Ok I installed the CAI around a month ago and have driven it since. Normal driving, highway driving, stop and go driving, spirited driving. Pretty much every kind . Today I was bored so said what the hell. I took of the pipe that makes it a CAI and converted it to a SRI. The first thing I noticed was that it made my engine bay look more full, which I liked lol. Well I put everything away (had the battery unpluged the whole time) then went for a test drive. Even putting it in first gear to pull out I immediately noticed a difference, it moved with little effort lol. I then turned out onto the street and floored it, which I noticed it seemed to rev quicker the whole rpm band, but a little slower high end. I also noticed it was a bit louder, which I didn't really care for, but for how the car drives now I love it!!! By judging how it drives now I can say that it is fun to drive in almost ever gear, except 5th. Becuase 5th gear in the 2.2 is no fun anway lol. But the car just seems more alive. With the CAI it seemed like it bogged for a bit but buy mid-end was fine, and seemed to pull more at high end. So while the CAI may have just a tad more power, the SRI I think is what is going to stay on my car. It is simply that much more fun to drive , unless you plan on maxing out every gear, I would say try the SRI . I hope this kind of answers peoples questions on wether or not they should install the SRI or CAI. Becuase the kind of answers I have seen are (CAI = denser air = more power, SRI = warmer air but shorter length). Thats a fine answer but I think driveability should fit in there too . If you think this is well-explained or written feel free to make a sticky!!

 

looks real good, nice writeup
let us know the gas mileage difference, if there is a noticeable one

sounds to me like SRI is better for everyday driving, unless you redline a lot

 

so the only thing the SRI gives you is better throttle response...but its also got a lot shorter route to travel now so thats expected.

just wait til you get heatsoak on a hot day

 

When I had my 2.2, SRI was DEFINATELY the way to go!

Nice write up!

 

ok....im gonna sound dumb here....but can someone explain heatsoak....im guessing it is hot air bogging the power?.........

 

Pretty much. Heatsoak is when the pipe is hot + all the ambient air around the engine is hot/warm due to the engine/exhaust being there. Becuase it is not in the fender you are sucking in the hot/warm air. Warm air is not as dense (Molecules as close together) becuase being warm the molecules are spread out. So you suck the same, but get less air in. Less air = less power. I live in chicago so it can get warm here, but its no where near like the south, so I'm not worried about it.

 

yea.....it was 92 ******* degrees today with somewhere around 90% humidity.....thank god for a/c and recirc......too bad i was SLOW AS ***** today too

 

For me I'll keep the CAI. Heatsoak is caused by the intake tube getting hot and heating up the air traveling through the tube into the engine. This is why I'm not a big fan of aluminum intake tubes. I even considered wrapping my intake pipe that is in the engine bay with header wrap. In case someone isn't familiar with header wrap: it is an insulation wrapped around the header pipes to keep them hot and keep the heat out of the engine bay. The purpose of the wrap is to keep the exhaust as hot as possible to increase exhuaust gas velocity and to keep engine bay temps down. OK, so now you are saying if I wrap the intake tube it will make the air warmer. NO, NO, NO, it is an insulation that will keep the heat out and keep the intake air cooler. Insulation doesn't make something warmer it simply keeps it warmer on one side and cooler on the other by isolating the two. Insulations keeps the HOT from losing heat and keeps the cold from taking on (absorbing) heat. I like the CAI myself. You can squeeze hard and quick and back off to get some attention when needed and also I don't need any more throttle response to melt down the tires.

Nice write up though; I'm sure lots of people will find it very helpful in making this decison. I will also add that it is much easier to access and service the filter when using the SR however, I access my filter through the fender well; it is so much easier.

 

Interesting thoughts on the header wrap, sounds like a good idea to me.

 

Good write up, its good to know this. Im running mine as an SRI right now. Seems good so far. I dont notice the sound that everyone says that they hear when they put on a new intake. Maybe I did something wrong? I dont know. Good write up though!

 

my fiance like to describe it as "a pack of angry cows"

 

Maybe when you unplugged the battery, the ECM reverted to old calibrations and what you initially noticed was a default A/F ratio which the computer is expecting stock air flow thus the extra air it sensed dumped more fuel and thus the better power. Once the ECM figures out that the extra airflow is outside of its normal perameters it may shut down some of its tuning?!?!?! Maybe you should re-install the CAI, unplug the battery and see if there's some difference there as well?

 

When I get mine I am going to go with the short ram. I just wish they would sell the Injen with the sri only. I only paid 89 bucks for my Injen short ram on my Accord.

 

Yea I hear ya' on that. I ended up throwing out the CAI tube as I know I would never have a need for it.

 

When installing the intake, is it necessary to unhook the battery? For some reason I dont remember seeing that on the instructions at all, and well I was in such a good mood when i got the thing I went straight out to the car and started taking **** apart. Also I put the intake on after I already installed my pacesetter exhaust, I thought that may be cause for why I couldnt hear the "sucking" or the "angry pack of cows" haha. But yea let me know, cuz I definetely want to know that it is in correctly and so that I can get all that I can out of it. I think Im going to check over the install instructions when I get home. Thanks.

 

K well to answer my own stupid question, when i got home from work i re-read the instructions and sure enough it said unhook the negative terminal in small print on the first page. THanks haha. SO I went out and unhooked it, left it for prolly 15- half hour and came back out and hooked it back up. Man BIG difference. My car sucks now haha. but yea that did the trick, havent hit the roads with it really yet, but there is a big difference in sound, even with the pacesetter drowning it out. THanks for the help, and sorry I cant read hah

 

Becuaes the pipe is decently short, im not too sure that has a LOT to do with the warmer air. Most of the warm air comes from the ambient air that the intake is sucking in, it goes through the tube so fast it doesnt really have a chance to get really heated. Im not saying its better, but thats not the biggest problem. If you managed to make a shield by your intake filter it would most likely perform better not sucking in warm air.

 

im going to sound really dumb, wtf is SRI?

 

Short Ram Intake

And personally I think that cobalt doesn't look good. It looks like a cheap backyard job, no offense to anyone. It just looks like a terrible bouncer. It reminds me of an old woman sagging all over. Just my own personal opinion; which I am entitled to just like anyone else.

 

With the SRI you are totally taking in much warmer air from the engine compartment. Also, the more air you have moving through the tube the more heat it can "uptake." Like a hot plate of food; the more air you blow across it the more heat it loses to the cooler air passing over it.

 

you are entitled to your opinion, i used microsoft paint to make hte 'lowered' effect, and i like really low cars, hence my old tbird that rod 5" at the highest point, and rode amazingly comfortable, yes, i do want my car low, not nesesarily that low, but low all the same because nobody else has it that low, so if your opinion isnt positive, you should keep it to yourself, because in my opinion i like it, and im entitled to mine also

 

its defintely got the civic hatchback drop going on...good thing its just a photoshop

 

Paint not photoshop

 

So, over the last two days it seems to me that everyone has either the injen or AEM or weapon r intake tubes... here's the trick, i'm dealing with florida heat and rain, so i can't be dealing with something that's either going to need to be washed and oiled 3 times a week, nor one that's not a true cold air system. any pros and cons as to what stays clean and works well?

 

is there anybody out there that would be willing to help me in deciding whether or not to get an injen short ram/ cai. i live in new jersey. we have our share of cold and hot days and i was just wondering if having an automatic trans would negate the effects of such a system. thanks and happy "hunting" (of civics that is