hehe.

I highly recommend that you sandwich a non-abrasive material between the contact point where the Coolant reservoir and Intake Pipe touch. I found out not too long ago that the rubbing that had taken place had worn off much of the pipe surface. If gone unnoticed I'm sure the rubbing would've put a hole in the pipe. Cheers!

 

wow, 8 people for an intake install......


good job getting it in though...

 

Dyno's I've seen of a stock ITR vs. stock ITR w/CAI were only in the 4hp range. Maybe your butt dyno just didn't feel a 4hp gain? My butt dyno is pretty sensitive

I noticed a gain from just removing PS belt and then proved it when I improved my 1/4 mile time by about 0.13 (hey, don't laugh, it got me in the 14's Thursday )

Speaking of intake dyno's on a otherwise stock ITR, anyone have one handy of a Comptech Icebox or even Stock vs. AEM vs. Comptech?

 

I had the same problem with my install of the AEM on my ITR.... for some odd ball reason the hose from the valve cover to the intake didn't fit properly... the coolant line was good, but that other one was a pain... so I took the hose from my GS-R AEM and put that one on... and that one fits like a dream...and it only took me about 15 minutes for the install.. maybe less... not really that much of a hassle, except for the resonator or whatever that thing was that is under the fender... that was the only thing that took time, but other than that... I like the AEM and there is no rubbing at all with my install--in terms of it rubbing against any AC lines or whatever....

AEM


[Modified by ITR#00-1077, 4:48 PM 6/24/2002]

 

same noise with mine, i actually like the whistling since i have put up with it for like 6 months now. it'll prolly grow on you eventually. and when its in vtec, especially under a bridge, its worth all $225 of it

 

You're too paranoid about your car. Loosen up and enjoy the art of modification (=

 

Haha seriously. Man that should have taken like 15 minutes with 8 people doing the install. I think mine was 45 minutes by myself when doing it for the first time. Now I can get it down to 20 min. after doing it a couple times. Just enjoy what you're doing and don't worry so much, installs will move much faster that way.

Intakes have been the easiest thing I have ever installed next to plugging in upgraded headlight bulbs. Definitely get more comfortable with working on your car, because it sure doesn't get any easier than that.

 

ofcourse you are not going to feel the difference ALOT

but when i first got mine. i felt little more tourqe at lower end.

and ofcourse i LOVE the vtec ^^

i like it

 

taking co-worker who owns an S2000 for a ride, had just got done riding in his car - we're passing under two low bridges, windows down, at 5400rpm, hammer it, the AEM sings it's glorious howl, I look over to see the grin on his face from ear to ear

 

I'm considering to try and reset the ECU again, my procedure last night was by disconnecting the negative battery (alarm chirped and i was worried it was gonna set off *more paranoid*) and after the 2 hours installation i reconnected it.. alarm chirped again and i was freaking out that it was gonna set off.. nothing. Alarm and everything works fine again. I turned on the car and didn't touch the throttle for about 15 minutes before turning it off and on again, then taking it for a spin. I think i may try resetting the ECU again and wait alittle longer.

The damn radio wants a code now, can't find the bloody code!!@#!

I managed to get the second hose clamp on the end of the pipe but it's on abit of an angle.. i'll just keep an eye on it. And as for the contact point with the "white box " i stuck one of the polystyrene (pardon my spelling) from the shipment box and jammed it inbetween.. looks good.

As for the 8 of us there.. only 2 of us were really doing anything. The others just stood in the freezing cold weather and stared at us.. 7 of us had absolutely no idea what the hell we were doing (including me) and it was a friends dad who did all of the work.. if it wasn't for him, the rest of us kids would be still trying to get the front wheel off the next day.. i'm dead serious.

Next modification.. Spoon N1

 

Your car is definitely going to be loud. AEM with Spoon N1! Sweet

 

The code for your radio is in you owners manual

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you should tighten the strut tower bar when the car is lowered off the jack and all the weight is on the wheels, as oposed to when it's still in the air. You didn't mention which way you did it, but I thought I would clarify.

 

Thanks for pointing that one out...

I didn't tighten the strut bar on the ground.. it was still jacked up.

Better do it again

 

One thing you should definiately watch out for with AEM CAI intake:

** If your R is A/C equipped, make sure the AEM tubing does not rub against the AC line bracket.
**

Also, try setting your ignition timing up to 18deg. It takes 5 minutes with a timing gun.

 

I checked the AC line, it rests about an inch above the intake pipe.

As for the ignition timing.. you've just lost me there.

 

Am I the only one who used a little K&N filter on the breather hose instead of routing it back into the intake?

All that little hose does is dirty up your intake manifold and lower the life of your engine. I had black carbon all over the butterfly valve the first time I took off the intake. I had to soak the whole throttle body in solvent for two days to get it off.

 

I used to K&N breather for my valve cover and plugged the inlet to my Ice box.If you plug it you just have to be sure that plug doesn't fly into the intake manifold.

 

why do you want to keep resetting your ECU? unless you're throwing engine codes there's no point after the first. loosen up

 

?? I don't understand this. The breather hose is designed in suck IN when you are on the throttle it doesn't blow out. What blows back into your intake manifold is the blow-by from the PCV hose. Tthe breather hose sucks inward along with your intake to vent the crankcase. I would imagine if the breather is not connected to the intake the crankcase wouldn't recieve proper ventilation am I wrong?

 

You are not wrong. The little filter causes improper ventilation.

Will

 

Is this bad?Maybe I should change it back.