Lokius

First off - HOLY SHIT, the intake is something I should have done right when I got the car. To be honest it was difficult to install, I did it myself w/ a friend. Took about two hours at least. I got the AEM CAI in polished silver, and I am in love.

The sound of course is amazing, a slight swish when you just gently tap the gas, and when you hold it down, jesus christ this car feels alot faster. I have a 5AT, and the car feels substantially quicker. From what my friend was telling me, he thinks im getting into 7k RPMS right off the bat even without beign in SS mode.

The modification I am talking about, is the last two pages of teh AEM instruction booklet, it does warn you that by doing it you ruin your CARB regulations, and basically are breaking the law. etc etc.

Basically what you do is unplug the IAT sensor from teh wirign harness and strip 5 inches of teh convoluted conduit from the wiring harness. Then you take the hex head plug from teh intake pipe and insert it in the throttle body where the IAT sensor was removed using the supplied O-ring. Next you insert teh IAT sensor into the threaded nipple where teh hex head plug was removed.

20whp with this, could be possible, unbelievable gains. Really very impressed with the intake, was so happy with it, went ahead and ordered exhaust and a grounding kit to increase performance as much as possible.

Hope this helps those on the fence about the AEM intake.

Thorin78

Nice job, congrats
I'm thinking of doing this next for my car. that will be next year tho.

How does this affect your car w/o a bigger exhaust? My friend tells me that I should get the exhaust before I do the CAI. btw, how are those brakes coming? you get 'em on yet?

DeathtoToasters

Lokius

Thanks for posting Cannot wait to get mine now!

BTW how did you get your tail lights that color?

Lokius

Did it with a film from Rockblocker.

The brakes should be arriving this week or next, and I will have pictures of course. They are really amazing

DeathtoToasters

Was it easy?

ed99

SO did you hook it up the way you are not suppose to?? haha!!! And I thought you can only hook it up one way. Wow so what is the difference compare to hooking it the illegal way. So hooking the illegal way would gain a few more hp you think?

ckya

i installed my AEM couple weeks ago as well.....
bty, Lokius, do u concern about the air is hitting the filter directly from the front of the car??
cuz i'm thinking of getting a heat shield just to stop air/water hitting the filter directly...
did anybody add a heat shield like wut i'm thinking towards?

psushoe

I installed an AEM about a month ago and did the same thing. All it does is move the IAT to a new location for a few extra ponies. They have the whole paragraph about voiding CARB and all that, but how many inspection stations are going to know where that sensor is supposed to go? If you are really worried about it, take the 5 minutes to swap it back to the stock location before going in. IMO, no one will ever notice

DeathtoToasters

Anyone got a quick DIY with pics on the little mod? Just curious

Lokius

The instructions have step by step pictures of the install of the AEM and this modification, all inside your AEM BOX

Spazz

Now I got to get an aem cai.

flvol77

Here is a place you can get it for
190.99 with shipping

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/AEM-C...temZ7992328892

Lokius

I got mine off Ebay for around $210 shipped to my door. I worked some deals and stuff to not pay tax, so it was cheaper for me than usual.

ed99

So basically it is mounting onto a different sensor correct??? Can someone post some pics up with the legal and illegal way?

Rick-H

I think the Grounding Kit may be of more value than most people think--- when you installed the intake, did you notice there at least 18 ground wires terminated within a few inches of your new AEM air filter on the steel "wheel well" . . . I never thought too much about the grounding untill I installed the AEM CAS and saw all those ground wires-- and that is just on the left side of the car in one area I could see . . . I think the Hyper-Voltage and HyperGrounding kits will be my next mods. . .

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Sure, it would help. But the 3G TL has one of the better grounding systems from the factory. I was pleasantly surprised when I was installing the CAI in my brother's '05 TL6. I checked over the rest fo the engine bay, and it is very well grounded. I don't know just how much more power you could get out of doing a $100~ grounding system. Unless you're running some moderate/heavy mods, and/or a big system, you probably won't even notice any differences.

GoBig

I believe all you do is relocate the sensor to the CAI tube. On mine, there's a bolt there (the installer did not relocate the sensor). I'll relocate today amd report if I feel any gains.

GoBig

I did a home made grounding kit for $30. The main thing is to ground the alternator. After doing so, I noticed a smoother idle and better throttle response. See https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ight=grounding

DeathtoToasters

MY AEM CAI should be here tommorow. I am going to try to get it installed over the next day or so.

ndx2

Yup, all it's doing is just reading the air before TB... I don't think it makes a huge difference. It's not really a "mod" - more of an option.

AcuraVic

With the 'illegal' mod, are you guys concerned with emissions testing?
Also, is the gains enough that less throttle is used during normal driving. I ask that because the dyno graphs on all CAI show HP gains above 5300 rpm, and not in the 2300 to 5000 rpm range of normal driving.

Just so I'm clear, you got 20 wheel hp gain just from the CAI?

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

I think he's just saying that he *could* get a 20-fwhp gain or that it feels like it... which I highly doubt. He has an automatic, so assuming 21% drivetrain loss, he's claiming a 25-hp gain at the flywheel... which is pretty much unachievable with a simple CAI modification.

GoBig

I moved the sensor from the throttle body to the CAI tube. I can't really tell the difference, so the increase could be from 0 to 5 HP for all I know.

empathy

uhh..intakes suck in air. why would u want to stop air from hitting the filter??

it takes a lot of water to hydrolock ur engine. you basically need the whole filter in a pool of water. a heatshield would prevent heatsoak that might free up a whp or 2.

Lokius

Very true, I have the 5AT and of course i have drivetrain loss. It feels alot different, that's teh main point here. We all drive a FWD car and performance is something I take second of course to all teh features of the car. I have more power with the intake, adn I am very happy with the modifcation of the IAT sensor. I recommend it highly and suggest playign around with it. 25hp at the wheels unachievable probably. But for $210 installed, if I even got 12hp instead of 20hp, I'm happy, the sound and feel is amazing, and that's whats important to me

What do you guys think?

ed99

I always thought that is the proper way of installing an Intake system. Taking the CAI Tube to the throttle body sensor. That was how it was done on my previous car.

rstark

I have the 6MT with the AEM intake. The power gains are very noticable. I cannot hit full throttle in 1st gear without wheelspin. This is with stock HPT tires. I seriously don't know if I want to do any more mods since traction in 1st gear is already a problem.

HEK

Here is an after pic...see the silver hex head bolt on the engine is where the sensor was originally located, moved to the right on the intake tube past the clamp...


side shot of this MOD....sensor located on the intake tube color "gold"...

psushoe

I couldn't hit full throttle in 1st gear without the AEM on the stock all seasons. It's currently on the A-Spec w/ ES100's and there's a lot more traction to be had. Still gets a little loose with the AEM in 1st, but it's just the fun of fwd

GoBig

To stay smog legal you shouldn't do this. However, it's a new car and by the time we get smogged, it'll be at least three to four years. It's also a very easy thing to move (back) if you had to.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Viva la Michigan!!




Well, 'til like 2008, anyway. I guess we're doing inspections soon, too.

HEK

Uhmm... , I wonder if the kid that does the Inspections on the local gas station in MA would know the difference, I've had CAI on all my cars since 2000 and the only commnet I get when they open the hood..is WOW!....anyways next year I'm due and we will have to see if they even notice....

ed99

Sorry but can you circle the first image you posted and second please so I just want to make sure where the sensor was and now?? Thanks!!

MugenR

hey fitz... i finally gave in... i got tired of waiting for the icebox, so i bought myself an AEM CAI... should be here next week sometime. once the icebox comes out.. i'll sell my AEM. whenever the icebox comes out that is.. lol

HEK

Hope this helps...the sensor on this picture is already relocated and behind the plastic cover..but you should get the picture...

SGT SLAUGHTER

Has anyone with the AEM CAI had their car in for servicing at Acura, and told their warranty is void now? Or does everyone rip it out whenever their car is going to go in?

DeathtoToasters

It does not void any warranties. If anything ever happened to the engine, they would have to PROVE that the problem was a result of the aftermarket intake.

Example:

The engine gets waterlogged and gets damaged because of that. Well if the cause was the lower filter and that is why the water got sucked in, well that would be the after market parts fault. Therefore it would not be covered.

But remember that they have to PROVE that the aftermarket part caused the problem. Otherwise it is not an issue. This is the law.

RedSoxGuy

About how long did it take you to install? Did you have to take off the bumper?

flvol77

No you don't have to take off the bumper. The AEM instructions are all you need it has a step-by-step instructions with pics. I took me 3 hours with dinner in between.

HEK

I had both my 2000 SI and my 2002 RSX-S serviced for warranty work and never had the dealer look at these mods and tell me that it would void the warranty if I kept these on... , now like someone mentioned above, if you decided to go "OFF ROADIN" and came across this river and took your vehicle thru it...well then make an appointment with your psychologist, we are talking here common sense.."rule 1..no crossing streets that look like you couldn't swim across it.." ..."rule 2..see rule 1".......