hey guys,

A buddy of mine has a K&N Air filter, and then made his own pipe that goes from the Filter directly into the engine. It sounds soooo damn sweet. He said he could hook it up installed for 140 bux cdn installed. That's including the K&N Air filter and a Reactive CAI. Any ideas if it's worth it? I love the sound it makes when you punch it, and also like that when you drive it normally you hardly hear it. I'm more and more backing away from the CT icebox due to it's price. Seeing as it does the same thing, makes hardly any noise and is 4 times the price, I really can't justify getting it. BTW my friend is driving a 99TL. (obviously a non-Type S)

any opininons on this?

edit: I've been looking on the internet and it seems it's not as simple to install a CAI in the TL-S as my friend thinks. Do you need an air bypass valve to prevent water from going in? Can I simply install the cone filter and then put that long tube from that cone into the engine? will that work or is it not that simple?
I'm not looking for any fancy system, I simply want my engine to sound better when in VTEC range, and too allow my engine to breath a little better. Will this do it?

 

if thats all you want get a K&N drop in replacement filter for the factory air box. remove the resonators (you would have to do that any way for a CAI) and cut a bigger hole in the bottom side of the air box. i did that and it works good (its kinda like the icebox)

 

I have to remove the resonators for putting in the CAI? I'm not too sure it what I'm doing classfies it as a CAI. It's simply a Cone (K&N Filter), and instead of using the stock pipe, I put in my own like 3 inch diameter metal tube directly into the engine.

I need to remove my resonators for that???

 

i have a 99, & you will be running your cai pipe directly from the throttle body, and down into the hole you see under the left headlight. you can remove the fender liner to attach the k&n filter, (you don't have to drop the bumper) which basically ends up behind and just above the foglight cut out. a bypass valve is reccomended if you are in alot of inclement weather, and could possibly end up driving through high water. i took mine off due to possible breakage, and having the pieces get sucked into the throttle body, and it also robs a wee bit off hp cos it's a not a total seal, but the sound does not change! do it!!!

 

will I notice a difference in noise at all? The way my friend has it setup, the car wakes up at about 4000 RPM, and oh my god the noise is amazing. See it's great cause for my dad who likes the stock noise, it will still tickle his fancy, but for me when I punch the gas, all I'll hear is that intake.

I'm getting it next week.

 

you won't notice a diiff!

 

If you want noise, use the CAI as a short ram intake. I had Stock Air box w/ K&N drop in filter and resonator box removed....it makes some noise at VTEC. Then I got AEM CAI and sounds about the same. Then I used only the top part only and made it into a short ram and now the noise double at VTEC.

 

thats why i mentioned on cutting the bottom of the air box off. its loud at WOT.

 

Jeff,

K&N Drop-in is different (flat replacement for stock filter) than the K&N round CAI filter. Dunno the price for the round ones but the drop-ins can be had for about $70.00 or so. Be careful with "homemade" intakes, may introduce contaminants into your engine.

 

can it really introduce contaminants into my engine? A guy on this forum by the name of giovanni has been talking to me about this. He made his CAI for a whole 20 bux since he bought the pipe at the building blocks, and had a friend of his do the welding for him. Then he made the two tips for some tubes to go into that pipe, and somehow his car sounds freaking amazing.

 

K&N drop in filters are not 70 bucks. if you got it for that much you got ripped off. They are around 40 bucks shipped (Type-S, TL-P is 3 dollars cheaper). The K&N cone filters are around 30-50 dollars, depending on which one you get.

I wouldn't trust home made CAIs, kinda sad to see it on a 30k car. Make sure the piping isn't plastic (PCP) those will introduce contaminants, and even if it's metal.....it's conducting heat from your engine bay....you'll end up losing perfomance. AEM/Injen etc has a heat resistance coating.

 

so then what do you guys suggest I do? I want a CAI which has the K&N Air filter, but I don't want to pay anywhere near the price of an icebox. I simply want something that has a long pipe. a coned filter on one end, and the other that goes straight into the engine. I also want there to be a bypass valve so I don't run into problems later on. I also want something that makes the VTEC sound amazing, something like a rumbling sound.

any suggestions?

 

Buy an Injen CAI or AEM CAI, these way cheaper then icebox. Buy a bypass. Or use it as a short ram for really nice sounds at VTEC. If you want to play, you gotta pay. I wouldn't trust those homemade stuff in my car, hell i wouldn't trust those cheap CAI you find on ebay either. If you just want sounds take off the air resonator and see if you like that, the increase sound is noticable without the resonator. I rather have you do that then try a home made CAI.

 

thatw why i recomended getting a drop in filter(K&N) and cutting the bottom side of the air box off. its like a CT ice box but cheaper.

 

I concur with the above. The cheaper oad might lead to bigger expenses down the road.

By the way, I meant to state $70.00 Canadian. Sorry about the error.

 

Jeff: This is the situation of you pay for what you get. Like the other guys here said, you could end up with a bigger bill on your hands due to dirt and other debris getting inside your engine and other sensitive parts.
With the ice box, yes you pay more but is performance that is proven and even if you like the noise it makes when you punch it (CAI), don't you want some torque and hp behind that noise to back it up.
I stay away from some of the homemade stuff around. I suggest a little patience and save some money and when ready get the good stuff, in the end you will be happier.
Just my opinion bro. to help you some. Later.

 

The pricing makes much better sense now.

 

where are they intake resonators located?..

 

I also wanted to say this: The name brand ones such as AEM, Comptech, K&N puts some form of Research and Development behind their products. They have tested it on actual vehicles and can back their products up with warranty. I have seen cheap imitations that mimic the brand names, some made in some far corner of the far east, it's not funny. All I can say is despite the plagiarism, even on a close to exact copy, the name brand ones still would stand, since the materials used are totally different. The tolerances and the precise engineering behind a product cannot be matched by mere duplication. Remember that we are not driving mere Civics or Golfs. Our refined cars I think deserve top-notch parts. And I think putting pseudo-performace parts doesn't do them justice.

There's more to it than just awesome noise and a small jump in power.