Are aftermarket intakes worth it?

[StormTrooper]

That video is great except the comparison is horribly done... Reminds me of the top gear episode where they "prove" modding your car is useless.

There was no logging or tuning done...both are bad examples....lots of cars have restrictive intakes but not a turbo subbie.

[wbsrazzle]

Yeah I mean the aem one, literally almost is like a vtec situation. At 5k RPM the engine revs to the redline quicker, and there is a surge in torque/hp coupled with the sounds. Is it worth it? Hard to tell, spent almost 400$ on this. The reason I got the AEM is because it comes with a tuned chip to plug into the maf. I am worried about the AFR and being too lean or rich, I am trying to preserve my engine.

If I sell this, I will take a loss most likely and I have had it in for 2 hours lol.

[jflogerzi]

Only reason I got my aFe was sound(remove noise generator), clean up engine bay, and a bit more performance.

[Minovsky]

Originally Posted by jflogerzi

Only reason I got my aFe was sound(remove noise generator), clean up engine bay, and a bit more performance.

god damn the sounds from intakes are so nice makes everything worth it haha i got the Injen intake and loving it

[cfusionpm]

Originally Posted by campy

The guys on the youtube show Mighty Car mods made a couple videos about this.

TL;DW: Keep, the stock airbox and just use drop ins. An aftermarket intake in the engine bay will cause you to lose power, and you will see slight gains if the intake is outside of the engine bay, but you won't really notice it.

Except in their example, the engine is a turbo. Of course a cold air intake isn't going to do much... as soon as the air passes through the turbo it will heat up. That's what intercoolers and such are for. They have big advantages on most NA cars. The reason why it's not THAT MUCH better than our stock cars is that the factory intake already pulls cold air from the front bumper via a snorkel. It does it pretty efficiently too. So much so that you can gain 90% of the performance of a full intake with just a drop-in filter. Some non-cold-airs actually lose power because of the warm engine bay temps.

[CSI:86]

I personally got a AFE intake, it took a few days for the ECU adjust. At first, it didnt do much. Then it started having more low end torque before the torque dip and more torque after 5.5k to redline. BUT the torque dip is much more noticeable, once you put the AFE intake in. BE WARNED!

[#87]

If you want bang for your buck, HP per $ you have to go FI or engine swap. Bolt ons for small NA engines not gonna do ____

[StormTrooper]

Originally Posted by #87

If you want bang for your buck, HP per $ you have to go FI or engine swap. Bolt ons for small NA engines not gonna do ____

Yes but the price of admission is much higher... Like $3500 for the most basic kit. 5-6k for a good turbo kit and supporting mods

[#87]

Originally Posted by StormTrooper

Yes but the price of admission is much higher... Like $3500 for the most basic kit. 5-6k for a good turbo kit and supporting mods

Yes the cost is much higher but I'd rather save for that than spend 2k on I/H/E and get almost no gains.

If anything I'd go for E85 and tune over IHE.

[StormTrooper]

30hp and tq is very noticeable.....a lot of people don't have access to e-85. I want linear power and for my car to last.

It is a toy but it's also my DD.

[#87]

I dont have access to e85 thats why I'm saving for FI. Not going to waste time or money with bolt ons in the meantime

[CSI:86]

Originally Posted by #87

I dont have access to e85 thats why I'm saving for FI. Not going to waste time or money with bolt ons in the meantime

Is your car a DD? I personally wouldnt FI a DD car.

I have a AFE intake and perrin pulley so far.
Plan to put Perrin headerback and stage 2 tune. It will give about 25whp, which will be noticeable and importantly it keeps it reliable in the long term.

[wbsrazzle]

Originally Posted by #87

Yes the cost is much higher but I'd rather save for that than spend 2k on I/H/E and get almost no gains.

If anything I'd go for E85 and tune over IHE.

But you need i/h/e for the F.I too!



Also, I think this car is nearly tuned to the bleeding edge. I am worried about engine reliability with these tunes that raise the RPM and lean out the engine.

I am doing intake and exhaust and suspension, and that's IT until the new 2014 BRZ comes out to see if they get any more HP out of the engine and hopefully buy/replace the part(s) that do it. I'd rather have 225hp that is reliable from the factory than 250 from tuning and questionable after market accessories.

[StormTrooper]

i'm not sure about timing but the AFR's on the car are not "on the edge"

12.5:1 is not what i'd call designed for FI so i'm staying away.