Well I decided today that I will start modding my car. Originally I was just going to wait till i got back from an extended trip to the desert when I had some real money and go FI but figure Iam to anxious to start working on it. Plus the fact I havent seen a shop in the area Iam at that could do the work for the turbo or let alone tune it Iam stuck with NA

I had an AEM CAI on my old civic and was thinking about going for it again but I hear the comptech icebox is better so need to decide which one I should get. The thing about the comptech is what all do i need to get? Just the icebox part or the whole intake(filter and the such) with it as I cant really tell when I go to there site. Any ideas are appreciated.

One last thing Iam hesitant about the CAI as surprisingly although Iam in the desert when it rains here it rains hard and the streets like to flood. I know that I shouldnt worry about the CAI unless Iam driving through standing water but I still do worry as I love my car and wouldnt want anything to happen to it. Also the civic started having some weird idling problems after a particularly hard drive through the rain here which also makes me worry as I know it got fairly wet but not submerged.

Mike
01 GSR CPE

 

Get the AEM CAI and a BYPass valve for it.
Then you can drive through the ocean and no one will care.

Well, okay not that... but yeah.

 

Not really interested in using the bypass valve if I get the CAI

 

the comptech icebox is nice...but EXPENSIVE. you have to buy the icebox and the intake tube dealie.

but if you go that route, you dont have to worry about hydrolock.

if your streets floods often, i wouldnt get a CAI. or maybe get one for the non rainy seasons and put the stock one back on during the rain.

i dont know how hard or easy that would be.

 

save some money and take off the lower air resonator box in the fender/bumper area.
take out the stock filter and replace it with a K&N cone filter.
put stock lid back on.
enjoy.

 

:stupid:

but i'm a nut for loud intakes...nothing beat my old tenzo pipe, it resonated louder than my old exhaust setup. i dont think it did much for power output though, but it sure sounded great. i'm running an aem cold air now, without the by***** valve...**** i'm thinking i'm gonna run the tenzo pipe with the aem filter because i miss the grunty sound that much...

 

I have the comptech icebox. To an untrained ear it sounds stock until 6000+ rpm but for someone who has driven the car stock for 20,000 miles (me) overall the car has a much deeper growl.

You only need to buy the icebox and foam filter to have a functioning comptech CAI. The polished short-ram is just for show. If you don't plan to run a bypass valve then go ahead and get the cheaper AEM CAI. If hydrolock is an issue where you live I would recommend going with the icebox. The bypass valve reduces the power gains on the AEM.

Or you can make your own custom icebox for under 50 bucks, as many people on this board have done. (Search for DIY CAI)

Shingo

 

the aem bypass valve is the biggest gimmick i ever heard of. aem is a big fat company that hires marketers in place of engineers. the only way youll get hydrolock is if you drive through standing water atleast 12 inches deep with your engine revving high and your throttle wide open. i have a cai and i drove through 12 inches of water, but what i did was stop, back up, and accelerate to about 40 then just put it in neutral through the water and i coasted out completely unscathed. the worst thing that happens is your engine stalls. i gotta say the aem cai gives a real nice growl to the engine. :thumbup:

 

The AEM bypass valve only works if the filter is completely submerged in water. The majority of cases where people have hydrolocked their engines have been due to submerging their filter entirely in a pool of water. With the bypass valve, this same situation would be avoided.

Because of this fact, people have been quick to point out that splashes of water on the filter element are not prevented from being sucked into the engine by the bypass valve, and hence, the use of the bypass valve is often discredited. However, I would think that it would be EXTREMELY difficult to hydrolock your vehicle if water merely splashed on the filter element. One could even go so far as make a physics argument as to why a partially submerged filter will NOT suck up water. Even so, it's common sense to avoid puddles, and to let the car "dry" before taking off after you've gone through a large puddle.

So for all practical purposes, the AEM bypass valve prevents you from ruining your engine by driving through large puddles of water. IMO, if you are really concerned about hydrolocking your engine, get the Icebox. The filter will be nowhere near water. Furthermore, hydrolocking the icebox would require you to go WOT through a lake.

Shingo

 

Actually you only have to get the filter element. You don't need the whole short ram. I run the stock intake with the filter and icebox. But i do admit for the filter and icebox its about the same as aem cai. Short ram adds a lot to the price.