cadesigns02

Hey guys,

Since everyone has been waiting for an AEM intake review, thought I'd share my thoughts on the unit. Picked it up last week and installed it over the weekend.

First Impressions

Parts seem to be good quality. I had an AEM on my old supercharged Integra and they've definitely improved their parts since then. Finish is very nice and everything is included that you need for the install. Instructions are great and I didn't have any problems with the install.

Installation

Just some tips for those that are attempting to do the install themselves. I've had plenty of previous experience tinkering with my previous cars so an intake is pretty simple. Altogether took be 2.5-3hrs with plenty of breaks, nothing special, uninstall stock, put in AEM in its place. If you guys have any questions about the install, let me know and I'll see if I can answer them.

Review

Been on for about 24 hrs, so this is a very brief first impression. During normal driving, sounds exactly like stock and I can't hear a difference. Of course this would depend on what your everyday driving consists of. I tend to take it easy on starts and not run the car hard at all. Once you dip into the accelerator, its presence is definitely known. A nice throaty growl starts at ~2500rpm all the way to redline.

I'll say that I noticed a performance increase, but my seat of pants-o-meter is definitely not too sensitive. I don't really have a performance benchmark that I can do, but I'll definitely say that I can feel the increase. Pickup at all speeds seems to be quicker and the growl under full throttle is certainly sweet. Having been in the industry for 7 years now, I'm too am a little skeptical at the 19 whp increase, but I definitely don't think it's impossible to achieve. I had dyno tested gains of ~10-12 hp gains on my Integra (170hp, 5.8% increase) and this engine is almost 2x the size with 2 extra cylinders. If you compare percentages, the 19 whp (~7.0%) gain isn't way out of line. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if it proved to be true, but a safe bet would be an easy 10-15 whp increase if you saw how convoluted/complex the stock intake/resonator is. I may try to dyno my car if I have time, but I'm usually kept pretty busy nowadays with school/work. Plus, I don't have a baseline dyno, so my numbers really wouldn't mean anything. If anyone wants a sound clip of the intake sound, let me know and I'll try to get one in the next couple of days.

PriMo718

does the AEM have that whistling sound that people have been saying about the Injen and K&N cold air intakes?

cadesigns02

Yes, the whistling sound is present upon heavy acceleration. During normal everyday driving there is nothing but you can hear it if you rev the car.

narmeen

Yo,

How much did it cost in Total to install the CAI?

Thanks!

iLL TL

yo he did the install yo
hehe

t-dogg

thanks for putting up the long-awaited aem cai review. sounds like a decent product, a sound clip would be awesome

cadesigns02

After more driving and listening to the car, whistling is not apparent at all under heavy acceleartion. If it's present, the growl from the intake definitely drowns it out. The only time I hear the whistling is when I rev the car lightly at idle. If any of the Injen owners can tell me how to produce the whistling, I'll see if I'm capable of reproducing it on the AEM. Sound byte will come tomorrow, but the quality won't be great as it'll come from my camera.

PoochaKannInc

I appreciate the review. I've been going back and forth on this decision. I want the intake, and do not mind a "growl" as long as that's the majority of the sound.

Thanks.

Btw, any pics?

Donte99TL

Where did you buy it and how much was it? Also are you 5at or 6mt? Do they make it for both? Thanks.

willyt10

did you remove the front bumper to do the install or were you able to go through the wheel well?

My intake is coming in on wednesday and i want to do the install this weekend...do you have any pics from the install?

can't wait for the soundbyte

jchcmax

Hey does it have a CARB sticker????

cadesigns02

I have a 6spd, but the kit fits both as far as I know. I got it for wholesale price so it was pretty cheap...

cadesigns02

No need to remove the front bumper, just need to remove the fender liner at the front driver's side wheel. I was going to document the install with pics, but after I started I realized my hands were all dirty. Plus, the AEM installation manual is EXCELLENT (another sign of a company that has it together). There's pictures to document every single step, so just use it as a guide when you do the install. Shouldn't take more then 2-3 hrs, I think I could do it in 1.5 the 2nd time around. If you have questions after you look at the installation guide, let me know and I'll try and clear up any issues before you do the install.

I spoke to AEM today and apparently the intake is still undergoing CARB certification. When approval is met, I believe they're going to send out the stickers to all dealers that purchased a unit. Make sure to keep updated with your dealer.

ed99

Thanks for the review and if the AEM really puts out 10-15hp to the wheels then I am sold for one. So how much did you end up paying for the AEM?

One concern is would a 6spd benefit more gains over the 5AT using the AEM or let alone INJEN/K&N???

Donte99TL

Do you know where I could buy one? How far are you from San Diego?

cadesigns02

I wholey support the product but of course my butt dyno isn't as accurate as a real one... I don't want to be the one to bash competing brands of intakes b/c I personally haven't tried each product out there. In terms of power, K&N should be behind both Injen/AEM as it is just a replacement filter and not a full intake, but might have its advantages as well (ease of installation, less noise, etc...). As to whether the Injen or AEM is the better cold air intake, I'd go with the company you're more comfortable with. Personally I like AEM better because I've used their products in the past and always been satisfied. If you've had good experiences with Injen, maybe you should stick with Injen. Until we've had several back to back comparisons on the same car/day/dyno, the question really can't be answered.

Lokius

Thanks for the quick review, can't wait to get mine installed. On another note, which DPE wheels are you getting. I ordered the R05 Variant S's heres the link to my thread..

https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/how-many-people-have-you-slept-109799/

DPE is great stuff, I really look forward to seeing the quality of the wheels!

narmeen

Yo,

How much did you pay for the wholesale price...? and where can I get the same price!

NFLblitze1

found it for under 200 on here

http://www.ultrarev.com/ecart/shopdi...l=TL&Year=2004

2LOW4U

Nice write up, do you have a roomate named Steve?

NFLblitze1

has anyone bought this one?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...spagename=WDVW

SparkAF

I'm wondering how many of us Injen owners are thinking about swapping to AEM. I'm leaning towards swapping them out just to see if there is any difference at all.

subinf

actually k&n does have a full cold air intake for the TL...it is on my car now.

cadesigns02

Sweet wheel, I actually ordered the same ones, but I got different sizes/offsets. All custom speced out since we do business with one of the owners of DPE. That finish looks pretty badass, I really wanted to get the darker finish but in the end, I like contrast. If I had gotten a silver or white car, I definitely would have gone with a darker finish. Can't wait for them to finish, my brother just got his set of DPE's yesterday and they look amazing.

To get wholesale pricing you have to be a dealer or have a business through which you can purchase the parts. Most I can say is I got it for somewhere between $100-200...haha The dealer on eBay is solid for $183, he's not making much money selling it at that price, but that is what competition does.

cadesigns02

You should find a local AEM owner once everyone starts installing parts and spend an afternoon swapping the parts over to your car to see how it works. The best would be to do back-back dynos, but that costs $$$$, and we all would rather spend money on something else rather than prove which intake is better. Don't always go with the popular opinion either...

cM3go

this thread is so worthless without pics

subinf

how much do dyno's usually run to do?

3PUTT

this shop by my house charges $100 for 3 runs.
they also offer dyno tuning for $350.

PeterUbers

iTrader: (1)

Very nice writeup Cadesigns, you make me wanna go buy one... and I think I just might ... considering that we'll probably never see that fricken supercharger!!

cadesigns02

Thanks Peter, but I do think that supercharger is on it's way. I saw the test car way back at SEMA in Nov and I talked to the owner as well (RJ de Vera). It's just an adaptation of the current s/c kit for the CL. From what I understood, the delay is getting CARB certification. CARB makes you jump through hoops just because they can, but my guess is it will be released before the end of the year. The reason it takes so long is because Comptech likes to ensure that everything is taken care of before they release a product, especially since they sell a lot of their products through dealers. If someone else was engineering this kit, I guarantee it would already be released but wouldn't be half as failproof. Honestly though, check out the CL forums to see how owners liked their S/C kit before dumping the money into one. I'm not sure that it's actually worth it for the minimal performance increase. I remember seeing road tests in Motor Trend and other magazines report ~.1 sec increase 0-60 and .3 in the 1/4 mile. I know every mod isn't about racing, but it's a good benchmark for performance. The TL as it stands isn't a slow car, so to dump $4-5K into the engine, I would need a substantial improvement.

subinf

Its not so much CARB as it is dealing with the ECU. At least thats what a few comptech techs told me when I went to look at their own TL at their research and development facility.

Lokius

I would get the supercharger, if it added substantial HP and torque gains, and shaved a second of my 0-60 time, but I doubt that it will...

ndabunka

Lokius. I don't see why it wouldn't produce those types of returns. Most S/C systems add from 80 to 100HP. Such a HP bump would take these cars to 350-370HP. That HP with the cars weight would equate to a sub-5 second zero-to-sixty time so I'd say "Yea, it should take a second off you numbers". Other people pay as much as $14K for similar bumps (search on Kleeman) so I'd think that kind of HP for a measley $5K would be considered a bargain, right?

subinf

I dont know if the TL would be able to handle that type of power increase. Also, comptech is only expecting a measly 50-60hp gain (sarcasm present). They did mention some big increases, but a whole second of the 0-60 seems tough.

PoochaKannInc

I think the TL can handle that type of power increase just fine. There are plenty of CL's running the streets with 300-320 WHEEL hp. And all_motor is making 400 whp.

I do agree about the 0-60. A whole second is a lot, considering it also involves the tires hooking up and going. Traction will be a major issue at those hp levels.

subinf

Yes traction was the world I was looking for, sorry.

Lokius

I do have faith in comptech, and since our 3rd gen TL's are selling like hotcakes, I think they know that they have to make this supercharger impressive, and they have a great repuation for making impressive aftermarket parts..

ericajackhannahjamie?

Nodoze2004

If the past is any indication of the future, these goals appear to be out of reach! Here is a blurb from the Car & Driver write up of the Comptech SC 3.2 Acura CL:

'On launch, the extra power becomes wheelspin and hop. The limited-slip differential that is standard with the manual-transmission CL Type-S subdues torque steer, but the 2.3-second 0-to-30-mph clocking was identical to that of th blown CL and a stock example tested the same day, and the 5.7-second 0-to-60 time was a scant 0.3 second quicker. The supercharger’s push comes at higher velocities—it gets to 130 mph in just 23.6 seconds compared with the stock machine’s 33.0. And in top-gear acceleration, the trip from 50 to 70 takes just 9.4 seconds as opposed to the stock car’s 11.3-second time. But the start leaves the quarter-mile ET just a half-second quicker than stock at 14.2 seconds with a 104-mph trap speed.'

So as was pointed out traction is a major issue with this much power routing through the front wheels. Another point of note this car was also running with the following ADDITIONAL modifications on top of the Supercharger:
Comptech ICEbox
Comptech Headers (not gonna happen for our TL's)
Comptech high pressure fuel pump
Comptech Exhaust
Remapped ECU
Comptech lightened flywheel and clutch

'The $4495 supercharger system alone is worth 54 to 57 horsepower at the drive wheels, according to Comptech.'

Here is a link to the entire article:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article....rticle_id=6705

It is an interesting read!

.

TheOne305

Nice write up but i have a question that no one seemed to asked.When u finished the install on the intake did ya reset the ECU or did ya forget.What i understand is if ya dont reset it takes time for the ECU to adjust to the new airflow and takes longer to get the full potential out of the intake.Reset the ECU and it adjusts alot faster because its learning from based reference not a learned reference point if ya no what i mean.