i have had the AEM CAI in for a while on my car < 10k...but due to the fact that these intakes throw off the a/f ratio i am worried about the damage that it can cause my engine..i will not be able to swap the intake out until spring...so should i drive it really really lightly or just drive it normally until then? im just worried about f****** up my engine cuz i dont have the money to fix anything right now....

btw..i am thinking about getting a worxtuning intake because of the mass airflow sensor housing unit prevents misreadings and actually (supposedly) obtains a more accurate reading than the stock airbox. thats just what i read on the site..sorry to sidetrack

thanks for the input

Why not just slap the stock intake back on? Unless you're making massive amounts of HP or need to use an aftermarket intake, the stock unit is just fine. Considering the MAF was engineered to work with the stock intake, I don't understand your last statement. The stock intake is fine for most uses and has been proven efficient by many tuners on the boards.

Calvin

Why not just slap the stock intake back on? Unless you're making massive amounts of HP or need to use an aftermarket intake, the stock unit is just fine. Considering the MAF was engineered to work with the stock intake, I don't understand your last statement. The stock intake is fine for most uses and has been proven efficient by many tuners on the boards.

Calvin

the reason why i want to go with that intake because it produces more power than the stock airbox without the negative side effects of most cold air inaktes, but my question is not about that

Maybe I'm not being clear enough in my explanation. An aftermarket intake will provide you with negligible gains. Unlike other cars that gain power through I/H/E combo's, the WRX does not. You're best off starting with an uppipe and TBE and moving on from there. EM alone will give you more gains than an intake. The stock intake has been proven by many to flow well enough for 300WHP.

As for the AEM intake, I would take it easy on the car since the i.d. of the pipe is not correct for the MAF sensor and will result in an incorrect metering of the air entering the engine.

You state that you don't have much money for mods or to fix anything right now. I'm just trying to help you out so that you don't go and waste your money on an intake that will give you negligible gains.

Calvin

i appreciate the help, i have an hks catback and am sticking with that..the only thing holding me back from getting an up-pipe would be emissions testing. i do not have the resources or skill to replace the up-pipes everytime i plan to get tested for emissions. the intake i am looking at is heavily r&d and claims a 14 hp gain, but since i have the stock airbox removed i plan to keep it out, and just want something right now that wont have negative effects on the car, thats my plan...plus i am getting a good deal on it :)

The uppipe won't lead you to fail emissions. . .it's the one in the DP that you have to be careful about.

I haven't seen too much in regards to the worxtuning intake. The only intakes that I know of that have been proven to not cause problems are the ones by APS, TXS, and Perrin. I run an APS short ram myself, but that's because I also have an APS FMIC. I would highly suggest you do a search on the boards in regards to intakes before wasting money on an intake that you don't need. . .no matter how good of a deal you're getting, unless it's free. ;)

Calvin

yea but installing the stock airbox back will probably be a b****..i dont have any local shops and i dont want to throw down like 75 bucks just to put it back in

plus..isnt it kind of half-assing it by getting an up-pipe w/out a dp ...

Installing the stock airbox is a matter of a hose clamp and 2 bolts. It's not difficult and can be done in under 30 minutes. You shouldn't have to pay anyone to do it. . .just do it yourself.

It's not half-assing anything by eliminating a pre-turbo bottleneck. It will help spool-up and aid in getting more power out of the engine when you decide to get EM later on.

Calvin

another reason why i want the intake is cuz it will give me gains without negative effects and it wont void my warranty...i dont think i can say that for the up-pipe..if it wont void it, ill definetly consider it

Don't be so sure about your warranty. An intake is the one thing that is in plain sight and a dealership could say that the intake caused a lean condition. Or they could say that the oils on the filter messed up the MAF sensor. . .which has happened.

It sounds like you really need to do more research and open your mind to other things besides the "Honda mantra" of I/H/E for gains.

Calvin

Or they could say that the oils on the filter messed up the MAF sensor. . .which has happened.
Calvin


what????

Again. . .this really shows how much you really need to research more. There are oils that are used in some air filters, i.e. K&N, Perrin, TXS, etc. From the factory, some intakes have too much oil while others need to be re-oiled during use. If the filter has too much oil on it, it can be sucked into the intake track along with the air and it can coat and damage the MAF sensor over time.

Calvin

thanks for the info, although most of this was completely unrelated to my question of how i should drive the car until i get the intake removed, which was answered earlier...ill research into an up-pipe and use the money after i sell the intake on ebay

im sick of people saying "research bla bla bla" its like i just wanted to ask somethin here if u can help just help, but dont be like "research research research" what are forums for?

Forums are for people to get together with common interests and share information. You also have to realize that you are most likely not the first to have a question and that a simple search would result in many threads that have the answers you are looking for. Look at it this way. . .what are books for? Why not just have someone tell you the answer every time? The reason is because you learn more by doing the research yourself first.

It also helps if you post your questions in the correct forum. Your question would have better fit in the Factory 2.0 Forums.

Nothing against you, but along the lines of your post, why is it there are so many impatient folks that want to do everything to their car, but can't do any research on their own? They want everything handed to them on a silver platter. Like you, I'm sick of the people that join boards and don't take advantage of all the information that the board already has. Don't tell me that you're not sick of seeing a BOV question every day? ;)

Calvin

calvin is 100 percent correct. ditch the aftermarket intake. put the stock one on. if you read through the forums, nothing good comes out of a CAI. youd be better of buying one of those razzle-dazzle shift knobs :lol:

d00d hes gotta get that BOV with that sikk azz worx filter. heck if he gets some Type R decals he'll be up 35 HP. :lol:

d00d hes gotta get that BOV with that sikk azz worx filter. heck if he gets some Type R decals he'll be up 35 HP. :lol:

ok thats just stupid..sorry

i want the intake is cuz it will give me gains


yup, just as stupid as that :lol: :lol: :lol: :disco:

the ppl at worx do lots of r&d before testing their stuff and it is very high quality (www.worxtuning.com) the intake dyno is 14 hp, not bad considering it is actually an improvement over the stock airbox..look it up jackass :lol: :lol:

It seems that you answered your own question in your first post -- running the aftermarket CAI causes a lean mixture which can screw up your engine, and you can't afford another engine. So drive like a granny. Or, put 45 minutes of time into putting the stocker back on and have fun. No brainer!

PS - I commend Calvin on his patience! That's a rarity here sometimes.

good deal, cant do that till spring cuz im in school till then and the stocker is 300 miles away...

Why is intakes in EM and tuning? I understand that you are asking a good question...............upgrade intake=more power.......but you could mess up your engine and you know that. If you dont want to put the stocker back on or you "cant", then why post. Nothing is going to change. Or spend more money on that worxtuning intake when you could be spending that money on shipping your old intake back..........

Why is intakes in EM and tuning? I understand that you are asking a good question...............upgrade intake=more power.......but you could mess up your engine and you know that. If you dont want to put the stocker back on or you "cant", then why post. Nothing is going to change. Or spend more money on that worxtuning intake when you could be spending that money on shipping your old intake back..........


well i was originally asking if i should change my driving style due to the possibility of running lean until i have a chance to change it, i probably should have put this in the 2.0L turbo forum

If the intake causes problems due to lean conditions, and you're running the stock ECU, your car will knock, pull timing, and learn it.

Past 5500RPM, the knock sensor is ignored.

Keep your car below 5500RPM forever, get it tuned for the intake (EcuTek reflash), or remove the thing and put the stock airbox back on. The Perrin and APS "red/65" intakes do not skew the MAF readings. If you must, use one of them.

However...

I'll put $20 on the idea that you are in fact NOT gaining any HP from the intake, UNLESS it's because of the lean condition itself. With all due respect, you really don't know what you're talking about, and the people trying to guide you in the right direction here have been around long enough to see 1000s of "you" come and go.

The stock airbox and stock air filter will serve you EXACTLY as well as any mad-tyte-looking aftermarket intake until you're pushing 300+ HP at the wheels. Believe it.

the truth hurts....

Aftermarket intakes might cause your engine to run lean due to inproper tubing diameters etc. However, if it's causing your engine to run lean enough to cause problems you're going to know about it.

I have asked for proof of CAIs causing major engine problems without any warning and have yet to had any shown to me. Unless your car is running like crap and/or you're getting CELs I wouldn't worry too much about it.

what to do what to do...i hate the feeling that i wasted money on that intake, just to put the stocker back on..but i guess its my fault for not researching enough before i bought it =/

i think running too lean on an extremem will probably throw a CEL..but usually running lean causes people (like me) to think the car is gaining power, but thats all at a sacrafice i guess :mad:

my advice:

get a wideband o2 sensor. see for yourself what swapping the intake does. if you do, take logs and show others. that's the way the issue gets put to rest... at the very least, put to rest in your own mind.

i look at the info on this site as a guide, not as gospel. idiots blow up their cars every day with MBCs--i've had one for 28k miles. i haven't seen the effects of a CAI with my own two eyes, so i reserve judgement on how well or poorly they work. i know that each one will act differently.

it is ultimately up to YOU to make your own decisions on what the possible outcomes for a modification will be, and whether or not you are prepared to take those risks. the posts in this thread have done nothing more than indicate to you that you do not have a good grasp on what those possible outcomes may or may not be, and as a result you are poorly equipped to make a judgement in terms of acceptable risk.

fwiw, i have the stock airbox on my car.

jm2c
ken

the truth is, the aem cai is not GOOD for the car...there is no benefit power-wise or positive effect on the engine..so i think it is a good idea to go to the stock airbox although i will miss the cool sound it made, but even that is not worth it

the truth is, the aem cai is not GOOD for the car...there is no benefit power-wise or positive effect on the engine..so i think it is a good idea to go to the stock airbox although i will miss the cool sound it made, but even that is not worth it

but you can't really say that for sure. Your basing your assessment of the situation off of claims you read online that are not proven.

ride5000 is 100% right - you can't take wahat you read on these types of forums as gospel.

If you're not experiencing noticeable driveability problems with your car then you're most likely not in any serious trouble. But like ride5000 said - the only way to know for sure is to investigate it yourself and take all the questionable online accounts with a grain of salt.

i guess ill just have to see how the car runs with it off..and make my judgement from there, if i notice the car running stronger with the stock airbox, then the intake is not coming back on, i think thats reasonable

A cel isn't the worste thing in the world. I can tell ya that because hundreds of wrx owners(including myself) have gotten cels and their engines are still ok. That doesn't mean I like the aem intake, or that an aem intake will hurt the car(either way). The stock ecu is set to compensate for changes in the environment while using the stock intake. This is why one test which might be better then checking the a/f ratio on a random day would be to check the diameter of the piping holding the maf.

If the diameter is different then stock(even a small amount), the ecu most likely won't be able to compensate the way it normally would for things like changes in the weather and what not. One day the a/f ratio at boost might seem ok, but if the weather changes 10 degrees or the altitude changes, the a/f ratio might also change. Not the same amount in the same direction all the way up the powerband either. Ya might end up with a car that runs richer then normaly in one rpm range and leaner in another. This is one of the many reasons(I don't feel like listing the rest) people say it's not good to use aftermarket intakes while running on the stock ecu alone.........

There are other design problems with aftermarket intakes which can also create non-normal fueling even if they have the same diameter maf piping as stock. I vote to put the stock intake back on b4 the aem intake possibly does something that costs a lot more to fix then the intake cost you to buy. Course this is just my opinion and I'm no expert.

peace

ok thanks for the input, i know this is kinda off the topic, but calvin recommended looking into an uppipe for my car to make better gains than an intake, im not ready for a dp to lose the cats..but i have a hks catback now..should i go with the hks uppipe to match the exhaust..or go for a possibly higher quality brand??? thanks for the input

The brand of the catless uppipe is irrelevant, they will all have the same effect--helping spoolup. Don't spend more than you have to on one.

From what I've seen, most uppipes do about the same thing. The cheapest one ya can get from a known manufacturer might be the way to go(like the hks or whatever). I personally like the idea of the crucial racing uppipe because it isn't so expensive and comes coated. Course I've never used one(a crucial racing uppipe), so take that any way you like. Another thing ya might wanna look into is aftermarket engine management. Most of the time it's easier to install then an uppipe and can also create some nice gains.

peace

the cold air intake debate has just begun!!! MUAHAHA :devil: :devil: :devil:



jk.. i think we settled this thing, thanks for lots of input