millerrh

I just installed the AEM cold air intake this weekend and here are my thoughts:

INSTALLATION
The installation was kind of a bitch. Most of that had to do with the fact that it was over 100° in Texas this weekend and I was sweating my ass off and had to take lots of breaks. One thing I was rather disappointed in was that one of the hose clamps that came with it wasn't big enough to fit over the tube + hose of the AEM system, so I had to take yet another break to go to Home Depot to buy a bigger one. All in all, took me close to 5 hours (of course there was dinner in between, the Home Depot trip, and all the breaks cause of the heat).

POWER
Not sure if I can feel a whole lot of gain, but throttle response does seem quicker. My whole driving experience is a bit better and I feel like my RPMs are lower than they were before for any given speed/acceleration. That could mean more efficiency/power. Unfortunately, that was something I never kept track of before so I have no way of proving it -- it just seems like it.

SOUND
Everyone on this board raves about how mean the TL sounds with this thing and how loud it is. I don't agree. This thing is QUIET! I don't notice a difference at all when below 3000 rpm and above that there is a slight increase in sound. It is not that noticeable. I used to have a 2002 RSX Type S with an AEM V2 intake and the difference between intake and no intake on that thing was incredible! That bady boy would rumble even at low RPMs. I thought I'd have the same difference with the TL but it isn't even close. I do wish it sounded a bit deeper and louder than it does.

coop1018

In reference to the sound, I thought the same thing as you at first. After you drive it a bit, I feel it becomes more noticeable.

millerrh

So the sound actually gets louder? Or you just notice it more? I'd think that the contrast between intake and no intake would make it sound louder at the beginning.

ndx2

Um... I don't think it gets louder as you drive more, really.

The only times it gets louder is at 4000+, and you should notice the VTEC switchover at 4700~. It always sounds louder at WOT, too.

But you're right, millerrh... the 3G doesn't sound as loud as other VTEC car - even 2G TL-S's sound hella louder. I think my bro told me it was partly because the intake pipe is a bit longer or something like that.

I still love it.

legionofdoom

From a couple of other threads, it sounds like the car gets louder (and faster) when you do the mod involving the moving of the sensor that's supposedly "for off-road use only". Did you guys do that? I'm thinking about getting the CAI too when I get my A-SPEC suspension...

-S

millerrh

Yeah, I did that mod. Don't get me wrong...it is louder with the CAI, just not as loud as I expected. I'm happy I have it all things considered.

legionofdoom

Would you say it's obnoxiously loud? Someone else said someone could hear him from 3 blocks away? Just don't want to taint the "luxury" car image too much... Let me know what you think. Thanks.

-LOD

millerrh

No, my whole point is that you can barely hear it at all. Someone said they could hear him from 3 blocks away?!? I can barely tell I have it in there when I'm in the car! Seriously, it's not loud at all. Before 4500 rpm you can't even tell it's in there. After that, it is louder than stock, but not bad. I'm honestly not sure why people keep saying the sound is so great. If it were 5 times as loud it would still be acceptable to me. It doesn't distract from the luxuriousness of the car at all. In fact, I was hoping it would add some "muscle" to the impression of the car and it doesn't do that as much as I would like.

coop1018

On the 6MT it does sound louder...same way an exhaust would sound louder on a stick car. My buddy has the auto with a CAI and yes I agree you cannot hear it much. I dont know what it is that the 6MT sounds louder....but it definetly does.

millerrh

Well I have the 6MT and I still don't think you can hear it. Probalby the auto shifts sooner so you don't get into the higher RPM range where it is louder. But the engine is the same so theoretically the sound should be the same. You guys should have heard my 4 banger RSX with an intake....that thing sounded sick! I totally would have expected a V6 to have a nice rumble to it with an intake.

coop1018

Miller...ok i can agree with you on that. This is my first V6, and I was expecting a big deep roar becuase my preludes in the past sounded great. This is just a different sound. I think it sounds sharp and fits the car......

millerrh

Yeah, it's not bad, it does fit the car, and it keeps the luxury feel to it. Anyone out there who is worried that it will be too loud though shouldn't worry about it and get it already cause I think it does make a bit of a difference in driving. The car feels just a bit more zippy now.

legionofdoom

Sweet. Thanks for all the feedback.

-LOD

kyleatdyer

Miller I am in Austin as well... Can you tell me where you got the parts from and what the model number etc. was? I am thinking about adding it. I don't want to distract from the Luxury car image to much but a little zippier at lower RPM's would be nice.

Thanks,

Kyle

millerrh

Well, this thing is perfect for you then! It does add some zip, but doesn't distract from the luxury image or make it seem like you've got a rice burner at all. I just got mine off ebay. There was some guy selling it on there for $195 shipped. Definitely worth the money even if it isn't as loud as I'd like.

SGT SLAUGHTER

I agree with you MILLERRH, i just installed my AEM CAI and I did not notice a large difference in power, but it does sound cool.

rstark

I have to disagree, I noticed that's it's a lot louder than stock and I cannot floor it in first gear without spinning the tires either (HPT, 6MT), so there's a noticable performance gain.

coop1018

Yea first gear is ruff.. I usually ease in to first and then shift to second and red line it from there on.

2_FastTLs

It's mind over matter. Those CAI parts really don't do much other than make your wallet lighter. But at least now you can say you have one.

ChicagoSteel

Yet their dyno's lie.

TLhavok

i was just wondering if any mods installed would void the foctory warrenty. and if it does which mods would. thank you

chill_dog

No mods void the warranty unless the mod is responsible for the failure/problem you are trying to get fixed under warranty. For example, say I have an intake...if I hydrolock my engine, warranty is not going to cover it...if a headlight explodes, warranty will cover it as the intake had nothing to do with the headlight exploding.

NFLblitze1

also to add to it, watch out with dealers, because in order for something to void warranty they have to PROVE IT, so the dealership could try to pull a fast one on you and blame something your complaining about or breaks on something that didn't cause the problem. just my 2 cents

wizlb

Which one works on 6 speed 2004 TL.
Is it the CAI, the Air Intake or the Air Intake V2.

Any help will do.

DeathtoToasters

I don't think it is 'louder'. Personally I hate those cars I can hear from blocks away.....especially something like a ford focus or something.

I hear more of a hissing sound then a deep throated sound. I noticed the loudest difference when shutting the car off. It is like a hydraulic lift releasing it's pressure sound......It is very nice.

Performance: I noticed a large difference in throttle response. High end seems better, but mostly noticed the low end quickness.

One thing I have noticed from living in Southern Cali and then Up here in Utah. Altitude makes a difference in how a car runs. I don't know how..but it does....something maybe some of you brainiacs can tell us

millerrh

The air is less dense in higher altitude. For the same reason you run out of breath easier running in high altitude vs. low altitude your car performs better in low altidude vs. high altitude. Basically, the denser the air, the more oxygen molecules fit into any given space. Since combustion engines need oxygen to burn, the more air/oxygen you can get into the engine the more efficiently it will combust. That's why super/turbo chargers produce so much power is they actually force extra air into your engine as opposed to just the air that your engine sucks by itself.

DeathtoToasters

Ummmmmmmm ok

Nah that makes sense. I just wasn't sure which way it goes....

BTW my gas mileage is worse...only because I have a heavier foot now that the throttle response is better

Nothing to physically do with the Intake.....but is a result of it

Tripnbeats

YEa whoever said the 2g's are louder is right I had the typeS and it was much louder because the throttle was a 3inch and the pipe was a 3 inch on the 3g the throttle is 2.75 and pipe is 3 aem though of it nicely but shoulda made a throttle body too if you ask me

cdkruaya

Guys, I just finished the installation of my new AEM intake. Unfortunately I am going to have to call Bullshit on 90% of the posts in this thread.

1st: It took me just under 4 hours to install, and the only other thing I know how to do is change the oil. Installation instruction were great!!!

2nd: My car now sounds like a Ferrari, or at least in my imagination this is what a Ferrari would sound like if I owned one. MillerH did you roll down your windows??? If you quickly depress and let off the gas repeatedly it sounds AWESOME!!!!

3. My cars feels a lot faster in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear. It might be because it is 5 time louder.

4. The sound alone was worth the $200 i paid for the CAI.

5. Did all of you guys cut out the large black scoop looking object that directed the air upwards on the factory intake. If you get down on your hands an knees to look thru the lower grill at your intake filter you will see exactly what I am talking about. I used a coping saw to cut out the "scoop" which was around 5"X 3", now I have "unrestricted" airflow smashing the filter. If you dont take this out then air is being directed upwards towards the battery.

Icing on the cake: I asked my neighbors if they knew anything about cars and they both shook their heads. I told them that I was going to install this intake (pointing to the box) my self and both of them looked at each other and smiled with A$$ hole smirks. I could see that they wanted me to F#$% up. I could also hear them making comments and laughing. My neighbors are both about 10 years older than me with shitty ass cars. (and by the way they are blue collar "Haters"). After assembly was finished I fired her up and gassed it a couple of times in neutral and they both were like DAMMMMMNNNNN what chu put in deaa. Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaah.

Tripnbeats

AAAHHHhhh another satisfied customer!

millerrh

I'd agree with you on most of what you wrote there. The sound is awesome....but coming from an RSX with an intake I had a different expectation about what a V6 with an intake would sound like. Take our sound and make it louder, deeper, and more noticable at lower RPMs and that was what I expected. One nice benefit to the AEM intake sound is that it still doesn't detract from the "luxury" personality of the car, just gives it a little bit more meanness.

bTwix

If you're looking for a louder, deeper, more noticable at lower RPM sound I'd suggest getting a catback or swap out some high flow mufflers. I have the AEM CAI and a custom magnaflow catback and it sounds pretty good. The custom exhaust was also 40% cheaper than the comptech exhaust.

Checkout the clip.



You can really hear the CAI start to roar in 2nd gear after 4-5k. The rest of the enhanced sound can be attributed to the exhaust.

See this post for additional info.

millerrh

nice

does the comptech sound like that as well? love the deep rumble without it being too loud. i'd probably go with the comptech because of the proven gains and engineering that went into it though. not just looking for sound if i'm gonna spend money on an exhaust.

bTwix

Thx. subinf said the comptech sounded very similar, but you could distinguish the tone. GoBig dynoed his AEM+custom exhaust and got approx 20hp and 19lb-ft torque gains. See this other thread

The AEM+Comptech+Sun Hyper Voltage/Ground got these gains

30.0 HP
17.9 lb-ft

So the AEM+Comptech+Sun dynoed at approx 10hp more than the AEM+custom but gained less torque. But note that the AEM+comptech from honda tuning also had the Sun Hyper Voltage and Ground which could account for some of the HP gains.

I don't think you can go wrong with the Comptech exhaust if you have the $$$ and don't want to keep the stock look. Either setup should provide the deeper sound you're looking for and some power gains as well.

ONAGER

the reason the rsx sounds so much louder was the cams, and the rpm range.... plain and simple also sound deading material

the cams are far more agressive on the rsx type s (meaning the valves open wider and sooner) and the car can rev higher...

also the tl has quite a bit of sound deadaning under the hood, in the doors, in the front fenders, all this will get rid of alot of the extra noise....

on my car i had a noticable difference in sound, under full throttle in the upper rpm range.... my tl was real quite with the stock intake, it really "woke up" with the new intake, my brother in law could hear me "get on it" 1/4 mile away to get on the hwy,

at low rpm the car is whisper quite, cant even tell its there, open her up and you can tell on mine that its not stock

millerrh

yeah, that's true. when you open it up it definitely doesn't sound stock. Actually, the quiet subtle sound of the AEM intake is growing on me the more I have it. It's not bad at all. Definitely not too loud, but it is noticible when you get on it and gives me a smile everytime I hit over 4k!

tzakiel

I am interested in getting the AEM CAI but I have never worked on a car beyond changing tires and painting my calipers. Would any car repair type place be able to put it in or what sort of shop would I be looking for? Specifically in the columbia/crofton/bowie area of maryland to be exact if anyone knows.

rstark

If that's the scoop that runs from the top of the engine, in front of the battery, to down below the filter, yes, you are supposed to remove this along with the resonator. A lot of factory piping was removed.

millerrh

It's really not that hard to do by yourself. Just takes a little time and patience. The instructions they give are extremely useful. The only thing they don't talk about is how to remove your coolant. But people on this board can help you out with that -- just look for a huge arrow molded into the plastic under your car and turn the little valve right there. That's all you do to drain it.

tzakiel

millerrh, don't encourage me.... i have both the comptech RSB and the aem intake coming in the mail this week and you are giving me ideas. I would feel much more proud if I did them myself but I have never been under a car before! Can anyone give me an idea of all the tools and things I would need? The obvious thing that comes to mind is ramps... a lil tight under there without raising the car, lol. Other than that what kind of stuff could I pick up this week if I did want to try it out?