What cai do you have? I don' have experence with that cai intake to back my claim of taking off the front bumber but i believe I saw it in Sport Compact Car once where they had to take it off.

Is it with only certain ones...?

 

well firstly, you dont have to remove the bumper to install a CAI, and Im going with AEM, it gives +20.7hp, +5.3lb-ft. Well as the DC sports gives you +19.7hp, +5.7lb-ft. So even though DC gives a bit more torque, I like more HP.

 

No way any of teh CAI'sd give u that much power, and yes u do have to remove the bumper, and yes it does take 5 hours to install. Its much easier to remove the bumper, it takes 2 minutes to pop it off. if u dont take off teh bumper how are u going to get to the Washer bottle and how are u going to run the extra hoses to the right side of the car??? I have yet to see someobe install their CAI on the RSX w/out popping off the bumper. Well u could use a lift technically, but u'd have trouble getting to the wires and running em accros the front of the car.

 

Sorry bud, but you will not get that much power from just a intake. I know they claim that you do, but if you were to dyno your car after the install, I am 99.9% sure that you wouldn't get those numbers.

The Skyline GT-R has no style :slap:, what's wrong with you!?

 

manufacturers rate at the flywheel(or is it the crank?) - but in terms of real whp you'll be lucky to get half, sorry that's just how things are

 

wrong. that may be the claim but they do not free up nearly that much hp. more like 10. also hp is not the only thing you should be considering when buiding up your car. the rsx is not a torque monster so are gonna want a good addition of it as well. oh and hate to burst your bubble but as already said 3gs wont beat an sti and the intake/exhaust only gets .2-.3 secs off the stock 1/4/ good luck in your goal though.

 

You know wether the Skyline has style or not is a matter of personal taste and opinion. The Skyline looks like nothing else on this planet, its mean and raw...I dunno 'bout you 94, but that spells S-T-Y-L-E to me....to each their own though...no harm no foul...h:

Plus its not only a matter of looks, for me its a case of "forbidden fruit" you know wanting something you almost can't have... RHD ownz joO

 

you do not have to remove the front bumper to install the cai. i did mine two weeks ago. the only part you have to remove is the fender lining from both sides and the front under lining to run the wires and hoses. it is not that hard of an install it just takes a while, there is a lot of stuff you must do. oh yeah and one more thing, good luck on beating an sti, your going to need it. those sti's are going to fly.

 

K20AMUGENPOWER - Congrats on getting an RSX and having ambitious plans for it. But first, you have to realize that there will always be a faster car than yours (despite however much $$$ you invest into your car). You can always spend more and more money to make it go faster, but what are you going to do when a beat-up hatchback with peeling paint (the ultimate sleeper, if you will) leaves you in the dust? Eh.. that's just my 1.5cents.

With that being said, here's how I'd spend 3K. Function over form.

CAI - $250
PG Exhaust - $600
JR Race header (illegal I know, but...) - $600
Hondata #4 - $600
Springs - $150
Rear camber kit - $140
Rear sway - $150

Assuming you install everything yourself, that leaves you with $510 for tires, which you'll soon discover needs to be replaced. The stock Michelins... ugh.

 

I forgot to answer your other questions.

Intake - I could be wrong, but I believe the CAIs are better than the SRIs. I see you've decided on going with the AEM CAI. Does it perform better than Injen's or DC's CAI? Or the Comptech Ice Box? I think they all give similar gains, and none of them will significantly outperform the others.

Exhaust - it seems that the stock exhaust is designed pretty well. Replacing it doesn't seem to yield enormous gains, based on what I've read. But here's a link you might be interested in. It's an exhaust comparison on the Celica, but it should give you some idea as to their relative numbers.
http://www.turbomagazine.com/tech/0209tur_exhaust/

Header - without question, the race header (where the catalytic converter is eliminated) will yield the best gains. Jackson Racing, Comptech, Toda are some that come to mind. Of course, we all know that's an environmental no no, and should you be caught, the police don't take too kindly to the fact that you decided to go cat-less. We're talking big fines here. But if you're not getting the race header, don't bother with the 4-2 header. From what I've heard the yields are very minimal, and depending on what brand you buy, they tend to break.

Wheels - well, typically forged wheels will be lighter than cast wheels. And there are many choices in forged wheels. (My favorite would have to be the TE-37s.) Most are really expensive, too, but I didn't need to tell you that. But since you asked which are the lightest, refer to this link for more info. It's not current, but it should help you in your search for rims. http://www.fd3s.net/Reference/wheels.html

Tires - I could be wrong, but I think the lightest tires are Toyos. Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken.

Suspension - I unfortunately know jack sh$t about suspension so I'll let other members comment on this. But I do know that the Progress lowering springs and sway bars (which can be had for ~$430 altogether from Discount Tires) are well praised by SCC and other Progress owners, for what it's worth.

Body kit - I've heard that the Mugen kit is designed to improve aerodynamics, but for all I know, that could just be some marketing bs. Again, feel free to put me in my place if I'm wrong about this.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope some of it helps.