Well went I went to the track with Nitro this past weekend I noticed how his advantage accured in the mid rpm range. I ordered the AEM intake for kicks to see the difference on my car between the injen and the AEM. I already got a dyno done with the INjen and after I instal the AEM I will be doing another dyno to see the difference between the two. This will confirm which one is better between the two. I figure no onw actually has physical proof so I will do it to shw everyone. Hopefully the AEM gets to my house today so i can install it and dyno by Saturday.
I will let everyone know. Its kind of a waste of money since I will be putting the charger on in the spring but I just had to do it.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing this dyno so we can have actual proof of which makes more power. You might want to take into consideration these things though:

- Do you still have the same mods as when you installed the Injen CAI?
- Are you using the same dyno?
- Will the temp be the same?

 

I have the same mods. The temp will be pretty damn close as the dyno was about 2 weeks ago. Same dyno so it will be pretty damn close.

 

I installed the AEM intake last night> It took about 1/2 hour and went very smooth. My first impression of this setup is that there is a noticable increase throughout the power band. The midrange power is definately better and I am very happy with the results. The AEM is much Quieter than my Injen was. The Injen had that pop in Vtec and the AEM does not. Also the AEM does not hiss or whissle like the Injen did. Just by looking at the kit I would say that the AEM had much more R&D work involved due to the quality of the part. By judging the Butt dyno i would definately rate the AEM better than the Injen. I will be getting a dyno early next week to show the gains.(That was the best time I could get time on the Dyno) any way i will keep everyone informed on the progress and I wil post the Dyno sheets once that is completed.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/sale-aem-cai-clp-01-03-%24110-shipped-123950/

I also did this same thing in October 2005....see above thread. If you can get some Dyno results in...that would really finish this thing out. Looks like up to now...we about found the same thing...

AEM vs. INJEN Cold Air Intake - A retrospect
Ok guys....heres the skinny (at least as far as my opinion goes) on the Cold Air Intake Systems offered by both Injen as well as AEM. Here's my story...I first got the Injen system as I could not for the life of me figure out why it was so much more expensive than the AEM system, so I figured I would "go the the premium model" as I often tend to do. Got the Injen unit installed and was happy. Then I read in here about how the AEM might be bigger tubing....then I read about how the AEM units have "snapped" and broken (still cant figure that one out)....,ect, ect. There is a little truth to almost everything out there.

#1 - the cost difference - I would say that the Injen unit is made somewhat better than the AEM unit, heavy polished tubing, and somewhat longer than the AEM unit resulting in a lower fit closer to the front grille. You must load the Injen unit from the bottom (wheel well) up as it is so long it will not fit if you try to go top down. The badging on the Injen unit is higher quality too, if that matters to you. The black rubber connection tubes are higher quality on the Injen unit than the AEM....but the AEM has better coolant hose relocation technique...they give you a longer tube to replace...not a splice-in peice like Injen does to just lengthen the existing....BUT...the Injen technique is much easier to install. (AEM gives you a replacement long tube and Injen gives you a nipple piece and a short hose extension with clamps..either way...it works both ways just fine)

#2 - the install difference - the AEM unit has a spot to relocate the oxygen sensor farther down the system, resulting in an additional small horsepower gain...and the Injen unit does not offer this option, retaining its CARB status. The AEM unit will install from the top down as it is somewhat shorter tubing by about 4-6 inches. The AEM unit completely replaces the small coolant line with a longer unit...and the Injen unit just has you lengthen the existing line with a nipple and short hose...either way works...I personally prefer the one peice longer tube though, less chance for leak with less connections. The AEM unit mounts the rubber vibro isolator on the top side under the hood with a bolt/nut that goes through the wheel well area where they have you remove a wire loom - and the Injen unit mounts the exact same type vibro mount lower in the wheel well area in an existing wire tap, where some of the main ground wires are...having you relocate them to a existing hole just like it about three inches away. (no biggie) AEM's was a bit easier as you did not have to relocate any wire grounds...just disconnect a wire loom from the inner wheel well. Both filters are located in the same general area....Injen just gets theirs a bit closer to the front grille area than AEM does, but both intakes seem to get plenty of air where they are. Not a huge difference here...but there is one. The tubing is also about 1/4 inch larger on the AEM unit than the Injen unit, resulting in different types of HP gains....see below.

#3-The test drive. AEM's is definately louder than the Injen unit and makes different power than the Injen unit. The AEM pulls WAY harder off the line than the Injen unit did (I assume because the bigger tubing?). I can actually spin my tires now and get a small burnout mark (on an Automatic yet!).....never did that with the Injen unit. BUT...it felt like the Injen unit made better midrange power right after it got up and going. Injen unit was definately louder than stock....but the AEM is louder than the Injen unit by about 15% or so....and the larger tubing makes a better more agressive sound....just more of what the Injen had. So all in all.....AEM performed better off the line.

#4-Bottom line-Both performed well....but I give the edge to AEM now that I have actually had both of them installed and ran them both on my car. I switched to AEM from the Injen unit due to the additional port for the relocation of the oxy sensor as well as the fact that the tubing is a bit bigger. I figured it had to make better power....and for cheaper too. I replaced the polished unit with the red anodized unit made by AEM....but would probably suggest to stay with the polished, unless you are particularly fruity about the red or blue color. I think the polished units have a more quality finish prone to better longevity and wear. Get the AEM unit if power is your goal....get the Injen unit if you are worried about tire wear or are looking for a good kick in the butt, but not necessarily tire spin type power. This one is definately personal preference. If you like raw dirty power...get the AEM....if you like mild....get the Injen.

 

Of course...the above was before e-shift pro cats.....BLKTL1's is probably after e-shift....which will make a difference too! Our findings did differ a little...but again...different equipment installed. Back then...the intake was all I had on the car whatsoever besides exhaust. (no thermobloks, no pulley, ect.)

 

yeah i had different mods than you when you did the change but This intake is definately superior to the Injen. did you also notice that the AEM is much quieter???Cause damn, when i hit vtec, i had to listen carfully to make sure the car was acutally engaging in vtec.

 

Ya...I know what you mean...it is odd....its kind of louder at some points compared to the Injen and quieter at others....probably some due to the difference in diameter of the two tubes themselves prob create different resonant sounds at different points...but ya...you do have to listen hard to hear when v-tec kicks....sometimes almost cant even hear it at all! As I recall...the Injen made that "wommmmm" intake sound (like it could use some more air) and you could hear v-tec clearly in that sound and the AEM makes more sound from the motor kickin butt and making power than anything!

 

I find that the AEM is quieter throughout the entire RPM range. Maybe this is the difference in the 6spd gearing vs the auto gearing. That may be why we have a sound difference.

 

I bet your right! Didnt think about that one....but that would make a difference I bet.

 

I have the Injen tube with AEM dry filter. Did your aem come with the dry filter? The dry filter is supposed to allow more air while filtering better as well. If you do have the dry filter, care to measure the injen tube with the aem dry filter? hahaha

I cant imagine too much of a difference in power just from the tube alone. It is basically the same shape right?

to get the most accurate results, 3 dynos would be required, spaced 15-20 min apart.

run 1: AEM
run 2: Injen
run 3: Injen Tube with AEM dryflow

run 1 and 2 would prove the best, run 3 (if different) will show which component (tube or filter) makes the most difference

 

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Yeah well If the dyno place allows me to do a swap while Im there and not charge me any differently then i will do that. for right know I am going to just dyno it after the AEM and compare the results. i know that the temp and humidity will make a difference but i dont see that making more that a 2-3 hp difference. If he allows me I will do it the way you suggest but if not then I am just going to dyno with the aem and compare my last one with the injen. it may not be %100 percent accurate but I can tell you from the butt dyno that The AEM sure makes a difference and its not the filter making the difference. Its the tubing. It is quite a bit larger. I am also going to dyno before and after with the IAT sensor mod.

 

hey! I really like that black TL ..is it yours?

 

Yup!

 

Oddly enough....as I just got a new AEM Dryflow installed when they installed my Pro-Cat system....and having once had the Injen unit on my car...I have both right here in front of me now. Very strange set of circumstances here....they are about the same opening and size or I might go to say that the Injen unit in a tiny bit bigger opening....BUT....the BIG difference comes in the immediate taper of the tube after the filter choking the Injen unit down quite a bit i comparision to the AEM unit. AEM stays more consistent with a very minor taper....way less then Injen....making the overall tube diameter larger in size and volume.

 

The AEM - V2 - Is THE WAY to go!! I was reading this thread, Then it hit me you guys are living in the past! Past tech. that is. The Version two from AEM Is So much better! It make more low and midrange power. Its worth the extra money.... Do a little research and see if you don't agree.

 

Only one minor problem! THEY DONT MAKE ONE FOR THE 3RD GEN. Makes it kind of difficult to purchase it if AEM does not offer it for our car's. That is why there has been the much involved AEM vs Injen debate.

 

blktl1, have you had the chance to get it on the dyno to see where the difference is between the to CAI's?

 

Uh...they don't have the V2 for the 3rd Gen TL. Unless you know something that we don't. If you do, please share...

 

Maybe 2nd gen forum confusion??

http://www.aempower.com/product_intake_app.asp

 

Yes, thats what I thought, but my local AEM dealer guy said. He could fit my 06TL with a V2!! But I went there today. And you guessed it. It wasn't a V2!! But he said that the dist. he gets them from made a mistake. That he will make this work. Or it will cost me nothing! The V2 is coming on Monday or tuesday...... So we will see! I was just a funin with ya'll That you didn't know about the V2......

 

^ Interesting. Let us know how it goes (although I'm still doubtful it will work).

 

The hole it goes through will have to be modified to get it to go through. Thats the only way I see a V2 going on a 3rd gen.

 

Unless they just get the bypass add-on and cut it in below somewhere? Not much room / length there....but enough that you could theoretically put it in the fenderwell before the filter hookup by cutting X amt of lenth out. (x = the length of the bypass valve)

Personally....I wouldnt worry about it and get the V1....but thats just me.

 

Have any of you seen rpm/output charts of the V1 compared to the V2 on the TL? I had the V2 on my 2000 RSX it really helped in the low/mid range rpms. But that is a windup toy compared to the TL's output. Maybe this isn't such a big deal with this power plant? Input please......

 

I am still waiting on a direct dyno comparison between the two. I want to see what the difference is and where it is different. Until someone does this on a car there is no way to tell. Just like the CT exhaust vs the Magnaflow, there has been no dyno results to back anything. We need these types of test's, to we can be an informed consumer!!

 

How did you have a 2000 RSX when the model was first introduced in 2002?

 

I though about this today at work, Your right (of course) How about GSR? Sorry. After the TL I really don't miss the old girl.......

 

This sensor you are talking unless you have some freaky sensors on this car is most likely an IAT sensor(intake air temp). This is used in part with MAF or MAP sensors, knock sensors(if the car has them), to help calculate the right timing.

For bad example of this you stop at a light and this sensor may be located in a spot that is prone to heat soak, your pcm will likely pull timing till the part is no longer heat soaked many seconds later. It is very common to move this sensor as close to the filter and as far away from the engine bay as possible to read the most realistic air temperature #s and not lose performance.

Reason why I am responding is someone I know is looking for an intake for their TL and the AEM at least attemtped to do some of the right things a good quality aftermarket setup should with moving sensors.

I doubt youll see any gains on a dyno between most of these intakes because the likely gain they offer is within error of most dynos. So it would be even harder to tell the difference between two. There are the cases where some are so poorly designed that they hinder performance and that can be caught on a dyno. This is just my experiences with a bunch of cars.

I don't mean that I wouldn't expect any gains at all, being that most cars of this class are meant to be quiet and have restriction present in the intake system and baffles to help keep noise down. Removing this to a point will increase hp. I just can't see how installing this all of a sudden makes a car that couldn't burn out burn out all of a sudden. Not saying I don't belive you but things like disconnecting the battery and such will cause the computer to relearn its timing/fuel tables and can give the appearance of more power for the first few hours. Not sure if you guys bother to pull it when doing such a simple install, just some things that run through my head when i see stories of intakes making big gains.

 

So any update on this?

I basically want to find out once and for all:

1. Which has more low end/high end power

2. Which is quieter.

For me, high end power plus being quieter are more important. The 2 reviews here are somewhat conflicting regarding these points...

 

Yes...you are right, it is the IAT sensor.....actually...we pointed that out in the "original post that came from long ago" but I forgot about pasting that dang part over too....thanks for pointing this out! I hate to misquote like that and then have somebody misunderstand....cause there is a HUGE diff in IAT and Oxygen sensors...like you say....and actually...I have considered relocating the thing back...because it causes the car to eat a bit more gas compared to any value I have ever gotten that I know of...

 

I think there is a lack of helpful information on this topic.

 

The hotter that sensor gets the more timing you will pull. Get it behind a heat shield, or behind a heat shield right into the filter(K&N sells filters with IAT holes in them ).

 

Any pics of this sensor? How has this been modded? Like are there any thermal-block spacers for this guy, etc...?

 

I read through most of the posts on intakes (Injen or AEM, it does not matter) and I'm not sure if anyone mentioned anything about a difference in "sound" an intake puts out in an Automatic versus 6MT.

The reason I am bringing this up is because I got my INJEN intake installed last night. We test drove it and yes it sounded great, especially when VTEC kicks in. We couldn't really push it though as it was raining hard here in MD/VA area. The one thing we noticed though, the sound in my friend's "automatic" (TL with injen as well) seems to be louder and it came much faster in the RPM band. With my 6MT, it seems like it has to reach VTEC before you hear it scream! Anyone experience this???

Thanks!

 

yeah, downshift.