mark 3M bra man

I was searching other treads and cannot find the answer.

I love my TL, no performance mods. I only did the tint and clear bra (the bra, that is how I earn my living).

I wanted to get the AEM CAI, but didn't know how it will effect my fuel economy. I never had a cold air intake on any of my cars. It would seem to me that it would make the fuel economy better, but then I read somewhere that it would make if worse. Or, would it only make it worse if I would move the sensor (the extra step) that people are writing about during installation.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Sorry, if it was already covered, but I cannot find it.

Thanks, Mark.

RacialSlurs

your car already has a CAI.
save your $$, buy more taco bell

cornelius

i had a AEM cold air intake on my Accord. I was told that the fuel economy would increase, but it actually decreased. And I also had a problem with the idle rpm being really low. maybe its different for the TL.. i dunno..

SouthernBoy

The TL does not have a cold air intake, contrary to their advertisements. A cold air intake takes in its air supply from outside of the engine compartment. Our stock intakes take in air from inside the engine compartment. The opening to the intake is in front of the battery, under a protective cover. Trace the diagram in the Service Manual then locate it for yourself and you'll see.

The biggest problem with CAI's is actually two: 1) the "chance" of water instrusion, and; 2) they tend to produce a slight drop in low and mid-range torque.

A short, straight WAI, on the other had has neither of these problems. But on many (most?) cars, they will draw in warmer air than a CAI which can offset their power benefits.

As for fuel economy, on my last car (a 2002 Altima SE), I installed a Frankencar intake with the Apexi filter. It was a warm air intake, short and straight with a smooth midpipe. But on the Altima, the area where the intake and filter was situated was actually quite cool.. ambient with the outside air. Horsepower and torque gains were noticable and my gas mileage increased. I suspect when people say that their fuel economy went down, it's because they are getting into it more.

subinf

I have the k&n intake on my TL and noticed no change in mpg. I have made several trips down to la from the bay area before and after the cai install. on all the trips the mpg averaged a little over 30. intake didnt seem to make a difference one way or another.

Repecat

You will find lots of commentary on CAI both pro and con. I have been waiting to see a well-structured 3d party dyno test, but so far none has been available. Maybe someday such an evaluation will be conducted and published.

RacialSlurs

ok, for everyone else here, look again. the part near the battery is a junction point that allows it to suck some air from the compartment for faster cold warm-ups. while driving the downtube that exits low on left side bumber will flood that junction with cold air.

did i say OEM CAI, i'm sorry, i meant to say OEM CAI.

Aegir

Here's what Acura has to say about the TL "cold air induction system":

Cool air is denser than hot air and allows an engine to make more power by packing more oxygen per given volume. To capitalize on this, the TL has a special cold-air induction system as standard equipment. Ambient air is picked up, through an inlet in the left front fascia, and fed by a duct to the engine air intake. Depending on vehicle speed, this system supplies the engine with ambient air that is up to 8 degrees Celsius (15 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than typical engine compartment air.

At speed the inlet will be fed cold air from the bumper inlet. Perhaps not as ideal as an aftermarket CAI, but on a positive note it does eliminate concerns about water ingestion and filter maintenance is so much easier.

I picked up 7hp with an Injen and did not see mileage improve. I went back to stock and have never missed the noise or the hp.

SouthernBoy

Then I stand corrected.. thank you, gentleman for the good explanation.

ayethetiense

im confused

ayethetiense

why did you go back to stock?

RacialSlurs

you're confused because you're being fed in-accurate information, i see this all over this forum. AZ is cool and all, but simply put there are other places to get better info about 3G TL's.

i was 100% correct about the OEM CAI, hence i was being a tad sarcastic when i said "did i say OEM CAI, i'm sorry, i meant to say OEM CAI."

no disrespect to SouthernBoy, but his # of posts obviously does not reflect his knowledge about the 3G TL.

mark 3M bra man

What are those places?

RacialSlurs

other Acura forum sites. if i name them the mods here will either kill this thread or edit my post, mod nuggets being puppeted by admins. all i can say is to Yahoo up "Acura Forums" and you'll find them in the 1st 10 listings.

ayethetiense

no no no no no

i too do not beleive that the car has a CAI. have you looked into it? I changed mine out after i looked at what the actual system is.

lemme work it backwards from the engine itself

engine > intake pipe > resonator box near the bumper > tube towards the engine bay pointing up > tube next to the battery

CAI would be the filter being in the bumper itself so that its contact with engine heat is minimal. the OEM intake's inlet is right next to the battery..... in the engine bay. even worse is that that whole section is covered with plastic to make it look neater. the air from the front top of the bumper goes right over that.

Acura may claim that is it a CAI, but its not.

and its a well designed OEM system, so do not look for gains seen in other vehicles. but bottom line is that it is not a true CAI

RacialSlurs

if it gets air from outside the engine bay then it falls into the CAI category. yes yes yes yes, its a CAI.

RacialSlurs

looks like a CAI too

TheTriads

my fuel economy is practially the same, but I love the sound of my AEM CAI. It has this distinct roar when I press the gas pedal hard, where I can't get from stock intake. That's good enough for me and since I got it, I never looked back. The stock intake looks ugly.

neuronbob

RacialSlurs (attitude aside) is correct, we do have a CAI and Acura says so. Can we leave it at that, please?

I just wanted to comment on the K & N filter comment above. I had a slight improvement in mileage when I had it in my 2G TL. I didn't feel it was enough of an improvement to repeat the experience in my 3G TL.

Aegir, I want to know, too, why you went back to stock? May be educational for the rest of us.

Repecat

Certainly RacialSlurs is correct. He's a bit less subtle than some of us, however. Our TLs do have a CAI which is pretty effective, and there probably are no gains in BHP or mileage by adding an aftermarket device other than the increased noise factor. I reiterate, we have yet to see any posts where definative tests conclusively demonstrate that these gadgets have any benefit other than to the manufacturer.

SouthernBoy

I'm sorry, but I have to weigh in on this again. If the end of the stock intake opening which resides right next to the battery under the plastic cover is the sole supplier of air under all conditions, then this is not a cold air intake because that opening is within the confines of the engine compartment which, by definition, constitutes a warm air intake. If this opening were in front of or under the radiator, you would have a CAI.

If, on the other hand as RacialSlurs explained earlier (as I think I understand his explanation), there is a secondary air supply into this intake stream (another opening within the fender well), than you would indeed have a cold air intake.. more specifically you would have a dual WAI/CAI unit.

As for his remark, "but his # of posts obviously does not reflect his knowledge about the 3G TL", granted, I know more about some American machinery and the Altima V6, but hey.. I'm learning just like the rest of us.

I'm not going to tear my inner wheel liner out to find out for sure. I welcome corrections and any thoughts from someone who has, though.

Repecat

Good post, Southernboy. I think your second paragraph nailed it. Warm air is ingested when the car is stationary, which is probably good for starting especially in cold weather. When the car is moving forward, most if not all of the air comes from the bumper area through the ducting. I think this is a novel and effective approach and the Acura engineers should get an "atta boy".

mark 3M bra man

I would like to hear the extra noise/ roar with the AEM to see if it is worth to me.

It seems like there is noone in this area w/ moded TL.

cornelius

if you just want the noise, dont you get the same results with just removing the resonator???

Aegir

It's simply a case of personal preference. Here's the original thread: https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/pulled-over-tint-94773/

mark 3M bra man

no clue. do I?

how would I do that? does it hurt the engine?

Aegir

No. It will not produce the same sounds or anywhere near the volume of noise that an aftermarket CAI will.

funk101

They should call it a HAI (Hybrid Air Intake)

mark 3M bra man

Would you guys go with AEM or K&N?

I believe the Injen is out of the quesitons. Everything I read makes me believe that AEM would be a better choice then Injen. Now I see K&N is also available.

What would you do?

Aegir

I don't know what you read about Injen, but I don't see much difference between their TL product and AEM's - aside from color selection. There is certainly a difference between the two companies. One company got a product into the hands of enthusiasts promptly, and one company jerked enthusiasts around for over a year before releasing a product that looks very much like their competitor's offering. One company publishes dyno printouts and the other publishes presentation graphics (I'm not trying to state that either approach is more or less honest - look at them and draw your own conclusions).

The K&N offering has some features that should be considered. It has two mounts which will better position the intake and hold it in place to prevent rattling - and reduce the odds of a single mounting tab breaking (not uncommon). It looks like it uses better hardware, has the versatility to run as a short-ram or full-length, does a better job of managing the coolant and PCV connections near the throttle body, and the 'Drycharger' element over the filter is a nice touch. In my opinion, all of these points add up to indicate that more thoughtful engineering went into the K&N. Not surprisingly, it costs more.

All three are going to have similar effects on power because they are all about the same. Please don't bypass common sense and try to dispute this with advertised dyno claims. Look at the products side-by-side and try to identify how they are different. You may find that you are back to color selection, price, availability, and features. I hope this helps...

mark 3M bra man

It looks like K&N Typhoon is the way to go for me.

What would be the cheapest place to get one.

I checked e-bay. It runs $225 + $20 shipping. What do you think?

PimpaLicious

i thinka for that price you could get alot of something else if you know what i mean. the hole CAI thoing dont do anything but make noise.

jhan1102

I have used K&N drop-in filter, AEM CAI and SR before.

I was suckered into thinking that I would gain 10-12 hp and improve fuel economy. Most dyno test will show gain towards upper RPM. Honda is known for low-end death. By adding CAI or SR, it dramatically reduces its low-end torque. To make up the lost power most people try to give more gas to feel the pick up towards upper RPM. This is one of the reasons why most people won’t see the fuel improvement.

One of the differences that I noticed from using AEM intake is that there is noticeable difference in upper RPM during high speed driving.

W/O the intake, it took me longer to get up to the 145 mph on Accord V6, and noticeable power lag. But with AEM intake, I was able to get to higher speed much faster, and reduced the power lag I was experiencing.

I currently use drop-in filter for few conveniences. It reduces the risk of sucking up water, easier to clean, doesn’t kill low-end sucking in hot engine bay air like SR, But still takes the advantage using factory induction set-up.

My friend works for Honda engineering department, and I was told they run numerous tests on the track, and fine tune to improve the performance. They also base on their previous knowledge from NSX tests.

Anyways… If you gain some, you have to sacrifice some.

rs808

My mpg has definitely gone down since the install of the AEM. I like the sound to much!