Intake Questions...

Okay these questions were probably already asked and answered a million times over but I'm a newbie so I kinda need the extra help from you guys.

1- Will a cold air intake improve gas mileage? I want gas mileage badly because of George's 4 bux a gallon for gas haha.

2- Is a short ram better than a cold air intake? Performance wise? Mileage wise?

3- If I do get a SR or CAI, which one is highly preferred? I've heard of Injen, AEM and my Acura dealer recommended Comptech.

My main aim is for QUALITY cuz i love my TSX. I just want more gas mileage. Any help would be appreciated!

[PearlWhite05]

It depends, is urs an 05 model? I m going with the Comptech, I looked into AEM and K&N for CAI for my 05 tsx and, they only make CAI for 04s and do not recommend using for 05.

[MemphisRheins]

Quite Honestly... there is NO DIFFERENCE between an 04 and a 05 TSX engine.... The Short Ram intakes are a huge waste of money, and offer little to no power gains.... The Comptech Icebox is a good buy, but it dosnt offer the Performance or the Sound you get with a Full Cold Air Intake...

AEM does not make a CAI, only a short RAM, IF your going to get an Intake make it either a Injen (More Popular) or a K&N (which I have)


If you want gas milage, dont do a Cold Air Intake, you could get a K&N Flat Filter and replace the Acura one... but there is really not that much of a difference... Any Air Intake you do is going to make the car sound louder when you start getting on it, For this Reason you feel more like driving fast, and giving it gas...not preserving Gas Milage.

[xjessejun]

are short rams that bad....i thought short rams were better for automatics..

[2005 TSX]

Originally Posted by MirosLetterbomb

Okay these questions were probably already asked and answered a million times over but I'm a newbie so I kinda need the extra help from you guys.

1- Will a cold air intake improve gas mileage? I want gas mileage badly because of George's 4 bux a gallon for gas haha...

1. Most likely adding an intake (CAI or SRI) will at first decrease your mileage. Not because it adds so much more horsepower to your engine, but rather it will just depend on your driving style. Meaning? You most likely will want to hear the deep throaty roar of the air being sucked into you engine via the CAI or SRI = more fuel consumption = poor mileage.

My brother has a 1999 or 2000 (I dont' remember) Honda Civic EX. Before adding his instake, he was getting 35 - 40 m.p.g. After I installed his instake for him, his mileage began to drop to about 29 - 33 m.p.g. He told me that he was pushing the car more. Accelerating away from stop lights as fast as he could go...dropping it in 3rd gear on the freeway to pass others...taking long side roads to get home. Why? So he could hear the roar of the intake. But after awhile, he stopped doing all of that, and guess what...his mileage went right back to where it had been before...35 - 40 m.p.g.

Originally Posted by MirosLetterbomb

2- Is a short ram better than a cold air intake? Performance wise? Mileage wise?

2. To answer this question...ask yourself this: "Do I want better throttle response?" A short ram intake will definitely have better throttle response when compared to a cold air intake.

Example: You have two straws, one is three feet in length (Short Ram Intake), the other is five feet long (Cold Air Intake). Each one is put into a seperate glass of water. If the same amount of suction is applied to both straws, which will get the water first? Answer? The shorter straw...because the water has less length to travel.

Some may have a concern about a short ram being affected by the heat coming from the engine area.

I once saw someone on another site monitor temperatures of the air passing through a short ram and a cold air intake. The test monitored temperatures of the air traveling through each intake at different stages...engine warm up, stop and go traffic, highway driving, and a mix of stopping and then driving small distances.

Overall, he noticed that air temperature in the short ram intake was affected by the heat of the engine bay more than the cold air intake in stop and go traffic, and slow driving conditions. He also noticed that air temperature was virtually the same when the car was moving at highway speeds...meaning that when the car was traveling at speed the engine bay was the same temperature as the outside air, regardless of whether the short ram or cold air intake was attached.

So overall, the Cold Air Intake has a slight advantage over the Short Ram Intake.

Originally Posted by MirosLetterbomb

3- If I do get a SR or CAI, which one is highly preferred? I've heard of Injen, AEM and my Acura dealer recommended Comptech.

My main aim is for QUALITY cuz i love my TSX. I just want more gas mileage. Any help would be appreciated!

3. It really depends on who you talk to when it comes down to reccommending an intake.

A tech at Acura will most likely suggest you buy Comptech.
Probably most on this message board would suggest to you Injen because they have one.
Someone might suggest you buy K&N because their filters are so awesome.

A few things to consider...What do you want the intake for? Sound? Performance? Name Brand? Fitment? Engine Bay Bling/Dress-Up?

well i want the intake for performance and name-brand. quality too. I don't want anythin that is likely to break or mess my car up. I want the best bang for my buck.

[MemphisRheins]

Originally Posted by MirosLetterbomb

well i want the intake for performance and name-brand. quality too. I don't want anythin that is likely to break or mess my car up. I want the best bang for my buck.

Id say on that note either Injen or K&N Cold Air Intakes the way to go... there about the same in price and performance... Injen may give slightly more power...the verdicts still out on that..

[33 21.26.3.25.0]

comes down to preference

[kyotousa]

if i am getting icebox
should i just use th uni-foam filter provided?
how long do i need to clean and re-oil it
clean = wash it?