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Cold Air Intake or Replace Stock Intake Hose

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So... the rubber hose between the air flow sensor and the engine on my Car has cracked and is in need of replacing...

Now I can get it replaced (for about $90) or I can spend a bit more money to get a Cold Air Intake for the car... (roughly $200)

The problem is that I'm not sure which one I should do... So I thought I'd ask y'all for an opinion.

So what do you think?
Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

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What kind of car do you drive?

Nothing fancy... a 2001 Mazda Protege ES 2.0L (automatic Transmission)



Depends on what you want out of it. From my understanding it gives minimal HP increase but for those of us who have a lead foot, it's a must.

~ Lisa
~ Do you Rigminder?

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I do have a bit of a heavy foot... :$ I'll probably get an aftermarket CAI... now I just have to decide which one to get... (though I'm awating a response from Injen to tell me if theirs will fit on my car...)

the other option appears to be AEM.

Scott

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

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I do have a bit of a heavy foot... :$ I'll probably get an aftermarket CAI... now I just have to decide which one to get... (though I'm awating a response from Injen to tell me if theirs will fit on my car...)

the other option appears to be AEM.

Scott



I have the AEM CAI for my civic si. I've loved it ever since I've gotten it. Is a bit loud when the VTEC kicks in, but I believe it's a problem with backpressure, I need to get a better less resistant muffler.
I had to replace my cat converter and it stopped making the loud noise, but that cat went bad. I don't think it was for my car, they put the wrong one on.

Anyway. AEM is nice, should come with K&N filter, which you want, and they should come with the water bypass vent/thingy already built into them these days. That wasn't an option when I got mine, but I would have gotten it had it been.

But after having it on for like 7-8 years I have not had any problems, cept better throttle response, and maybe some horses.
Skymama's #2 stalker -

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I am a fan of the C.A.I, but I would add this precaution:
Some kits route the air intake very low to the ground. I have seen this cause water aspiration if you drive through a deep enough puddle. End result would be a(or several)bent connecting rods. AEM offers a bypass valve that is supposed to prevent this. I have never seen CAI on a Mazda, my experience is only with Nissan\NISMO.


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Do what I would do, get a new car.:P

I know, I'm no help.:|

But then again, thinking about your dilemma; if you've been happy with the car's performance so far, then just get the hose replaced and save the money for jumps.:)




_________________________________________
Chris






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The car guy in me says CAI is the only way to go. What guy doesn't want their car to have a nice throaty growl under acceleration? That's why I swapped out the exhaust already on my '04 RSX Type-S, and have a header sitting in my garage waiting to be put in. Also gotta consider that it will give you a very small amount of extra power, which can increase with other parts, namely exhaust, header, and other such things. On the downside, hydrolock is an issue depending on where the filter element is located, and what kind of puddles you typically drive through. I still think it's worth the investment, but that's just my $.02.
"If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

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Don't drive through puddles.

No, seriously. That's the best way to cause hydrolock, drive through a huge puddle and submerge the filter element. There are plenty of gimmicks that claim to keep that from happening. But rest assured, if you submerge the filter, no gimmick is going to keep your engine from hydrolocking.

If you still insist, there was a bypass valve that the RSX guys were talking about, though I can't recall that anyone really found that it worked. And there are hydroshields that claim to keep water from getting into the filter. Not true, they just reduce the average size of droplets that will get into the filter, but it'll still hydrolock just as quickly if you encounter the right (or wrong) conditions.
"If at first you don't succeed... well, so much for skydiving." - aviation cliche

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Don't drive through puddles.

No, seriously. That's the best way to cause hydrolock, drive through a huge puddle and submerge the filter element. There are plenty of gimmicks that claim to keep that from happening. But rest assured, if you submerge the filter, no gimmick is going to keep your engine from hydrolocking.

If you still insist, there was a bypass valve that the RSX guys were talking about, though I can't recall that anyone really found that it worked. And there are hydroshields that claim to keep water from getting into the filter. Not true, they just reduce the average size of droplets that will get into the filter, but it'll still hydrolock just as quickly if you encounter the right (or wrong) conditions.



ever seen the video of the AEM bypass valve?? They stuck a cold air intake with the bypass valve on it completely in water and it was connected to a acura NSX which was given full throttle input while sitting on a dyno. ok run on sentence. Anyway No water got into the engine, well probably not absolutely none, but you are aware there used to be water injection units that sprayed a fine mist of water into the blast chamber?

I've had my CAI for like 8 years. I've driven through many a puddle and had no problems. You just have to be careful. I don't think I've ever submerged it, but I've had the chance to and just avoided it.
Skymama's #2 stalker -

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Seriously, doin' something like that on a 2.0....well, it's kinda' like puttin' a blower on a blender.



Really.......? What about the SI with the 2.0?

It was like having a new motor dropped in....a much more intense feel and upper band HP gain...

I say go for it!

B|
Anvil Brother #69

Sidelined with a 5mm C5-C6 herniated disk...
Back2Back slammers and 40yr old fat guys don't mix!

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Man, you coulda' had a V8! :)
Seriously, doin' something like that on a 2.0....well, it's kinda' like puttin' a blower on a blender. :|



That.

I have to laugh at all the mods I see people do to their little import cars. It's a fucking Civic/Corolla/Hyundai/Mazda...what's it got now, 118 hp at the wheels? Maybe 138 if they're willing to throw longevity to the winds?

If you want a high-performance car, buy one. Don't buy a fuel-efficient commuter and try to tell me that ridiculously loud muffler magically transformed it into a fucking race car. Rice is gayer than a bag of dicks.

Blues,
Dave
"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

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Wow I didn't realize that I'd start such a heated discussion...

ultimately I agree with some of these thoughts but at the same time a lighter smaller car doesn't need as much horsepower to the road to be able to outperform a large (heavy) muscle car...

and for that matter I'm not putting in A LOT of money... I'm putting in a relatively small amount of money... (and hopefully puting on something more durable/efficient then the component that is broken and I'm taking off...

(and although there is some duct tape on it at the moment... frankly I'm not keen on that as a perminant fix... :S:|)

Livin' on the Edge... sleeping with my rigger's wife...

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If you want a high-performance car, buy one. Don't buy a fuel-efficient commuter and try to tell me that ridiculously loud muffler magically transformed it into a fucking race car. Rice is gayer than a bag of dicks.



quoted for mother f$%^# truth!!!
wrap some duct tape around it and be done with it.

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I'm putting in a relatively small amount of money... (and hopefully puting on something more durable/efficient then the component that is broken and I'm taking off...



What is funny is how everyone overlooked the fact that you should never have to buy another air filter if you do make the purchase. I know having mine for 8 years or so has in itself probably paid for itself. I've never had to pay for a new air filter, and it did increase my gas mileage a tad. Take that tad and multiply it by over 100,000 miles and well I'm betting I've saved more than a few gallons of gas.

I don't get why everyone is all why the hell would you want to rice up a tiny car?? It's a fucking air filter people. God forbid he puts something that will perform better than the factory part. But it's aftermarket and therfore it should be making his car a rocket??
Now if he put springs on it, replaced the exhaust from the cat back, put headers on it, a turbo, a spoiler, and oh those cool little gauges on the A pillar yeah you could be like what the hell for.

In this case there really is nothing wrong with the CAI. However, there is also nothing wrong with a shorty for his application. The stock airbox is crap and replacing it with something better will not hurt a damn thing.
Rice it out Scott!!!!!!!!:P
Skymama's #2 stalker -

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Jez pop de cole air intak on da tang wid a fart can mufzler drop it dowwn wid sum spinnerz on de dubs an yo be da schnizzle. yo

:ph34r:

More seriously, a CAI may help a bit on the mileage, assuming you can keep your foot out of it, but don't expect any huge gains. The K&N will help costwise by avoiding multiple air filter replacements. There's one thing the ricers have yet to grasp, FnF was a MMMOOOVIIIE. Going fast costs cubic dollars, what you got in your wallet?

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