so my best friend nick and i installed the new cold airintake on my tl, i thought i would take a few moments to express my thoughts and feelings and tell you what i think of the setup...

first and foremost i DID NOT have anything but the stock intake on the car, so i can only compare stock to the aem intake, so no injen questions please, as i dont know. i also ran the car hard up to redline 4-5 times before the swap, i had my friend nick with me, we tried with both windows up and down, from stops and rolling starts, vsa on and off. i wanted to know what the car both felt like and sounded like before the swap

i want to say i personally fell the intake is worth every single penny. the sound alone would make me purchase it.

backround,
04 acura tl, 16,000 miles, bought in may of 04, no performance mods at all, upgraded 18" aspec wheels with 235/40 zr 18 rubber

kit quality,
i bought the polished pipe and pipe finish was A+, bends were clean and the welds had good forms and the bead were clean and straight with good pooling. overall very nice. the aem label even came with a protected cover as to not scratch it....nice. kit came with a new breather hose and a new coolant line that had to be rerouted. the large hose clamps included had the aem logo etched in them, and new hose clamps were included for the breather and the coolant lines. the air filter looked of top quality with smooth well formed rubber, and clean lightly oiled cotton with good pleats. and the instruction are first rate with detailed write ups and clear accurate pictures....

install,
the install went well took longer then i thought it would, all-in-all it took 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. but this did include a lunch break, a band-aid break, and a beer break. following the instructions step-by- step was very easy. also since the car was still fairly new, there were no rusted bolts or anything deformed or broken. my biggest problem came when trying to remove the plastic push rivits/clips in the wheel well. i was using a screw driver to to pop them an pull them, well one broke, the screwdriver slipped and i stabbed myself in the thumb.... it went in like a 1/4 inch, lots of hydrogen pexoxide and a band-aid latter and i was back outside, although it did bleed through a couple of band-aids as the day progressed... also i didnt expect to have to drill 2 rivits on the cars intake system to remove it, but i did and it wasnt that hard, just unexpected... install was quick and painless and everything went together very easy and very well... 2nd time around i could probably do it in 1-2 hrs easy...

to those who said the tl intake was a cold air intake you are correct, it draws from in the bumper but the amt of turns and bends, and bumps and twists it has to go thru to get to the motor is down right crazy.... the aem piece is a fairly straight shot with easy bends... its a far better performance design then stock.... stock sucks in true potential after taking it all apart and seeing it for myself i know this is a fact...

driving experiance,
when i first fired it up you couldnt tell a difference in the car at all the car had the same quiet demenor, no ill sounds or funny smells, for all intensive purposes it seemed stock. Even with a few sharp stabs of the pedel not much was different, there was a slight sucking sound if standing near the front drivers side of the car, then again if i wasnt looking for it would i have noticed it?

the first time i drove the car with the windows up the difference in part throttle operation WAS NOT NOTICABLE, the car drove and acted like the same tl, with the windows down the was a very minute whistle sound when you first depressed the gas, it quickly went away and again was so unobtrusive i dont think i would have noticed it if i wasnt listening for it.

when i got on the gas, i could here the intake it gave off an authoratative bark, as the revs built up and it cracked open vtec the motor came into its own, the deep down gut wrenching wail the engine released was awsome, it was by no means rice, it was deep and throaty, and loud enough to make you feel the sound. i was happy driving with the windows down and the stereo off just to hear it.... even with the windows up it was quite noticable, never intrusive and again only noticable when getting on it.... my brother in law said it sounded almost "stangish" and he could hear me clear it almost 1/2 mile away!!!!

performance,
when i first did the swap i thought the power increase wasnt noticable, shifting from first to second was about the same, and the race to redline was pretty similar. the butt dyno said there was no big difference, i was kind of disappointed.... then vsa got shutoff. i noticed vsa was popping on and off (epecially on the 1-2 shift). so i shut off vsa and run it up again, once the neddle swept past 4500-5000 the wheels immeadiatly started to break traction, on the 1-2 swap the wheels spun hard and for at least 1/2 second. it was downright awsome, i tried it a few more time just for consistency sake and the results were the same every time the car accelerated better, and had more power, to the point im thinking i need better tires.... the tl feels alive, and the tires just dont have enough traction. plus after 10-15 miles the car seemed like it was getting used to the additional air, and all was well.

conclusion,
i have had the intake on for 180+ miles and im not upset at all with any aspect of the swap, my thumb is healing nicely, and the smiles the verticle pedal on the right induces are just plan awsome. it is by far the best mod i have ever installed in any car, and dollar for dollar one of the best performace mods. if the injen or k&n are this good, i would recommend this as a first mod....

PS i started with the stock install, and since have gone to the optional power adder install, the throttle respose seems slightly better, and power might be slightly better but no enough to notice it you ask me....

*if anyone in the tampa, fl area wants to see what it lloks and sounds like let me know through pm, we will take it for a ride...

 

Awesome...thanks for the review! I ordered my polished AEM this week, can't wait for it to get here!!

 

Curious as to what you mean by "stock install" vs. "optional power adder install"

Could you explain that bit?

 

Thanks for the informative review but I have to ask that you only notice a difference only when you had the VSA off correct? I know it is very hard to justify unless you dyno the AEM but how many hp did you think it gained. Maybe 5-10hp realistic.

 

Great review, just a bit confused about one part. At first you say that when you first installed it you heard no difference in sound. Then you go on to say that you do hear a great and amazing difference in sound...can you please make this a bit more clear? Are you saying that it too ka few miles for it to "start working?" As if the ECU needed to re-adjust or something?

 

here was 4 pages of instructions that came with the kit. There is an additional 5th page that had a 'power adder' mod. The page said that it would void the carb-approval? I don't know- but basically it instructs you to re-route the IAT sensor from on the intake manifold to way down on the pipe. This mod will make fuel injectors spray more fuel because its reading that the air its sucking in is actually colder and denser. I've had it like this ever since i put the aem on with no problems. Don't know if its better or not, but I like it

 

I see...interesting.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

Say HELLO to 10 mpg from now on. =) Don't you love that sound?

 

ONAGER, if you're planning on visiting Miami anytime soon let me know. I would like to take a look and hear your setup. Also, where did you buy the intake and how much was it??

Thanks!

 

Don't even mention it Im putting 33$ bucks of gas to fill up the tank when it's empty on 93 octane and i'm running like 250 miles per tank the most.
and that's with a heavy foot too. Is that normal?

 

Must be, because I'm averaging just about the same amount of money and miles per fill up...and I too have a heavy foot!

 

I drive normal (fwy & street) and get 270. 14mpg/19mph per tank.

 

damn bro... you like to write huh... could have kept it to a simple " sounds great" easy install.. highly recommend..

 

i really noticed the improved power especially at top end only with vsa off... the computer dialed back the power with vsa on. the increased power wasnt showing up since the computer dialed it back when it detected wheel spin. the car had serious lag on the 1-2 upshift, and the vsa light went crazy.

with the vsa off, the car screamed up to redline, the tires were breaking loose above 5000 rpm, the 1-2 upshift spun hard and you could feel the car pull side to side from the lsd.... so yes the power difference was noticable, i would say that my car gain at least 10 top end hp, possable more. i cant wait till someone dynos the aem intake to see what it truly puts out.... but aems gain on the internet may not be wishful thinking after all...

 

if you read the wording i used when i didnt notice a difference was at no throttle or part throttle angles. if your just out crusing and not "getting on it" the difference from stock is minor, the car is quiet and still maintains its luxury persona.

when you stomp the gas and rev it out the difference is crystal clear and the sound is awsome.... its a deep throaty sound, loud and clear...

but its only noticable when you rev it, around town cruising or even hwy miles and it sound the same as stock, idle is not effected

 

with a heavy foot thats normal, i get 350 to a tank, but that primarly hwy miles with very little opportunity to get on it... when i drive more city with a heavier foot it normally drops to 300 sometimes less.....