CAI's offer more power overall. The gains in terms of throttle response aren't as noticeable as an SRI, but the net result is still more power. Thus, performance-wise, a CAI is the best bet.

People who are paranoid about sinking their car in a puddle with a CAI aren't thinking straight. Because water is more dense than air, you would have to submerge the ENTIRE filter element/intake point to actually pull in enough water to damage your engine. Unless your car is slammed to the ground, the likelihood of that is practically nil short of driving through a lake or a 100-year flood. I've had my CAI for nearly 5 years and driven through some large puddles and moderate flooding during a hurricane. I've never once had an issue with taking in water. Oh, and I'm on a ~1.5in+ drop, too.

The advantages of an SRI are a tiny bit more noticeable throttle response increase (again, either way you're getting better throttle response than stock, but the fact that there's less piping means the SRI feels like it's pulling sooner, even though in terms of power it's not doing any better than a CAI) and the fact that they're cheaper than CAI's.

I'm using bold for emphasis because a lot of people mistakenly claim that SRI's make more power at low rpm/initial throttle tip-in. The reason for this is because SRI's get louder sooner than CAI's when you get on the throttle, again because of the shorter piping, thus creating the illusion that you're making more power at that moment than the CAI.

I have a short ram intake and it was a massive storm so I drove home from school and parked into my garage. I noticed my hood was popped open a bit. I didn't touch my hood in a bit so i opened it and it was soaked. My air filter and all. I just switched air filters and thankfully no electrical damage. Moral of the story, the air filter can take a wetting.

If you are paranoid K&N and other top brands have this water shield that goes over your filter.. And AEM has a bypass valve so if you filter does get clogged.... So there are options to give you a peace of mind.

Either way though, i perfer the SRI. Ease of installation, piece of mind, and i usually mod for low end torque, then high end power.

If and first you dont succeed, You failed.

A VERY tiny amount of water, usually 50/50 mixed with alcohol, yes. However, that by no means means that anyone should wet their filter and head to the races.

The SRI doesn't actually make more low-end torque. It has a flatter powerband and makes more noise initially, so it gives the impression of having more torque.

Actually, why would you "mod for low end torque" with a CVT anyway? Your trans is going to put you in the fat spot when you floor it no matter what you do.

I did notice that I did loose a little spunk right out the gate, but the increase a few seconds later is really noticeable. Over all it seems like the CAI is a little more performance.

Speaking of CVT's and intakes, does anyone have audio clips of their intakes (CAI / SRI) on a CVT? I've been curious as to what they sound like.