My CAI vs RAI experiance Options

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

I've had a few different systems or air intakes on my car throughout the years. And I just thought I would give a little write up on my experiance. Everyone seems to think that the CAI is the best. I thought this too. I've had a CAI on my car for quite awhile, and decided to go to RAI just to be doing. When I switched, I noticed a nice gain on the bottem. I'm not sure if I would get the same numbers up top as I would with a CAI, but the RAI showed good response. I didn't think that shortening the pipe would really help this out, but it really does. The pipe length is about 1/2 what it was with the CAI. I'm going to try and cut it and put the filter as close to the throttle body as possable to see how it responds. With all the air moving through the motor at speed, who is to say the RAI style wouldn't pick up some fresher air, or at least not as hot of air as it would if it was ran at a stand still.

This post has been edited by Bigmeanbulldog55: Oct 1, 2006 - 5:10 PM

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

Hey Bulldog, did you see this?

SRI write up

I have read similar information from other very reputable sources. The butt-dyno can be a very inaccurate measuring tool.

I know these studies. Come on Jay, you know I'm not that ignorant. I know what the dyno tests have shown, but I want to see not only the peak, but the intire line. When your talking low hp cars like I've got, throttle response is the only thing I've got. I'm not drag racer. The short ram allows fresher air into the motor fast. I can't even here it honestly. How come when guys setup ITB's, they have the filters right on the throttle bodies instead of running tubes to a place to get colder air? I'm sure you can show me an example that proves that someone didn't do that, but the most I see do that.

short ram on my 96 ST resulted in :

****ty gas mileage
loud, obnoxious sound after i got over the idea of having an intake
bogging down in hot weather

a CAI wouldn't really make any difference, either, in my opinion.

save up your $$$ and just turbo the motor.

i love seeing people on this site nickel & dime their way in to gaining 2-3hp at most and spending hundreds of dollars doing so. why bother even spending $30 on some 2" intake tube and a cone filter when the stock airbox does just fine? you're paying for noise, not performance.

turbo, swap, or spray. those are the three options. anything else will just leech money out of your wallet and make you *think* you've gained horsepower, when in fact, you've just gained a louder intake/exhaust note.

I'll put my Celica up against a stock GT any day, and I garintee I'll show a statisticly significant gain in preformance. It's not all about hp. I don't really think hp has much to do with anything in the type of racing I like to do. We can argue all day, but you have your points, that I know are right. And I have my points, that I know are right. I'm just trying to tell my story so people who do what I do don't waste the money and time that I did, making all these different intakes.