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Your AEM questions answered.

Messages
42,953
Courtesy of Nick

1.Whats the difference between the AEM Cold Air Induction (CAI) (V1) and the V2?

The CAI kit is a true cold air kit (long ram) with the filter located in the passenger side portion of the front bumper where it can draw cold air with no heatsoak. This is a proven kit with guaranteed gains and proves to be the more popular kit.

The V2 sits in the engine bay (short ram), facing towards the cabin side (back) of the engine bay. The AEM V2 Intake utilizes a dual chamber (using two different diameters and lengths of piping), to create multiple frequency sound waves that help charge the cylinders with air throughout the entire rpm range... This will suffer heatsoak whilst in traffic as all open cone filters in the engine bay suffer. A Heat shield and Cold Air feed will help reduce this once on the move.

2.Where is the best place to buy an AEM induction kit?

http://www.funkystyling.co.uk/parts/index.php proves to be convenient and are well priced.

System-R
CPL Racing
ABP Motorsport also all supply the AEM kits and can fit them for you.

3.How easy is it to fit each kit?

The V2 is the easier kit to fit and will take the average person 30mins to fit as itÂ’s a case of removing the stock airbox and connecting the new filter up to the intake manifold and corresponding brackets. Nothing needs to be relocated to fit this kit.

The CAI kit is harder to fit as it involved removing the passenger side front wheel and wheel arch lining. It does NOT need the bumper removing as some people do to fit it, its just not needed and will make the job a lot harder and time consuming.

Nothing needs to be relocated with this kit unlike the similar Injen CAI. The AEM will fit under the battery and fuse box with NO issues. You MIGHT have to slightly move the horn on its bracket depending on where itÂ’s located as some are located in the front bumper and some are located in the radiator grill.
You will need to slightly trim the wheel arch lining to allow it to be popped back in place but this is VERY obvious when it comes to doing it. The fitting of the CAI will vary between 1hr and 3hrs depending on how competent you are.

Neither kit is hard to fit so mechanical novices shouldnÂ’t struggle but there are some helpful members who can offer advice on fitting it should a problem arise or if youÂ’re just not confident enough to tackle it on your own.

4.How much HP will I get from each kit?

This is not an absolute answer, anything from 5-12hp has been seen on dynos in both the UK and the USA but in my opinion the CAI will have a more consistent power gain and the general concensus is the CAI will release more power than the V2 kit.

5.What do they sound like?

The CAI is a loud kit. It growls from about 4k to 6k revs then becomes very loud from the VTEC cross over point to the rev limit. It does sound like its rattling when it hits 6k revs but this is completely normal. It will hiss when you turn the engine off, again this is completely normal. It will also hiss when the engine is slowing at certain revs and again this is completely normal. There will be a “chunk” noise if you prod the throttle aggressively at low revs and again this is completely normal and is a feature of open cone kits.

The V2 is probably as loud as the CAI but is not as deep toned. It again will vibrate at 6k revs which should just sound like an exaggeration of the normal VTEC crossover. It will also hiss when the engine is turned off and have a quieter hiss when the engine is slowing from revs again.

Anything very metallic might indicate there is something a bit loose so check all bolts/hose clips are done tightly. If they are then check your intake manifold cover and tighten that as that “can” rattle. If all these are tight then your are probably just getting the normal VTEC noise with an open cone.

V2 Video

http://civictype-r.co.uk/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=64742&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=aem

CAI clip to follow.

What should the CAI kit come with

The bits included should be:-


Air Filter
Main tube of the CAI
rubber tube for fixing the main tube onto the throttle body
2 rubber tubes, one larger than the other for oil breather etc..
one rubber seal to fit the air sensor into
nuts and bolt with a rubber fixing on to mount the tube in the wheel arch
jubilee clips for fixing the filter, throttle body and main tube fixing and oil breather etc.. tubes.

6.What does each kit look like?

CAI:


aem3medsized.jpg


aem4medsized.jpg


aem2medsized.jpg


aem1medsized.jpg


Pictures courtesy of Superfly

V2 Kit

http://images3.fotopic.net/?iid=y37kn9&outx=800&quality=70

http://images4.fotopic.net/?iid=y37knd&outx=800&quality=70




7.Will an RSX type-s kit fit my car?

Yes, these are the kits you should be using.

8.How often do I need to clean the filter?

Depending on driving conditions approximately every 6k miles.

9.Will fitting these increase my fuel consumption?

Only due to the addictive noise they make in VTEC you will use more as you will probably be driving harder initially.

10.Will these invalidate my warranty?

Not entirely. Any part that fails due to the modified part will have no warranty. If youÂ’re rear dampers failed then they would be covered due to be unconnected with the modified part.

WITH ANY MODIFICATION YOU RUN THE RISK OF INVALIDATING YOUR WARRANTY

11.Which kit is the best?

This is a matter of opinion but the CAI kit will suffer no heat soak issues in warm weather and pretty much everyone who has one will vouch for the noticeable Torque/HP increase.
The V2 has some fans but it is the less popular of the 2 kits and it is also considerably more expensive. But on the move you will get gains even more so with a Cold air feed and a heatshield.

I would personally go with a CAI kit everytime out of the 2.

12.Are there any downfalls with either kit?

CAI: Harder to fit, the chance of getting water on the filter (although slim) in heavy heavy rain or deep puddles. More difficult to clean the filter due to location in bumper.

V2: Will suffer heatsoak in warm weather/standing traffic. More expensive than most other short ram kits. HP gains are not as widely recognised.


Fitting instructions for the V2

http://rsx-s.com/aem/AEMv2.htm
 
Couple of pics from when I cleaned my AEM CAI filter last week....

After removing the passenger side front wheel, and removing the plugs that keep the arch liner intact, the arch liner can be peeled back out of the way.
This reveals the area the filter sits in,

PA140150.jpg


Heres a closer pic of where the filter pipe attaches to the car body,

PA140152.jpg


Now I live down a very dirty Devon lane, and have done about 8K miles in all types of weather since the AEM CAI was fitted, and this picture shows how dirty the actual filter was when I removed it,

PA140151.jpg


I was actually pleasantly suprised how clean it was, given the location it sits in. Some reasurance to you that it is a relatively safe and clean location for an induction filter. Just required a soft brushing to remove some loose dirt from the veins, and a light spray with some K&N filter oil.

The whole process took about 20mins to do.
 
I like the look of the CAI very much but the location of the filter - it looks like that on a medium range motorway journey with rain, there is a seriously high chance of it sucking up water?
Can you imagine the amount of spray kicked up by other cars and your own? and there are holes on the underside of the compartment it's in.... some spray would have to come through surely?

aem3medsized.jpg
 
Sucking up some spray on the motorway should cause any problems imo. You need to submurse the filter in water to draw enough into the engine to hydrolock it. All imo of course. :wink:
 
I've driven over 300 miles in some of the worst rain I've ever seen and not had any probs with mine :)
 
The water problem with these is total crap, basically to suberg this filter and hydrolock the car the water would have to be above door seal level.

Eg water would be coming into the cabin :p

And if you drive through water this deep then you need your head looking

The filter is Oiled so small water particles such as spray etc etc do not effect it
 
OK - thanks for the opinions on the water - sounds like these will be fairly safe to use. Might have to invest in one of these now :twisted: :D
 
What is the product code we should be using for the AEM CAI?
The one for the RSX-Type S...
Which is the right one I beleive..
 
thats what ABP reckon AEM told them, but I reckon its actually the Si version you want as the rsx one doesn't actually have the correct mounts to fit! (the solution they came up with for this was to cable tie it to something!) I have the Si on mine, as do most other people and it works just fine. System R use the Si versions, as do CPL I believe
 
But... Isn't the diameter of the intake pipe for the Si smaller, as its made for a smaller powered car, when compared to the RSX-S which is higher powered, therefore requiring a larger pipe?
 
thats what abp reckon, but I dont think its harmed my performance at all, I can run a 14.1sec 1/4mile at pod and got 206bhp at the wheels on System R's rolling road day :) (I do have a few other mods to get that kinda power but you get what I mean )
 
Does anyone know where I can get hold of an AEM V2 kit for my CTR, and how much they are?
 
Pero said:
Does anyone know where I can get hold of an AEM V2 kit for my CTR, and how much they are?


Have a look in the Traders section of this forum :wink:
 
Here is the difference between Si and the RSX AEM CAI kits.


Side to side comparison (EP3 = Gray / DC5 = Red):
Intake_diameters_008.jpg


Bore shot:
Intake_diameters_006.jpg


As you can see, the EP CAI fits into the RSX-S CAI :meek: :
Intake_diameters_007.jpg



Taking a few measurements of the RSX-S CAI:

ID:
Intake_diameters_010.jpg


OD:
Intake_diameters_012.jpg



Taking a few measurements of the EP3 CAI:

ID:
Intake_diameters_017.jpg


OD:
Intake_diameters_014.jpg





Sizes are as follows:

EP3 CAI
Inner Diameter - 61 mm
Outer Dimeter - 64 mm

RSX-S CAI

Inner Diameter - 71 mm
Outer Dimeter - 74 mm

That's a HUGE difference when you calculate the area of each bore. The circumference is ~16% larger on the RSX-S CAI.
 
can someone please post a pic of how much of the arch liner has to be cut? is it visible from the outside that the liner was cut?
 
EP3R said:
can someone please post a pic of how much of the arch liner has to be cut? is it visible from the outside that the liner was cut?

You shouldn't really see it mate, for one the wheel is in the way. When I was cutting the lining I just did a bit at a time so not to remove too much. Just take your time and you should be fine
 
ive been looking on ebay for the RSX version but which one will fit, is it the RSX SI type-s, i cant see one, only ones i can see are for the acura, i guess that is totaly different,

cheers ian
 
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