Sound/performance difference b/w Drop-in+Inlet vs full CAI

[FR-Slide]

I was about to order a new mag-drain plug and noticed that my shopping cart was conspicuously empty. I needed to remedy that...

I've been holding off on mods for the most part, but wanted to get a bit more induction noise now that I've gotten used to the car. Let me say that I have searched, but the recommendations that were given 6-9 months ago are now being recommended against, so I wanted to check in on what's current.

I initially had been considering the Perrin CAI (since it had decent reviews a few months ago when I started looking), but most folks are calling it over-priced now. Seen a lot of good talk about the FA20 V2, which appears similar (and ~$100 cheaper).

My other big thought was just to stick with a drop-in and a new inlet tube. OEM airboxes these days seem to be hard to improve upon, so I was just going to eliminate the weak points (filter) and annoying bits (resonators, sound tube) by going this route. Save some money, too.

I don't expect any real gains in performance with an intake. 3-5 hp MAYBE, so I guess my real question is what can I expect in terms of noise between these 2? What about any issues with idle/throttle response?

Thanks for any input, I know these topics may be very familiar to some, but I've been out of the scene for a bit and couldn't sort out the opinions/reviews from searching.

Cheers.

[coolaron]

Drop-in air filter with stock air box is the way to go on our cars I guess.

I wouldn't change anything which is already best for the car.

[Books]

Our car already comes with a true CAI, lucky for us. So a drop-in and/or new tube would be the best bang for your buck for performance. However, getting other intakes can improve/change sound more so than a drop-in can, which sounds like what you're looking for. And performance wise, differences are pretty minute.

I personally have an Airraid, which is ok with moderate gains and sounds great. If I were to redo, i'd probably go for the FA20.

So the question is... is the extra dough for sound worth it to you?