edgalang

I was thinking about getting the Injen CAI since all of the other intakes I've seen are AEM and I kinda want to try out something different. I don't plan on putting in a By pass Valve on since I doubt I would be travelling anywhere that has a foot of water, plus I also plan on keeping the stock springs + shock setup for a while since I travel alot in San Francisco. Could anyone who bought one voice their opinions of it? I personally like the look of it better than the AEM and the replacement filters are a tad cheaper too. At first glance, the Injens seem to be made of metal, while the AEMs plastic, but I know that both are made out of aluminum.

Edub-TL

Earnest,

Could you give me some info on your Injen CAI?? How loud is it??
Can you tell a difference as far as HP gains? Easy to install?

Cuong

Personally, I like the polish look of the InJen, but both are pretty much the same in performance. I usually recommend picking the one that looks the best to you. Basically it's all the same between the InJen and the AEM, just the looks are different. Some owners even use the bypass valve with the InJen, but AEM doesn't warranty the bypass valve with anything other then their intakes.

edgalang

Well, for starters it fits perfect...kinda. I didn't realize this before, but after tweaking and readjusting it a couple of times you either have to sacrifice *potential metal to metal rubbing, OR have the filter head rest slightly up against the back of the fog light assembly. If only they made the pipe a half inch shorter, then maybe I could get the best of both worlds. The reason why I say that it MAY have metal to metal rubbing is that it is held on by this rubber stopper thing'a'magiggy, where the metal bolt does not go through the rubber mount. Instead, it is more like two bolts welded to metal washers seperated by an inch of rubber. I'm not quite sure of the quality of the rubber, but I could tell that alot of vibration goes through there, and I'm assuming that it should only be a matter of time before that piece of rubber starts to dry up and crack, making the pipe rub against the body. Now, if you have an older TL-P, then the filter head resting against the back of the fog light assembly shouldnt be a factor since you dont even have fogs to begin with. (Which in my opinion *might even give you more air if you cut out the holes for the fogs and put a metal mesh covering it)

As for the noise factor? Hmm.....lets say I wouldnt want to go back. I first thought that I might be ghettofying my car by making it louder (like my friend's automatic integra GS with a AEM CAI), but to my suprise it wasnt as loud as I thought it would be. For starters, it definitely does not sound rice at all. Unlike some exhausts that seems to contour more for looks/sounds, the noise that the CAI makes definitely sounds functional. At regular driving (under 3k RPM) you wouldnt even know it was there, only during WOT or when the car is at rest do you notice the difference. Every morning when I start the car I experience this slight thump, where air all of a sudden starts moving through the pipe, then after it recovers, you will hear this constant hiss comming from the filter head (just like you would from an end of a vaccum hose). At first it annoyed me since it didnt sound as graceful as my coworkers IS300 during idle, but after a while you get used it. One distinctive feature I did like was that you get this noticable pressurizing effect after you shut off the engine. Oh, and another thing, if you listen to it closely, you will definitely be able to tell if the main vavle opens and closes. One demo I usually show to my friends who are interested (they usually dont care about cars) is that I would pop open my hood while the car is on idle and I would turn on and off the fog lights to show the difference in air flow just by activating the fog light switch.

Now as for horse power gains. Hmm.....if it did add anything, it sure wasnt enough to give me a wiplash like porshe drivers experience. Maybe it's just me not taking full advantage of it, or maybe I am just still adjusting to the ride and feel of the vehicle since this is by far the best car I've ever driven for this serious length of time. So all in all, I honestly cant say, since I mostly gun it when there are people in the car, and when I'm by myself I'm too busy trying to keep the rpms as low as possible. Why you ask? Well, because I'm TRYING to conduct a test on how far I could go on day to day driving with just a single tank of gas (Before and After the CAI...my record so far is 380 miles with 2 gallons left). Reason why I'm still in the trying stage is that I have yet to traverse through a single tank of gas without either redlining it a couple of times, or racing with someone trying to pass me on the freeway. One thing I did notice though was that my tires chirp more than before comming off red lights...but then again we could just say that my tires are starting to wear off like normal, or that I'm accelerating through asphalt and not on concrete, or that.......and the list just keeps on going. Funny, remember when you took my car test driving 2 meets ago? I was accually expecting you to redline it on a straight away. Too bad, since if we were to ever meet again, then maybe you could be the one telling me the difference once you drive my car with the CAI installed.

Installation difficulty. Well, seeing as I am more of a computer guy and not a mechanic, I took my sweet ass time studying ever single part. Total hours.....8. That includes lunch and the few occational snack breaks with the family and going back and forth to my computer to read up on this site. If I were to do it all over again, I'm sure I could probably do it in less than an hour. Oh, and it would be nice to have some help since you'd wish you had extra hands when removing/attaching the front bumper.

All in all, I say for 200 bucks it is pretty damn worth it. I mostly regret not getting the chromed Neuspeed strut bar, since I'm sure when/if I get the headers it would all match up perfectly.

Edub-TL

Now how can I resist and offer to drive a TL-S and fully test out the CAI??

I like the polished look, but that blue one they have in the picture is pretty damn sweet too..

Hey maybe we can meet up sometime on a weekend so you can convince me to buy the CAI! Let me know if you are in the South Bay.. I'm in Redwood City now..

Thanks for the info.. CAI is the only engine mod I want..