As a reseller of Airaid kits I thought I might chime in here.
I have one installed on my car and am totally happy with it. As are all my customers that have one. The main benefits I find are nicer induction noise, improved throttle response and better mileage.
It takes in cold air from behind the bumper and not hot air from behind the radiator. I wouldn't get too hung up on whether intakes pull hot or cold air. The engine doesn't seem to mind pod filters in the engine bay.
From what I can gather the poster with the poor results didn't remove the snorkel. Not sure if this is what's causing the rich condition up top, or something else like ECU learning. Either way, I'm still recommending people buy the kit since my bum dyno reads 5hp+
The guys at Whiteline had my car the last week and when I got it back they asked me if I'd had it tuned as it had better mid-range pull than the other 86/BRZs they'd driven. Nup, just the Airaid kit
