The AEM CAI came via UPS today as planned so I was able to stay on schedule and accomplish my goal of having it installed by Thursday night. I ordered the unit from Lightning Performance in Louisiana (I believe that's the name). I ordered from them since they were on the east coast (less shipping time) and if I'm remembering correctly, their restocking fee was less than the others I saw just in case something happened and I needed to return it (tip - always read the policies and return procedures for anything you buy, especially on the internet and especially when it concerns parts that are being installed).

The removal of the old system went well. I used Chod's FAQ and downloaded his pics on my laptop's hard drive just in case anything came up. Basically, if you start by removing the air filter housing and go from there, you can pretty much follow what you need to do without much guidance. I was also able to take the old system out without having to remove the battery, tire or having to jack the car up. It can be done fairly easily if you're willing to roll around on the ground and get a little dirty. If you have a long socket wrench you can avoid removal of the battery. The removal of the old system from start to finish took about 30 minutes. I was careful and moved slowly just as a precautionary measure, however after now having done it, I'm pretty sure I could do it within 15 or so minutes. After the old system was gone, I took a few minutes to clean and polish up where all the old system's parts had been, since the CAI shows a lot more of the metal lining under the hood and since this part of our cars is painted.

On to the instalation of the CAI...

I chose not to get the bypass. I did a little research and as long as I refrain from going into about eight inches of water I think I'll be fine. The CAI unit went in smoothly without a hitch. The hardest part was hooking back up the breather hoses, as they don't go back exactly the way they were to begin with. I decided to take the largest hose under the CAI unit in order to keep everything from sticking up too high and hitting the closed hood. Based on some of the other pics I've seen, I think most people opted for this method. The most difficult part of installing the CAI unit was getting the K&N cone filter on the pipe after everything had been somewhat bolted in. After a couple of minutes of struggling with it, I was able to get it to slide on all the way and proceeded to clamp it down.

Basically, that's all there is to it. I recommend that anyone doing this perform a good review over everything they did to make sure that everything is hooked up properly, tightly and without crimps in any of the hoses. Also, always check around your engine bay to make sure you didn't leave any tools under the hood.

After that, it was time to test...ah, the time I had been looking forward to all day! I had been careful to notice the sound and power of my engine for several days prior to receiving the CAI to enable me to give a good estimate of the change in sound and power. The first thing you notice is the sound. There's not too much of a difference at lower RPM, and if you're windows are up then you probably won't even notice it. But, there is a slight difference that can be heard. As soon as you step on it and the RPM get up to the higher levels, that's when the sound difference really becomes apparent. In VTEC range, it sounds like there's an absolute monster under the hood - night and day difference. It sounds good. Very throaty and pretty deep. Before this car I was a total V8 guy, but this thing sounds great. Not like a V8, but you can definatley tell there's some power going on under there. As far as performance...honestly it's hard to say definitively. The car indeed felt very strong at the upper RPM, where I expected the change to be felt. It had a lot of pull to it, but then again, when you're hearing that incredible sound coming from the hood, it's hard not for some of it to be a little on the subjective side. I hope to get a g-tech soon, so I'll have to see what numbers I'm running. Plus, I'm in NC, where the weather is hot and very humid, which is a factor as well.

Anyway, that's it. Total instalation time turned out to be about two hours. I took my time and did not hurry along. Having done it once now, I think it could be done pretty easily in one hour or so, depending if you had the tools to avoid removal of the battery, time and jacking it up. The install went very smoothly, and I'm pleased with the unit thus far. Hopefully I can snag a digital camera for the weekend and post a few pics.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

Hey, I never thought of that. You need one monster long extension, tho.

 

you're right, Chod. It's about an eight inch extention. Extentions can be somewhat clunky to work with at times, but in this case, it sure beats having to disconnect the battery and go through the process of removing it. BTW, thanks for your FAQ. You've put a lot of time in it and it really shows!

cheers

 

At least it didn't take you 11 hours like it did Amir!

 

I regret that post. some things i gotta keep to myself

 

ok I got to say it; did you use the "turning, clicking thing"? Sorry this will be the last time I bring this up.

 

We love you, Amir!!! You brightened my day with that post!