Injen CAI review
12-25-2006, 07:06 PM
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Injen CAI review
Injen CAI in a '06 Civic Si, Merry Christmas folks!
Some Pictures:
That is the tube next to the rear wheel; that should give you an idea of how short the tube really is.
Here is the flange on the end of the tube, its a nice touch, I guess it helps hold on the filter...
Check out the nice finish on the pipe, also see how even the welds are.
This isn’t a DIY, this is a DIY
First off, I’ll write this review from two points of view that of a hyper-critical bastard and that of a spoiled teenager with more money than brains. (comments within parenthetical marks)
Hyper-critical bastard:
I was quite impressed with the quality of the tube, the welds were even, the bends were smooth and the paint job (powder coat?) was flawless. When I opened the box there was a bright yellow piece of paper stating if one were to encounter a problem during installation or find a piece missing (how do you find a missing piece I ask you?) Injen would provide live phone support to resolve the issue. The idea of customer support gave me faith the product would be of top quality. After all the pieces were accounted for and the factory air box was removed (I did the installation with out removing the bumper, instead I jacked up the car and removed the wheel well plastic; that worked just fine) the imperfections began to show themselves.
The first thing I noticed is the rubber elbow did not fit snugly onto the throttle body, instead there was about 5-10mm of gap between the TB and coupler. This bothered me quite a bit, I wondered if it would allow air to leak in and throw off the idle, or worse disrupt the smooth flow of air into the engine and cause a power loss. I decided I would just tighten down the clamp and hope for the best, maybe I’ll send an email to Injen inquiring as to the fitment of the coupler.
The next problem was the rubbing between the coupler and coolant line. I had read about this previous to the installation and had hoped it would not be a problem; I wouldn’t want the intake rubbing a hole in the coolant line and cause a catastrophic failure in the middle of a long drive. I decided the best way to fix this problem was to place double sided sticky tape between the parts, I also chose to move my coolant line about 10mm out on the block nipple to provide additional clearance.
The next problem I ran into was the fitment of the breather line. The tube provided in the kit is far too large in diameter; it would slide on and off the nipple (hehehe, I said nipple… twice) as well as the plug on the air intake. I can not fathom as to how this problem was missed by the engineers at Injen, I understand how the coupler could be a bit too big and how the coolant line could interfere with the elbow, but this was too much. The OEM clamps didn’t even fit onto the tube like the directions said! It is obvious that parts of the kit were haphazardly thrown together; also it forced me to search through my garage for some larger clamps (note for those who do not have an assortment of spare parts: buy two 3/4-1 inch (?) hose clamps before beginning the installation).
The last problem I ran into was when I connected the MAF (or is it MAS?) plug to the sensor, the plug wouldn’t clip. The sensor was centered, and lined up correctly but the plug couldn’t slide on far enough to clip because the bung was too wide. I loosened up the sensor and snapped on the plug, then tightened it down. I can only hope that this was an intentional design element to assist in the correct placement of the sensor (fingers crossed). Finally I had completed the installation. I reconnected the battery, started the car, and allowed it to idle for 10 minutes to collaborate the ECU.
The tone outside the car was pleasant, a bit louder than stock but not mind numbingly loud. After the car had time to update I took it out for a drive. During regular city driving the sound was almost like stock, nice and quite with possibly a slight bit more growl. At WOT the story changes; it is very loud, surprisingly loud. It sounds good from idle to 4500 RPM, but from 4500ish to just under 6000 there is a resonation that can be uncomfortable (like a droning, it’s pretty bad), this amplified when the windows are down (thank God I didn’t buy a SRI!!!), then from 6000 on the sound is great, the tone is very rich and deep.
I did notice a slight power gain as well as a small increase in throttle response. The car does have more pull under daily driving conditions as well as under WOT. I have yet to see how it affects my fuel economy, but I did not buy the intake for economy.
For the 260 I paid would have to give it a 6/10. I would expect the parts to fit better, especially the breather tube (that lost it at least 2 points); the power is what I expected but the droning around 4-6k is rather obnoxious.
Spoiled Teenager:
OMG!! I love it, its like so cool, and my car is super fast now! Its loud, but it could be louder (I shouldn’t be using commas, but I cant help it…)!!1 I had it installed at the place where I bought it and there’s this weird ticking sound when I turn, but it’s probably nothing, my friend said it was from the extra power. Now all the time when I pull up next to mustangs and stupid American cars they all rev their engines but I just blow them away. It gets a 9/10 because it could be louder! Go buy an Injen air intake now!! Injen FTMFW!!!! Oh, does the yellow wrench next to the tachometer mean that I modified my car, did I void my warrantee?
btw, Nate Smith or Jeremy Kane are you out there?
Some Pictures:
That is the tube next to the rear wheel; that should give you an idea of how short the tube really is.
Here is the flange on the end of the tube, its a nice touch, I guess it helps hold on the filter...
Check out the nice finish on the pipe, also see how even the welds are.
This isn’t a DIY, this is a DIY
First off, I’ll write this review from two points of view that of a hyper-critical bastard and that of a spoiled teenager with more money than brains. (comments within parenthetical marks)
Hyper-critical bastard:
I was quite impressed with the quality of the tube, the welds were even, the bends were smooth and the paint job (powder coat?) was flawless. When I opened the box there was a bright yellow piece of paper stating if one were to encounter a problem during installation or find a piece missing (how do you find a missing piece I ask you?) Injen would provide live phone support to resolve the issue. The idea of customer support gave me faith the product would be of top quality. After all the pieces were accounted for and the factory air box was removed (I did the installation with out removing the bumper, instead I jacked up the car and removed the wheel well plastic; that worked just fine) the imperfections began to show themselves.
The first thing I noticed is the rubber elbow did not fit snugly onto the throttle body, instead there was about 5-10mm of gap between the TB and coupler. This bothered me quite a bit, I wondered if it would allow air to leak in and throw off the idle, or worse disrupt the smooth flow of air into the engine and cause a power loss. I decided I would just tighten down the clamp and hope for the best, maybe I’ll send an email to Injen inquiring as to the fitment of the coupler.
The next problem was the rubbing between the coupler and coolant line. I had read about this previous to the installation and had hoped it would not be a problem; I wouldn’t want the intake rubbing a hole in the coolant line and cause a catastrophic failure in the middle of a long drive. I decided the best way to fix this problem was to place double sided sticky tape between the parts, I also chose to move my coolant line about 10mm out on the block nipple to provide additional clearance.
The next problem I ran into was the fitment of the breather line. The tube provided in the kit is far too large in diameter; it would slide on and off the nipple (hehehe, I said nipple… twice) as well as the plug on the air intake. I can not fathom as to how this problem was missed by the engineers at Injen, I understand how the coupler could be a bit too big and how the coolant line could interfere with the elbow, but this was too much. The OEM clamps didn’t even fit onto the tube like the directions said! It is obvious that parts of the kit were haphazardly thrown together; also it forced me to search through my garage for some larger clamps (note for those who do not have an assortment of spare parts: buy two 3/4-1 inch (?) hose clamps before beginning the installation).
The last problem I ran into was when I connected the MAF (or is it MAS?) plug to the sensor, the plug wouldn’t clip. The sensor was centered, and lined up correctly but the plug couldn’t slide on far enough to clip because the bung was too wide. I loosened up the sensor and snapped on the plug, then tightened it down. I can only hope that this was an intentional design element to assist in the correct placement of the sensor (fingers crossed). Finally I had completed the installation. I reconnected the battery, started the car, and allowed it to idle for 10 minutes to collaborate the ECU.
The tone outside the car was pleasant, a bit louder than stock but not mind numbingly loud. After the car had time to update I took it out for a drive. During regular city driving the sound was almost like stock, nice and quite with possibly a slight bit more growl. At WOT the story changes; it is very loud, surprisingly loud. It sounds good from idle to 4500 RPM, but from 4500ish to just under 6000 there is a resonation that can be uncomfortable (like a droning, it’s pretty bad), this amplified when the windows are down (thank God I didn’t buy a SRI!!!), then from 6000 on the sound is great, the tone is very rich and deep.
I did notice a slight power gain as well as a small increase in throttle response. The car does have more pull under daily driving conditions as well as under WOT. I have yet to see how it affects my fuel economy, but I did not buy the intake for economy.
For the 260 I paid would have to give it a 6/10. I would expect the parts to fit better, especially the breather tube (that lost it at least 2 points); the power is what I expected but the droning around 4-6k is rather obnoxious.
Spoiled Teenager:
OMG!! I love it, its like so cool, and my car is super fast now! Its loud, but it could be louder (I shouldn’t be using commas, but I cant help it…)!!1 I had it installed at the place where I bought it and there’s this weird ticking sound when I turn, but it’s probably nothing, my friend said it was from the extra power. Now all the time when I pull up next to mustangs and stupid American cars they all rev their engines but I just blow them away. It gets a 9/10 because it could be louder! Go buy an Injen air intake now!! Injen FTMFW!!!! Oh, does the yellow wrench next to the tachometer mean that I modified my car, did I void my warrantee?
btw, Nate Smith or Jeremy Kane are you out there?
Last edited by AppleSauseSi; 12-27-2006 at 04:51 PM. Reason: pictures
12-25-2006, 08:24 PM
#2
Relevance is irrelevant
Holy super long threads Batman. It was a good review though. 
All I can say is I like my Injen CAI in my WRX... But I gotta take it out because well... I live in Washington. Bummer.
I love Injen from what I know about them so far though. Sure it's unrelated in a way, but the point is I think Injen is a good company that puts considerable dyno time into thier producets so it's nice to know they made a good one for the 8th Civic.
All I can say is I like my Injen CAI in my WRX... But I gotta take it out because well... I live in Washington. Bummer.
I love Injen from what I know about them so far though. Sure it's unrelated in a way, but the point is I think Injen is a good company that puts considerable dyno time into thier producets so it's nice to know they made a good one for the 8th Civic.
Last edited by bluetwo; 12-25-2006 at 08:27 PM.
12-26-2006, 07:55 AM
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had a injen on my ep3 on really liked it....im just waiting on all the anti-cai and sri intake comments....cuz the "gains are minimal"...crap for what $150 for a a big name brand intake you get a couple whp(lets say in the least 1-3whp according to "others") your gettin more hp to the wheels...aint that the point? if you do the hp to dollars than you are getting a pretty good deal
12-26-2006, 01:43 PM
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had a injen on my ep3 on really liked it....im just waiting on all the anti-cai and sri intake comments....cuz the "gains are minimal"...crap for what $150 for a a big name brand intake you get a couple whp(lets say in the least 1-3whp according to "others") your gettin more hp to the wheels...aint that the point? if you do the hp to dollars than you are getting a pretty good deal
Last edited by AppleSauseSi; 12-26-2006 at 02:03 PM. Reason: 2x quotes
12-26-2006, 02:14 PM
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Yeah the intake alone may not yield huge gains, but typically when you start putting on other things like a header, exhaust, cams, and especially F.I. will you see the benefits from a more free flowing intake. (i.e. it's good place to start)
01-03-2007, 07:57 PM
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I had it installed at the place where I bought it and there’s this weird ticking sound when I turn, but it’s probably nothing, my friend said it was from the extra power. Now all the time when I pull up next to mustangs and stupid American cars they all rev their engines but I just blow them away.
Oh, does the yellow wrench next to the tachometer mean that I modified my car, did I void my warrantee?
Oh, does the yellow wrench next to the tachometer mean that I modified my car, did I void my warrantee?
01-06-2007, 11:31 PM
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I ended up getting and installing the K&N short ram intake. It is much, much louder. My car now sounds like a fighter jet when VTEC engages. However, I will say I can tell a difference in power.
My wife doesn't like the noise, which is a downer. I could go either way.
Mostly, however, you can only tell there's something different when you're flooring it and past 4,000 RPM.
Installation was simple. I don't know how the noise compares to a cold air intake, and I also don't know how it sounds from the outside (to other drivers). I'll find that out in a couple of days.
My wife doesn't like the noise, which is a downer. I could go either way.
Mostly, however, you can only tell there's something different when you're flooring it and past 4,000 RPM.
Installation was simple. I don't know how the noise compares to a cold air intake, and I also don't know how it sounds from the outside (to other drivers). I'll find that out in a couple of days.