My STi came with an AEM cold air intake, and the stock intake wasn't available when I purchased it, but I got a huge discount because of it.

Anyways, even though nearly everybody is against intakes, especially cold air intakes, I've had no problems with this car and intake setup to date, so I'd rather just keep the intake on for the sake of the cost of a stock airbox etc.

Anyways, are there any problems I'd run into running the Stage 1 with this intake, and other stages down the road?

the main problem isn't usually so much that they cause problems its that they take power away instead of increasing it....so you might be missing out on a few ponies...or not.

I've read that the cold air intakes can sometime cause the car to have lean spots due to fooling the MAF? Does this get worse and cause any drivability issues with the Stage 1 map?

Yes, but it would require a custom tune with stage 1 or 2.

So in other words, a custom tune is recommended with the Accessport?

Did Cobb ever produce a map for a stock STi with an intake, or cold air specifically?

Anybody have any actual hands on experience with this setup?

I think they made one for an injen intake. Get rid of it or get a protune. I am sure you can get a stock air box cheap somewhere and then hack the bottom off.

The only intake that doesn't mess with the MAF readings is Cobb's own intake. My tuner has had problems tuning several different intakes but when my car was on the dyno he said he had absolutely no problems (I am running Cobb's intake).

Is the intake for the WRX and STi the same? I have a stock airbox with a K&N panel filter available if you need one.

IBintakeswillmakeyourcarexplode

I've looked into this quite a bit and I personally believe it is mostly BS driven by a few isolated incidents back in the day - and I've talked to a lot of people about it trying to get some hard evidence to the contrary - without ANY success.

That said, Cobb's Accessport doesn't take into account the potential variations in a/f ratios debatably caused by some CAI's and therefore it's probably not a super smart idea to run AP and CAI at the same time without an EGT gauge to make sure it's not causing your car to run dangerously lean.

I had an AEM CAI on my car when I got it as well but when I went stage 1 I put the stock system back on (after sourcing one out on these classified boards) because I didn't want to take a chance - even though I'm skeptical about the general consensus that CAIs are baaaad - and I didn't have EGT. Now I have stage2 + egt and the CAI is still sitting in the basement. I may go for a dyno someday soon so maybe i'll bring the cai with me and get some hard numbers on this mystery.

The only intake that doesn't mess with the MAF readings is Cobb's own intake. My tuner has had problems tuning several different intakes but when my car was on the dyno he said he had absolutely no problems (I am running Cobb's intake).

Is the intake for the WRX and STi the same? I have a stock airbox with a K&N panel filter available if you need one.




yes...

IBintakeswillmakeyourcarexplode

I've looked into this quite a bit and I personally believe it is mostly BS driven by a few isolated incidents back in the day - and I've talked to a lot of people about it trying to get some hard evidence to the contrary - without ANY success.

That said, Cobb's Accessport doesn't take into account the potential variations in a/f ratios debatably caused by some CAI's and therefore it's probably not a super smart idea to run AP and CAI at the same time without an EGT gauge to make sure it's not causing your car to run dangerously lean.

I had an AEM CAI on my car when I got it as well but when I went stage 1 I put the stock system back on (after sourcing one out on these classified boards) because I didn't want to take a chance - even though I'm skeptical about the general consensus that CAIs are baaaad - and I didn't have EGT. Now I have stage2 + egt and the CAI is still sitting in the basement. I may go for a dyno someday soon so maybe i'll bring the cai with me and get some hard numbers on this mystery.

You are not an expert. Don't ever assume that you are. If you go to ANY tuner, or anyone with a datalogger that's at least half-assed, you'll see that it will screw up your AFR. It's as simple as calibrating your tune to your intake. Some are smoother and more predictable, and some are not.

I'd rather listen to Cobb, than some know-it-all from MA. :lol:

I made it pretty clear that what I was saying was my opinion and that I have yet to have anybody show me any proof. I never tried to come off like an expert - I'm just emphasizing that there is a lot of misinformation on this site so do your homework instead of listening to a bunch of blowhards - which I did and didn't find any evidence at all... which is why I opted for the safe-decision.

Your argument is no stronger than mine but at least I know how to be civilized and have an intelligent conversation without resorting to name-calling.

I made it pretty clear that what I was saying was my opinion and that I have yet to have anybody show me any proof. I never tried to come off like an expert - I'm just emphasizing that there is a lot of misinformation on this site so do your homework instead of listening to a bunch of blowhards - which I did and didn't find any evidence at all... which is why I opted for the safe-decision.

Your argument is no stronger than mine but at least I know how to be civilized and have an intelligent conversation without resorting to name-calling.

I called you a know-it-all. Who cares? Go to a tuner. Let them show you a map. The tone of your posts just smacks of elitism, and that bugs the hell out of me. There are FAR more experienced people on here with proof, so ask one, and stop hypothesizing about ridiculous theories of yours in this thread.

Well you got the wrong idea then... I can't stand it when people come in here and spout off misinformation that they've read on here but never bothered verifying whether it's actually correct or not. I posted making sure to emphasize that it was my opinion and that I haven't been able to track down any convincing evidence that CAIs are categorically bad for your car. I didn't say go ahead and run AP with a CAI because I can't prove that they aren't categorically bad for your car... but people on here take what people say for fact when they actually have no proof.

I would love for a tuner to come in here and post up some dyno charts or something that prove it one way or the other... although even that wouldn't prove that CAIs are categorically bad for our cars... I fully believe that there have been brands and instances of CAIs that do make cars run lean enough to worry about it and the fact that they are hard to tune around is another story all together.

Yeah I take a little offense to being called a know-it-all when I deliberatlely post with disclaimers sayign its my opinion, not a fact, and people should do their own research - peopel that post like they know what they are talking about when they obviously don't boil my blood too. THe point of my post was to encourage the OP to look into it a bit more instead of just automatically buying what he reads here - there is a lot of bias against CAIs and I have not seen anything convincing yet as to why... and I HAVE talked to "FAR more experienced peopel" but they were not convincing.

I removed my injen CAI on Cobbs advise, and my car stopped pinging "as much". I still am having a battle with the pinging. One of my biggest fears was sucking water up the intake!!. If you call Cobb they will give you the same advise. All the testing tey did shows no significent gains in HP or TQ and the AFR was all over the place on the dyno. Look at the Cobb set up compared to say injen or AEM and see the diffrence.
P.S. please stop the bickering......

Does the same go for the K&N short ram? I've got the K&N intake and a borla hush catback...I was thinking of getting the AP for my 04 but wasn't sure. I've had both parts on my car for almost 7 months now with no problems.

I would love for a tuner to come in here and post up some dyno charts or something that prove it one way or the other... although even that wouldn't prove that CAIs are categorically bad for our cars... I fully believe that there have been brands and instances of CAIs that do make cars run lean enough to worry about it and the fact that they are hard to tune around is another story all together.

The problem isn't limited to whether the intake causes the car to run "lean". Additionally, smooth airflow over the MAF is critical for proper fuel/timing and this has been a major sticking point with Cobb and their refusal to endorse most aftermarket intakes (for the STi).

Well you got the wrong idea then... I can't stand it when people come in here and spout off misinformation that they've read on here but never bothered verifying whether it's actually correct or not. I posted making sure to emphasize that it was my opinion and that I haven't been able to track down any convincing evidence that CAIs are categorically bad for your car. I didn't say go ahead and run AP with a CAI because I can't prove that they aren't categorically bad for your car... but people on here take what people say for fact when they actually have no proof.

I would love for a tuner to come in here and post up some dyno charts or something that prove it one way or the other... although even that wouldn't prove that CAIs are categorically bad for our cars... I fully believe that there have been brands and instances of CAIs that do make cars run lean enough to worry about it and the fact that they are hard to tune around is another story all together.

Yeah I take a little offense to being called a know-it-all when I deliberatlely post with disclaimers sayign its my opinion, not a fact, and people should do their own research - peopel that post like they know what they are talking about when they obviously don't boil my blood too. THe point of my post was to encourage the OP to look into it a bit more instead of just automatically buying what he reads here - there is a lot of bias against CAIs and I have not seen anything convincing yet as to why... and I HAVE talked to "FAR more experienced peopel" but they were not convincing.

You are missing the point. CAI's aren't some evil device that kills engines.

The problem is that people are removing their MAF (which, imho is one of the most vital sensors in the car) and placing it in a different housing of a different size and flow characteristic. This in itself isn't a problem until that same person doesn't account for this change by recalibrating what the ecu sees in terms of MAF voltage output.

Cobb does not to want tell people they support any type of intake because not all are created equal. They have no clue what you are running. Although it is fact that some intakes do not change the flow to the point where you would run rich or lean. Since there is no real evidence either way Cobb tells you to stick with stock because thats the only way they can regulate the variation in intakes. Ask Cobb they will tell you it to revert to stock intake. Ask me I say try it.. datalog come back here and post the results. It won't blow ur car up and if you are running rich or lean to a dangerous level the ECU will not be happy and throw a CEL. The very mention at this site of a intake people go nuts.. many users have good results with intakes and have confirmed they do not run too rich or lean... but some do.. which I guess is enough for people to flame the very idea of a intake.

Cobb does not want tell people they support any type of intake because not all are created equal. They have no clue what you are running. Although it is fact that some intakes do not change the flow to the point where you would run rich or lean. Since there is no real evidence either way Cobb tells you to stick with stock because thats the only way they can regulate the variation in intakes. Ask Cobb they will tell you it to revert to stock intake. Ask me I say try it.. datalog come back here and post the results. It won't blow ur car up and if you are running rich or lean to a dangerous level the ECU will not be happy and throw a CEL. The very mention at this site of a intake people go nuts.. many users have good results with intakes and have confirmed they do not run too rich or lean... but some do.. which I guess is enough for people to flame the very idea of a intake.

thank you.. and for those that were confused by my rants this is EXACTLY what i was trying to say :)

thank you.. and for those that were confused by my rants this is EXACTLY what i was trying to say :)


i dont understand.. :confused: :lol:

I am running a AEM CAI and I have an ap on my 03 wrx wagon. I got it pro tuned with the intake on and I have had no problems at all. I came in at 235 awhp.