Cold air intake vs short ram?????

[trezmoc]

im driving a 94 integra vti-r (gsr 4 the americans) and im looking for a cold air intake. not many retailers seem to stock anything for integras over here tho. one guy offered to custom make me one himself but is it better to go something packaged? eg a k&n system or sumthing similar? he thinks his custom job will only produce 1-2hp extra at the wheels.

if this is the result of all cold airs is it better to go a cheaper short ram? is the performance difference noticeable?

[PrimeTimeV6]

Cold air is better in my opinion.

[civic_punk]

go with cold air short ram wont give u as much as cold air

[8695Beaters]

Short ram is cheaper. A short ram keeps the filter in the engine bay, so it will suck in "hotter" air. The truth is it still gets heated up in the pipe as it goes into the engine anyway. Cold-air just moves the filter underneath the grille, also increasing the chance of you sucking in water (which will total your engine). A short ram will be just as effective if you have a clean supply of air going into it. Just buy a cone filter, remove the stock air box and clamp the new filter right onto the plastic tube. There's your short ram. The aluminum tube is just there for looks anyway.

[Spyware]

I prefer the full cold-air my car runs better with the full one while I have a short one on my 90( dead now it throw a rod ) and now on my 91 it runs better not a big difference but you can tell the engine gets better air flow

[06RSXSiVTEC]

I like the cold-air. I noticed a slight power difference when I went from short ram to cold-air. I wouldn't trust somone making one either. If you buy from a legit company it will be built to fit in the car the way it supposed to.

[PrimeTimeV6]

With the cold air you will not have to worry about sucking in water. The only way to suck in water would be to TOTALLY submerge the filter under water and if you totally submerge the filter you will have more problems than just the engine. You will have water in the car as well.

[PrimeTimeV6]

as for just sticking a cone filter on the end of a stock pipe defeats the purpose. The reason for the aluminum pipe is to delete the resonators found in the intake system and to remove any restrictions. Just food for though

[trezmoc]

hmm food for thought indeed. im probably leaning towards a full cold air but ive still gotta find a system. can anyone recommend a company in australia or someone who could mayb ship there? or is ebay the way to go?

[8695Beaters]

The only major restriction in the intake after the filter is the airflow sensor. Then it's the intake manifold. Intake tubes are large enough not to create any restrictions. So when you change the filter, you alleviate the first and easiest blockage. That's why drop in filters add 5 hp in some (emphasis on some) cars. Yeah a full CAI is the best way to go, but if you are a cheap SOB like me, you just do the cone filter.

The alley behind my dorm flloods at least 4 inches every time it rains hard. I would never drive a car with a CAI through that. If you by the bypass valve from AEM though, you can drive through water confidently. It's another $50, but an engine rebuild is way more expensive.