they got a 30 dolla intake on ebay .. any thoughts on that? should i get them?

they also have these air intake heat shields.. wonderin if i should get those and if they even help.. about 15 dollars

 

Get a real intake made with quality R&D, and quality parts, not some ricey $30 eBay knock-off.

Comptech IceBox (cai), Injen (cai), AEM (cai), and WeaponR (short ram) all have good reviews here on Acurazine. Look in black market section of Acurazine, sometimes you can find someone parting out their car and get a used on pretty cheap if price is a factor.

 

I just got an ebay CAI and i have to say that it does the job and looks fine. I mean, you get what you pay for but to me they all do the same thing.

Now if your going to buy headers get some quality shit because they can break, peel, leak etc. (OBX) But an intake to me hardly goes under any stress.

BTW the fit was a little off and they DONT come with instructions and the filter cone is crap. Get a K&N!

Just my

 

I wouldn't want cheap material flying inside my engine.

 

Agreed...I bought one, and it felt like a decrease...and it kept falling apart in the engine bay.

I scraped it and got an AEM....night and day.
don't waste $30. Save up and buy the AEM

 

I have no issues with my ebay intake. Just added an AEM bypass valve and a better quality filter- works perfectly. In fact, I have ebay intakes on both my BMW, CL, and Prelude- and have no qualms about it!

The only thing I wish is that the breather tubing was a different color. Oh well, i'll change it, eventually.

 

Damn! That engine bay is filthy!!!

 

dont go with the 30 dollar ones, get an icebox or aem cai. i went with the 30 dollar one off ebay at first and my car sounded like a UFO. it may have helped i dunno i couldnt tell any difference. then i went with the icebox and it sounds alot better now.

 

I still cannot figure out why people buy nice cars, i.e. Acura CL, and then cheap out on such important parts as an air intake system, headers, pulleys, etc. You get what you pay for. You pay crap, you are going to get crap. I'm sorry but it was my thought that you modify your car, i.e. an intake, to make more hp. Maybe the eBay one makes hp, maybe not. Why not take that $40 you spent on the intake, $35 you spent on the K&N filter, and $5 of vacuum lines and save up another $50 and buy a used AEM CAI? This way you have dyno-proven gains and a good product.

Josh
Excelerate LLC

 

well this was my first car, so a week after i got it i looked on ebay saw what i could afford (i had no job just saved up lunch money) so i bought the one for 30 bones....i got my icebox after i joined this site and realized what i had done... and if it werent for my icebox i wouldnt of cleared my headlights...thanks icebox!!!!!

 

not tryin to be cheap.. im a newbie at cars so i was jus wondering if those 30 dollar intakes were any good.

 

Josh, I owned a speed shop with a dynojet dyno. The cheap intakes made pretty much the same power on the dyno- with a decent filter- as the "good" intakes. K&N filter is dirt cheap at wholesale cost, as is vacuum line. I actually sold these "cheap" intakes in my shop as the "shop" brand and never had any issues with them. Those that wanted AEM, Injen, Iceman, etc got them- I just had these lying around as my entry level intakes. An intake is a tube with a filter on it, nothing more, nothing less. I agree that the tubing quality varies a lot with the name brand intakes, but for the most part, they are okay.

Yes, I see your point, why buy an expensive car and put something cheap on it? I agree on some level- but some people just can't afford to dish out 1,000 bucks for a Comptech header. Or 5,000 bucks on HRE wheels.

And personally, I really don't think an intake is really that important of an engine mod. I sell a GruppeM Carbon Kevlar intake for the BMW's that costs 700 bucks. 700 bucks for an intake! Screw that- I'll only put that on if a distributor sent me one to demo.


And finally, I apologize about my dirty engine bay. I took that picture a couple of months ago during the hurricane season in Atlanta (when it rained for almost a month straight) and took it in my garage before I had a chance to clean it up. It's clean now.

Yes, I drink Sam's Choice Cola. Yes I have a cheap, functional intake that cost me less than 60 bucks. I love having saved that 100ish bucks over an AEM (retail). That 100 bucks paid for my biochemsitry text book.

Last thought. I'm in the process of obtaining all four of the common CL/TL headers. The OBX, Comptech, Megan, and the AlphaWerks- and will dyno them all. Same day, same car. This probably has been done already by someone else, but I will post the results (and dyno sheets) I get soon. Stay tuned!

 

Another problem is smog....if your state is like CA, you have to have approved mods, or you no passy the smoggy.....

 

Thedream, I can understand partially what you're saying but I will never agree. And I don't think you will agree with me either. That is what the world is for.

BUT for instance, I have installed some cheap intakes for customers and they come back wondering why the support bracket has broken on them. I explain, you got what you paid for. They wanted something inexpensive: so they got a tube with inferior welds. Or the finish has dulled or been easily scratched. Or as the previous person stated, they are not CARB approved. So for states with strict emissions, that customer is in trouble. Or the tube doesn't exactly fit so it takes some modification on the installer's part who will relay the cost to the consumer (unless you install it yourself). I just have always felt that you get what you pay for. And the times I have cheaped out I have really proven it to myself again and again.

Josh
Excelerate LLC

 

my old hummer

my icebox


i really didnt notice any difference in power...but sound-wise the icebox is alot more pleasant than the short ram. everyone who has short ram intakes says their car sounds like a UFO, so if you want to wake people up coming home late at night, go for it.

 

Totally agree with thedream. An intake is an intake, and its not a "huge" mod. Smog checks are done every two years so that is not a big deal to me. If you are a DIY kind of person, then you have nothing to worry about. I've owned ebay CAI before and never had a problem with it, however i've owned cheap headers for my previouse car (MX6) and paid more for repairs, cracks etc than what some quality headers would of cost me. All i am saying is this; a cheap CAI does the same thing as a CAI from AEM, to me it feels like your just buying the brand.

 

Oh and by the way, I'm amogst those people who love the roar of the intake....especially on WOTand VTEC. The suction sound never gets old to me.