3G DIY The Poor Man's Cold Air Intake - pics
 

Hello All,
so for about 3 years now I've been rockin the K&N drop in filter that you must oil. Recently, Anil (Swoosh) annoyed me enough by dropping knowledge on me enough to convince me I should give an AEM dryflow filter a shot.

So, I placed an order for the DC Sports CAI, what the heck, I've got a predictable drive with no flooding to/from work, and I know well enough to drive around any crazy deep puddles. I bought paid for it for $120 shipped, nice...now, a week later, I find out it's out of stock till beginning May. I decided to cancel the order.

BUT, I had already preemptively ordered the dryflow filter from a forum member (thanks Meek!) for $25 (well, $35 really...shipping was worse than he expected so I tossed him another ten spot, I've been in that position before and it sucks to sell stuff for free). It arrived today and knowing myself, I had already decided I'd either get the cheap ebay CAI to work, or I'd make something on my own.
He didn't know the part number, but to give you an idea of which filter, here's the FS thread
https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/aem-dry-flow-filter-852474/

The other night I took at look at the oem piping, there's flex, but the inner diameter is actually consistent, the flex is to be able to move it around...AND, there are a few lines that tie into the intake, so that kinda made me NOT want to reinvent the wheel.

Plus, I had removed my intake resonator a LONG time ago. SO, the make a short story long, I used the upper portion of my resonator where it joins the stock intake box, cut it and made it work. Since I had already removed the resonator, I avoided having to remove the bumper and worked in the wheel well. Yay...

Also, 1/2 way thru, I realized it would be nearly impossible to get the rubber to sit right without removing the battery, need to do the Idle relearn anyway, so out with the battery.

In the end, I know I'll likely get flamed for it, but this mod did a few things for me.

• MY CAI COST ME $35 for the filter and $2 for a hose clamp
• MY CAI is still very far from the ground and any deep puddles
• MY CAI looks oem from above
• MY CAI would have to be submerged into water and the volume of air would need to entirely fill the oem filter box before making it's way to hydrolocking anything. IF I was ever in a pinch, I could stop, open my oem intake filter location, or disconnect the throttle body from the intake and go through the puddle.

Ok, so remove your intake RES, if you are doing this for the first time, remove bumper. If not, you can work with your wheel off through the fender liner.
On a side note, if you do have your res out, you will probably realize that even if you were going back to stock, you would never need or use this again...you won't be putting it back in. I don't like cutting up oem things, but IF ever in a pinch, I could buy another or use some rubber and clamps to recreate it.
I overcut initially...
This made the filter hit the bumper
Attachment 51111
Ok, NOW, the diameter of the filter, and the newly cut tube were almost identical...tried some ghetto fabulous forceful entry (yeah...that) and guess what, filter actually fit inside the tube with NO air gaps...yeah, I know, I'm SLIGHTLY lowering the inner diamber, but no worse really than jamming the rubber of the filter OVER a piece of metal tubing IMO. It fit, it worked, no need to over engineer
Attachment 51112
Shortened it up, after seeing clearance issues
Attachment 51113
here's the filter jammed in
Attachment 51114
Ok, and here's what people will want...
LONG SIDE
Attachment 51115
SHORT SIDE
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...s/IMG_5785.jpg
Side shot
Attachment 51116
and here she from the inside the oem box
Attachment 51117
and sitting in place in the fender. you can see here, plenty of room, and not near the floor
Attachment 51118
ok, now the rubber is intended to just be jammed onto the bottom of the airbox...but honestly, with the added weight of the filter and lack of resonator bolted in place to hold it up, I wanted the piece of mind of knowing I wasn't running unfiltered air into my engine. Tried using 1 hose clamp, WAY too big...went to Walmart and the biggest one they had was a little short (literally 1/2 short). Lucky it came in multi sized pack...used the little one AND the big one together...bam, nice and tight. Nevermind the wiring, I hadn't remembered how ghetto I had started off with my wiring skills. ;( Friggin wiring for the accord fogs, the relay, and the DRL module...holy hell.
Attachment 51119

And here it is, buttoned up!
Can't tell!??! GOOD, that's what I was going for!
Attachment 51120


My impressions...EASILY an extra 100 ponies...I've driven my friend's modded Mustang GT and this car felt just like that...it felt like RWD, probably about a 10 second car.

Seriously though, ever since I've done my little baby mods to my exhaust like the J Pipe, stage III and whatnot, I've honestly always thought I should increase the intake volume a little bit. This mod did that...call me nuts, but I swear, did the 5 min idle relearn process and then took it for a spin...got down the block and ran to the next stop sign and the car just sounded more alive...before, when I'd punch it felt somewhat muffled...I'm sure it's not as good as CAI, but whatever small additional volume of air is making it's way to the motor, it definitely likes it. A little more air in, balances out with a little more exhaust out. :) I've had a V2 AEM intake on my RSX and I will say this...has that throaty sound, DOES make the little whistle (which I love) when you blip the throttle...and DEFINITELY makes that fart noise when the car is turned off. LOVE IT.

Anyway, cheap and easy, figured I'd share. Good luck and happy modding. I'm sure I'm not the first, but I do think I might be the first that documented for other's to follow it.

J.

that was a great write up! way to be an engineer

Thanks, man! :) Well, I have a feeling I'm not the first (or maybe I am?!) but I like to DIY, make it easier for others. Glad you enjoyed it!

Great job! How does the engine feel and how is the filtration?

Thank you!
Filtration is supposed to be awesome with these filters...
Engine feels great, similar to a real CAI.

cheap and functional. I like it.

no disrepect rockstar guy but there is no such thing as a 5 minute idle relearn. it takes atleast 25 minutes on a cold engine AND!!!! you have to follow it with low/high rpm relearns. haha "only if your AT" but still there is a idle relearn but not in 5 minute.
btw nice intake mod but not for me, does nothing but make a nice smooth running engine sound loud and cheap. bye

^^^thanks for the correction, man. Just repeating what I've heard from others. I thought when you make changes or even just to reset the way the car drives (since it adapts to your style) you just needed to idle for 5 minutes...not sure why the car would need 25 minutes since it gets to operating temp well within 5 minutes.

About the filter, thing...honestly, if i didn't have the exhaust mods I do, I'm pretty sure the car would sound about the same as stock. Not too many mods you do to make the car breath better that won't generate a little extra sound. Plus, this'll blow your mind but loud and cheap sounding engine also still runs very nice and smooth ;).

Can someone clarify how the idle relearn works I just put my stock intake back in and I need to do it. I read in my service manual that you need to hold the RPMs a 3 grand until the fan comes on or the coolant temp reaches 194*, then let your car idle for roughly 5 minutes. I held it at 3 grand for a whille but the fan never came on. So I figured seeing as my car was warm it had reached 194* so I then let it idle for 5 minutes. Did i do it right or ithere another way to do it?

custom X intake... mmmm...... :)

Honestly, I think the 3grand thing is to speed up the process...I THINK the ecu gets wiped clean when you pull the battery and letting it sit for 5 or 25 minutes will give it the opportunity to let the idle kinda settle itself down...not sure if that entails slight A/F ratio adjustments.

Wow Jeremy! That's awesome. You either need to move to KC or Swoosh and I need to resettle in South Florida.

Check your PM, SUPER ironic that you just posted this because i just wrote this one to you, Steven.
Thank you, brother...you guys move down here!

looks great! cai for our cars dont do much anyways. they may look nice when you pop the hood but its pretty a expensive ass noise maker. maybe just a tad bit better air flow.

Ain't that the truth, I seriously could not be happier.

J.

CAI will gain with JnR ecu. The reason why we are not making any power with an intake is because our stock vanes on the intake is keeping the afr in check and doesn't throw it off. If you're using an intake without vanes, the air will tumble, causing turbulence and throwing off the mass air-fuel (MAF) sensor, which will hamper your intake's performance as seen on aftermarket intakes without the ECU.

Many DBW SI's has done this modification when Flashpro wasn't out, it provided gains.

^Im pretty sure we have a MAP sensor not a MAF sensor.

Correction

We're getting deeper than I intended for the thread...

but, still good info to have.

Just found this thread....

as always well done Jer....seems like you are a happy camper :thumbsup:

I certainly am, my friend. :)
Extremely.

Were these pretty accurate dimensions when you got this.

"3 in intake side. About 6.75 inches long and 6 inches in diameter"

Did you ever find a part number? Interested in this. I pulled all the tubing from bottom of resonator back into eng. bay and it made some difference mostly in sound.

Definately a cheaper mod that is worth it.

Shoot, I'm not certain but that DEFINITELY sounds about right...

I copied that from the sale thread in the link.

Was looking for a filter option as I do not want a normal K&N oiled filter. Seems they are calling everything a dry-flow now.

I know you haven't had this on there for too long now but everything holding up and still happy?

This thread def. was the threshold that made me rip out my bottom half of intake out while the bumper and battery was out for my headlight install.

^^^ I had the AEM dry flow on for 3 years and it was awesome....

every 10K miles, i used to clean it (just remove debris with hand)....and every 20K miles i used to "wash" it in a bucket with dishwashing soap...dry it....absolutely dry it....then put it back on....

loved the AEM filter....i have a bigger AEM filter sitting in my car right now....

also i ended up getting a bigger AEM filter for the CAI, more surface area = more air....

here is the pic of the larger filter...you can see the model number in the lower right hand corner....

https://acurazine.com/forums/picture...ictureid=43305

picked from this thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-2004-2008-93/redline-my-system-820509/

Apexi Power intake would been a good choice.

^^^ and so would any other AFTERMARKET CAI/INTAKE for that matter. But the point of Jer write up was a complete DIY... although I could be wrong ;) But doubt it.

very NICE write up Jer!

Thanks Josh!
Nope, you're spot on, as you say! ;)
It was to share the idea since I know I wasn't the first but I didn't find much documentation on how to make the cuts etc.

Things to note though. It is super quiet. I'm planning to replace the old airbox. Also the airbox has drain holes at the bottom. Did you cover those up at all?

I did not, and that's a good point. In that case, I'm running unfiltered air in. I will take a look this weekend.

J.

Awesome write up! When you say easily 100 extra ponies are you saying this mod adds 100 horsepower?! Also how did you get your engine covers orange? Did you paint them yourself or buy them like that? Thanks

LMAO, I'm sure if I said that, it was total sarcasm! :)
I actually need to revisit this mod, last weekend when I was sealing up the drain holes in the oem box I split the hose that runs from the TB to the air box (due to the tb spacer causing extra stress). I'll need to replace that to fix it, in the meantime, here's how she sits with my makeshift short ram!

Yes, I painted the orange! :) Thank you.
Attachment 48248
Attachment 48249
Attachment 48250
Attachment 48251

Jeremy, the perfectionist you are, I totally dislike the latest iteration....

You can make an intake in less than $125 which provides you gains....and you can make it look OEM ish....

Here is the piping you would need...this is 3" OD...so the pipe is bigger than AEM V2 and will fit without much struggle...I have the 4" OD version but fitting it is a pain and you would have to relocate your battery....so I suggest a 3" or 2.5" piping (final decider will be our intake filter ID)

http://www.verociousmotorsports.com/...el-Bends-6-Leg


and you will need this...final decider will be your intake piping diameter
http://www.verociousmotorsports.com/...icone-Reducers


So, piping = $45
Filter = $45 (which you already have)
Reducer = $25

Total $115....if you want to insulate that thing, it will be another 15-20 bucks....

So still not a bad deal, and you will definitely gain more ponies than this:

Attachment 48245

Doesn't a short ram hurt performance?

^^^ Totally depends....

the powerband moves up (you will see gains on the higher RPM's) with the SRI....the powerband moves down with the CAI (so you will see gains in the lower rpm's)....

the SRI is more prone to heat soak....since you are sucking in HOT air and the tubing gets hot in the bay....

the CAI is less prone to heat soak since you are sucking in COOLER air and most of the tubing will stay cooler, only the part right behind the fan will get hot....

I'm new around here, just picked up a type-S last month, went with the stage 3 exhaust and have been looking for a CAI. I have seen the custom 3" idea recommended countless times and could never figure out how I'd do it so thanks for all of the direct links and info!

But I could use a little more help..
If I were to go with the 3" tubing would I select 3" on 3" Rad? I'm clueless as to what it means...I also have no idea what reducer I should be looking at.

Thanks!

Just seeing this now, Anil...so thank you!
:)
I actually went to home depot yesterday and came up with some ways to use pvc to make a nice little setup, but opted to bail on it.

This latest iteration is absolute crap though, I'll agree with you there. AND the rubber is already falling apart, put silicone on the cracks for now. bmore is actually giving me his oem hose at Aaron's wedding and I'll rebuild my poor man's CAI when I get back.

The alternative is build what you suggest above, or just go for it and get the DC Sports intake and trim the end, like Meko suggested, keep the filter up.

Not a problem...

if you look in the specs tab, you will see this:

http://www.verociousmotorsports.com/0900416_chart.jpg


so you will buy the piping depending on the length you want (A and B) and R defines how "tight" the curve will be....

when I got my 4" intake, I got this model number:
0900416-400600-6X8

I recommend this model number: 0900416-300600-8X8
Here is the link again:
http://www.verociousmotorsports.com/...el-Bends-6-Leg

So the "legs" (A and B) will be 8" long, so you can trim them if you need them to be shorter....

So if you get 3" piping, and the OEM TB size (if I remember right) is 2.75" (measure it, double check it)....so you will need this silicon reducer:

and pick one which is 3" (your intake diameter) to 2.75" (your TB diameter)
Here is the model number: VARED4P-2753005

link:
http://www.verociousmotorsports.com/...ose-Transition


I made the mistake of getting the clamps from them, but you can buy them for cheap @ home depot....

:)

the only thing which scares me with the PVC is our bays get very very hot....so just make sure the pvc knows its signing up for high heat application....you can always insulate it to keep it safe....

Yes, you can get the DC Sports intake as well....its fairly cheap....I feel its a little skinny but well its a direct fit....

if you dont feel like cutting the intake up, you can always get a shorter filter....I asked meko to get a bigger filter and hence it hangs low :)


eager to see what you come up with....