resonator and stock intake out.....











the jacking point is the standard point according to the manual. It's part of the frame.







you can see the special metal bracket that's needed to stablize the CAI





All washed up and clean.

 

It looks great! Nice pics!

Sorry to ask such a naive question, but I have always been weary of CAI because a lot of stories I have read, and a couple of guys at a tuner shop tell me about the dreaded hydro lock during really bad weather, they prefer something called a short air ram, which I guess looks pretty much the same but stays up in the engine compartment, and does not take a nose dive like the CAIs. Do you have to drive your car differently in the rain?

 

It hasn't rained since the installation, so I cannot tell you. But...I would avoid super deep puddles where the level of water is near where your fogs are. I have never driven my car into that kind of puddles so I am not worried.


In other words, no changes in driving habbits have occurred except I contantly find myself heavy-footed due to the addiction in wanting to hear my CAI roar.

 

Wow that looks fantastic Nelson, nice write up and pics

How hard did you find removal of the front bumper ?. I'll have to remove mine to install the mugen front lip.

 

the front bumper is easier to remove than the resonator in my opinion. You have to take off the top plastic above the grill and that is secured by a few clips. The bumper is secured mostly by clips and 2 screws and 2 bolts. That's it. You probably will need another person to help you out when pulling it out because you will need to disconnect the temperature and fog wire harness while somone else holds the bumper. The clips underneath the headlights are super tight, you have to use some force.

 

that looks hard, i don't think i'll ever take apart the bumper off my car..

 

Question, what's hanging from your rearview mirror? Is it red, white and black?

 

Sorry, it's not red, white, and black. Were you thinking of a high school? It's gold from the University of Washington.

 

Nice job man! It's a tough mod to do for just a CAI, but definitely worth it! The results are awesome with the CAI....

 

Nice write up! Because of your pictures I decided to get the CAI.

Also, where did you get the mtec super white fogs? I've asked some people where is the best place to get replacement fog lights for our car without any success.

Thanks

 

Excellent write-up. It has convinced me to pay someone else to do all that stuff.

I wish I had the time to do that to my car. 10-hour work days and frequent weekends at work are not conducive to meddling with the mechanics of my car.

 

I got the MTEC fogs from the ebay. There are quite a few sellers that carry the MTEC super whites.

 

yup, it's really time consuming to do a CAI install. Plus, you should have another person to assist you like passing instruments and suction. Oh wait, we are talking about CAI installation...

 

I did mine myself. Didn't remove the bumper, you can do it without doing that. It was a half-day job and I'm certainly no expert. It is nice having Touge handy by email to tell me about the "hidden" screw though! Without the bumper removed one of the screws on the resonator is completely hidden....

 

can u pm me how u did the install things cause up top i cant c it

 

I removed the bumper in 10 mins
Remove old intake and resonator 30 mins
install new CAI pipe 5 mins
make braket for CAI 10 mins.
reinstall bumper 15 mins

Only thing i can say is having a person with long skinny arms help to get to the braket bolt under the battery. 2 bolts holding on resonator in the wheel well. and you will have to use some force to remove the old intake box. they engineered this car to use every bit of space for that intake.

 

is the resonator the plastic tubes for the old intake?

 

Carbon I need your help with the front bumper. I bumped my thread. Thanks.

 

is a CAI install *really* this hard???

no wonder so many go with a short ram intake!!

what would one expect to pay a shop to install a CAI?

if I do an intake, i like the idea of doing a CAI to keep cool air to the engine.

 

CAI is very simple

 

It's simple if you drop the bumper. If you don't, it's gonna be frustrating.

 

what help do you need with the front bumper?
remove the clips around the grill area.
remove the clips on the underdam along with the 4 10mm nuts.
remove the 2 phillips head screws in each fender right on the edge of the bumper
Lay down old blanket in the front bumper area.
grab on side of the bumper and gradually pull straight out. the fender will unclip.
Grab the center grill and edge that you already popped off from the fender area and slowly pull straight out.
repeat on opposite side.
Lift the bumper off the bumper support (Hidden) and over the radiator fill cap and the bumper should gently lay on the blanket.