[Parker]

Here is my situation:

I live in California and am forced to stick with AEM because they come with CARB exempt stickers to keep everything legal. I've heard a few negative things about this intake (CAI & SR) but need some clarification.

Do you not like the AEM because there are better intakes out there or is it just a bad intake overall?

Im not looking for any huge gains out of this, just a better breathing engine and some sound from the BPV.

I had an AEM CAI on my civic and loved it. Never had any issues with it and sounded great. I am open to any suggestions or information I am unaware of. Plus if anyone has pics, even better!

[Bunghollio]

i have a AEM cai on my 05 and I LOVE IT!!! no problems what so everr plus you get the sweet spool sound. and ive had cops pull me over and look at it and say notting lol

[JDM-STI]

I have an AEM CAI on my wife's '05 Legact Gt. Absolutely no problems with it at all. It does provide some nice turbo spool and BPV noise. But over alll, it is pretty quiet. My wife loves it.

[evoklr]

The only one I'm aware of that's actually dyno proven is the Typhoon. I think it's also 50 state CARB exempt. A CAI is going to be a complete waste of money on a turbo car. You want velocity, not cold intake air. That's the intercoolers job. I'm not familiar with AEM's product line, but I'd be looking at the short ram types before I looked into CAI. And, I'd also do some research on MAF impact. A lot of intakes throw off the MAF sensor.

[zedman86]

eh i run the ingen which isnt carb exempt but i dont have to smog the car for 5 years anyway and it looks pretty stock since the finish matches the manifold.

[JJ18Sniper]

The AEM CAI for the WRX i've come to know is a definite no no. It caused a lean condition on WRX's, but as for STi's I'm not too sure. I'd stick with a proven power getter of the typhoon or APS CAI.

[cfelix10]

I have the AEM CAI on my 05 STi with no problems at all. I went to the track Friday night for the first time and ran 13.14 in the 1/4 mile with just the intake. My car runs great and i can really hear the turbo spool. I love it.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by evoklr

The only one I'm aware of that's actually dyno proven is the Typhoon. I think it's also 50 state CARB exempt. A CAI is going to be a complete waste of money on a turbo car. You want velocity, not cold intake air. That's the intercoolers job. I'm not familiar with AEM's product line, but I'd be looking at the short ram types before I looked into CAI. And, I'd also do some research on MAF impact. A lot of intakes throw off the MAF sensor.

the typhoon is not carb exempt

and I do see your point behind the CAI and the intercooler. this was what I was thinking to begin with. i haven't seen anything regarding the maf sensor since AEM comes with the ports for your O2 sensor and whatever else is required to measure the amount/type of air coming in. I never had an issue with it in my civic but I keep hearing bad stories from those on here with it. Like I said, is it because it doesn't perform as well as the others or is there really a downside to their design?

[Parker]

Originally Posted by zedman86

eh i run the ingen which isnt carb exempt but i dont have to smog the car for 5 years anyway and it looks pretty stock since the finish matches the manifold.

5 years? I swore you had to do smog every other year (one year its test only and the next time its full on smog check).

[KiR DieseL]

I have one on my civic... one of the best mods out..

As far on an STi i hear its a waste of money

[Parker]

Originally Posted by KiR DieseL

I have one on my civic... one of the best mods out..

As far on an STi i hear its a waste of money

but what are we referring to? waste of money meaning don't get an intake or because AEM doesn't yield the power that others do?

[Bunghollio]

i have a AEM CAI and i can definattly tell you it pulls harder top end

[JDM-STI]

Originally Posted by evoklr

The only one I'm aware of that's actually dyno proven is the Typhoon. I think it's also 50 state CARB exempt. A CAI is going to be a complete waste of money on a turbo car. You want velocity, not cold intake air. That's the intercoolers job. I'm not familiar with AEM's product line, but I'd be looking at the short ram types before I looked into CAI. And, I'd also do some research on MAF impact. A lot of intakes throw off the MAF sensor.

Man you need to do some reading before making a post like this. There are lots of threads showing the difference between IAT's of CAI's and SRI's. As much as 70-100 degrees difference depending on the time of the year. CAI would be the only way I would go with the TMIC unless you are running meth. And this info come from tuners tha I have discussed this with.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by JDM-STI

Man you need to do some reading before making a post like this. There are lots of threads showing the difference between IAT's of CAI's and SRI's. As much as 70-100 degrees difference depending on the time of the year. CAI would be the only way I would go with the TMIC unless you are running meth. And this info come from tuners tha I have discussed this with.

thank you for your response. I was starting to think the CAI would be worthless considering the air goes throught he intercooler anyways. If a CAI is still worth the extra bucks, i'll go with it.

but does anyone have a logical argument for or against getting AEM considering my situation?

[drees]

If cold air was worthless on an intercooled car, do you think that Subaru would have wasted all that money on the snorkel and ducting for the stock intake from the front of the hood?

Think about how the turbo will spool up much quicker when it's cold out - By giving the turbo cooler, more dense air it won't have to work as hard to pump more air into your engine.